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New Card for modern gaming?

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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Hey everyone. About a year ago my old GTX8800 died on me. As much as I wanted to just build a new rig at the time - I couldnt afford it (and still cant). So I replaced the card with an ATI Radeon HD 4850.

I am looking for a card that will help me a bit more with gaming. I realize my system will have some other weak links due to the age of the other components. So I would like to get a card I can use now, and then switch out into my new rig when I build it sometime in the spring.

I am gearing myself toward games like Final Fantasy XIV, Diablo 3, Star Wars: The Old Republic, etc. Does anyone have any recommendations on what to get for the time being - and honestly if it will really help my current system much? I have been playing the FFXIV beta and the game lags a lot unless I have it on low settings.

I would prefer NVidia simply because I like their control center a bit more, but not a necessity. Budget - would prefer NOT to spend $500 or $600. The cheaper the better.

Current Rig:

Windows 7 Ultimate x64
ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo MoBo
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz (OC to 3.10GHz)
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB RAM Kit (8GB Total)
ATI Radeon HD 4850 GPU
OCZ Vertex Turbo 60GB SSD (for OS)
Antec NeoPower 550 550W Power Supply
22" Acer Monitor running at 1680x1050.

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Graphics card Authority

(Until recently I had a pair of those GTX 8800s /sniff. I miss the heat and fan noise.)

Normally at your 1680 resolution, a 4850 or the comparable 5750 are often the recommended cards:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-radeon-hd-5570-gaming,2697-3.html

However, you are running an MMO and lagging. I'm not familiar with FFXIV's requirements, but knowing WoW, EQ, EQ2, and others, the problem you are having may not be strictly graphics related. You don't talk about low frame rate and stuttering, you talk about lag. I wouldn't be so quick to judge during a beta, given the bad code, memory leaks, poor connections to the beta server, poor load balancing, etc.

You could try to monitor your cpu utilization while playing, using the graphs in Task Manager and alt-tabbing periodically. If the problem is cpu, it may still be the game's problem. Your cpu is pretty quick where it counts in most MMOs, unless FFXIV is multi-threaded and more demanding than its competitors.

Finally, if you are convinced you want a new graphics card, and want nVidia, the 1GB GTX 460 would be an excellent choice at ~$230. It will work in your current system, and serve well (either alone or in SLI) in your next.

Edit: How much memory do you have in your current rig?
Graphics card Master

The GTX 460 is the right choice for the moment but both Nvidia and ATI should be releasing a lot of new cards in the next 2 months or so. It may be best to wait it out until the releases/prices settle down before making a decision.
Graphics card Authority

Yes, The new nVidia lineup doesn't sound awfully interesting, But the new ATI lineup will produce better cards and reduce the price of the current 5xxx series so ATI should hopefully have all the areas covered my the end of Q1 next year.

There gaming cards(67xx and 68xx are due out before years end.)
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Graphics card Master

Quote:
I don't think Nvidia will be releasing any more cards in the next 2 months, at least not anything high end.
When are the full GF100/GF104 and whatever the GTX 495 ends up being due then?

Thanks for all the great feedback everyone. My current rig has 8GB of RAM.

The setup that I had in my wish list on new egg was the following:

EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI MoBo
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler

That by itself is $800 and thats without an upgrade on the GPU. I can get the CPU locally for about $90 less. I built my current rig back in 2006 with a couple small switches here and there and its been a great machine.

Does anyone have any recommendations then for an overhaul in the $600 range then?
Graphics card Authority

y2hbk: Your current rig (E8500 @3.2GHZ, 8GB, Win7, SSD, 4850), should be adequate to run MMORPG games well at 1690 resolution. If all you are experiencing is "lag" in FFXIV *BETA*, it's not time to throw out your PC.

If your budget is $600, you can do a nice little AMD system (and OC it) that SHOULD only appear to be somewhat parallel in performance to your own system.

$950 is about the breakpoint for an i5 750/GTX460 tower that would represent a real step forward from where you are. An i7 930 can cost $100-$200 more depending on where you source the parts, and will game only marginally better.

"Lag" in an MMORPG is not normally/solely related to your gpu.

460 if you really want to upgrade but i would say stick with what you have until jan then re-evaluate once the 6000 series is out and the new cpu lines will be out around then too. im with twoboxer on this, i think its something else... maybe connection issues?
Graphics card Authority

FFXIV works much better on quads.

An AMD rig (Phenom II X4/mobo/RAM) is about $350. Intel i5-760 is about $450. You do get some good $$$ for your old parts if you sell them.

For the video card wait a few weeks for the ATI 6 series then buy cheaper whatever you want, ATI or Nvidia.
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