Please evaluate my system

[killerz323]

Hello everyone,

I've been reading the forums and various online and magazine articles about the current technology because I didn't have enough information even to ask a question, but now I feel I have a good grasp of what technology is doing and where it's going. Before I break down and build a system from scratch I was wondering if there was anything I could do to get more mileage out of my current system. I have read the sticky articles about upgrade parts and which parts to choose for a new build, but again I am hoping to wait a little while longer before starting over. I built my current system in 2007 and don't have too much trouble running current games or rendering video but I think I am hardware limited to a resolution of 1440x900 @ 75Hz due to my monitor so my GPU is probaby not taxed too much. The MOBO has PCIe ver 1.0 x16 though and it is not a SLi board as I have only one PCIe slot. I was thinking of buying a

SAPPHIRE 100277HDMI Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail from Newegg.com
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102853

I thought this would give me higher fps and maybe some aa/af ability as well.

System:

■CPU: AMD 64 X2 +5600 2.9 GHz
■MOBO: Asus M2N nForce 420 MCP Chipset
■GPU: EVGA GeForce 8600GTS 256MB
■Sound: Diamond Xtreme 5.1 Soundcard
■OS: Win XP Home 32-bit
■RAM: Corsair 2GB DDR2 PC-800
■HDD: WD 250GB 7200 rpm
■ODD: Samsung CD/DVD-ROM/RW
■PSU: Antec EA 430w
■Monitor: Hanns G JW199D 19" widescreen LCD DVI only

 

[tecmo34]

I would go with the ATI 4850, which is better and cheaper... SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart

 

[dndhatcher]

Sapphires web site says that 4850 needs one 6pin PCIE power cable. Does that PSU have any?

If not you may need adapters or a newer PSU.

 

[hunter315]

The 4770 and 4850 perform similarly, a 4850 is slightly stronger but also needs a bit more power, your power supply will handle either easily and both will handle your resolution just fine, you wont be able to set AA/AF high with them but they will play with all of the detail settings on high easily.