Need help choosing a graphics card and case

Schotzy · 05-27-2009, 01:27 PM

Hi everyone. I am building my first computer and I have most of the parts picked out. My only problem is the graphics card. I have a 32 inch hd monitor that I was hoping on using but I dont know what graphics card to use. I would like to play modern games like Empire: Total War on the highest settings I can on this monitor. The max amount I can spend on a GPU is $250 (preferably less). Could someone also suggest a good case? I would like to spend no more than $100 on it.
Please help.
Heres a list of the parts I plan on using minus the case and GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813135230b ECS BLACK SERIES P45T-AD3 LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371026
Antec 750 watt PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036
Intel e8500 CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145184
Corsair 4GB RAM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148395
hard drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151175
DVD burner

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488
Windows Vista HP 64 bit

**wrench97** · 05-27-2009, 02:56 PM

Asus and Gigabyte are the 2 top tier MB manufacturers have a look at this Gigabyte midel it will serve you better then the ECS board> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20EP45%20UD3P

Antec keeps swapping the third party manufacturer of their internals and they are not as reliable as they once were> have a look at this unit it is more stable then the other> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9006&Tpk=750tx

And for the video card this will play nicely on a large screen monitor> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130433

**wrench97** · 05-27-2009, 03:08 PM

Cases there are a lot of decent cases depending on the style you like and and cost
Here are a few> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rchResult=True

**Tyree** · 05-27-2009, 03:41 PM

An Asus Mobo alternative; ASUS P5Q Pro $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131299

Samsung DVDRW's are good readers but poor writers. I'd suggest LG or Lite-On
Great advice from wrench97 for a PSU and GPU.

Schotzy · 05-27-2009, 10:37 PM

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate the help with the PSU and motherboard and DVD burner, I didn't really know what's a good brand with those before. I read several reviews that said that the he 4870 is a good GPU and it can outperform the gtx260. Also I can get a hd4890 for a little more than the gtx 260. Has anyone had any experiences with these cards? Would the perfoance increase vs. the cost be worth it?

05-27-2009, 01:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
Schotzy Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 58 OS: xp	Need help choosing a graphics card and case Hi everyone. I am building my first computer and I have most of the parts picked out. My only problem is the graphics card. I have a 32 inch hd monitor that I was hoping on using but I dont know what graphics card to use. I would like to play modern games like Empire: Total War on the highest settings I can on this monitor. The max amount I can spend on a GPU is $250 (preferably less). Could someone also suggest a good case? I would like to spend no more than $100 on it. Please help. Heres a list of the parts I plan on using minus the case and GPU. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813135230b ECS BLACK SERIES P45T-AD3 LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371026 Antec 750 watt PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036 Intel e8500 CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145184 Corsair 4GB RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148395 hard drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151175 DVD burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488 Windows Vista HP 64 bit

05-27-2009, 02:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,542 OS: Win7	Re: Need help choosing a graphics card and case Asus and Gigabyte are the 2 top tier MB manufacturers have a look at this Gigabyte midel it will serve you better then the ECS board> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20EP45%20UD3P Antec keeps swapping the third party manufacturer of their internals and they are not as reliable as they once were> have a look at this unit it is more stable then the other> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9006&Tpk=750tx And for the video card this will play nicely on a large screen monitor> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130433 __________________ Power Supply and Selection

05-27-2009, 03:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,542 OS: Win7	Re: Need help choosing a graphics card and case Cases there are a lot of decent cases depending on the style you like and and cost Here are a few> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rchResult=True __________________ Power Supply and Selection

05-27-2009, 03:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,566 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Need help choosing a graphics card and case An Asus Mobo alternative; ASUS P5Q Pro $120 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131299 Samsung DVDRW's are good readers but poor writers. I'd suggest LG or Lite-On Great advice from wrench97 for a PSU and GPU. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

05-27-2009, 10:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
Schotzy Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 58 OS: xp	Re: Need help choosing a graphics card and case Thanks for the advice. I appreciate the help with the PSU and motherboard and DVD burner, I didn't really know what's a good brand with those before. I read several reviews that said that the he 4870 is a good GPU and it can outperform the gtx260. Also I can get a hd4890 for a little more than the gtx 260. Has anyone had any experiences with these cards? Would the perfoance increase vs. the cost be worth it?