$250 A small upgrade

[mcwargod]

this is my system right now

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215
running at 3.0 stock cooler
GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128400

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV4GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227482

Sparkle 9600 GT 512mb

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371026

i have a 1920x1080 monitor what should my next upgrade me i was thinking either cpu cooler or a gfx card. would a sli/crossfire have major affect because of the x8 or no

 

[jbakerlent]

Definitely upgrade the GPU, I would get a 5850 with your budget. To see how x8 crossfiring scales check out this article:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3649&p=1

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

I think I'd be looking at a new gfx card. Depending what you want to spend, I think the new 5770's are on newegg at 160.

 

[mcwargod]

does anyone know if there are going to be price drops on any of the high end ati cards or when the new nvidia cards would be out? i am kind of a nvidia fan/intel fan but i can go ati if its better bang for buck

 

[jbakerlent]

Currently, ATI not only has better bang for the buck, but has better performance without considering price for single GPU cards... There won't likely be good availability of 300 cards until Q1 2010. The 5000 series cards most likely won't drop in price for a long while.

 

[bob_vicktor]

does anyone know if there are going to be price drops on any of the high end ati cards or when the new nvidia cards would be out? i am kind of a nvidia fan/intel fan but i can go ati if its better bang for buck

If you mean the 4800 series, their price drop already happened. A 5850, or 5770 at the very least, would be worth the cash though, if you can afford it. It uses less juice, and is more powerful then the 4870 and 4890.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5850,2433-2.html

 

[masterasia]

Batman Arkham Asylum looks fantastic with PhysX. If games didn't use PhysX, I wound't buy Nvidia. Is there something out there that will let ATI cards emulate PhysX? What about MSI's Big Bang?

 

[jbakerlent]

A 5850, or 5770 at the very least, would be worth the cash though, if you can afford it. It uses less juice, and is more powerful then the 4870 and 4890.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5850,2433-2.html

Not exactly, the 4870 actually outperforms the 5850 easily and even the 5770. The 4890 dominates both of them. Of course, there are still other reasons to opt for the newer cards - efficiency, eyefinity, dx11, etc.

 

[bob_vicktor]

Not exactly, the 4870 actually outperforms the 5850 easily and even the 5770. The 4890 dominates both of them. Of course, there are still other reasons to opt for the newer cards - efficiency, eyefinity, dx11, etc.

No offense, but what chart are you looking at?
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5850,2433-7.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5850,2433-11.html
(just a couple examples)

Anyway, I do agree that the other features are worth the cost, regardless of performance, but that also depends on what all you want to do with your computer.

 

[megamanx00]

Definitely a GPU upgrade. 5850s are a little more than $250 right now and a bit rare at the moment. You could go with a 4890 and a decent GPU cooler, or go with two 4870s instead as they are rather cheap now.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

You may mean the 5750, not the 5850. The thing to keep in mind the newer cards like a 5770, etc are still new, but they are dx11, and performance should improve as drivers mature.

 

[jbakerlent]

Yeah, I meant 5750 and 5770 not 5850 and 5870 sorry for the confusion. The 4850/70 outperform the 5750/70 and both are outperformed by the 5850/70 to be clear.

 

[mcwargod]

would it be worth it just to stretch my budget so i can get a 5870 or no. and im talking about a price drop for the 5800 series when the new nvidia cards come out. i am not in a big rush to upgrade so should i just wait to see what nvidia has to offer?