GPU for a Dell 3007WFP
Having decided on a gorgeous 30-inch Dell 3007WFP, the next question is: what kind of graphics card should I buy to drive it? My current card is a Nvidia GeForce 6500 with no dual-link DVI output, so I have to upgrade. About the dual-link DVI: a normal DVI connection has the bandwidth to output images of size up to 1920×1200, but I need 2560×1600… Luckily someone invented dual-link DVI which doubles the bandwidth. This should not be confused with having two single-link DVI connections on the same card. Of those cards with two DVI connections, some have one dual-link and one single-link DVI. There are also high-end cards with two dual-link connections. Nvidia has a list of dual-link DVI cards online.
I don’t plan to do lots of 3D graphics, so I don’t need a particular fast card, the only requirement is that it has dual-link DVI. And it should preferrable be without a fan. AnandTech recently had a story on fan-less graphics cards where they concluded that a Gigabyte 7600 GS/GT gave a good performance. They of course tested it mostly for 3D performance, but I need 2D performance. How much of a difference are there between modern graphics cards in 2D performance?
Please give me your suggestions.
Dan V. P. Christiansen:
Nowadays, most operating systems use the GPU for both 3D and 2D acceleration. For instance, whether you run Windows Vista, Mac OS X, or a recent Linux distro, you’ll have all windows drawn as a 3D surface. I have no experience with it myself, but I suspect that big a monitor will require a bit of GPU oomph, so I’d say go for the slightly more expensive one. Plus, lots of VRAM will probably be A Good Thing ;)
20 November 2006, 7:12 pmMartin Geisler:
Thanks for the comment — I decided on an ASUS EN7600GS Silent with 256 MB of RAM. I have it in my machine now and it works nicely with my old monitor. Now I’m ready for the big one :-)
20 November 2006, 8:51 pmMartin Geisler:
The GeForce 7600GS has now been running for some hours and the temperature has stabilized at ~62°C. I don’t know how it will react to driving twice as many pixels when my monitor arrives, but so far it’s looking good.
So I’m very happy with this card so far!
21 November 2006, 12:48 amDonal McMullan:
I found your blog because I’m looking for a Graphics card for the 3007WFP I just ordered… are you still pretty happy with the card you bought? Like you, I really just want to use it for hacking and watching movies… I’m not really a gamer. I’ll be disappointed though, if movies don’t look awesome on the big monitor.
Anyways - thanks for sharing!
1 February 2007, 10:32 pmMartin Geisler:
Yes, the graphics card is still going strong! The card runs at about ~65°C when I use the machine for normal 2D tasks, but the temperature goes up quickly if I run a game like Scorched3D at 2560×1600 (yes, it runs fine at that resolution!). I have yet to see where the temperature stabilizes, I stopped at 90°C…
I haven’t noticed any kind of problem with playing DVDs or with my TV tuner card.
Good luck with your new monitor! :-)
1 February 2007, 11:40 pm