Older PC: Geforce GTX 550 TI or Geforce GTX 460

EnyeL · Sep 11, 2013

Hello Everyone,

After reading alot of reviews and informing myself alot about this subject, I know the obvious answer, in comparison to how these two cards compete on a modern PC.

I see that the Geforce GTX 460 is better than the 550 TI for almost the same price.

Although one question I have is how that applies to a Game like League of Legends, which is considered older, since that is so far mainly the only game I used to play and which ran smoothly at low settings on my Geforce 8800 GT, before it broke a few weeks ago.

My system is fairly old:

Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 5600+ 2.91 GHZ
Asus M2N-E
4 GB Ram
470 Watt PSU
My Monitor Resolution is 1920 x 1080.

My goal is mainly to play League of Legends on high FPS at highest settings.

I bought a used Geforce 550 TI a few days ago, which hasn`t arrived yet, with the thinking that this is the best card I could use on my PC.

I informed myself about PCI Express compatibility on this forum and found out that my mainboard can only use 2.0 PCI cards and that there is no bios update that can change or tweak that in any way.

Where I was wrong, after my head was already starting to smoke, as I was attempting to get up to date with the new technology, that I thought I could not use any other GFX card other than 1x 6 Pin.

I later found out, after I bought the 550 Ti, that I have the necessary cables to power a 2x 6Pin card, with one of those adapters, like a 460 GTX, with my psu... but so far those cables were used for Floppy and CD... which I never use anyways.

Now my question is, concerning my really old CPU and basically PC overall, will it be worth to buy a 460 GTX over the 550 Ti, meaning I try to resell the 550 Ti for a similar price.

Or is it a waste of time and money, before I decide to upgrade the rest of my PC.

I know I already have somewhat a CPU bottleneck with that 550 Ti, I just wonder if it would be still worth it to get the 460 GTX.

How much will the difference be in League of Legends on highest settings between these two cards... and what newer games will I be able to play somewhat decently with my current system, does not have to be on absolutely highest settings.

As you can tell I have been out of the "scene" for some time and was just wondering what this GPU upgrade will make me become able to play.

So is it worth it to buy a 460 GTX, for League of Legends or newer games or will my CPU bottleneck not make any difference that can be felt between the 550 Ti and 460 GTX.

It would be nice if some of you could give me some answers to these questions, at the moment I do not plan to upgrade any of my system, since I only play League of Legends. I`m just wondering what else I can play or what games my CPU definately will have problems with, beside having a "better" GFX card now.

I know those are a lot of questions, but I would be very glad, if somebody who has some knowledge could bring me a bit up to date and most importantly tell me if it would be worth it for me to buy the 460 GTX and sell the 550 Ti again and what percentage in performance increase I could expect.

Thank you very much for your help, it is highly appreciated, because I`m a bit mad at myself, after spending hours and hours on researching, that I still made this "mistake", since both cards are almost available for the same price.

dextermat · Sep 11, 2013

Hi,

Since you only plan on playing LOL

Recommended System Requirements
3 GHz processor
2 GB of RAM (Windows Vista and 7 users will want 4 GB of RAM or more)
6 GB available hard disk space
GeForce 8800 or equivalent video card (Dedicated GPU with 512MB+ Video Memory(VRAM))
Support for DirectX v9.0c or better.
Windows XP with the latest service pack installed, Windows Vista with the latest service pack installed, or Windows 7 (Mac OS and Linux are currently not supported)
The latest update to .NET Framework from Microsoft

Now about you power concerns: if you cpu has 1 X 6 pin you should be fine, all the 550 ti I have ssen only needed one. There it depends on the brand I guess.

The only concern I have is if you CPU is strong enough for the game. It's probably close to 3 ghz, so you could maybe overclock it a bit (usually Athlon are easy to overclock)

Deemo13 · Sep 11, 2013

Your CPU is strong enough for the game, I have an Athlon 64 X2 4600+, and I can play League of Legends on it. The 550Ti will be bottlenecked by the processor, but that will not be a big deal in LoL.

EnyeL · Sep 11, 2013

Thanks for your answers so far.

@Dexter

I have red the requirements for the game, with my old Geforce 8800 GT I basically had the exact lowest required PC that was needed for League of Legends, but I was not able to play League of Legends on highest settings with that CPU and GFX card, even on lowest settings in a 5on5 teamfight, the fps dropped to ~ 40.
So those requirements don`t tell you, what you need to play on high fps at highest settings.

I`m quite certain that my PSU is good enough and has the right cables for the 550 Ti, as it needs the same 1x6 pin as my old 8800 GT.
But using those Molinex Adapters I could even power a 2x 6Pin GFX card, which is why I asked about the Geforce 460 GTX and whether it is worth it to sell the 550 Ti again and buy a GTX 460.

I updated my PC information, it is a 2.91 GHZ Dual Core.

@Deemo 13:

That is good to hear, do you play on highest settings with high fps? What Graphic Card do you have?

Even though I`m currently only playing League of Legends, I`m still considering to explore some newer games and was wondering, which ones I will now be able to play and whether an upgrade to a GTX 460 would make any difference in that regard.

I liked playing Ghost Recon Online for example, but my Geforce 8800 GT was not capable of really handling that game.
So I`m looking forward to expanding my repertoire of games I like to play.

Deemo13 · Sep 11, 2013

I play at medium or so just to be sure its smooth. It should work fine. The 550Ti you just bought should suffice.

EnyeL · Sep 11, 2013

So I assume for League of Legends the 550 Ti will be good enough most likely.

But if I want to play newer games now aswell, are there any better PCI Express 2.0 cards, that will still give me good performance increase beside, my old CPU?

So far I thought about the GTX 460... will I be able to feel a difference between the 550 TI and GTX 460?
Or can I even get a better Graphic Card for my system and still feel a proportional increase in performance?

What do you guys think would be the best card that has PCI Express 2.0, since my Mainboard cannot support anything above, that would give me a very good increase in performance, so that I can also play newer games at decent settings?

I really have no idea how much influence my cpu has on those newer games, so if there would be a way for me of just buying a new graphic card and becoming able to play those newer games at a decent performance, that would be great.

Thanks for your responses!

EnyeL · Sep 11, 2013

I`m a bit surprised right now, I just saw that my Mainboard is actually capable of supporting much better CPU`s still, I always thought the Athlon 64 were the best ones that it could support for some reason, which is absolutely not the case.

According to this list I could even run a Quad Core Cpu on it: http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/list.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=M2N-E&p=1

So which would be my best approach right now, to get a good increase in performance for newer games.

Just buying a new graphic card that is really good, or buying a middle good graphic card and a new cpu?
Which approach would give me the best result and which cpu and gpu combination for my system could you think of?

What would be my best approach, if I would like to spend around 100 - 150€ at most right now?
Would I get a good CPU and Graphic Card for that price? Or is it better to just buy a good Graphic Card?

Deemo13 · Sep 11, 2013

PCI-e is all compatible. PCI-e 2.0 is compatible with 3.0 and 1.0.

You should be able to buy a first generation Phenom.

Also, make sure you have an adequate power supply for the computer and the graphics card.

I would save up for a whole new computer, but it really depends on the games you play other than League of Legends

EnyeL · Sep 12, 2013

I know but my Mainboard has PCI-e 1.1 I think, so 2.0 is the most I can use, after I have informed myself extensively.
For some Mainboards there is a bios update, which makes it compatible with 2.1 or 3.0, but for my mainboard I didnt find any update that would do that. But if you know anything else about that, please feel free to share.

What is a first generation Phenom, could you name an example?

My question is would it be better to get a good graphic card, or a middle good graphic card + a new cpu.

I don`t know about the games yet, I liked Ghost Recon Online as I said, which was barely playable, even on lowest settings, with my old Geforce 8800 GT.

I just feel like investing a bit of money into a upgrade and wonder what would be the best solution for me, if I don`
t want to spend that much, but still be able to play more of the newer games.

If I decide to play more things than just League of Legends, would it be wise to sell the 550 Ti and buy a Geforce GTX 460 or even a better card still, depending if I want to upgrade my CPU aswell or just the Graphic Card?

I`m thinking right now that a GTX 460 + CPU might be a good solution or even a better graphic card, but then I keep my old cpu still and may be upgrade it later, what do you guys think?

The problem is that due to my mainboard being only capable of PCI-e 2.0 at most, I`m rather restricted in upgrading my graphic card, so I wonder if GTX 460 + new CPU would be a good and cheap solution, before I throw a bit more money in, but still don`t get any great results, because my board cannot handle any better cards.

I thought about buying those parts used via ebay and paypal, since it is quite save that way, that I know the things will work or I get my money back.

I`m just thinking right now, that one way or the other, if I wish to go beyond League of Legends the GTX 550 Ti, might be to weak and it is better if I sell it again and buy a GTX 460 or better, depending on the solution and ideas you guys will share with me.

Deemo13 · Sep 12, 2013

First generation Phenom is a processor, and it is the fastest one that your board can take. Unfortunately, you cannot find them new. Usually its like :

AMD Phenom Quad Core 9550 (or something, thats probably not the right number)

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html

This list can show you the different first generation Phenoms.

The 550Ti and 460 are not that far apart in performance. The 460 is only a tad faster.

Also, all I know is that I have run 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 and everything in between on my computer. I have an old AM2+ computer. But maybe its not compatible, not sure about those older things.

It wouldnt be too much of a waste if you dont put too much money in.

EnyeL · Sep 12, 2013

Thanks for your help so far Deemo!

So I just looked on ebay and saw that the cpu you mentioned only costs around 30 - 45 € used, which is much cheaper than I thought.

So would it be a good idea to buy a AMD Phenom Quad Core 9550 and a Geforce GTX 460 or should I even go for a slightly better graphic card then, since now I won`t experience a cpu bottleneck anymore.

I bought the Geforce GTX 550 Ti, for 50 € used and I think I can buy a GTX 460 for 60-65€ used, it is just a bit of a hassle, to resell the 550 Ti again... but with a cpu upgrade, I believe it would be worth it.

So I`m quite certain now, that I will buy the cpu that you mentioned since it is really cheap... now I`m just wondering with graphic card I should add, that gives me a good performance increase.

Combined for GTX 460 and new CPU would be around 100€ I guess, which would be a huge boost to what I currently have, I just wonder if its worth it to buy an even better graphic card, or stick with GTX 460 then.

Deemo13 · Sep 12, 2013

I mean personally I dont believe that the jump between the 550Ti and the 460 is enough to warrant reselling it. The performance difference is marginal, and you would need to use a connector for power, which probably means your power supply wasnt enough to support it to begin with.

Make sure the seller is reputable. You probably know about buying used stuff on ebay. Your motherboard should be able to support these processors, as they are AM2.

Look for some of the fastest ones on the list posted above. The original Phenoms are a little faster. I would look for a 9950 if you could. The 9550 might not be that much of a performance upgrade for you according to the list.

EnyeL · Sep 12, 2013

When I looked at Futuremark performance, it is quite a big increase still.

Geforce GTX 550 Ti: 2510
Geforce GTX 460: 3570

The reviews showed a similar gap between the two, although I have to say that in terms of frame rate in games, the difference was much less depending on the games between these two.
In newer games it was 10 FPS at most and in older ones it was around 20 FPS.

I thought that a Quad Core CPU would be much better, but I see that for games that do not utilize Quad Core yet, the best best CPU I could get would even have less GHZ than my current one.

So is it rather not a good idea then to buy a new CPU and instead buy a better graphic card, even better than 460 GTX to get a better performance boost?

I`m still quite confused on this matter, it would be nice if some of you could help me with that.

My PSU has 460 Watt, on R12 V1: 180W, on R12 V2: 192W.

Edit: I just saw that I red your post wrong, you meant that I would need to atleast get the 9950 to get a good performance boost.

The question still is, is it worth it to buy a new CPU, since it has less GHZ than my current one in games, that do not use the quad core yet, or should I go for a better graphic card still... or will that be a waste of money aswell, since my cpu will start bottlenecking?

Although on this page: http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/list.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=M2N-E&p=1

It says that I could even use a Phenom IIX4 945, which is a 2nd Gen Phenom, isn`t that right?

I know i have many questions, but I`m just wondering what would be the best approach for me right now.

RobCrezz · Sep 12, 2013

My friend plays LoL on a GTX 460 and plays with all settings on highest in 1080p.

Deemo13 · Sep 12, 2013

I guess it does say it would work. You might have to do a BIOS flash or so. The X4 945 is a very good processor. I have one in one of my computers. Very solid and runs every game on whatever setting I want.

I also run a X4 965 in my main computer.

If you want to sell your 550Ti back, you definitely can. The 460 is a good card, and I run one on my main computer.

You wouldnt happen to know the 12V amperage on your 12V rails on the power supply would you?

The thing about your current CPU is that it is showing its age. With a better than 460 graphics card, you would not see much of an increase, since your processor would be holding you back.

EnyeL · Sep 12, 2013

The Amperage is 15 A and 16 A.

I just saw that the X4 945 also only costs around 50€ used.
If I decide to buy a CPU in that category, would the 460 GTX still be a good addition, or should I even aim for a better graphic card, since I should not experience a bottleneck anymore.

The only problem is that the graphic card has to be 2.0 PCI-e, since my mainboard cannot handle 2.1 or 3.0.
And so far I saw that only Geforce seems to have better graphic cards who still are 2.0 PCI-e.

I think a new cpu + GTX 460, would be a good deal for me right now, being around 120 € for both, this upgrade should give me a great performance boost, in comparison to my current system.

The only thing I`m still considering right now, is whether or not it would be worth it to for the GTX 480.

I just saw that a used GTX 480 already sells for 80 € which is just a little bit more than the GTX 460 in average, would it be worth it, would I feel the difference between these two?

My position right now is, even though I thought it was a minor mistake to get the 550 Ti, I will be able to play League of Legends with it at max settings or around that.

So now I have time to look for a new CPU and when I got a new CPU, I can consider selling the 550 Ti and upgrade maybe to a 480 GTX, would that be a good system then, even for newer games?

Deemo13 · Sep 12, 2013

The 945 wont bottleneck anything up to a Radeon HD7870 or 7950, so you should be fine.

I would highly recommend a new power supply. I have a 350W Dell that has 2 12V rails, with 16a on each rail. Thats definitely not enough power.

The 480 is a very good card. Keeps pace with my 6950.

EnyeL · Sep 12, 2013

Which graphic card would still work with my old PSU, right now I don`t want to spend to much.
So it would be nice if I could keep my old PSU.

Isn`t 460 Watt enough, or are the Ampere on each 12V rail the problem in powering the graphic card?

Deemo13 · Sep 12, 2013

The amperage on the 12V rail is important, since the 12V rail is what powers the GPU and CPU.

You're probably good for a little less than 30a on the 12V rail.

That might be enough, and you could go for it if you want, but I do not recommend it, or rather, I do not feel safe recommending it. I would only go for a graphics card that has 1 connector to be safe.

EnyeL · Sep 12, 2013

Ok thanks for your honest opinion, so the 550 Ti would be after all the best graphic card that can savely run on my current system.

I think I will wait for the 550 Ti to arrive, test League of Legends, some other games and then see what I do from there.
I assume it would be save to upgrade the cpu with my old PSU, but it would not be save to upgrade my graphic card beyond anything with 1x6 pin with my current psu is that correct?

How much Ampere do newer graphic cards and newer CPUs usually need on the 12V rail, I find that information highly confusing, since everywhere you just see how much Watt a graphic card approximately needs to run.

Would it still be unsafe, to go for the new cpu and just a GTX 460, while keeping my current PSU?

EnyeL · Sep 12, 2013

I did some research and saw that the GTX 460 needs around 13 Amperage and that many people were able to run it with a similar psu as mine. The GTX 480 on the other hand needs around 20 - 25 Amperage which would be to much for my psu I think.

I think I will get a GTX 460 and a Phenom II X4 945, that won`t be to expensive... but I think I will have a upgrade with which I will be quite satisfied.

Thank you Deemo for helping me so much and giving me great advice and taking the time to explain everything to me.

EnyeL · Sep 13, 2013

I have one more question.

I`m considering right now to get a GTX 560, since it has the same amperage as the GTX 460.
Or even a 560 Ti, which has around 17 amperage.

My PSU has 180W & 15A on one 12v rail and 195W & 16A on the other 12 v rail.
Total watt is 460.

When i add the 180W and 195W and divide them by 12, I get an Amperage of 31A.

Would 17 Amperage + the Amperage of a new cpu, be to close to the max potential of my psu?

Looking at a review of the 560 Ti, I saw that the full system load of their review was 320W, which is still less than what my PSU can put out.

So am I reading something wrong, or could my system handle a 560 Ti, or is it to close to the max level?

Would be nice if somebody could help me there.

Deemo13 · Sep 13, 2013

It would be pushing it. I wouldnt recommend it, but its up to your discretion.

In a sense, the 560 is just a highly overclocked 460. Its a good card.

RobCrezz · Sep 13, 2013

Deemo13 :

That is true. But the 560ti he mentions isnt, it has more cores then the 460 and 560.

The 560ti is a great card if you can get one cheap. Im still using one.

Older PC: Geforce GTX 550 TI or Geforce GTX 460

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