Upgrading from 9800 gtx+ factory oc

[mooseman2216]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within the month

BUDGET RANGE: id like to spend no more than 200, but i am more interested in getting a good deal

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming (WoW, League of Legends, new MMO's of the year), watching HD video content (blu rays, hd dvds, and streaming)

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLYNY XLR8 VCG98GTXXPB-OC GeForce 9800 GTX Overclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready , PC Power and Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W , G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (possibly upgrading to 6 or 8 gigs), 23 in 1080p monitor, windows 7

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: ive always used nvidia, but idc

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: no

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920 x 1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: idk how much the technology has progressed since i bought this card, but i was wondering if it is even worth it to upgrade.

thank you for your time!

 

[Helltech]

For 200 dollars I think this is the best you are going to do...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150515&cm_re=6850-_-14-150-515-_-Product

or this if you don't mind rebates

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102913&cm_re=6870-_-14-102-913-_-Product

Other cards around that performance level are...

Geforce GTX 560 Ti 1GB
Geforce GTX 470 1280MB
Radeon HD6870 1GB
Radeon HD5850 1GB
Radeon HD6850 1GB
Geforce GTX 460 2GB
Geforce GTX 460 1GB

In order from most powerful to least powerful.

 

[17seconds]

The $200 range is the home of the GTX460. There are many great versions with custom cooling and factory overclocks. Consider EVGA Superclocked, MSI Hawk, ECS Black.

My recommendation is the Gigabyte Superoverclock $199 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125345
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-460-soc-review/

The big difference between all of the cards mentioned vs. your 9800 GTX+ is that these are capable of DirectX 11, while your 9800 is DirectX 10. The GTX460's will deliver a nice performance boost over the 9800 GTX+

 

[yesitsmario]

HD 6850 for $180($160 after rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121419&cm_re=hd_6850-_-14-121-419-_-Product

DirectCU is a nice cooler, runs quiet and cool. It also has less power consumption than a gtx 460.

 

[jyjjy]

Here is an HD5870 for $200 after rebate;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883
If you want $200 or less before rebate then the MSI Hawk GTX 460 is the way to go, especially if you are willing to overclock the card;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127518

 

[g335]

The $200 range is the home of the GTX460. There are many great versions with custom cooling and factory overclocks. Consider EVGA Superclocked, MSI Hawk, ECS Black.

My recommendation is the Gigabyte Superoverclock $199 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125345
http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-460-soc-review/

The big difference between all of the cards mentioned vs. your 9800 GTX+ is that these are capable of DirectX 11, while your 9800 is DirectX 10. The GTX460's will deliver a nice performance boost over the 9800 GTX+

Dont mean to hi jack the thread, but I bought the MSI Cyclone OC N460GTX cyclone 1GD5. Which is better the MSI Hawk Talon or the one I have? The Hawk Talon has a higher OC core speed but mine I can OC high according to MSI's website.
It is only 20 dollars more if I take back the one I have and buy the Hawk Talon. I have a 20gift certificate so it will not cost me more money.

Which should I get?

 

[jyjjy]

The Cyclone is a good card but the Hawk is the best GTX 460 you can buy IMO.

 

[g335]

The Cyclone is a good card but the Hawk is the best GTX 460 you can buy IMO.

Good. Can I still OC the Hawk Talon?

 

[jyjjy]

The Hawk cards are specially designed to achieve the highest possible overclocks. They have a custom PCB with three adjustable voltage regulators to go along with very quiet and effective cooling. Most GTX 460s tend to get up around 900mhz with a good OC while the Hawk can often get in the 930-950mhz range from what I have read.

 

[g335]

The Hawk cards are specially designed to achieve the highest possible overclocks. They have a custom PCB with three adjustable voltage regulators to go along with very quiet and effective cooling. Most GTX 460s tend to get up around 900mhz with a good OC while the Hawk can often get in the 930-950mhz range from what I have read.

I have a Dell XPS with a unclockable q6600. Will it matter if I can overclock the gpu?

 

[jyjjy]

You'll be able to OC any card you get on any system you put it in. It isn't related to whether your motherboard allows you to overclock the CPU.
The only practical effect is that a stock speed Q6600 may end up bottlenecking a fully OCed GTX 460 more, mostly on games that only utilize 2 cores, but the processor should be sufficient for most games.
Raising all the voltages on a card like the Hawk to get the best OC may use a decent bit more power than a regular GTX 460 even when overclocked so make sure your power supply can handle the extra load.