5770 reference design?

[sonicseamus]

I am interested in getting an 5770 for my system because I am tired of HD3000 artifacts and I heard it works OOB. However, I'm a little unsure on how to get this card. The mac pro version is still available but obviously super expensive. On newegg, there don't appear to be any 5770 models available, and amazon appears to only have used ones.

If I buy used (probably from eBay), what models of the card should I look for that will work OOB? I've heard that the XFX has had problems, but its design appears to be the reference design (which I believe is 2 DVI 1 DP 1 HDMI) so I am unsure as to why it wouldn't work. Am I correct in saying that this is the port layout that will work OOB? If not, what is it?

I'm hoping to get this card because it'll cost me $100 or less and give me full OOB support. Is there another $100 or less card that's still available that would work as well or better than the 5770 that'll work natively? I don't know many NVIDIA cards, so maybe some of those are options.

 

[sonicseamus]

Great thanks! Exactly what model is this? A link would suffice.

Thanks again,

Seamus

 

[visusest]

The 5770 I use is a ref design (see sig for part number) - less than $100 on ebay.

An easy way to determine if a card is a reference design is to compare pictures of the bottom side of the card to a known reference design. Usually a google search for the part number will have the Newegg product page in the first few results, and Newegg always has nice hi res pictures of the cards. Pay attention to the placement of the IC's (chips) - that's an easy way to figure it out.

I believe there are 2 versions of reference design 5770's, but I'm not sure.

If you are looking for really cheap - GT240's can be had for $50 or less and are still relatively powerful - especially for the price.