Replace my 8800GTS 640MB

[Phixit]

Hello,

I would like to change my video card to play Dragon Age Origins and Modern Warfare 2 in my monitor native resolution. Here is my current setup :

-E6400@stock
-EVGA Geforce 8800 GTS 640MB
-Gigabyte 945P-DS3 rev 3.3
-1680x1050 native resolution
-Antec TX1050B with a SmartPower 500W Power supply

Here is the PSU Spec :

+3.3V@32A, +5V@35A, +12V1@17A, +12V2@19A, -12V@0.3A, +5VSB@2A
1 x Main connector (20+4 pin)
1 x 12V (P4)
6 x peripheral
4 x SATA
2 x Floppy
2 x PCI-E

So, I was looking for either the Radeon HD 4850 or the Radeon HD 5770.

1- Do you think I'll see a difference in 1680x1050 with one of these card ?
2- Is my current PSU is good enough to handle one of these card ?
3- Should I replace my 8800 GTS 640MB ?

Thank you !

 

[shadow187]

Your 8800 is a good card, but you do need an upgrade.
So!.

Your PSU is fine for nearly any card, not a x2 card though. Your budget seems to be between $100-$160. So, here is the layout.

4850; Cheap, Decent Performance
5770; New tech (DX11, eyefinity), lower power consumption, and less heat
4890; Extremely great performance, better than the 5770, though still lower tech.

 

[Phixit]

Well, I would not mind to spend a bit more, but I think it would be useless to buy a 300$ GPU with my current processor.

 

[shadow187]

Well, if you overclocked the processor a bit (or a lot..), you'd get great performance out of a 5850.

 

[Onyx2291]

Yeah, the CPU does seem a... little out dated if any. And upgrading your GPU would give a nice boost in performance.

Your PSU should be able to handle quite a bit of cards. Too lazy to do any math since you didn't list the wattage on it did you?

 

[Phixit]

Well, if you overclocked the processor a bit (or a lot..), you'd get great performance out of a 5850.

I doubt that my current PSU can handle an overclock and a 5850 at the same time ..

 

[Phixit]

Yeah, the CPU does seem a... little out dated if any. And upgrading your GPU would give a nice boost in performance.

Your PSU should be able to handle quite a bit of cards. Too lazy to do any math since you didn't list the wattage on it did you?

Well, I posted the AMP on all the rails .. what wattage were you talking about ?

 

[Onyx2291]

Never mind haha I was lookin at the specs but didn't look above, disregard that

 

[shadow187]

I doubt that my current PSU can handle an overclock and a 5850 at the same time ..

Mmh, maybe. Better to not risk it, I suppose.

Then the 5770 is your best bet, short of buying a good C2D (E8400), or C2Q (Q9XXX).

 

[Phixit]

Alright, thank you !

 

[nforce4max]

Your cpu is fine ditch the board and overclock and then upgrade if you feel the need. The 8800gts 640 is ok but obviously showing it's age but if you want nvidia a cheap gts250 or gtx260 will be world better than what you got now. If you want ATI a 5770 if you can get one will take your breath away or better a 5850.

 

[Phixit]

I just saw that the 5770 needs +40A on both +12 rails .. which I don't have with my current PSU.

 

[nforce4max]

I just saw that the 5770 needs +40A on both +12 rails .. which I don't have with my current PSU.

I used a x1900xt with a 5 year old psu with no problems plus the x1900xt has the same power draw as the 5770 at max load. You will be ok unless you already got low volts then you shouldn't even upgrade the cpu till after. Don't worry the max for this card is actually quite low.