Need to upgrade ATI 6850

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phoenix2012

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Mar 24, 2013
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hi. i'm looking at upgrading my graphics card but i have no idea what to get. i'm from australia so prices are a little bit higher here unfortunately.

anyway... this is my current setup. i've recently upgraded everything, except the gpu at this point.

i5 3570K @ 3.8ghz with Noctua U12 heatsink
8GB G.Skill 2400 Ripjaw-X
Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
XFX 6850 1GB
620W Corsair HX620
Windows 8 PRO

Prices for cards are below (this middle column):
http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

I'm open to either Nvidia or Radeon. I don't want to spend over $300 though. 7870 or maybe a 7950 pushing the budget just a little. I have read 660 sucks compared to 7870.

Or... even a 7870 + another 8GB set of the Ripjaw-X's? Or is that pointless?

I play Starcraft 2 90% of the time. I do play other stuff occasionally. No video editing or anything other then games.

Monitor is a Samsung S27A950D (1920x1080 with a DVI).

Also I think setting it to 120hz affects SC2. Especially if everything on catalyst is turned on. Stuff like filtering, maximum AA etc. I only get 50+ fps. I think what bothers me most, this card is extremely loud on load. I guess because its only 1GB its close to being maxed out.

On the other hand if I have everything on except Shaders (in sc2), I get 140+ fps. Never under 100fps. Still loud under load though.

 
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phoenix2012

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Mar 24, 2013
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thought of that. but I'd have to spend $100+ on a used 6850. I've got a buyer for mine for $120 already, so I could just get a 7000 series card for the same price of a CF.



I'll try looking for that. Thanks.

 
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spawnkiller

spawnkiller

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Jan 23, 2013
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I don't think you actually need to upgrade now, i would wait for upcoming 8000 series and 700 series as a 6850 is still faster than a 7770...

If you want an upgrade, you'll need to upgrade to a 7850 at least to see some gains and even there, it'll be about a 15-20% faster only...

For the cheapest possible and the better at the same time, i would pick a 7870 LE (a 7950 chip downclocked and a lot faster than the normal 7870 but a lot cheaper than the 7950) You could find one at around 250$ and sometime by roughly 220$ with mail-in rebate

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=78372&promoid=1293
 
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phoenix2012

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Mar 24, 2013
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thanks. I tried looking, can't seem to find that 7870 LE at any of the stores here. (i'm in Australia). There's no Powercolor 7870 Tahiti LE.

so I should just wait for the 8000 series?
 
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spawnkiller

spawnkiller

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i would wait as for 200$ only a 20% performance gain is a lot paid for about nothing in my opinion, you are still able to play all the title out now with your 6850 (not maxed out but you can play) and 200$ on the newer generation this summer or soon after will be better spent as the gain will be more like 50%+ (the 8870 or the 8950 will be faster than their predecessors by about 20% so it'll be a huge gain over your 6850 for the same price)

I usually change my GPU at 2 generation intervals (had a X850XTPE change it to a 1950Pro, a 3850, a 5770, a 680 and 2 560ti on another pc for now) i think this is the optimal spot for the price i pay as it's a real upgrade that i notice, not an upgrade that wasn't needed...
 
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phoenix2012

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Mar 24, 2013
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ok that sounds alright. I was actually only going to spend about $120ish, because I have a buyer for my 6850 for $120 cash.

makes sense on the 2 series intervals though. my last card was 4870, and now 6850 early last year. I just hope the 8870 won't be in the $300's or $400. not sure what cards cost at release time. I hope not.

thanks for the help btw.
 
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spawnkiller

spawnkiller

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generally the *870 series comes out at about 250$ to 300 then sells for 200 to 250$ 1-2 months after depending on the versions, brands, etc. They also are the best bang for the bucks...

Yeah, for 120$ none of the newer card will be an upgrade, the 7770 is slower and sell for 150 and the 650ti is also slower in the same price range... You will need 200$ to at least to upgrade in the current generation of cards and get improvement (and not a lot as you'll need 300 to upgrade to a 7950 and really see the difference)
 
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