Looking to buy a new graphics card

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
C

CoNtrAsT_

Distinguished
Oct 31, 2010
21
0
18,510
hey im looking to upgrade my 8400 GS.. i want a nice graphics card as i have had my 8400 for a long time.. i recently bought a bx2331 samsung screen LED 23" 1920x1080 res. i got a quad core processor @ 2.4 GZ. I have windows vista.

now for what im looking for.. well dvds/rips that i watch on my pc on terrible quality.. my friend says it was because of my screen size and resolution that it is forced to be stretched and therefore worse graphics.. so a better graphics card will help aswell? i also play call of duty 4 and 240 constant fps is important

i was looking at the HD 5770 for about 120$ but people are saying it is getting outdated.. im willing to spend around 200$+- unless there is something that is really good for its price that is a bit more..

any advice would help a lot thanks :) ive been doing research and stressing.. all this research is contradicting each other
 
HostileDonut

HostileDonut

Splendid
Aug 29, 2010
4,076
0
23,160
To start you out the hd5770 is NOT outdated. I do not know you told you that but he does not know too much about GPUs. The hd5770 is a mid range card for non-serious gamers. It is NOT meant for 1080p gaming. Because you running your monitor @ 1920 x 1080p go for something like a gtx 460. Your CPU will bottleneck the gtx 460 a bit, but if you OC a bit you should have a nice machine. Even if you do not OC your should be able to play cod 4 at 80+ fps. Go for the gtx 460, it is a great card.
 
jerreece

jerreece

Splendid
Sep 7, 2006
3,960
0
23,160
At the top of your budget, I'd recommend the GTX 460. It is faster than the ATI 5770 over all, and so would be a better choice @ 1920x1080 resolution. Though I would honestly want to look specifically at the GTX 460 1GB version at that resolution.

Keep in mind, 240 FPS is useless because your monitor probably has a 60hz refresh rate @ 1080p, which means it can only display 60FPS. :) But, excess FPS is not bad, as it means you have horsepower left over.

ECS GTX 460 1GB $189 - $20 Mail In Rebate = $169 + Free HAWX 2 Game Download
Core Clock: 765MHz
Custom Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134117

ECS GTX 460 1GB $189 - $30 Mail In Rebate = $159 + Free HAWX 2 Game Download
Core Clock: 675MHz
Factory Standard Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134116

You could also consider the new ATI 6850.

MSI ATI 6850 1GB $189
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127531&cm_re=ati_6850-_-14-127-531-_-Product
 
jay2tall

jay2tall

Splendid
Apr 9, 2007
6,123
0
26,460
I second the GTX460 1GB card 768MB version is my second choice. You can also go for an ATI 6850 which has slightly better performance but may cost the same or slightly more than the 460 1GB.

Why is 240FPS important? Your display will only run 60 anyways.
 
jerreece

jerreece

Splendid
Sep 7, 2006
3,960
0
23,160
The ATI 6850 and GTX 460 1GB are fairly close in benchmarks I've seen. They usually are +/- 1 to 5FPS of each other depending on the game. Some games obviously run a little better on nVidia or ATI hardware depending on how the game was coded.

Either the ATI 6850 or GTX 460 1GB are very good choices given your budget, and your monitor resolution.
 
C

CoNtrAsT_

Distinguished
Oct 31, 2010
21
0
18,510
wow.. thanks guys.. really awesome response :) :) :) so i guess its between the 1GB 460 or the HD 6850 1 GB? whats the main difference between them?

k umm also about the manufacturers.. is there much of a difference of who manufactures it, like i know they tweak it a bit and stuff but is it worth paying like 8-10$ more for a better manufacturer and if so.. who would it be.. not and btw i dont get XFX's double life warrant

again.. thanks a lot guys :)
 
jerreece

jerreece

Splendid
Sep 7, 2006
3,960
0
23,160
Generally speaking... there's not a big difference between manufacturers. Not if you get a "stock" version of a card. Really what varies is warranty coverage (time period, etc). To me, that's never been a huge issue cause I upgrade like once a year. LOL

ECS is typically a cheaper brand, but they're not a 'knock off' either. If you can get a really good deal on an EVGA card, they've always been known for quality, and generally are better for tweaking (overclocking for example). So that's not a bad way to go.

As for the difference between GTX 460 and ATI 6850. Obviously they are competing brands. The ATI 6850 is the absolute latest card from ATI/AMD. So it's the "freshest" card in that segment. But the GTX 460 isn't very old either! So to me, it's more about who's camp you're in.

I've had both ATI and nVidia cards before, mostly nVidia to be honest. I've found nVidia to have the best drivers over the years. One card will perform better on one game, while another plays better on another game. This is because some games are tweaked toward ATI drivers, where as others are tweaked toward nVidia.

I'd suggest searching Google for "ATI 6850 Review" and looking at professional benchmark reviews. Any of those reviews should do direct comparisons between the 6850 and the GTX 460. You can see what games they tested, and what relates most directly to what you want to play. :)

If you want to "Fold@Home" or use the video card for Video/Graphic editing, nVidia probably has the edge there. Of course, that only works if you have the right software.
 
C

CoNtrAsT_

Distinguished
Oct 31, 2010
21
0
18,510
how can do i know if my PSU can handle it? and what you mean by Power Supply Brand/Model? and the 6-pin PCI-E.. is that the slots on the motherboard or what?

sorry im new to this stuff :/
 
HostileDonut

HostileDonut

Splendid
Aug 29, 2010
4,076
0
23,160
For a power supply buy a Corsair, Antec, or Seasonic 500-550w. The 6-pins connect to your GPU. You will need 2 6 pins for the gtx 460 (most PSU comes with 2 check to make sure) and 1 for the hd6850. :D
 
jerreece

jerreece

Splendid
Sep 7, 2006
3,960
0
23,160


Is your computer self built? Or is it pre-made by a company?

If it's pre-made we could try to look up the details online if you provide us with your PC Brand name, and the model number on it. If you built it yourself, the box the power supply came in should say.

Either way, you can open up the side panel on your computer (turn the PC off first to be safe), and the Power Supply (usually at the top with a ton of wires coming out) will have a sticker on it which displays two very key points of information.

1) Max Wattage Output

2) +12V Amps

If you can give us the Brand name and the model number on the power supply, this will help us a LOT. :)
 
jyjjy

jyjjy

Splendid
Feb 27, 2006
9,877
1
31,960
In terms of performance there's little difference between the GTX 460 1gb and the HD6850. I would choose between them basically based on what prices you find where ever you are.
The main difference in the individual cards you might buy will be the cooling. If you aren't going to overclock then getting the best cooling isn't a big deal but I would recommend doing so. Both of these cards overclock easily and well, usually by 30%+ over reference speeds. The Asus DirectCU version of either card is among the best and would be a good choice and the MSI cards tend to have good cooling as well with the Hawk being the best GTX 460 around.
If you don't have a decent power supply you are going to probably need to spend $50+ on one which means you may want to get a 768mb GTX 460 instead. It will still do quite well at 1080p, especially when overclocked.
A lesser but still notable issue is your processor. A 2.4ghz base speed is pretty low and will limit any of these cards in the more processor intensive games, especially ones that only utilize 2 cores. Assuming it's a Q6600 then if your motherboard allows for overclocking you can easily OC it up to 3.0-3.3ghz even on the stock cooler and that should be fine. If it won't allow you to OC then you could theoretically upgrade to a better LGA775 processor but it will cost a lot and you are probably best off just dealing with the CPU bottleneck until you can upgrade the rest of the system altogether. If the processor is one of the original Phenoms you are kind of stuck unless your motherboard allows for AM3 processors(quite possible) in which case a Phenom II x4 would be a worthwhile upgrade if you can afford it.
 
jerreece

jerreece

Splendid
Sep 7, 2006
3,960
0
23,160
For $185 I'd say the MSI Cyclone is a good deal. That's a VERY good card if you want to OC it, or if you just want a very cool running video card.

The EVGA card is a great card as well, and is already overclocked. As easy as GPUs are to OC, I'd rather have the MSI Cyclone myself. It's less money too!
 
C

CoNtrAsT_

Distinguished
Oct 31, 2010
21
0
18,510
no i live quite far away actually :p

and @ "If you can give us the Brand name and the model number on the power supply, this will help us a LOT. :)"

umm how do i check those stuff?
 
jerreece

jerreece

Splendid
Sep 7, 2006
3,960
0
23,160




 
C

CoNtrAsT_

Distinguished
Oct 31, 2010
21
0
18,510
oh sorry.. didnt understand.. also what is the difference between Superclocked and Overclocked?

it says in this one that it is superclocked http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-PCI-Express-Graphics-01G-P3-1373-AR/dp/B003VWZEBY/ref=sr_1_16?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1290463284&sr=1-16

and it says overclocked here http://www.amazon.com/MSI-N460GTX-OC-Overclocked-Graphics/dp/B003VWW4AI/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1290463284&sr=1-8

also the cyclone seems to have a big fan.. will it make a really loud noise?
 
HostileDonut

HostileDonut

Splendid
Aug 29, 2010
4,076
0
23,160
I havn't been reading all this, but from the last comment I can tell you this. No the MSI Cyclone is supposed to NOT be noisy. Superclocked and Overclcker are normally different. The superclocked normally has a little more overclock in it. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom