Hey guys, I'm thinking about getting an Nvidia GTX 280, but I want to know if the problems with the drivers that happened to people back in August or whenever they released that one driver that messed everyone up (very technical details here I know).  I've heard about lots of black screens and pixel problems, etc.

Mainly I want to know if the card is viable to play GW2 on now, or if I should just go for a Radeon card.  Thanks in advance for the help.

7850 ~100 euro/ 130$

gtx 560 ~125euro/160$

dont buy a 280 unless its under 60euro/80$

Originally posted by Kabaal
That card is almost 5 years old, if you're buying it rather than getting it free i'd seriously suggest you buy something more modern.

Yeah, I agree. Why would you buy that card?

Originally posted by Eir_S
Ah ok, I wasn't sure about the age or the performance, that's why I asked here, I know you guys know about this stuff.  Thanks for the info.  Also, the card was actually part of a pc on ebay I was thinking of getting, but I don't want to be stuck with a bad card, so I'll just get something else to put in.

So let me see if I understand what you mean here.  Are you still planning on buying the computer listed on ebay?  My main concern is that if it's sporting a GTX280 it's probably also packed with a lot of old hardware you don't really want to throw money at.  Do you have a link to it or the other specs on the hardware inside?

Originally posted by miguksaram

Originally posted by Eir_S
Ah ok, I wasn't sure about the age or the performance, that's why I asked here, I know you guys know about this stuff.  Thanks for the info.  Also, the card was actually part of a pc on ebay I was thinking of getting, but I don't want to be stuck with a bad card, so I'll just get something else to put in.

So let me see if I understand what you mean here.  Are you still planning on buying the computer listed on ebay?  My main concern is that if it's sporting a GTX280 it's probably also packed with a lot of old hardware you don't really want to throw money at.  Do you have a link to it or the other specs on the hardware inside?

That's a big concern.  It's generally recommended that you replace a hard drive after five years, which is a big issue if you get a four-year-old hard drive.

The modern equivalent to a GeForce GTX 280 in raw performance is probably a Radeon HD 7770 or GeForce GTX 650 Ti.  The newer cards will support newer APIs, though, and use a lot less power (ballpark approximation:  40% of the load power usage and 20% of the idle power usage for the same performance).

Buying a used gaming rig makes sense if it's cheap enough, there's nothing flagrantly wrong with it (e.g., won't boot) other than age, and you can't afford a new one on your budget.  Buying a brand new gaming rig with performance equivalent to the one you're looking at would probably run about $600.  The new rig also won't come with four years of wear and tear on the parts.

Well I already have a few extra hard drives, and one has Win7 on it already, so that's not a problem, but after reading this, I decided to just build my own.  I've basically done everything in the past except screwing the mobo to the case.  I already have a power supply and extra RAM as well.

For a card I'm looking more at a Radeon HD 7750 or 7770 now.  I don't really want an Nvidia since I've heard there have been issues with GW2 (some of these stories coming directly from friends). 

Either of them scored high on http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

I could even spring for the 7850, but it's doubtful on the budget I'm working with.  Then again, I've been looking around and prices can vary wildly on computer parts depending on where you shop.

Originally posted by Eir_S

Well I already have a few extra hard drives, and one has Win7 on it already, so that's not a problem, but after reading this, I decided to just build my own.  I've basically done everything in the past except screwing the mobo to the case.  I already have a power supply and extra RAM as well.

For a card I'm looking more at a Radeon HD 7750 or 7770 now.  I don't really want an Nvidia since I've heard there have been issues with GW2 (some of these stories coming directly from friends). 

Either of them scored high on http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

Don't trust blanket benchmarks, while they can give you a power ideal it doesn't always apply to real world.

Also if you can what PSU/RAM do you have? The Win7 is attached to motherboard not the HDD, so you would still need a new copy for a new PC. Also the drivers on a 'dirty' HDD would conflict with the new PC you plan to build.

The 7770 is a good card for $100, however I would look into a 7850, you can get one with rebates for around $150 but it comes with 2 games currently that can sell for about 20-30 each without issue.

Originally posted by Aori

Originally posted by Eir_S

Well I already have a few extra hard drives, and one has Win7 on it already, so that's not a problem, but after reading this, I decided to just build my own.  I've basically done everything in the past except screwing the mobo to the case.  I already have a power supply and extra RAM as well.

For a card I'm looking more at a Radeon HD 7750 or 7770 now.  I don't really want an Nvidia since I've heard there have been issues with GW2 (some of these stories coming directly from friends). 

Either of them scored high on http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

Don't trust blanket benchmarks, while they can give you a power ideal it doesn't always apply to real world.

Also if you can what PSU/RAM do you have? The Win7 is attached to motherboard not the HDD, so you would still need a new copy for a new PC. Also the drivers on a 'dirty' HDD would conflict with the new PC you plan to build.

The 7770 is a good card for $100, however I would look into a 7850, you can get one with rebates for around $150 but it comes with 2 games currently that can sell for about 20-30 each without issue.

Ah I didn't know that about the OS.  I should have figured it wouldn't be that easy, after all you could just switch them around infinitely otherwise. 

I have DDR2, but I just remembered I'm waiting for some bids for DDR3 on ebay.  I'm not sure I trust ebay over newegg, etc., but the sellers have high ratings.  The PSU is a Rosewill 450w.  I'd imagine that's enough, but if I have to buy a new one, they won't break the bank.

But yeah.. I'm thinking more about the 7850 now.  Might as well go all out, as it were.  I mean I know there are better cards, but the odds of me ever spending upwards of 200 bucks on one aren't likely.

Originally posted by Cothor
You can get the 460gtx on new egg right now for about 100 bucks. I was using it tonight while I played GW2. I never dip below around 50 fps with high settings. It is a very solid card for the price. I've never had an issue with any games. No graphic anomilies or driver issues, just good performance.

Ah cool, thanks for the suggestion, I'll bookmark it on Amazon as an option.

Originally posted by Eir_S

Originally posted by Aori

Originally posted by Eir_S

Well I already have a few extra hard drives, and one has Win7 on it already, so that's not a problem, but after reading this, I decided to just build my own.  I've basically done everything in the past except screwing the mobo to the case.  I already have a power supply and extra RAM as well.

For a card I'm looking more at a Radeon HD 7750 or 7770 now.  I don't really want an Nvidia since I've heard there have been issues with GW2 (some of these stories coming directly from friends). 

Either of them scored high on http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

Don't trust blanket benchmarks, while they can give you a power ideal it doesn't always apply to real world.

Also if you can what PSU/RAM do you have? The Win7 is attached to motherboard not the HDD, so you would still need a new copy for a new PC. Also the drivers on a 'dirty' HDD would conflict with the new PC you plan to build.

The 7770 is a good card for $100, however I would look into a 7850, you can get one with rebates for around $150 but it comes with 2 games currently that can sell for about 20-30 each without issue.

Ah I didn't know that about the OS.  I should have figured it wouldn't be that easy, after all you could just switch them around infinitely otherwise. 

I have DDR2, but I just remembered I'm waiting for some bids for DDR3 on ebay.  I'm not sure I trust ebay over newegg, etc., but the sellers have high ratings.  The PSU is a Rosewill 450w.  I'd imagine that's enough, but if I have to buy a new one, they won't break the bank.

But yeah.. I'm thinking more about the 7850 now.  Might as well go all out, as it were.  I mean I know there are better cards, but the odds of me ever spending upwards of 200 bucks on one aren't likely.

I'm assuming its a low end Rosewill PSU, if you're going to use anything above 7770 then you'd want to upgrade it aswell. Also don't buy PC parts off of ebay as most warranties are not transferable.

DDR2 memory is near useless for any modern system.

What kind of budget are you looking at, I just posted a build for someone that is in the $700 range not including rebates and games.

Originally posted by Cothor
You can get the 460gtx on new egg right now for about 100 bucks. I was using it tonight while I played GW2. I never dip below around 50 fps with high settings. It is a very solid card for the price. I've never had an issue with any games. No graphic anomilies or driver issues, just good performance.

460 is a bad choice if you're buying new, it runs hot and draws higher power. Not to mention it is just older tech so its future proofing is far lower.

Radeon 7970 is most bang for the bucks. I bought Gigabyte 7970  3gb. I am very satiesfied.

Before that I got this card I had bought a Gigabyte GTX 670 4gb so I tried bought cards and my computer liked the amd one more since it got better score and better fps than the gtx one for the same money.  I am happy I had the chance to return it and get the 7970 insted.

I had to clock my cpu i7 though since it botttlenecked my 7970, got it from 2.66ghz to 3.52ghz. The cpu holds at 54c now thanks to the watercooling I bought for around 50 euro. And the gigabyte graficcards have 3 nice fans, I will never buy a card with 1 fan. The GTX one was on 61c and the Radeon on 65-69c when benchmarked or in game.

Both cards are good, but Radeon 7970 is still bang for the bucks.

Originally posted by Aori

Originally posted by Cothor
You can get the 460gtx on new egg right now for about 100 bucks. I was using it tonight while I played GW2. I never dip below around 50 fps with high settings. It is a very solid card for the price. I've never had an issue with any games. No graphic anomilies or driver issues, just good performance.

460 is a bad choice if you're buying new, it runs hot and draws higher power. Not to mention it is just older tech so its future proofing is far lower.

Compared to a 7770 they might be power hungry but even a Corsair 520W was more than enough to power my old 460 and a 2500K, both overclocked. It also rarely broached 60C unless benchmarking. If a 256bit 460 (don't buy the 192bit version) with a decent aftermarket cooler such as the MSI 460 Cyclone etc can be found cheap enough then it's a good buy on a budget, they can be hard to find cheap though and often the 7770 makes more sense even though it's slightly slower.

It was the 470 and 480's that were stupidly power hungry and hot, not the 460. It was the only card Nvidia did right with that range.

Originally posted by patrikd23

Radeon 7970 is most bang for the bucks. I bought Gigabyte 7970  3gb. I am very satiesfied.

Before that I got this card I had bought a Gigabyte GTX 670 4gb so I tried bought cards and my computer liked the amd one more since it got better score and better fps than the gtx one for the same money.  I am happy I had the chance to return it and get the 7970 insted.

I had to clock my cpu i7 though since it botttlenecked my 7970, got it from 2.66ghz to 3.52ghz. The cpu holds at 54c now thanks to the watercooling I bought for around 50 euro. And the gigabyte graficcards have 3 nice fans, I will never buy a card with 1 fan. The GTX one was on 61c and the Radeon on 65-69c when benchmarked or in game.

Both cards are good, but Radeon 7970 is still bang for the bucks.

The 7970 is the top end flagship card and certainly not "bang for the bucks", it's AMD's most expensive card. The real cards with good cost to performance ratios from them right now are 7870 and 7950's.

Your post is like telling someone a ferrari is cost effective for someone who just wants to do a 20min drive to work in the city. I also doubt you saw much if any difference going from a 670 to a 7970 unless you're gaming at say 1600x2560 or multi monitor resolutions, if you're on 1080p then the difference is likely in your head.

Originally posted by Eir_S

Well I already have a few extra hard drives, and one has Win7 on it already, so that's not a problem, but after reading this, I decided to just build my own.  I've basically done everything in the past except screwing the mobo to the case.  I already have a power supply and extra RAM as well.

For a card I'm looking more at a Radeon HD 7750 or 7770 now.  I don't really want an Nvidia since I've heard there have been issues with GW2 (some of these stories coming directly from friends). 

Either of them scored high on http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

I could even spring for the 7850, but it's doubtful on the budget I'm working with.  Then again, I've been looking around and prices can vary wildly on computer parts depending on where you shop.

Funny, my friends who had issues had ATI cards, I never had any problems with my 480 GTX. In any case problems like that was due to bad early drivers just after launch and really isnt a reason to select your card anymore.

The reason to use a ATI card is instead that they are cheaper for mid performance and you are on a budget.

My advice is still to check if one of your friends arent upgrading soon, with some luck you can get a few years old acceptable card cheap there. A card that is a few years old but was good then still often is as good as a medium price card today, and that would leave you some money to get an SSD instead (if you dont have one already), it cuts the loading time in GW2 fine. :)

280 ??

Why not at least a 480, or 580 ?

280 is ages old