"Mid-Range" - looking to upgrade my graphic card for a recent build

[Neville310]

Due to a motherboard failure, I rebuilt my computer. My new system utilizes the Intel i7 2600K chip with the Sandy Bridge platform on an Asus P8P67 LE motherboard. The Sandy Bridge platform is fast. Even though my computer is not used for gaming, my current graphic card seems to hold back performance in everyday tasks. My computing usage revolves around having many browser windows open along with multiple applications. Flash also tends to be a resource hog. I also perform Photoshop and light video editing work once a month. My system will also be a multiple OS boot; Windows 7, Linux, & OSx86 (so driver availability is important). I am looking for a graphic card as my next purchase and need advice in this arena. My primary goals with this new graphic card are seamless HD playback while multi-tasking, dual DVI outputs, energy efficiency, and value. My initial research points to a mid-range card.


Current Graphics Card: XFX NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT 256 MB
Resolution: 1680 x 1050

The list below focuses on price; not performance. Based on feedback, I could speed less or a bit more. My purchase will be in the next month or two depending on sales & rebates.

XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447
$139.99

MSI N450GTS CYCLONE 1GD5/OC GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127521&cm_re=gts_450-_-14-127-521-_-Product
$133.99

EVGA 01G-P3-1450-TR GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130572&cm_re=gts_450-_-14-130-572-_-Product
$129.99

GIGABYTE GV-N450OC-1GI GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125341&cm_re=gts_450-_-14-125-341-_-Product
$124.99

PNY VCGGTS4501XPB GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133343&cm_re=gts_450-_-14-133-343-_-Product
$124.99

ZOTAC ZT-40503-10L GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500187&cm_re=gts_450-_-14-500-187-_-Product
$129.99

XFX GS-250X-YDFV GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150513
$94.99

 

[hUMANbEATbOX]

a 7800gt should have no problems playing back HD video while you are doing other tasks.

have you updated drivers and done a fresh install of your OS after changing platforms?

 

[Neville310]

I am in the process of reconfiguring my system and need to reinstall everything. The drivers are fairly up to date though. I am performing preemptive research on graphic cards. Presently, my graphics card handles most of my tasks except when doing heavy multi-tasking. The current graphic card handles individual tasks well. Sometimes, a black window remains when moving a web video window from one monitor to the next. VLC sputters when multi-tasking between the Windows graphical user interface and other graphic elements like Flash. These occurrences are not harsh and do not happen all the time. My card is also five years old and may go the way my motherboard did.

 

[hUMANbEATbOX]

if you haven't done a fresh install, i'd start with that. if you don't game with the machine, there should be no reason your current card can't do what you need. i'm not sure a new card would solve the issues you described.

 

[mxthunder]

I dont think a geforce 7 series card can decode HD video.
His CPU would be doing that.
I would go for the cyclone GTS450 card. Will make a VERY nice upgrade!

 

[hUMANbEATbOX]

hrm, it seems as thought that is the case. doh.

sorry bout that!

 

[stunt]

Are you upgrading to x64 windows and putting more memory in your system?