ATI HD4870 replacement under 100$

[oravla]

Hi there,

I'm planning to replace my good old HD4870. I find it too noisy, and it gives me too many "vpu recover" crashes playing games like Crysis 2 multiplayer demo, S.T.A.L.K.E.R, etc. (I think it probably asks for too much power and my PSU can't handle it, am I right?)

I have a Core 2 Quad 6600, 3GB DDR2 RAM, 400W PSU. Windows 7.

I'm looking for a low budget graphic card, like the Radeon HD 5670, with less power consumption -which, I understand, will provide a more stable experience, with less crashes.

I'd like to be able to play upcoming games like Crysis 2, The Whitcher 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and TES: Skyrim; I don't need high resolutions, 1280x720 without AA is enough for me, but I would like to be able to play them fluently and without sacrificing too much graphic detail.

So, any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[PudgyChicken]

You should be able to find your answer here. These reviews give you a lot of flexibility depending on the amount of money you want to spend. Tom's updates them every month so they're never out of date.

The ideal card is the GTS 250, though the minimum reccomended PSU is 450W. If I were you, I'd splurge and get a 500 watt PSU as well as a GPU.

This one will only run you $45, and provide 500W stable power.

The next card down the chart would be the 5670, and due to poor information on AMD's site, all I can tell you is that it uses 64 watts under full load. I still recommend a PSU upgrade and the GTS 250.

 

[Wilworin]

Considered buying a new PSU instead? 400W is too little for almost anything.

 

[oravla]

You should be able to find your answer here. These reviews give you a lot of flexibility depending on the amount of money you want to spend. Tom's updates them every month so they're never out of date.

The ideal card is the GTS 250, though the minimum reccomended PSU is 450W. If I were you, I'd splurge and get a 500 watt PSU as well as a GPU.

This one will only run you $45, and provide 500W stable power.

The next card down the chart would be the 5670, and due to poor information on AMD's site, all I can tell you is that it uses 64 watts under full load. I still recommend a PSU upgrade and the GTS 250.

Sorry, I was mistaken about my PSU.
It's a TACENS RADIX II 520W

I already took a look at the "Best Graphics Card..." before posting this. I find those articles useful but I never know how to "compare" my actual graphic card with the ones I see there, so I can't figure out what difference can I actually expect...

 

[welshmousepk]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127476&cm_re=5770-_-14-127-476-_-Product

90 dollars after rebate. Its more powerful, quieter and more energy efficient. at that resolution, it will max out most games.

 

[jjb8675309]

a gts 250 from a 4870 will def be a downgrade, for around 100 the only card that you will get that will compare to the 4870 is a 5770 but it would run you a little more than 100, basically Id go on ebay and get a gtx 260 or something for around 80 bucks otherwise Id shoot for at least a 5770 in terms of modern cards, otherwise the performance will be less then that of a 4870

 

[welshmousepk]

5770 can be got for 90 bucks AR. above.

 

[jjb8675309]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127476&cm_re=5770-_-14-127-476-_-Product

90 dollars after rebate. Its more powerful, quieter and more energy efficient. at that resolution, it will max out most games.

^+1 If I were the OP and playing at 720p I'd def get something along the lines of this 5770 a very nice pick, imo

 

[benski]

I think the above (welshmousepk's) is a good reccomendation, anything less is going to be a signifigant downgrade in performance. 550ti would also be a good low power choice, but you won't find one that cheap.

 

[jjb8675309]

550ti is a ripoff price/perf wise imo, I think a 5770 is the best choice but now its all up for the OP to decide

 

[oravla]

^+1 If I were the OP and playing at 720p I'd def get something along the lines of this 5770 a very nice pick, imo

So, do you think I won't have power issues with the 5770?

I've always been happy I bought the 4870, I think It's a great card but also very power demanding, which I think is the reason why I can't get the most out of it and also the cause of crashes... I don't want to have that kind of issues anymore.

 

[jjb8675309]

Running a sketch, questionable psu is not a good idea., under-powering a gpu is NOT a good idea if you value the rest of your components at all, in all honesty upgrading your psu to a 500-600w psu from a reputable manufacturer such as antec, seasonic, or corsair is probably the first thing you should do

 

[welshmousepk]

The 5770 uses far less power than a 4870, so power wise you should be fine.

However, i agree with JJ in that A PSU should be high on your list of upgrades. a corsair or xfx unit would be an excellent choice. and wouldn't cost and arm and a leg.

 

[calinkula]

I'm unsure why people are telling you to get a new GPU. Anything around the $100 mark will not give you anymore performance than you already have. You might even lose performance overall.

All though it's less glamorous, a better PSU is what you should really be looking at.

 

[jjb8675309]

^+1 agreed the 5770 is going to be the same as the 4870 but with dx11, and on that performance level i wouldnt be worried about dx11, a good psu and 6870 or higher would be a worthy upgrade imo, but if the OP is happy with that level of performance (at 720p)

the most valuable thing the OP can do is start by getting a quality psu

 

[welshmousepk]

A 5770 would offer a noticeable improvement over a 4870 (with latest drivers it is about 10 percent faster than a 4890).

the main benefit is the lower power draw, heat and NOISE. I would say it would be a very worthy upgrade. since it will solve the problem the OP has, and generally just be a better card.

Suggesting a new PSU and 6870 is not helpful at all, since the OP specified a budget of 100 dollars.

 

[jjb8675309]

oh whoops I guess I neglected the budget, guess it is not helpful, the 5770 is a bit faster I guess but in real world/ noticeable performance.... I don't think you could tell a difference at 720p, either way the 5770 would be a good choice like welshmousepk because of it low power draw, etc.. but just don't expect it to be worlds better than the 4870... sometime down the raod or in the near future I would still look to spend the 50-60 bucks on a new psu when you can, although I understand why that is not a very fun upgrade but in most cases an important one.. my 2 cents

 

[Wilworin]

Getting a 260 like someone suggested is a bad idea. If you get an old version of the card it's actually a tad slower than your current 4870 and if you get a newer model it's just a little bit faster, not enough to he noticable. And in that case getting a proper PSU is a much better choice.

Don't have any experience with the cards the other people suggested but I assume they are all valid choices .

 

[need4speeds]

You could try what i did with my 4870 in my living room pc.
Its pretty simple. Drop the speed down to 670 core and 830 mem, it should run quieter and more stable. It will also draw a bit less power if your p/s is weak.
It is still a pretty fast card at those speeds. The fan on those cards run with a controller that is set to speed up the fan to keep the gpu at a certain temp. The less heat the gpu puts out the slower the fan runs.

 

[jjb8675309]

hmmm sounds like a terrible idea