best NVIDIA GFX to go with in an AMD FX60 system?

[dmlk]

Hi all,

I was wondering what would be the best NVIDIA graphics card to go with an old AMD FX60 system?
[939]
motherboard: A8N32-sli
CPU: FX60
RAM: 4GB
GFX: 512 7950 GT

I know I could get up to date with technology and upgrade the whole PC but I would like to keep my current setup for a little longer. I understand that the FX60 would be the bottleneck in my current system.
BUT....

1) Would SLI 9800 GTX + or SLI 8800 GT would be over kill for the FX 60?
2) Would a single 9800 GTX+ be over kill for my old FX60?
3) Am I aiming to high and should look at 8800?? Which one would be best?

May be next year I will upgrade to a whole new PC but for now what is the best NVIDIA graphics card to go with an old AMD FX60 system?

Any advice would be most welcomed.
Thanks in advance.

 

[outlw6669]

1) No
2) No
3) No

Having more GPU power than CPU power will allow you to turn up more eye candy with out any performance drops.
I would recomend either a single 4870 or SLI 8800GT's.
Depending on what resolution you game at, a single 4850 may be enough for you and let you start saving for Intel's new platform.

 

[jeremyrailton]

yeah, don't sell that fx60 short, it's still capable of running a good gaming rig. tell us your monitor's resolution and we can make a better recommendation

 

[dmlk]

Hi,

Thanks for the quick feedback. Currently have a Viewsonic VX922 19 inch.
The max res is 1280x1024 so I am stuck at that for the time being I guess.
I do plan to push for a better res.

It is good to know that the FX60 is not going to be bottlenecking a SLI9800GTX+

I guess a single 260 or 280 would still be fine or would that be pushing the limit? I am interested in know at what point the FX60 would be a bottleneck.

When I do finally upgrade my PC it will be an intel with the way things are going. They have the edge over AMD now I feel.

 

[outlw6669]

With the resolution you are gaming at, a single 8800GT or 4850 should be more than enough for you.
If you got a cheap 8800GT, you could SLI it when you get a larger display.

Just to be clear.
You will probably be bottlenecked at your resolution.
As such, your GPU will not be using all of it's potential.
Therefore, you can turn up more visual effects with no drop in performance.

 

[elbert]

1) No but depends on the game being GPU or CPU bound.
2) No but this being the last GPU for this rig I would suggest a 4870 as its faster and DX10.1.
3) No but at this point in time I would be more focused on getting a DX10.1 GPU.

My best suggestion would be wait until the 4850x2 and 4870x2 come out and grab one of those. The x2 coming out shortly will match or beat your SLI suggestions and give you DX10.1.

As long as most games don't require quad core CPU's your FX60 should be fine. For upgrading your CPU I suggest you wait til next year and upgrade to an octal core. Intel let there 6 core CPU slide to make there 4 core nehalem look good. I would just wait for them to do 2 nehalem for 8 cores.

 

[dmlk]

If I were to get a HD screen say 22" 1680x1050 /1600 x 1200
then what would be the best GFX card?

At the moe I play BF2142, COD4 and I have crysis but cannot play that with my current card. I like turning on AA and AF on games so even though I have a small res at the moe the card would need to deal with AA and AF.

 

[quantumsheep]

why not ATI? The ATI HD4870 is a fantastic card for the money and would be perfect for your needs.

 

[dmlk]

I prefer the software and driver support from NVidia. I guess this is the main reason why I like NVidia. I have seen too many headaches of loading different drivers for different games with ATI. Had no problem at all with my SLI7800 and then 7950GT.

I admit though that ATI "currently" seem to have the better card mainly due to cost too. (Value for money)

 

[sailer]

OP-I have one computer that close to matches yours, except that it has a 8800 GTS card. it does well in Crysis. I would add that I have my FX-60 overclocked to 2.9ghz. No one should sell the old FX60 machines short. They may be old, but with a decent overclock, they can still perform. By the way, I would now recommend the 4870 over the 8800 GTS or similar. I own both cards and there are fewer driver troubles so far with the 4870. Oh yes, for your specific questions:

1. no
2. no
3. no

See how many people are in agreement on this subject?

 

[MayDay94]

i also upgraded from a 7950gt to a 8800gt with an opty180 and it made a huge difference. i game at 1680x1050 so that was really stressing the 7950gt which was a pretty good card. A single 8800gt has made a big difference (more frames at higher settings) in Company of Heroes, Orange box, crysis, dirt, cod4. old school amd cpu's can still kick some butt.

 

[bf2gameplaya]

I was wondering what would be the best NVIDIA graphics card to go with an old AMD FX60 system?
[939]
motherboard: A8N32-sli
CPU: FX60

That answer, like every answer depends on what games you are and plan on playing and the resolution that you choose.

You might be surprised to learn your FX60 is not a "bottleneck" like you think it is even when compared to current state-of-the-art CPUs, check out this link for an introduction to CPU scaling in games...further research will reveal more articles that actually pair an FX60 against C2Ds and Quad Core chips. The results are illuminating.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/1

 

[dmlk]

I like my FX60 which is why I do not want to get rid of it.

New questions:
1) Is SLI worth going for with the FX60?
2) ATI 4870 more powerful that NVIDIA 280? I know its cheaper.

Hey MayDay94
Just wondering if you plan to SLI that? Or is the single 8800gt more than enough?

 

[dmlk]

My Main games are:

BF2142
BF2
COD4
Gears of War
Crysis (when I can get it looking good)
Company of Heroes

Resolution will be: 22" 1680x1050 /1600 x 1200
Currently > 19" 1280x1024

 

[xaira]

u can make the choice, highest fps\cost
9800gtx+
ati 4850\4870
gtx 260 best choice highest cost
but ur fx60 is still a fierce compeditor u shudnt sell it short especially with 4gb 0f ram

 

[Ycon]

2x 8800 GT (SLi) is the best option for you, but remember to keep your resolution/settings high (to stress the cards), otherwise the FX60 will bottleneck badly.

 

[Heyyou27]

2x 8800 GT (SLi) is the best option for you, but remember to keep your resolution/settings high (to stress the cards), otherwise the FX60 will bottleneck badly.

If his CPU is going to be a serious bottleneck, it won't matter if he's playing at 640x480 or 2560x1600. If his CPU is the limiting factor, it just means his framerate at 640x480 won't be any better than it is at a higher resolution.

 

[San Pedro]

That answer, like every answer depends on what games you are and plan on playing and the resolution that you choose.

You might be surprised to learn your FX60 is not a "bottleneck" like you think it is even when compared to current state-of-the-art CPUs, check out this link for an introduction to CPU scaling in games...further research will reveal more articles that actually pair an FX60 against C2Ds and Quad Core chips. The results are illuminating.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/1

Can you please post that link in every thread asking about bottle necking?

 

[cjl]

I like my FX60 which is why I do not want to get rid of it.

New questions:
1) Is SLI worth going for with the FX60?
2) ATI 4870 more powerful that NVIDIA 280? I know its cheaper.

Hey MayDay94
Just wondering if you plan to SLI that? Or is the single 8800gt more than enough?

The 4870 is between the 260 and 280 in performance. It is also a great option for what you are looking at.

 

[elbert]

New questions:
1) Is SLI worth going for with the FX60? The answer is no because your better off getting a single most powerful GPU you can with in your cost limit. Then plan SLI or CF using that single card in your next build.
2) ATI 4870 more powerful that NVIDIA 280? Its not more powerful but equal to the 260. The thing is tho 2X 4850 would match or beat the 280 for less money and 2x 4870 would kill the 280 again for less. The 4870x2 is said to release this month so it would be the best choice.

If you must buy Nvidia I would suggest waiting until their DX10.1 GPU's come out. Last I read about them I think it was early next year for their release.

 

[dmlk]

On the ATI 2x 4870 / 2x 4870 does the 2X mean multi GPU on the same card?
Would this be like the GX2 models in Nvidia? Or is this crossfire?

 

[elbert]

On the ATI 2x 4870 / 2x 4870 does the 2X mean multi GPU on the same card?
Would this be like the GX2 models in Nvidia? Or is this crossfire?

2X 4870 here being crossfire but this month the 4870x2 being like the GX2 is to release. AMD's 4870x2 should beat 2 in CF as their single GX2 like card has a fix for micro stutter.

 

[assassin37]

Dmlk... I sold my a8n32sli, my 4800x2 socket 939, 4 gigs ddr ram and actually only had to spend 20 dollars of my own money and got a q6600, 4 gigs ddr2, and a 750i nforce setup, the only reason i didnt break even was cause i got an afterparty cpu cooler, anyways my fps in crysis went up from 15-20 to 30-35 using the same 2 8800gt's, people will spend a lot on ebay for that old 939 stuff,look into it

 

[bf2gameplaya]

Can you please post that link in every thread asking about bottle necking?

I will if you will.

Knowledge is power, yadda yadda.

 

[am71]

Hi dmlk,

First rule for gaming computer.

GPU is always the biggest influence on performance. (unless the CPU is junk, but i had your system with the FX60 and had to upgrade to a Q9450 on a 64 bit OS to notice a big difference in performance with the same GPU).

I have a gtx 280 and I tried the hd 4870. For price/performance the 4870 is a great card and will play your games, but if you're a frames-per-second at highest AA, AF, and texture resolution whore like me, then the gtx 280 is the way to go.

Oh, and AFAIK, crossfire won't work on that board so you can only do SLI. IMO SLI is not worth it for your purpose and will give you more headaches than a single card.

Enjoy whatever you get.