Please suggest a video card.

[drunkducki]

i need a new card to replace my old 8800gt. I want to be able to max out all settings for Wow, SC2, and the incoming Diablo3 on 1920x1080. my budget is around $200 CDN. This is my system spec:

Intel C2Q 9450 @ 3.0 GHz
DDR2-800 4GB
EVGA 750i FTW
Power and Cooling 750w Silencer
Win 7 Ultimate x64
Antec 900

What card do you suggest AND is 750w sufficient for xfire/sli down the road? thank

 

[eyefinity]

Your cpu is still near the top tier so won't be a bottleneck. Buy a 6850 basically, like this one (US) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161348&cm_re=hd_6850-_-14-161-348-_-Product

The gtx 460 is a decent card too, if a bit inferior due to power draw. If you can get one for $10 less, it could be worth it.

 

[nfuzer]

The Radeon 6850 sounds like it is a good match for you. It offers the performance you need and it matches your budget. They generally price for about $200 USD which is ~$202CND.

As for a brand. It is entirely up to you. I prefer either XFX or Sapphire but brand choice is more of a preference.

Here are some 6850's http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=radeon+6850&x=0&y=0

 

[17seconds]

WOW favors Nvidia cards significantly. You can purchase a GTX460 1GB for $199 on Newegg.

"Although AMD's Radeon HD 5800- and 6800-series cards demonstrate notable differentiation at 2560x1600, lower resolutions show the company's fastest boards running into a limitation in the mid-80 FPS range--below Nvidia's competing GeForce GTX 460."
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793.html

"For the time being, we're going to have to leave everything at default and point out the observed and confirmed image quality issue currently affecting Radeon HD 6800-series cards. This may or may not become a factor in your buying decision, but right now, the bottom line is that Nvidia offers better texture filtering, regardless of whether you’re one of the folks who can appreciate it."
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-570-gf110-performance,2806-5.html

 

[drunkducki]

price range as i mentioned above is around $200 CDN.

Base on the review here, HD6850 performs about the same as gtx460 in SC2.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6870-radeon-hd-6850-barts,2776-14.html

however, in Wow, gtx 460 is 10fps higher than HD6850.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793-5.html

someone said blizzard games favoured nvidia cards. is that true? this is important since i only play blizzard games.

 

[drunkducki]

matto i missed your reply when i was typing out mine lol.

 

[eyefinity]

Well if you only play Blizzard games then it looks like the 460 would be the better choice for that.

 

[nfuzer]

however, in Wow, gtx 460 is 10fps higher than HD6850.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793-5.html

10FPS more in WoW is not all that amazing, but seeing is that you play strictly blizzard games, the gtx 460 seems like a more logical choice for you.

It is really up to you. You can pick either Red or Green. Either one you choose you will not be disappointed.

**EDIT Yes, WOW favors Nvidia cards.

 

[drunkducki]

ok now. which gtx460 do you recommend? i will be OCing the card and i want the fan to be as quiet as possible.

 

[17seconds]

The fastest GTX460 is also the quietest,
Gigabyte GTX460 1GB Superoverclock
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125345

According to Guru3d, the card comes in as the quietest of 18 cards tested at 37dB, along with the ECS Black 1GB (another excellent choice http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134117).
Unfortunately, the MSI Hawk and Cyclone come in at 43dB.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-460-soc-review/8

Quote:
"From the top of my head I can tell you that this was GeForce GTX 460 card number eighteen that we have tested to date. The overall baseline performance of the GeForce GTX 460 is of course commendable, this particular SOC card comes factory overclocked a good chunk higher, making it the fastest GTX 460 we actually tested. The card as tested today performs roughly at GTX 470 level, and that means it is in fact competing with the Radeon 6850 and sometimes even the 6870.

It doesn't stop there though, you can really benefit from a manual overclock as well thanks to the cooler. 850 MHz is just not an issue either and thanks to the very silent WindForce 2X cooler the temperatures remain very much under control. Now if you are willing to do so, add a little extra GPU voltage as shown on our overclocking pages, if you set it at 1.088 Volts you'll pass 900 MHz. Our maximum upper limit was roughly 950 MHz, and that was really pushing it."
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-460-soc-review/19

 

[drunkducki]

i went to a local computer shop.

msi hawk after MIR - $190 + games
asus directcu top after MIR - $185
gigabyte superoverclock - $215

it seems like asus has a heatsink on the VRM but hawk doesn't. I think the extra heatsink will probably help with OC. Gigabyte SO looks good, but i dunno if it's worth the $30 to get just a few more fps. so i picked up the Asus directcu top.

Now it's time to OC this thing. im using MSI afterburner. what software do you use for the stability test and how much time does it have to run to be considered stable?

 

[17seconds]

i went to a local computer shop.

msi hawk after MIR - $190 + games
asus directcu top - $185
gigabyte superoverclock - $215

it seems like asus has a heatsink on the VRM but hawk doesn't. I think the extra heatsink will probably help with OC. Gigabyte SO looks good, but i dunno if it's worth the $30 to get just a few more fps. so i picked up the Asus directcu top.

Now it's time to OC this thing. im using MSI afterburner. what software do you use for the stability test and how much time does it have to run to be considered stable?

Those were all good options, and you will like the Asus DirectCU.

The great thing about MSI Afterburner is tha it also installs MSI Kombustor. Just run Kombustor, it is based on the Furmark stress test. You can either run it in benchmark mode or in stress test mode. If you run a DirectX 11 stress test with full 8x antialiasing, it should take about 5 minutes (or less) to fully get the card into it's maximum temperature range (leave the fan on Auto).

 

[17seconds]

I have the Asus DirectCU too.
I don't overclock it tho but Asus also has clocking software for their cards..

That's right. I almost forgot that I also have an Asus card (at least for a few more hours when I get my PNY GTX580 in the mail). I still use MSI Afterburner, though. The Asus overclocking software does not look as good, and doesn't come with stress test software. It may also place too low of a cap on top clock speeds.

 

[17seconds]

I've never used it, just kept all the software together in the box...
GTX580 - you suck. I'm kinda jealous..

I'm also going out to pick up a copy of Battlefield 2 Bad Company 2 for $18. Full DirectX 11 support with ultra high settings and super high framerates on a 27 inch Samsung monitor. Like you, I'm all for legalization just for a moment like that.

 

[17seconds]

blazin' one now....

Hopefully, you live in California. The Governor, also known as the Terminator, reduced the penalty statewide to an infraction, basically just like a parking ticket. No courts, no record, just pay your fine.

 

[drunkducki]

Asus DirectCU Top GTX 460 1GB:

Factory settings:
Voltage 1.067
Engine clock 775
Shader clock 1550
Memory clock 2000

OC OCCT stable
Voltage 1.100
Engine clock 850
Shader clock 1700
Memory clock 2000

Kombustor stable
Voltage 1.100
Engine clock 880
Shader clock 1760
Memory clock 2300

was expecting more than 900 engine clock OC but cant make it even with the voltage bump

 

[17seconds]

Asus DirectCU Top 1GB:
was expecting more than 900 engine clock OC but cant make it even with the voltage bump

I guess now we know one of the benefits of paying more for the Hawk or SOC.

 

[drunkducki]

well 850+ is probably still more than enough for my needs even tho the more the better lol. I wasnt complaining but just wanted to share the stats.

I heard some games dont support sli such as WOW? so is it better to use a single card than 2 cards?

 

[17seconds]

Upper 800's mhz is the limit for most GTX460's. Some, like the Hawk and SOC have special memory modules, PCB's, and power circuitry to enable OC's of 900-950 mhz. Some, like the EVGA FTW just have high quality components that have been tested to withstand high overclocks. 880 mhz is still 24% over the stock speed.

 

[drunkducki]

i read a hardware review for gtx460 on wow not too long ago and a single gtx460 was getting about the same fps as gtx460 sli but i cant find the review now.

Anyways, even in other games, you dont get double the performance when you sli ( i think 40% increase?? not sure) but you are acutally paying double the money. so is it really worth it?

 

[drunkducki]

Best answer selected by drunkducki.