EVGA 9800 GTX+ vs HD4870 (and a bottleneck question)

[cr0nick]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130436

Im thinking of getting either a 9800 GTX+ or a HD4870 (don't know exactly which one)

I can afford just over 200$ I also have a 21.5" Acer that runs 1080p. Im just looking for a few more opinions.

The second question I have is how large of a bottleneck will I have with this card on this setup. Here are some images of the setup.

 

[Zenthar]

I think you might have to change the MB; based on this site it only has a x4 PCI-e that would DEFINITELY bottleneck your GFX card.

 

[JDocs]

Bad news. Your board seems to have an AGP port which support neither the HD4870 or 9800GTX.

 

[Zenthar]

The good side of the news is that your GFX card is probably so outdated that even a 4830 would probably be 2-3 times faster than what you have. If you look at NewEgg's deals, you can probaly get a P43/P45 board + a 4850 for 200-225$. In turn, that would allow you to upgrade to a Q9XXX eventually before throwing the whole thing through the window .

 

[Zenthar]

Mmmm, might have to change the RAM if you change the motherboard. It's 15-20$ for 2x1GB of DDR2 or 30-50$ for 2x2GB.

 

[Craxbax]

Not to mention that with a new mobo you could OC that e6300 to a decent level and improve the overall performance of the computer in all apps.

 

[mbbs20]

or if u dont want to spend so much buy a 3850 512mb agp version/....it is a very nice upgrade and should let u play most games on max setting even with AA eneabled on this very setup...PS..u should overclock that cpu easily to atleast 2.8-3.0ghz

 

[rangers]

the motherboard has AGP and a x4 PCI-e, if it was me i would get the 4830, i think your board would just hold back a more powerful card, and then save up a bit and get a good motherboard that will overclock your E6300

 

[sprucebr1]

I agree, 3850 512mb for agp, saves having to spend $ on a new P43/45 board.

 

[4745454b]

I'm not sure overclocking his chip would be possible with that board. Its not even running the 6300 at 266, but 256. My guess would be his funny board isn't really made for overclocking. The 3850 would probably be a bad buy as well. First, it probably costs more then the 4830, and it won't carry over to a new build. If he buys a 4830 or 4670, he can run it now, and he could run it later when he buys a new board.

 

[megamanx00]

A 4870 is faster than a 9800GTX+, but both cards would be bottlenecked by your CPU and 4x interface. I say that for now you should buy a 4850 and save some money for a new P45 board latter on and then a new CPU. In the mean time overclock your CPU a bit.

 

[4745454b]

See above.

 

[rangers]

dont go down the AGP root, it will not give you an upgrade path, as i said above the 4830 in your 4x slot will be fine

 

[mbbs20]

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=775Dual-vsta

i belive this is the motherboard...it doesnt look "too" bad...it mentions something about overclocking so at the minimum he should be able to get is atleast 2.5 ghz on that cpu...4830 would be a complte waste imo on 4x bus...a 3850 is not too slow...the 512 version gets around 10000+ 3dmark points thats almost equal to a 9600gt...so its not too bad for the current games at 1440 x900 high settings

 

[mbbs20]

but yes the 3850 is the fastest card for the agp bus and i dont belive v will see anything faster on agp..... hence it is NOT a good uppgrade path for the future

 

[apache_lives]

you will get a good boost simply replacing that motherboard with even a basic intel chipset based motherboard, then overclock to ~3ghz to nip the heels of the 8 series core2's and a good video card should see that system back into todays standards! but you will also have to replace your ram and current video card etc.

Its using a VIA chipset which is rubbish - compatibility issues, poor reliability/stability, limited headroom etc - your ram isnt even running at the full 400mhz (prolly cant because of sync issues), the system compared to a decent E6300 (2gb DDR2-667, intel 945 or better chipset) system is prolly underperforming ~50%

Btw cant confirm this but PCIe 2.0 cards are incompatible with VIA chipsets or something? or Nvidia PCIe 2.0 cards? something like that.