Video card help

[dropandhop]

With all your guys help...I'm almost done piecing together my new Core2Duo system!

I am struggling a bit as to which video card to go with.

I am looking for a dual head card that is passive and doesn't have any crazy 3d features as I am just using this in my DAW and don't need anything too wild. I also heard that I should stay away from HyperMemory/TurboCache. Ohh- and I would love to keep it at or below $100 (because I don't need a crazy card)

There are two cards that caught my eye:
Geforce 7600GS
Saphire Radeon X1300 (much cheaper!)

I was wondering if there were any others I should consider?
or
Advice as to which one I should go with?
and
Why is the Radeon that much cheaper...is it ok for my needs?

Thanks yet again,
Aaron

[flanzig1]

Go with the x1300 as long as it has the outputs you want.
An ATI x1600 is closer to the 7600GS which are mid-range cards. The x1300 is a basic desk top card, hence the price differance.

[786ARS]

7300 is the equivalant of the x1300
but if you plan on gaming, the 7600 is probably the best card out of your selections. it is the best mid range card, but if you want to stick to a budget, go for the x1300

[newbuilder14]

I'd go for the x1300.

[dropandhop]

Thanks for the feedback!

I think I narrowed down what I would like.


I'm interestedin the Geforce 7300GT.

But I thought I read before that they have HyperMemory/TurboCache...am I blind?

What have you guys found...do they have HyperMemory/TurboCache?

And I see it has nView Multi-Display Technology
Does that mean it will perform dual head? One for the DVI and the other for analog?

[The_YongGrand]

The 7300GTs usually don't come with the Turbocache inside. the 7300LEs and the light-version variants usually have these inside. Be sure to avoid any LE and/or Turbocache if you are a gamer.

If you want the 7300GT be sure to get the GDDR3 ones and the overclocked editions like the Galaxy ones.

The x1300 is a little bit underpowered - get an X800GTO or get the X1600 or X1600Pro.

[glc]

For a DAW, you can use a $40 Radeon X300SE. That's all you need, don't waste your money on a gaming card. Just make sure it doesn't have Hypermemory.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121538

[dropandhop]

So all my stuff arrived. But, I am having some issues with piecing together some of my new setup.

My Sonata II case has a black/blue three pinned wire comming out of the PSU. It looks like it might be for a fan or something low powered. Any idea what it is for or where to hook it to?

My bigger issue is what to do with my card layout on my ASUS P5B deluxe motherboard.
I have a fanless Gigabyte Geforce 7300GT PCI express card. If I put this card into the primary PCI express slot its heatsink touches the PCI card that is sitting right next to it. I doubt this is a good idea...right? How can they advertise that this board has 3 PCI slots if you can't use one of them, even with this rather thin card?!

There is another PCI express slot on the board, but I am weary of using that for my video card. One reason is that I am not certain if it runs at a full x16 (I think it does a max of x4..and this might not work with the card). And the other is that in the manual it says "We recommend that you install a VGA card on the primary PCI Express slot, and install any other PCI Express device on the Universal PCI-E slot."

What do you guys think?

I know that there are others with the 7300GT and P5B...so lemme know what you all did.

Thanks!
Aaron

[blue60007]

My Sonata II case has a black/blue three pinned wire comming out of the PSU. It looks like it might be for a fan or something low powered. Any idea what it is for or where to hook it to?

That's a fan speed (RPM) monitoring wire. It's not necessary at all. If you want to see the RPM's of the power supply fan, then you can hook it up to one of the motherboard fan headers. Otherwise, stick it aside with the extra cables.

My bigger issue is what to do with my card layout on my ASUS P5B deluxe motherboard.
I have a fanless Gigabyte Geforce 7300GT PCI express card. If I put this card into the primary PCI express slot its heatsink touches the PCI card that is sitting right next to it. I doubt this is a good idea...right? How can they advertise that this board has 3 PCI slots if you can't use one of them, even with this rather thin card?!
Do you need that PCI slot? Large coolers do block slots, but it shouldn't be actually touching the slot itself. The video card should go in the first slot.