Best video card for a E7400, Asus p5q se plus, 2gb ddrII 667

[nosholosho]

whats up guys!

i'm looking for a decent video card that will maximize my cpu. i'm looking to spend no more than $100-$180 and i want to be able to play all the recent games and future games with no lag, i'm aiming for medium - high settings.

here's my specs!

-intel e7400
-asus p5q se plus
-mushkin 2gb ddrII 667 (hoping to get 4gb of ddrII 800 or 1066 any recomendations on memory or what speed i should get?)
-ocz mod stream 520 watt

 

[jyjjy]

What is your monitor's native resolution?

 

[Helltech]

Yeah we need to know your resolution. And all future games? Are we talking 5 years in the future, or 2 years in the future...
Also if you care about the future you probably care about about DX11? If you do want DX11 and (resolution permitting);

I would probably get a HD 5770 for 140 dollars

 

[wa1]

For your budget, HD5770 is a good choice...

 

[nosholosho]

im using a 19" viewsonic vx922 at 1280x1024

 

[infernox_01]

are you using windows xp? if so then you cant use directx 10 or 11.

 

[jyjjy]

For that monitor an HD5770 would be very good;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161338

 

[nosholosho]

i'm currently using windows xp, but i'll be switching over to 7 when i purchase the video card...i'll be running 32bit

 

[jyjjy]

Go for the 64 bit if it is an option. No reason not to and then you'll be able to use all your ram when you get the 4gb. This is a decent combo for ram with the card btw;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.445922

 

[nosholosho]

i find 32 bit just fast and efficient enough for my usage.
will a 64 bit os utilize the 5770 to a better potential?

 

[jyjjy]

No, it doesn't have anything to do with your video card. But why choose the lesser option when there is no reason to?
http://www.techspot.com/guides/177-windows-install-32bit-64bit/

 

[nosholosho]

im scared that with a 64bit, 4gb won't be sufficient enough for the regular multi tasking, like running a game in the background, music, surfing, chatting/webcaming, maybe with a tv tuner on too.

you guys know what's the highest video card i can go without having any bottlenecking?

 

[jyjjy]

I think you are confused. It is the 32 bit windows that will limit the amount of ram you can use. While the technical limit is 4gb the actual usable limit of 32 bit windows is more like 3.2gb. 64 bit on the other hand will let you use up to 192gb of ram, or effectively no limit other than what your motherboard can handle.
As for your processor bottlenecking a video card it depends on a large number of factors like whether your processor is overclocked, to what speed, what game you are playing and what settings you are using.

 

[nosholosho]

i know that the limit is 3.2gb...but my question is will 4gb's be enough to multitask on 64bit, if not, i might as well stick with the 32bit.
my processor is stock...and will be stock, im looking to play recent games with no lag at all...with medium low to medium high settings, hopefully i can still run games at low settings in 5-10 years maybe?

 

[jyjjy]

I don't understand. Why are you scared of having more ram available? That makes no sense. Anyway 4gb should be enough for what you are talking about and if not 64 bit allows you the option of adding more.
At the stock 2.8ghz your processor is pretty good but not great. It really would help to overclock it. It can easily get up to 3.5ghz just on the stock cooler. At stock it will bottleneck the more cpu intensive games at your resolution using an HD5770 but that card is still your best choice imo. Something is always going to be a bottleneck.
You need to forget about 5-10 years. I suppose theoretically the card might be usable at very low settings 5 years from now but by then there will probably be much more powerful cards available for $50.

 

[nosholosho]

im not scared of having more ram available.
i'm scared that 4gb's wont be enough for a 64bit os even tho its minimum recommendation is 2gb's. therefore its only doubled of its recommendation.
where as 32bit's minimum recommendation is 1gb's, i'll be at least 3 times the minimum compared to only double.

amazing feedback tho! but for now i'll be sticking with the 32bit os...im sure down the road i'll be changing for sure.

i've decided to either get the 5770 or a 5830, i'm looking into pricing and models.
i'm only considering the 5830 because of previous posts mentioning the overclocking capabilities of my processor. =) amazing. i can't wait to try it! but that will also be down the road =P

any recommendations on DDR2 800 ram? im looking for stability and speedy performance for the board i have.

 

[Tamz_msc]

A 5830 is overkill for that resolution.Even a 5770 is quite powerful.

 

[nosholosho]

hmmm, i keep forgetting about the resolution.

what equivalent nvidia cards is there when its paired with a 5770?

and is there any other video cards thats a little higher than a 5770 and less than i 5830?

 

[Tamz_msc]

The GTX 460 768 MB is about 200$ sans rebate.The 5830 can also be had for 200$ with rebates.

 

[jyjjy]

The HD5770 is all you need for your resolution. If you are going to upgrade your monitor in the not too distant future then consider the GTX 460.
As for the 32 vs 64 you are really making a mistake. You will not be able to use 4gb of ram with 32 bit windows. You will likely end up with 3.2gb available while 64 bit will be able to use the full 4gb and also allow you to add more when you want to. The ram recommendations for the two version can really be ignored and isn't anywhere close to the actual difference in how much the two versions use. I'm using Windows 7 64 right now and as I type this with 8 firefox windows open and several other programs running in the background my entire system is using 767mb of ram. This amount is actually LESS the extra memory you will get from using 64 bit over the 32 bit windows.

 

[nosholosho]

thanks for all the replies.
i havent fully changed my o/s from windows xp...so i'm gonna leave it for now.
i have purchased a evga GTX260 core 216 , which i heard is equivalent to a hd5770...minus the direct x 11
saw the card posted online for $120 canadian used...so i took the chance and got it!
works amazing! thanks for all the feedback!