Hardware Cheap, Efficient GPU?

[Fishaman P]

Yo, I'm looking for a good graphics card (i.e., fast enough to run Mario Kart Wii on Dolphin at 100% speed) that doesn't draw much power or generate a lot of heat. Right now I'm looking at the ATI Radeon HD 5670, but $100 seems a little steep for something "weak" like that.

- 500 Watt power supply
- 2 +12V rails
- Both have 18A
- Intel Core i3 540
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- Correct type of motherboard for Intel's integrated graphics on the processor
- ~$100, although I can go probably $120 if that gets me a MUCH better value.

 

[Bunie]

Nvidia GPU's are generally cheaper. i think. unfortunately due to several different distributors and forms, you never know what your in for when you get one. all i can suggest is finding a store that allows returns ^^ Intel i3's majorly vary in power. i have a PC with an Athlon II clocked at 2.8Ghz and an Nvidia Geforce 9500, and its still too weak to run Dolphin.

 

[zeromac]

ATI 5570? Its what my computer is using atm

 

[ppowerman5000]

Well from my experience, I recently build a pc a phenom 2 x6 1055t overclocked @ 4.0GHZ...and a radeon hd 6850, and the dolphin emu runs all the games at 60fps...mario kart,galaxy 1 and 2, kirby epic yarn,donkey kong country returns...so thats my recomended specs for dolphin, cause it runs flawlesly on my system, good luck, there.

 

[jefffisher]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-radeon-hd-6870-geforce-gtx-570,2834.html

tomshardware monthly guide always good info uptodate

 

[Fishaman P]

@Bunie: Aren't athlon II's mobile processors? Like the Celerons?
@zeromac: No, the 5670 is MUCH different than the 5570.
@ppowerman5000: Don't have that kind of money.
@jefffisher: There's a field called "attached link".

Sorry about details guys, I meant fast enough to run basically every Dolphin-supported game at 100%/60FPS. I realized that MKWii ran 95% on a Core 2 Quad and an NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT.