Best possible GPU for 1440x900 gaming without bottlenecking/overkill?

[renaldtao3]

What's the absolute best GPU I can get get right now to use with a 19" LCD for games like HL2, Bioshock, COD4, Crysis(although I know its in a category of its one) with highest settings and as much AA and AF as possible? Native res. is 1440x900. Thanks.

 

[stephensolofo]

MY 3870 runs everyhting perfect.

 

[stephensolofo]

forgot to mention i play all of those and on high(even crysis with 4xaa)@1440x900.

 

[Blackra1n]

I've seen a BFG 8800GTS 512MB do Crysis at HIGH (with 8XAA) in 1920X1200

 

[lunyone]

What's your budget? If it's under $200 than a 3850 512mb would do. If around $250 or so a 3870 or a 8800gt (although it can be a little hot running). If you have a about $300 than the 8800gts 512mb (g92) would be the best bet. If you have $450 or so than the 3870x2 would be the best. It all depends on your budget.

 

[renaldtao3]

What's your budget? If it's under $200 than a 3850 512mb would do. If around $250 or so a 3870 or a 8800gt (although it can be a little hot running). If you have a about $300 than the 8800gts 512mb (g92) would be the best bet. If you have $450 or so than the 3870x2 would be the best. It all depends on your budget.

I'm thinking an 8800GTX or 3870x2 would be overkill with that res. no?

 

[renaldtao3]

thanks for the replies every1

 

[Noya]

Any of these $270'ish after rebate 8800GTS's would max/high settings on all the new games at 14 x 9:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Description=8800gts%20512mb&bop=And&Order=PRICE

 

[lunyone]

I'm thinking an 8800GTX or 3870x2 would be overkill with that res. no?

Yes, but if you upgrade your monitor in 6 mo. to a 24" or higher, you'd definately want to have the added power. The 3850 512mb would be a perfect fit under $200. If you can spend more, I'd consider the ones I listed earlier by price.

Edit: forgot to ask what is your current system specs, including PSU make/model?

 

[MrCommunistGen]

What's the rest of your system and what graphics card do you have now? Assuming they are within your budget I'd say a HD3870 or 8800GT 512MB. The 3870 is slower overall but is cheaper and should run cooler than the 8800GT. If that's too much, the 512MB 3850. The 8800GTS 512 is probably a bit much at that lower resolution.

-mcg

 

[spoonboy]

What's the absolute best GPU I can get get right now to use with a 19" LCD for games like HL2, Bioshock, COD4, Crysis(although I know its in a category of its one) with highest settings and as much AA and AF as possible? Native res. is 1440x900. Thanks.

Graphics cards? overkill? same sentence? - There's no such thing as overkill except an 8800 ultra. Get the fastest single card you can afford and your psu can handle. An 8800gts 512mb never seeing a higher res than 1400x900 would last you for Y E A R S !, on a side note 2xaa & 8xaf is 90% as good as 4xaa & 16af and give you loads more frames if you choose an ati card. High shaders, physics, object detail and water with rest on medium and NO aa is all you need for crysis. Using aa would kill crysis fps even with a gts 512mb.

 

[renaldtao3]

This will be my first build and I will be OCing. After weeks of researching, forums, op's experiences etc, I finally came up with this setup:

Case: Gigabyte Triton 180 Black http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233016

CPU: Q6600 (GO Stepping preferably) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

CPU Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001

MOBO: ASUS P5K Deluxe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131182

RAM: Corsair XMS2 2x2GB TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145176

GPU: EVGA 8800 GTS 512 (G92) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130325

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500 GB 32MB Cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-550VX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

Optical: Lite-On DVD Burner SATA LH-20A1S http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106057

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit Retail version (I will have to order the DVD from Microsoft.)

Input: Logitech 920-000264 Cordless Wave http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126033

I purchased the memory a few days ago and the rest last night (mostly newegg). Kept it under $2k. It's a little nerve racking but I'm pretty confident I've come up with a solid build. My LCD is Samsung 932BW.

I know that C2D vs. C2Q for gaming (I will be OCing) and Vista 32 2x1GB vs. Vista 64 2x2GB are controversial subjects but I wanted quad-core for a little bit of future proofing and I'm mainly curious about 64 bit OS and like the added use of memory. Also, I'm not interested in any RAID options.

 

[yipsl]

Well, I went for overkill. I still have a 17" Viewsonic A71f CRT and game at 1280 x 1024. It will be anywhere between 2 weeks to a month before I can upgrade to a 20" Viewsonic LCD with 1650 x 1200.

I have a 3870x2 "out for delivery" today and when the AMD 690v motherboard arrives tomorrow, I'll transfer my CPU from the outdated Nvidia 405 board. Then I'll see what fps I get in The Witcher! It replaces a 7600gs!

I agree with Lunyone who recommended you get the best you can afford. In fact, going quad core almost obligates a great card. Admittedly, R700 will be out in 6th months or so, plus 45nm quad cores from Intel and AMD, but waiting is never fun.

I do wish there were a decent chart listing the CPU where bottlenecks vanish with each card at resolutions of 1280 x 1024 and lower. One of the reasons I want to go to a higher resolution monitor when I can is to avoid any possible bottlenecks with an Athlon X2 4600+.

I want a Phenom, but I'm waiting till 45nm. Does anyone think that an X2 4600+ is too light for gaming this year? IMHO, even when the B3 stepping arrives, 65nm's days are numbered in month's, not the indefinite future.

Even if you had a dual core, CPU bottlenecking disappears at 1440 x 900, so you'd not have those issues. Getting a quad core was a good idea. For an Intel CPU, your only other choice would be waiting. Were it not for B2 errata and heat issues, I would not wait on the AMD side.

 

[computertech82]

I'm using a 8800GTS on a crt at 1024 by 768. Some games to stress the crap out of it at full details. always a good idea to get the best you can afford.

 

[marvelous211]

Graphics cards? overkill? same sentence? - There's no such thing as overkill except an 8800 ultra. Get the fastest single card you can afford and your psu can handle. An 8800gts 512mb never seeing a higher res than 1400x900 would last you for Y E A R S !, on a side note 2xaa & 8xaf is 90% as good as 4xaa & 16af and give you loads more frames if you choose an ati card. High shaders, physics, object detail and water with rest on medium and NO aa is all you need for crysis. Using aa would kill crysis fps even with a gts 512mb.

Overkill with GPU would depend on the person. You might not think so but I would never spend $500-600 on a video card that will be obsolete in 3 years or less especially most of us are on a budget.

I think these new cards won't last you for years playing at highest detail with some kind of AA. That's just wishful thinking. Wasting big money on a gpu can put a big hole in your pocket. Those who bought a 7900gtx for $500 are wishing they didn't buy that card. It performs about fast as a 1950pro or slower in any of the games today. Kind of defeats the purpose of buying high end cards. There is always a sweet spot without breaking the bank to get most out of your money. Current sweet spot is 3850. It's not too far off 8800gt performance once overclocked for fraction of 8800gt price.

OP you should buy 3850 at least but recently 8800gt has come down in price if you shop around.

 

[spoonboy]

7900gtx was a bad purchase here in the u.k., I looked into getting one when they were still a hot card, but the x1900xtx was faster, could do aa + hdr and was even cheaper. I got a 7900gt in the end and oc'd it, but as time went by i wished i had plumped for an x1900. But yes i see what your saying.

 

[IndigoMoss]

Can I make one suggestion man if you haven't already ordered? Get this motherboard instead. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128080

The DS4 kicks so much ass and it's the same price with a higher-end chipset. Gigabyte has really stepped up to the plate this chipset generation and delivered some of the best motherboards I've seen in a long time.

 

[pauldh]

I've seen a BFG 8800GTS 512MB do Crysis at HIGH (with 8XAA) in 1920X1200

And.... the framerates were? I'm sure it's fine to demo for fun, but... No way a single 8800GTS 512MB is playable 19x12 all high details and 8xaa throughout crysis. Matter of fact, two 8800GTS 512MB (SLI) would still struggle at those settings while offering 50-60% more performance than one card alone.

 

[pauldh]

Because you mention crysis, and want the highest settings with fsaa, you better consider an 8800GTS 512MB. It should handle DX9 14x9 high with 4xaa/16xaf, but no way DX10 very high at those settings. For the other games, many other cards would do at those settings.

 

[tomdrum]

forgot to mention i play all of those and on high(even crysis with 4xaa)@1440x900.

My OC 8800GT wont run crysis all on high with 4xAA @ 1440 x 900

Can do 2xAA with about 30fps, turn it off tho as i cant see a difference

 

[randomizer]

My OC 8800GT wont run crysis all on high with 4xAA @ 1440 x 900

Can do 2xAA with about 30fps, turn it off tho as i cant see a difference

So what is your framerate with it off?