Upgrading an ATI 4670

[falkon3439]

I currently have an Sapphire Radeon 4670 with 1gb ddr3 ram in my system. I'm not really getting the performance I would like with it (even with OC'ing it). As an example, in Battlefield2142 I can play on high settings, but i get a considerable drop in FPS when i play on large maps, or maps with to many people in a small area.

So i am thinking of upgrading to a 4870, but first i have some questions.

1. Will i get a considerable raise in FPS if i switch?

2. Should I get a different card such as one by Nvidia.

3. Do you know of any good 4870 cards that are under 150$ ( <-- My Budget)

Thanks in advance, Falkon.

 

[skora]

The Nvidia vs ATI question comes down to the games you play and which one favors those titles. You will see a great big performance increase espcially if you are playing at higher resolutions. For the record, what do you play at? Also, make sure your PSU has enough watts and amps on the +12v rails. Listing the PSU might help too. Heck, what mobo also?

For $150, you can get a 1 gb 4870. Anything on the egg should perform as well as the others. Heatpipes sometimes make for better cooling than the Zalman style HSFs but not always. Find one that matches your budget and any freebies or combos with other items you're looking to get too.

 

[falkon3439]

I would like to play at the highest resolution possible for the game.

Games i usually play - TF2, L4D, BF2142, Half-life 2, MOH Airborne.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113072 - the computer I bought (before I had the tech know-how to build my own )

Mobo http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERBD/Shared/4006272R/4006272Rsp2.shtml

PSU - http://support.gateway.com/s/POWER/6506182R/6506182Rsp2.shtml (it lists 4 different PSU's???? I just picked one)

More Info - http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/1015569R/1015569Rcl3.shtml

 

[skora]

I would like to play at the highest resolution possible for the game.

Games i usually play - TF2, L4D, BF2142, Half-life 2, MOH Airborne.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113072 - the computer I bought (before I had the tech know-how to build my own )

How about the monitor, thats what limits the resolution you can play at.

 

[falkon3439]

According to my Computer settings (I can't find my monitor info) i can go up to 1680 by 1050 pixels.

 

[skora]

Those games are old enough that either nvidia or ati will dominate them. Now, the bigger issue is that PSU that came with that system is only 300w. So for any GPU upgrade, you'd have to do the same to the PSU too.

Example picks might be a corsair 400w for $50 and then a ATI 4850 card. Might be able to get a 1gb if you can find another few bucks. The 4850 is a great balance for a 1680x1050 display.

As far as slowdowns in games, it might have more to do with the CPU speed than the GPU. I doubt gateway has the bios set up to overclock, but running at 1.8 ghz is tough in any game. Check to see if you can OC. If not, I'd say save your money until you can do a complete build from the case up. What you have isn't meant for gaming and regardless of how big a GPU you put in it, I don't think you'll get the performance you seek.

 

[falkon3439]

I'm pretty sure i cant overclock through the BIOS. I looked at every setting and i cant increase anything related to overclocking. I was originally going to upgrade to a phenom II but it was rated at 125W and my Mobo is 95W.

Anyway thanks for the help.

 

[skora]

Might want to do a search for overclocking software. If nothing helps, toss up a post asking if software overclocking is worth a shot for your system. If it works, then you might be happy with the 4670s performance or it could open the door to an upgrade.

As far as upgrading the CPU, thats extremely hit or miss. Even if the 780g chipset on the mobo will support the phenom II, the bios may not. You'd have to contact gateway before buying anything to be sure.