I need a new Graphic Card(Win7)

[Krazzman]

Hello fellow playgrounders,

TL;DR:
Need a new Graphiccard mainly for playing WoW in a ~2 year old PC (Win7 64bit) that has problems with drivers atm.

With my apprenticeship I could get the current Microsoft OS and took that opportunity to get Windows 7 Professional 64 bit.
This was around 2 years ago and for the past 6 months my Graphiccard begins to make me angry.
Due to being lazy I still haven't resolved this and now would like to know your input if I should switch cards or any other way to resolve this.

Situation of Error:
The problem is not really reproducable. I am mainly playing WoW and most of the problems occur whilst playing WoW. Currently I play with rather low-spec graphics set. Whilst playing it occurs sometimes in some set areas that my Graphic driver kills itself with an error message. This means my screen freezes, turns black after a few seconds and comes back only to freeze again if I don't adjust my view ingame.
This is only slightly better than the previous freeze + black screen + graphicerrors ingame I had before (vanishing Icons, wrong icons, wrong colors).

I deinstalled and reinstalled the drivers for my graphic card multiple times and it won't get better.
Also I read that this problem in correlation with WoW should be a problem between Windows 7 and the graphic driver.

As such I am in need of a new Graphic card. Any recommendation?

[Brother Oni]

Making the assumption that PSU has enough power capacity (and connectors) for any card, we still need to know your budget and what type of PCI-E slot your motherboard has.

Knowing what your current graphics card is (motherboard would be nice as well) would also help us avoiding recommending it, since it's obviously unsuitable.

[Krazzman]

Mainboard:
ASUSTek M4A87TD EVO
Chipset AMD 870
Southbridge SB850

BIOS:
American Megatrends INC Version 0501 (04/02/2010)

Graphic Interface:
PCI-Express
Link Width x16
Max Supported x16

Graphic Card:
Radeon HD 5850 (1GB)
Code Name RV870 Technology 40nm
Core 156 MHz
Memory 300 MHz
Type GDDR5

Directly taken from a CPU-Z test.

[Drumbum42]

Mainboard:
ASUSTek M4A87TD EVO
Chipset AMD 870
Southbridge SB850

BIOS:
American Megatrends INC Version 0501 (04/02/2010)

Graphic Interface:
PCI-Express
Link Width x16
Max Supported x16

Graphic Card:
Radeon HD 5850 (1GB)
Code Name RV870 Technology 40nm
Core 156 MHz
Memory 300 MHz
Type GDDR5

Directly taken from a CPU-Z test.

I'm pretty sure I have the same graphics card, I know it's HD 5800 series. (The Sapphire Overclocked version) I had a whole bunch of issues with it for over a year, if I played a video while playing WoW, WoW would drop to 2fps and the video wouldn't render right. Eventually I found a working driver for it, it took them a while to fix the driver (like 3 driver updates) but now it's "mostly" solid. I went to AMD's site and got the driver, it took a while at the time, but they may have made it easier by now. ANYWAY, I've been running it for over a year and a half with few issues, it'll still blue screen me on a blue moon, but that's uncommon enough to ignore.

But if it's damaged, or defective then it doesn't matter. Video cards aren't my thing, so I can't recommend anything right now, but I'd thought I'd chime in with my experience with the video card. Also I'll ask my friend what's the "video card to get" right now, what's your price range? $150-200?

[Erloas]

That is a pretty good card and should have no problems at all running WoW on any setting.
So I would look for other possibly fixes first.
Where are you getting the graphics card drivers from?
When you installed the new copy of Windows did you do an upgrade install or a fresh install?
Have you checked other drivers to make sure they are updated? It might not seem like it could, but I've seen sound drivers occasional mess with video cards because they both run through DirectX.
Have you cleaned the dust out of the case and the card? The card could be overheating, or if the PSU is overheating it would impact how good the power it is supply is. Do you have the specs of the PSU, it could just be underpowered a bit and wasn't as obvious until it aged (probably not printed anywhere in the spec sheets but it is printed on the side of the unit itself if you pull the side panel off the case).

[Don Julio Anejo]

Hello fellow playgrounders,

TL;DR:
Need a new Graphiccard mainly for playing WoW in a ~2 year old PC (Win7 64bit) that has problems with drivers atm.

With my apprenticeship I could get the current Microsoft OS and took that opportunity to get Windows 7 Professional 64 bit.
This was around 2 years ago and for the past 6 months my Graphiccard begins to make me angry.
Due to being lazy I still haven't resolved this and now would like to know your input if I should switch cards or any other way to resolve this.

Situation of Error:
The problem is not really reproducable. I am mainly playing WoW and most of the problems occur whilst playing WoW. Currently I play with rather low-spec graphics set. Whilst playing it occurs sometimes in some set areas that my Graphic driver kills itself with an error message. This means my screen freezes, turns black after a few seconds and comes back only to freeze again if I don't adjust my view ingame.
This is only slightly better than the previous freeze + black screen + graphicerrors ingame I had before (vanishing Icons, wrong icons, wrong colors).

I deinstalled and reinstalled the drivers for my graphic card multiple times and it won't get better.
Also I read that this problem in correlation with WoW should be a problem between Windows 7 and the graphic driver.

As such I am in need of a new Graphic card. Any recommendation?
I had that happen a while ago to an nVidia 8800 GT. Though at the time, I ended up replacing the card as the warranty just expired, later I figured out it's most likely the microsoldering coming apart in places and some physical connections on the card simply not working. There is a rumour going around that you can place it in an over around ~200-220 C it should resolder itself, though I'm not quite sure how legit this is (plus, I'm guessing you'd have to remove all the plastic parts).

As said before, it shouldn't have any problems playing WoW on near max at 1080p unless you have a million graphics mods installed.

Another possibility: your card is overclocked too far. It may be factory OC'd, you may have done it yourself, doesn't matter; the card is getting older so you can't push it as far anymore. Downclock it a bit:
1. Install latest catalyst (13.9 I believe)
2. Right click on your desktop and go to "AMD Catalyst Control Centre"
3. Click the "Performance" tab on the left hand side, then "AMD Overdrive" in the pull-down menu.
4. Check "Enable AMD Overdrive".
5. Lower the clocks by ~100-150 MHz for CPU/memory. If it stops the weird behaviour, there's your answer.

Also, make sure your fan is working properly: download GPU-Z, start WoW in windowed mode and check your fan speed/GPU temperature on the "Sensors" tab. Temps should be 40-75C and fan speed should be 30-50% while you're gaming. If your fan speed is a lot lower, or a lot higher, or your temps are >75C, it's a problem with cooling.

Finally, does this persist in other games, or only WoW? It's entirely possible you've got a bad build of WoW that's causing problems (i.e. you moved it from computer to computer from OS to OS and something somewhere broke).

PS: depending on your budget, I'd say go for (in increasing order): AMD 7850 (~$130-150, 1.7x performance of 5850), AMD R9 270X ($180, 2x performance), nVidia GTX 760 ($230-250, 2.3x performance). Pick one that fits your budget and power supply.

[Woodzyowl]

A quick google suggests that your current card takes 2 6-pin power connectors; would you be so kind as to confirm that?

You can essentially take anything from this page or the one before (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-4.html) and it will work fine with your computer and be a capable GPU. I would also possibly recommend the AMD R9-270X.

The Radeon HD 5850 is still a powerful graphics card, but it's been slowly falling out of use and has therefore been losing support.

[Karoht]

I'm running a HD 7770 and having similar problems, though rarely. I keep being told by everyone and their dog that it's an AMD problem and "nVidia is better lolz." I honestly don't care which is best, but I am concerned about it being an AMD support issue. Boxing Day is tomorrow (so sales and such), should I just pick up an nVidia card while they're cheap?

[Gnoman]

I'd recommend the Nvidia GTX 560. For a mid-to-low range card, it is a real beast. I've yet to run into anything that it can't handle, and only a handful of games that even need the graphics turned down.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I'd recommend the Nvidia GTX 560. For a mid-to-low range card, it is a real beast. I've yet to run into anything that it can't handle, and only a handful of games that even need the graphics turned down.
It's about two generations behind the current one, no point. Plus it's more of a sidegrade compared to 7770, with maybe a 10-15% performance increase and little room for overclocking.

I'd say it's a hardware issue, which is just as likely with nVidia (they're all built in the same factories like Foxconn, out of similar components). Recently, the situation is flipped - AMD drivers tend to be way better than nVidia drivers. Though comparing the two is like comparing Mac and Windows. nVidia (Mac) will work well out of the box, but that's all it will ever do. AMD (Windows) might have an issue here or there, but you can do so much more to it, like overclocking, coin mining, complex math, etc - all things at which nVidia cards suck at.

That said, if you want nVidia, don't get anything else than a GTX 660 (it's about the same as AMD 7850), or look for a good deal for 760. AMD R9 270X is a really good deal these days too, at $180 a pop, though you probably won't find a great deal on it with the demand for AMD cards.

[Pam Smith]

I went for the AMD's Radeon R9 280X, 290, and 290X cards. Tey are the best cards and bang for the buck. Serious power and mileage and cost ratios etc.

Give them a go, you wont regret it: Have a read here buddy.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

Re'
Pam

[Don Julio Anejo]

I went for the AMD's Radeon R9 280X, 290, and 290X cards. Tey are the best cards and bang for the buck. Serious power and mileage and cost ratios etc.

Give them a go, you wont regret it: Have a read here buddy.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

Re'
Pam
Sold out everywhere in North America, the few cards that are available retail for $100-150 more than they should. I've been waiting for my 280X for a month now, that's after failing to even try to order a 290. Never have I wanted to punch bitcoin miners in the face so much, especially after some asshat brags "oh man, great cards, I've got 50 of them running."

[Karoht]

Sold out everywhere in North America, the few cards that are available retail for $100-150 more than they should. I've been waiting for my 280X for a month now, that's after failing to even try to order a 290. Never have I wanted to punch bitcoin miners in the face so much, especially after some asshat brags "oh man, great cards, I've got 50 of them running."
Yeah, my budget for a new card is 150-200, and that assumes that my current card is the problem, which I'm willing to be it isn't. My motherboard/proc probably need an upgrade more than the card. WoW is also a very CPU intensive game (I've read that from quite a few sources), my motherboard/proc is approaching the 3 year mark.

Off-topic: I'm really confused about how a bitcoin has value, how does one mine for bitcoins?
"How I mine for fish?"

[Don Julio Anejo]

Yeah, my budget for a new card is 150-200, and that assumes that my current card is the problem, which I'm willing to be it isn't. My motherboard/proc probably need an upgrade more than the card. WoW is also a very CPU intensive game (I've read that from quite a few sources), my motherboard/proc is approaching the 3 year mark.
What's your CPU? I have a 5.5 year old E8400 that was still good enough to run most games (well, Skyrim) while being GPU limited until I upgraded my stuff a year ago. Problem with WoW (never played it, but head enough) is that it's extremely badly optimised. You can run in on a 5 year old laptop on minimum quality just fine, and at the same time it can give an i7 with GTX 680 pause.

Off-topic: I'm really confused about how a bitcoin has value, how does one mine for bitcoins?
"How I mine for fish?"
What are bitcoins: wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin)
How to mine: link (http://www.weusecoins.com/en/mining-guide)
From what I've gathered, there's no point anymore, beyond driving the cost of video cards further. It only pays off if you're an early adopter. Same with Litecoin, difficulty of mining them is too high to justify an investment in hardware. Why? In short, the coins are mined in blocks (i.e. 25 coins every 10 minutes). The system auto adjusts so that a block is found on average every 10 minutes. So if you're the only person mining, you'll get a block every 10 minutes. If a million people are mining, only a single block will be found by one of those people every 10 minutes.

[Karoht]

What's your CPU? I have a 5.5 year old E8400 that was still good enough to run most games (well, Skyrim) while being GPU limited until I upgraded my stuff a year ago. Problem with WoW (never played it, but head enough) is that it's extremely badly optimised. You can run in on a 5 year old laptop on minimum quality just fine, and at the same time it can give an i7 with GTX 680 pause.
AMD FX 4300 (I think? I'll double check when I'm home)
I'm looking to upgrade to a 8320 or a 9370, depending on money after new years. Boxing day/black friday sales here were not the best. Might wait a bit longer on that.
(To be clear, my motherboard + proc budget is higher)




What are bitcoins: wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin)
How to mine: link (http://www.weusecoins.com/en/mining-guide)
From what I've gathered, there's no point anymore, beyond driving the cost of video cards further. It only pays off if you're an early adopter. Same with Litecoin, difficulty of mining them is too high to justify an investment in hardware. Why? In short, the coins are mined in blocks (i.e. 25 coins every 10 minutes). The system auto adjusts so that a block is found on average every 10 minutes. So if you're the only person mining, you'll get a block every 10 minutes. If a million people are mining, only a single block will be found by one of those people every 10 minutes.Ugh. Pass. Thanks for the explanation all the same.

[thracian]

I'll toss in a recommendation for the 2GB GTX 660, although that price bracket is so crowded right now that you can spend $10 and get a noticably better card, then spend $10 more and get a decent increase from that.

[CombatOwl]

I'll second the R9 270X/280X/290 suggestion, depending on price range.

Not much point in the R9 290X though. Way more expensive for very little performance gain. I'll say from personal experience that the R9 290/290X really deserves watercooling though. The stock cooling is loud, and not nearly enough for the heat the card produces under load.