Need V-card recommendation

Yo'sDad · 08-06-2007, 07:27 PM

Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum. I appreciate any help you can give me. I'll try to supply all the correct information about my question.

I am looking to upgrade my video card to support dual DVI LCD monitors. I have not purchased the monitors yet but looking at a couple of Dell 1908FP 19" (1280x1024) 4:3 aspect.

I am a wedding photographer and only use this machine for editing images in Photoshop. I do not game, I do not play movies on this machine. All I care about is good video performance. I will be calibrating my monitor/card with a Pantone Colorvision Spyder2Pro if it matters.

If anyone can recommend a good video card (PCI express) for the above application I would be very appreciative. I'm not looking for the ultimate or bottom end card. Just good quality and good hardware.

Thanks

YD

Homer99 · 08-07-2007, 12:02 PM

For something that doesn't cost that much money and you aren't into gaming, I suggest getting an Nvidia 7600 (whichever series you want). It will still perform very well, but is very inexpensive and comes with dual DVI heads. Here is one http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=eVGA

However if you are looking into Vista and going to be using Direct X 10, there is the 8600 which you can get for pretty cheap, but in my mind it isnt the best bang for the buck.

Have fun :)

Yo'sDad · 08-07-2007, 08:08 PM

Homer99,

Thanks for giving me this info. I have Win pro 64 bit but have not loaded it. Would this make a dif with respect to what you have recommended?

Within reason, the price is not a big factor. This is a business expense for me. I want a card that will give very, very good images, no gaming, no movies.

Would I see any benefit to moving up to the 8600 you mention? I also notice there are two 8600s the GT and the GTS with a price dif. Should I consider either of these and what would the dif be in my situation?

thanks,

YD

Homer99 · 08-07-2007, 08:27 PM

All major cards have support for 64 bit OS's usually. I believe those Nvidia cards have the proper drivers, but can always go on nvidia.com and check. And really, if you are not doing ANY gaming, no point in getting the 8600 series as it is for DX10 on Windows Vista (primarily for gaming). And the GTS has higher clock speeds and memory clock speeds which do improve the framerate. But in your situation, stick with the GT or even the GS(cant remember if its PCIe for the GS). So 7600GT should be very good for images.

ebackhus · 08-07-2007, 10:12 PM

Since you do photo work you don't need uber power. Even a decent PCI card from the late 90's would suffice.

I must ask though, if you do photo work why do you use LCDs?

Homer99 · 08-07-2007, 10:14 PM

Well its supplied by work isnt it? So thats exactly why. And I think a 7600GT would be fine, its very nicely priced and will easily do the job

Prowsezy · 08-08-2007, 05:54 AM

You can either go with an ATI x1950
Or a Nvidia Geforce 7950

Yo'sDad · 08-08-2007, 08:42 AM

I wrote a nice reply to all your comments and submitted it, but it is gone...

summary, I now use LCDs because I can't find anymore good used or new CRTs. I've gone through about ten 21" used Sony Trinitrons in the past two years.. when I get them they are near the end of their useful 'color and sharpness' life.. I keep them calibrated until they won't calibrate anymore and then give them away. I borrowed a middle grade Dell LCD and have been using it in tandem with a Trinitron... I'm now satisfied that while it is may not be as nice as a new Trinitron, it is nicer than what I can currently get.. so I'm now going to get a pair of my own LCDs and just be happy. One thing I have learned is that you get used to what you have and if you don't look across the backyard at what your neighbor has, you don't miss anything.

I'm a wedding photographer and must buy everything on my own. I looked up the recommended 7600GT and saw it only had one DVI port, the other was analogue, and for only $10 more, the 8600GT and the 7900 have two DVIs. It may be more than I need, and who knows, I may turn into a raging gamer before I push up daises.

Thanks for all your help, I'll let you know how it goes.

YD

Homer99 · 08-08-2007, 10:52 AM

You are probably loooking at a different 7600GT then, cause I know for a fact that the 7600GT has two DVI ports (well at least evga, bfg and xfx)

Have fun :)

ebackhus · 08-08-2007, 07:28 PM

If you go with the 7600GT from eVGA make sure it's the dual-DVI model. I have two 7600GTs from eVGA and one has two DVIs while the other has a DVI and a VGA port.

Yo'sDad · 08-08-2007, 07:54 PM

I also saw an evga 7600 on newegg with dvi and vga. Soooo, since it was only $10 more, I went with the 8600GT. I'm sure it will work well for me. But thanks for the warning... I'm surprised that they make two models with different specs and label them the same.. very confusing.

YD

Homer99 · 08-08-2007, 08:39 PM

have fun with ur new video card :)

Yo'sDad · 08-08-2007, 08:42 PM

Homer, just want to thank you for giving me the info necessary to understand what I needed and give me some suggestions as to what to look for.

Today I ordered two monitors, they were temp out of stock, so they waived the shipping and gave me a 5% discount. I'll still be getting them in a couple of weeks.

YD

Homer99 · 08-08-2007, 08:43 PM

Oh no problem, I always come here for help too :D lol

Infact I am active in a post about my new computer loading things slowly in XP :P

08-06-2007, 07:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
Yo'sDad Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 6 OS: XP	Need V-card recommendation Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum. I appreciate any help you can give me. I'll try to supply all the correct information about my question. I am looking to upgrade my video card to support dual DVI LCD monitors. I have not purchased the monitors yet but looking at a couple of Dell 1908FP 19" (1280x1024) 4:3 aspect. I am a wedding photographer and only use this machine for editing images in Photoshop. I do not game, I do not play movies on this machine. All I care about is good video performance. I will be calibrating my monitor/card with a Pantone Colorvision Spyder2Pro if it matters. If anyone can recommend a good video card (PCI express) for the above application I would be very appreciative. I'm not looking for the ultimate or bottom end card. Just good quality and good hardware. Thanks YD

08-07-2007, 12:02 PM	#2 (permalink)
Homer99 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 308 OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP SP3, Server 2003, Ubuntu 8, OSX My System	Re: Need V-card recommendation For something that doesn't cost that much money and you aren't into gaming, I suggest getting an Nvidia 7600 (whichever series you want). It will still perform very well, but is very inexpensive and comes with dual DVI heads. Here is one http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=eVGA However if you are looking into Vista and going to be using Direct X 10, there is the 8600 which you can get for pretty cheap, but in my mind it isnt the best bang for the buck. Have fun :) __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

08-07-2007, 08:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
Yo'sDad Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 6 OS: XP	Re: Need V-card recommendation Homer99, Thanks for giving me this info. I have Win pro 64 bit but have not loaded it. Would this make a dif with respect to what you have recommended? Within reason, the price is not a big factor. This is a business expense for me. I want a card that will give very, very good images, no gaming, no movies. Would I see any benefit to moving up to the 8600 you mention? I also notice there are two 8600s the GT and the GTS with a price dif. Should I consider either of these and what would the dif be in my situation? thanks, YD

08-07-2007, 08:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
Homer99 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 308 OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP SP3, Server 2003, Ubuntu 8, OSX My System	Re: Need V-card recommendation All major cards have support for 64 bit OS's usually. I believe those Nvidia cards have the proper drivers, but can always go on nvidia.com and check. And really, if you are not doing ANY gaming, no point in getting the 8600 series as it is for DX10 on Windows Vista (primarily for gaming). And the GTS has higher clock speeds and memory clock speeds which do improve the framerate. But in your situation, stick with the GT or even the GS(cant remember if its PCIe for the GS). So 7600GT should be very good for images. __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

08-07-2007, 10:12 PM	#5 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,312 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Re: Need V-card recommendation Since you do photo work you don't need uber power. Even a decent PCI card from the late 90's would suffice. I must ask though, if you do photo work why do you use LCDs? __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

08-07-2007, 10:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
Homer99 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 308 OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP SP3, Server 2003, Ubuntu 8, OSX My System	Re: Need V-card recommendation Well its supplied by work isnt it? So thats exactly why. And I think a 7600GT would be fine, its very nicely priced and will easily do the job __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

08-08-2007, 05:54 AM	#7 (permalink)
Prowsezy Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 67 OS: Windows XP My System	Re: Need V-card recommendation You can either go with an ATI x1950 Or a Nvidia Geforce 7950 Last edited by Prowsezy; 08-08-2007 at 05:56 AM.

08-08-2007, 08:42 AM	#8 (permalink)
Yo'sDad Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 6 OS: XP	Re: Need V-card recommendation I wrote a nice reply to all your comments and submitted it, but it is gone... summary, I now use LCDs because I can't find anymore good used or new CRTs. I've gone through about ten 21" used Sony Trinitrons in the past two years.. when I get them they are near the end of their useful 'color and sharpness' life.. I keep them calibrated until they won't calibrate anymore and then give them away. I borrowed a middle grade Dell LCD and have been using it in tandem with a Trinitron... I'm now satisfied that while it is may not be as nice as a new Trinitron, it is nicer than what I can currently get.. so I'm now going to get a pair of my own LCDs and just be happy. One thing I have learned is that you get used to what you have and if you don't look across the backyard at what your neighbor has, you don't miss anything. I'm a wedding photographer and must buy everything on my own. I looked up the recommended 7600GT and saw it only had one DVI port, the other was analogue, and for only $10 more, the 8600GT and the 7900 have two DVIs. It may be more than I need, and who knows, I may turn into a raging gamer before I push up daises. Thanks for all your help, I'll let you know how it goes. YD

08-08-2007, 10:52 AM	#9 (permalink)
Homer99 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 308 OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP SP3, Server 2003, Ubuntu 8, OSX My System	Re: Need V-card recommendation You are probably loooking at a different 7600GT then, cause I know for a fact that the 7600GT has two DVI ports (well at least evga, bfg and xfx) Have fun :) __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

08-08-2007, 07:28 PM	#10 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,312 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Re: Need V-card recommendation If you go with the 7600GT from eVGA make sure it's the dual-DVI model. I have two 7600GTs from eVGA and one has two DVIs while the other has a DVI and a VGA port. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

08-08-2007, 07:54 PM	#11 (permalink)
Yo'sDad Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 6 OS: XP	Re: Need V-card recommendation I also saw an evga 7600 on newegg with dvi and vga. Soooo, since it was only $10 more, I went with the 8600GT. I'm sure it will work well for me. But thanks for the warning... I'm surprised that they make two models with different specs and label them the same.. very confusing. YD

08-08-2007, 08:39 PM	#12 (permalink)
Homer99 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 308 OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP SP3, Server 2003, Ubuntu 8, OSX My System	Re: Need V-card recommendation have fun with ur new video card :) __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

08-08-2007, 08:42 PM	#13 (permalink)
Yo'sDad Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 6 OS: XP	Re: Need V-card recommendation Homer, just want to thank you for giving me the info necessary to understand what I needed and give me some suggestions as to what to look for. Today I ordered two monitors, they were temp out of stock, so they waived the shipping and gave me a 5% discount. I'll still be getting them in a couple of weeks. YD

08-08-2007, 08:43 PM	#14 (permalink)
Homer99 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 308 OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP SP3, Server 2003, Ubuntu 8, OSX My System	Re: Need V-card recommendation Oh no problem, I always come here for help too :D lol Infact I am active in a post about my new computer loading things slowly in XP :P __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.