Upgrade help required

wight_mw

Distinguished
Nov 30, 2010
6
0
18,510
Hi guys,

System is:

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
Intel E6700
Corsair XMS2 4GB PC6400
WD 300GB VelociRaptor HLFS
Corsair TX650W
CoolerMaster 690

I currently have a GT6800 and have a budget of £150 to upgrade. Whilst I'd like to update the M/B, CPU & RAM now, this will have to wait a few pay days. Essentially what I'm looking to do is to upgrade the GPU now then SLI/Crossfire in the future.

I'm a UK resident so newegg is out I'm afraid - I did see this on a UK site:

http://www.dabs.com/products/evga-geforce-gtx-460-763mhz-1gb-pci-e-hdmi-superclocked-ee--external-exhaust--78R2.html

I'm not bothered about the free software, the card looked pretty competitive for price vs performance tho.

My question is, would the 460gtx be the best option if I intend to sli or should I be considering an alternative?

If the 460 is the way to go, is the EVGA a good buy?

Any advice appreciated.
 

plastichairball

Distinguished
Aug 17, 2010
302
0
18,810
The 460 is an excellent choice. It will SLI very well, with great scaling and has some OC room in it as well. I'd do a quick check to see if your PSU supports SLI if you're taking it into upgrade though.

Have a look at scan.co.uk there are quite a few good deals on there too. The card off Dabs though is very highly clocked and might just rank as one of the best 460s out there at the moment.

Wow, the jump from a 6800 GT to a GTX 460 might just blow your mind!
 

wight_mw

Distinguished
Nov 30, 2010
6
0
18,510


Thanks for your help - yep I think I've been living in the dark ages so about time for an upgrade!
 
It is a good card although it is going to be held back by the current setup you can transfer it to the new/upgraded rig later to release its full performance (which I guess is your plan ;) ).

Have a read here:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-radeon-hd-6870-radeon-hd-6850,review-32039.html

The prices are in US Dollars but the hierachy remains the same.

A few other places to look: Overclockers, Misco, Microdirect, CCL, Scan and E-buyer
in addition to price comparason sites like Kelkoo.
Customer service and warranties vary from country to country but EVGA seem to have a good Global reputation.

Edit: Nice on from Plastichairball, indeed, prepare to have your mind blown :)
 

wight_mw

Distinguished
Nov 30, 2010
6
0
18,510


Cheers for the reply, that hierachy chart is damn useful!

Will I notice a difference in performance by upgrading to the 460gtx on my current rig, or will the bottleneck mean I should just wait to totally overhaul my system ?
 

wight_mw

Distinguished
Nov 30, 2010
6
0
18,510


Awesome, thanks for your help guys :)
 

wight_mw

Distinguished
Nov 30, 2010
6
0
18,510
I think my monitor will only support up to 1280 x 1024...playing games such as Fallout 3 and bioshock 2 on high detail but frame rates aren't great. I assumed the GT6800 was holding them back, hence I prioritised upgrading that before the rest of the system
 
AH! Now we're cooking with Gas!
If you plan on keeping the monitor/system for a while then I'd go for the HD5770 or GTS450, both will run existing games at full or nearly full settings at that resolution and neither will be held back by the current CPU.
If you plan further upgrades soon, particularly a larger monitor, then a GTX460/HD6850 would be a better choice as the less powerful cards quickly run out of steam at 1680x1050 or beyond. Just add a decent CPU ooler and a bit of overclock for maximum benefit.
 

wight_mw

Distinguished
Nov 30, 2010
6
0
18,510
Right, think that's my mind made up then - I do plan further upgrades so the 460gtx it is! thanks for all the great advice