5770 for BC2 worth it?

[tony4life]

I'm running BC2 on an 8500 GT right now, and it's embarrassing.
I have 4GB DDR3 RAM.
I've got a Q6700 @ Stock speeds, and wondering which GPU I should get.
I'm fine with playing the game at 1024x768 res, but I'm afraid of the CPU bottlenecking my GPU. And what if the 5770 isn't strong enough to play at 1920x1080?

As for the budget, my dad doesn't believe a $300 GPU exists. (He compares it to my sister's laptop. Really.) The $160 tag on the 5770 is more appealing to him.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Next week. The 5770 should cost a bit more than $160 at Fry's.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: I'll be playing BC2 for the rest of the summer.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: I've got an Antec 350w PSU. Ati recommends a 450w+, but the power consumption of the 5770 is only around 300. Do I really need another PSU?

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: I have a IPIBL-TX mobo. Not really an overclocking motherboard, I know. But I may try.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Most likely I'll end up at Fry's. My dad doesn't trust online shopping.

PARTS PREFERENCES: No preference.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe only for the Q6700. It's running on stock right now (2.66 ghz) and I'm afraid it may bottleneck the GPU.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080. At this res, I'm afraid the GPU won't be strong enough. At 1024x768, I don't mind, but the CPU may bottleneck.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: If the 5770 is great for BC2 and games arriving 2 years later, I'll take it. When I get back from college in a couple years, I may CF it with a new mobo. I'll get a new CPU fan so I can overclock if I have to.

 

[tony4life]

That's awesome! How much FPS do you think I'll get on average, and minimum?

 

[tony4life]

Bump.

 

[Rustyy117]

I play BFBC2 @ 1920 x 1080 with a HD5850 @ 1000Core and 1200memory which is slightly faster than a stock HD5870, so say that a 5770 is half the performance of a 5870 then you can take my FPS and half them to get roughly the FPS to expect, I know his isn't very scientific but its the best I can do.

BFBC2 Campaign: Heart of Darkness DX11 Maxed 1920 x 1080 16xAF 1xAA. 1Minute duration after intro: 1000/1200

Min: 63FPS

Max: 136FPS

Avg: 76.883FPS

So you can expect roughly 31FPS min and an average of 38FPS. However if you turn down the AF then that would help alot or perhaps not enable HBAO.

 

[Rustyy117]

He has a Q6700 (I know it doesn't make much difference) I knew it was a long shot, just trying to give him a very rough idea of the performance to expect, as I couldn't find a HD5770 review that included BFBC2 results (quick google search).

 

[Rustyy117]

Nice one! I guess they were using a core i7 9xx aswell.



Off Topic: Seems BFBC2 really favours ATi cards, A stock 5850 beating a GTX480.

 

[tony4life]

Those must be average FPS benchmarks, yes? With my Q6700 @ 2.66, I guess my FPS will be even lower. I have no need for AA and AF. Just frames above 30 at all times.

 

[tony4life]

Say I overclocked my CPU to ~3ghz. Would the 5770 give me an average 60 frames then?

 

[Rustyy117]

Say I overclocked my CPU to ~3ghz. Would the 5770 give me an average 60 frames then?

no, it will likely increase your minimum FPS though, by maybe a few FPS, but nowhere near 60FPS

 

[OvrClkr]

I used to play BC2 with a GTX 260 @ 1680x 1050 (HBAO OFF) no AA/AF (medium settings) and it was horrible, even at 3.8Ghz, for some odd reason the frames would drop significantly when all hell broke lose. I upgraded to a 5850 and all my issues dissapeared. The 5770 is basically the same as a GTX 260 so taking that into consideration you will have to lower your visuals if you want playable frames without massive fram drops, especially at anything above 1680x 1050.

The above Anand chart is not accurate at all, I played the game @ 1680x 1050 with a GTX 480 on the same PC and it was getting around 18/25 more frames than my 5850, just FYI..

 

[tony4life]

Looks like I'll just be getting a 5850. If the 5770 was able to have 30fps min. with my CPU and res, I would've bought it. Later I would buy another mobo and 5770 to CF, but I guess it isn't worth it. A 5850 it is.
One more question, can I overclock my CPU on my IPIBL-TX? Isn't it an OEM?

 

[OvrClkr]

If you are indeed going to buy a 5850 make sure its a DirectCu, its the best bang for buck 5850 out at the moment and it overclocks very well while keeping temps down.

Here is a screenshot after 1 hour of BC2, temps are not that great since my room normally hovers around 76/80F.

 

[tony4life]

The directCU models are about 40 bucks more...however if it passes the 5870 in performance, I'll take it. If it's out of stock though, what other brand do you recommend that's in the 300 dollar range?

 

[OvrClkr]

You can also get it off of zipzoom for 320.00$ "free shipping" :

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10012519

 

[tony4life]

Alright, thank you. Do you think I have to overclock my Q6700 to ~3ghz though? I'm afraid my mobo isn't up to it.

 

[OvrClkr]

If your Bios is not locked you should be able to get 3Ghz without much effort.

 

[tony4life]

I'll be buying a cooler too for overclocking (If necessary.) I'm thinking a cooler master N520. I've got an IPIBL-TX Mobo. When I get my new GPU in and BC2 still has staggering FPS, I'll look into it. If you can find out if the IPIBL-TX is locked or not, it would help greatly. Thanks again!

 

[OvrClkr]

Press F2 or Delete upon bootup to go into your Bios, if the CPU values are grayed out and you cannot change them then it's locked. If they are not grayed out then you should be able to change them.

I looked up your board and all I see is HP info, so if you have an HP your Bios will be locked. If not you should be able to change the settings.

 

[tony4life]

Edit: I should be able to find out if it's locked or not myself. (I'm not sure if HP is OEM...) Anyhow, the 5850 Power Consumption readings say ~310w. (I have a 350w PSU)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5850,2433-13.html
My PSU should handle it...but will it run at even higher wattages in BC2? If that's the case, I'll just buy a 500/600w PSU to save myself trouble and maybe crossfire later on.

 

[OvrClkr]

Is your PC an HP?

You cannot run a 5850 with a 350w PSU, especially if you are looking at the DirectCU.

I would suggest a good 500w or greater just to be on the safe side.

 

[tony4life]

It appears to be so. The case says HP on it. The IPIBL-TX is also an HP. Guess I can't overclock it unless I get a new Mobo.

 

[tony4life]

So...if I run my 5850 without my Q6700@3ghz, will I get a major bottleneck? As long as minimum never goes under 32 or so, I'm fine. And like I said, I can play at smaller resolutions. I just don't want the CPU bottlenecking and bringing my FPS down.

 

[OvrClkr]

You can try overclocking by using this program.

http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=189

 

[OvrClkr]

So...if I run my 5850 without my Q6700@3ghz, will I get a major bottleneck? As long as minimum never goes under 32 or so, I'm fine. And like I said, I can play at smaller resolutions. I just don't want the CPU bottlenecking and bringing my FPS down.

There wont be a major bottleneck but you also have to take into consideration that the faster the clock the more frames you get.

 

[tony4life]

Oh man, I forgot all about software overclocking. I'll see how it goes. Thanks for all the help!