GeForce 8400GS or GT520 or GT610 or Radeon 6570?

[poopie420]

I have given up on getting the Intel HD 4000 graphics to work with hardware acceleration (qe/ci) on ML with my GA-Z77-D3H mobo. I'd like to buy the most basic graphics card that can give me full 1080p on it's HDMI port with hardware acceleration (qe/ci) on Mountain Lion. I don't play alot of games and I am not a video editor or hardcore overclocker/gamer or even a pro. I would prefer a complete working OOB solution that does not need any GraphicsEnabler=no (I hear it's best that way, no external drivers, etc).

I checked my local WorstBuy (can't wait for mail order), and I found they have these el-cheapo cards in stock:

Galaxy - NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS 512MB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card - $50
Galaxy - GeForce GT 520 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card - $70
EVGA - GeForce GT 610 2GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card - $80
XFX - Radeon HD 6570 1GB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card - $100

Does anyone have any of these boards or have confirmed they work with ML? Thanks for your help.

 

[Mate94]

I would go with the GT520.

 

[poopie420]

I would go with the GT520.

Any specific reason why? Better ML support? Personal experience?

For $10 more the video memory doubles to 2 GB on the GT 610..

 

[Mate94]

The GT610 is just a rebadged GT520. And 2GB DDR3... please.

 

[poopie420]

The GT610 is just a rebadged GT520. And 2GB DDR3... please.

Oh I see... the GT610 only has a 64bit memory bandwidth so the full 2GB of VRAM never actually gets utilized. Interesting...

How do you feel about the Radeon?

 

[Mate94]

The reviews are various about that card, so...

I think a Kepler-based GT640 is what you are looking for.

 

[poopie420]

The reviews are various about that card, so...

I think a Kepler-based GT640 is what you are looking for.

Just to update anyone who might be in a similar situation, I went to BestBuy and they had the EVGA GT610 with a $50 sticker on it so I said hey that's cheap and not advertised let me buy it. When I get to check out, turns out it was just misplaced and was still listed for $80. The sales guy did a price match for me and I got the $80 card for $50. I thought I was so awesomely lucky.

Unfortunately, the GT610 is also complete ****, could not get UniBeast or ML to work properly. I ended up running to Fry's and buying the EVGA 2GB GT640 that TonyMac himself recommended. I used the internal HD 4000 graphics to do the install, and then popped the GT640 in, passed "GraphicsEnabler=No" and everything works beautifully. Full QE/CI acceleration and it's super smooth.

For my next build, which I just ordered the parts for, I planned on an Areca 1882i (PCI x8 Slot) RAID card, 2 x StarTech Quad Port NICs (PCI x4 slots) so I have no spare full size PCI x16 slot. I ordered the HIS Radeon HD 6450 Low-Profile PCI x1 card instead for this new build. It's a 4U server anyway with 24 drives I don't care about graphics performance just complete functionality. We'll see how that one pans out. I expect same install procedure, but who knows.

 

[MAD AUDI SCIENTIST]

GT610 FIX by beelzebozo.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/graphics/64658-nvidia-gt610-10-8-fix.html

Works on Gigabyte GT610 1GB card. HDMI tested only.