Dragon Age Inquisition - Benefit from graphics card upgrade?

kol12 · Jan 29, 2015

Hi, Im playing Dragon Age Inquisition quite smoothly on my machine on the settings I have but feel certain areas could be improved most noticeably when characters effects are used in battle. Are the effects cpu reliant or gpu? Would a graphics card upgrade improve this area?

System: Asus p5kr
Intel Q6700 (AI nos 2.8ghz)
6gb ram ddr2 800
Ati HD5770
High Power 430w

Robert Cook · Jan 29, 2015

I think your graphics card is a limiting factor, however, I think the CPU may be a bit old for that game too. I have a core two duo from about the same age with the same architecture, and I find it to be running at about 50-60 percent load on minecraft, which could implies that this game you speak of would be better on a newer CPU. BUT, what is dragon age? is it cpu or gpu intensive? I can't say for certain what really needs the upgrade with out knowing.

kol12 · Jan 29, 2015

Its Dragon Age Inquisition. "Is it cpu or gpu intensive?" Thats what my question is..

kol12 · Jan 29, 2015

I'm not in a position for a new gen cpu so I want to know if I would benefit from a graphics card upgrade for this game.

Supernova1138 · Jan 29, 2015

Dragon Age seems to be both CPU and GPU heavy and isn't very well optimized. I think you would probably benefit more from a GPU upgrade than a CPU upgrade for that particular game, as the 5770 is quite old and isn't even really considered entry level anymore for gaming. Most really big jumps from your current graphics card would probably be held back somewhat by your CPU, but you would still see an improvement with a new graphics card.

kol12 · Jan 29, 2015

Thanks. Any recommendations on a suitable upgrade to suit cpu?

Supernova1138 · Jan 30, 2015

Depends on how much you are willing to spend, higher end cards will probably require a new power supply though, as yours is of a rather low wattage. Something like a GTX 750Ti would provide a reasonable performance boost, isn't too expensive and doesn't consume much power, it is the entry level card at this point though, so it may not be the greatest if you want to use it for more than 2 to 3 years before upgrading again. Most cards above the 750Ti level of performance would likely be held back by your CPU.

It may be time to look into doing a new build, as everything you have is pretty old, but a 750Ti would be a decent stop gap measure to keep you playing more current titles, at least in the short term.

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

Thanks. I'm hoping to upgrade this year but you've got it exactly right that I'm trying to do some upgrades in the mean time. I'm considering a new psu for this system now cause I agree a graphics card will need it. Perhaps a 600 - 650w?

How much power does the 750Ti need? What sort of cards would I be looking at with a psu upgrade?

I'm also thinking depending on how long I used them a new psu and graphics card could be used in a new system. Good idea?

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

And I can always upgrade the graphics card again if a new gen cpu requires something better..

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

What about this card?

560GTX Ti Twin Frozr II 2G DDR5

Supernova1138 · Jan 30, 2015

The 560Ti is almost as old as your 5770. It is a good deal faster, and will perform roughly similarly to a GTX 750Ti, but it will use a lot more power than a 750Ti.

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

Hmm, I'll have to look around, most of the 750Ti where I live are brand new and a wee bit much for me for a short term upgrade but did you say that card would run on my current power supply?

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

That card has a 128 bit memory interface, isn't more in a memory interface better? The 560Ti has 256 bit I think.

Supernova1138 · Jan 30, 2015

The 750Ti will run just fine on your power supply, it uses so little power that most of them don't even need an auxiliary 6 pin PCI-E connector. The 560Ti I would be hesitant running on a 430 Watt power supply, even if it was a very good one. The Fermi cards were quite power hungry, and the 560Ti would probably be using almost twice the power your 5770 currently draws.

Looking at specs also isn't the best way to gauge performance. The 750Ti is a lot newer and has newer technologies that allow it to do more with less. Performance between the two cards should be roughly equal, with the 560Ti maybe being slightly faster.

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

Cool I'll have to think about that. Don't suppose you know anything about overclocking?

Supernova1138 · Jan 30, 2015

I don't know much about overclocking older LGA775 CPUs, I'm sure there is an overclocking guide located somewhere in the overclocking subforum if you are looking to squeeze a little more performance out of your old CPU, just make sure you have a decent aftermarket CPU cooler to deal with the extra heat you're going to generate.

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

If I did decide to upgrade my psu would you recommend any different cards?

bystander · Jan 30, 2015

I do not believe the game will run with your CPU either. At least at launch, it did not run on 2 core systems. Though it eventually ran on i3's a patch or 2 later, which are 2 cores + hyper threading. They are also a lot faster than what you have.

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

I have a q6700 which is quad core. I have been running the game reasonably well actually but my graphics card is apparently quite old now and am deciding on what the best upgrade would be short term.

bystander · Jan 30, 2015

Ah, ok, if it is a quad, then it will do ok. Not great, but the GPU would likely be the better improvement.

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

Yeah I'm looking into it.

gamerk316 · Jan 30, 2015

Your GPU is a lot newer then your CPU. DA:I is very CPU heavy; even my i7 2600k struggles at times. My GPU is a 770 GTX (Factory OC), and I have to play High settings because it simply can't handle Ultra. I really think the CPU is your main problem, though both components are going to limit you to some extent.

bystander · Jan 30, 2015

gamerk316 :

Your problem is most likely the 2Gb of VRAM on the 770. The game also guzzles VRAM for breakfast.

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

I think my cpu is capable of running the game on lower settings which I currently am. I'm sure a cpu upgrade would make a great difference as well but i'm in no position for this right now so we're trying to decide whether a graphics card upgrade will be of any benefit to this game and some future games in the mean time.

kol12 · Jan 30, 2015

Supernova, the Gtx 750 Ti looks like it would be exactly the right card at this point in time unless there are some older gen cards that might be a bit faster and not held back by cpu..

Dragon Age Inquisition - Benefit from graphics card upgrade?

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