Need a current Video card recommendation

[randyplaysbass]

Building another SAC (and SAW) system and the video vard I used when I built my first system 6 months ago is "no longer available". Any ideas? I used this before:
DIAMOND ATI AMD Radeon™ HD 4670 GDDR3 1GB Dual Link DVI, HDMI, VGA Video Graphics Card

[905shmick]

All the new intel processors have nice GPUs on them. Get a motherboard with video ports and use the processor GPU. No need for an external card unless you're a mega gamer.

[mojogil]

+1
Why bloat the audio machine.

[dasbin]

Depends on your needs though. You may be like me and need more monitor outputs than the built-in tech can handle. Or, you may also be like me and be running a new intel i7 processor, which does NOT have a GPU. The statement, "All the new intel processors have nice GPUs on them" is incorrect.

[905shmick]

Depends on your needs though. You may be like me and need more monitor outputs than the built-in tech can handle. Or, you may also be like me and be running a new intel i7 processor, which does NOT have a GPU. The statement, "All the new intel processors have nice GPUs on them" is incorrect.

I'm pretty sure the latest gen of i7 processors have GPUs. I think only the first gen ones didn't.

[Bob L]

Many of the new i3 and i5 chips do have built-in video graphics which have worked fine for me... but if you do decide to use a video card... do a google search for "ati radeon 4670" or "ati radeon 4550" and I found dozens of places to order.

Bob L

[RandyHyde]

Depends on your needs though. You may be like me and need more monitor outputs than the built-in tech can handle. Or, you may also be like me and be running a new intel i7 processor, which does NOT have a GPU. The statement, "All the new intel processors have nice GPUs on them" is incorrect.

I think it's a function of the chipset as much as the chip. I wound up with an i3 CPU (coz the i5 really didn't add much to a SAC system) and the GPU support was in the chip set (even supported i7 IIRC, though I didn't pay too much attention).

That said, the on-board video is working perfectly. BTW, I believe I wound up using an ASUS P8H61 (or was it 67, I forget) motherboard. The MB definitely supports multiple monitors, though I'm only using one on that system.
Cheers,
Randy Hyde

[RBIngraham]

Just curious, are there motherboards that have dual head outputs built in now?

I'm sure I could just search and find out, but since I'm mostly curious and not really shopping, I figured I might as well just ask the collective group. :)

[905shmick]

Just curious, are there motherboards that have dual head outputs built in now?

I'm sure I could just search and find out, but since I'm mostly curious and not really shopping, I figured I might as well just ask the collective group. :)

Yep. Most offer VGA, DVI and HDMI and you can usually use any 2 at the same time.

[RandyHyde]

Yep. Most offer VGA, DVI and HDMI and you can usually use any 2 at the same time.

That exactly describes my ASUS board.
Cheers,
Randy Hyde

[dasbin]

Yeah... I needed 4.

[Mattseymour]

Matrox triplehead2go

[dasbin]

Yuck. Expensive and very inelegant solution.
For me the best answer was two ATI 5450's with passive heatsinks.

[RBIngraham]

Thanks for the information regarding the on board video outs.

[Mattseymour]

The matrox dualhead/triplehead are expensive, but I wouldn't describe them as inelegant. If you've got the space and PSU for multiple graphics cards, that's going to be the cheaper, and probably better option.

The benefit of the matrox boxes is you can get multiple monitors using the onboard graphics, adds flexibility for those of us with 1u cases :)