Graphic card upgrade help

[stevie44]

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H amd mobo
AMD X4 640 PROPUS 3.0
4GB DDR2 RAM GSKILL
ANTEC EARTHWATTS 440 80 PLUS BRONZE


I currently "had" a Gigabyte hd 4670 512mb card. I looking to upgrade to a better card. I need to stay under $100 for this purchase. I was looking at the ati hd 5670, but reading blogs on Tom's hardware wouldn't see much or any better performance. So looking for recommendations for new gpu. It can be Nvidia or ati/amd. I don't have crossfire on this mobo so am open to either brand. When got my 4670, it was able to run on my pc with only a 300 watt psu. So long will stay under my current psu and will do better then my old 4670. I don't have lots of space and have a wireless G desktop card in one pci slot, so can't get a huge gpu card that takes up lots of space or two slots.

Thank you for your help!!!!


Steve

 

[gracefully]

Is this your motherboard? http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3447#ov

Then, do you have a 6-pin PCI-e power connector? I tried looking up your PSU model, but I couldn't find that exact one. However, the 380W model has a PCI-e power connector, so I assume that the 440W has one.

You can move the PCI card to the bottommost PCI slot and have a dual-slot GPU. I'm afraid that unless you get something that requires a PCI-e power connector (read: powerful), you won't see any significant performance improvements. I suggest an AMD HD 6850 or an nVidia GTS 450 if you have 1 PCI-e power connector. You can use the molex to 6-pin PCI-e for a second connector and get a 6870 or GTX 460, but I'm not sure how the PSU will take it.

One thing that you should always put up front is your budget. We can make suggestions all we want, but it's useless unless we know how much you are willing to spend.

 

[stevie44]

Yes, I have a 6 pin connector on my Antec psu. Just want to get the most graphics power for my limited budget. Also, yes that's my mobo.

 

[gracefully]

Off the top of my head, the HD 5770 and the GTS 450 both require only 1 PCI-e power connector, and they can be found in newegg for about 100$.

5770:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=hd+5770&x=0&y=0

450:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=gts+450&x=0&y=0

 

[stevie44]

So I've been a Ati/Amd slave for all my pc purchases. Which would be a better performance purchase?? Also a newb question. The Nvidia shows stream processors at a lower number then Ati. Do I assume correctly that about the same for each brand?? Just not a deal breaker.

 

[mdd1963]

The 6670 appears to offer performance comparable to GTX550, but at $99....

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Aliens-vs.-Predator-Gamer,2667.html

it's current price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600100181&IsNodeId=1&name=AMD

 

[gracefully]

You can't compare the "stream processors" of AMD and nVidia. AMD GPUs have lots of stream processors but run them at the same speed as the graphics core, while nVidia GPUs have less stream processors but run them at a much higher rate.

It's the same thing as comparing a 3.6GHz Pentium 4 to a 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo. Obviously the P4 has the higher GHz, but the architectural advantage of the C2D, as well as the second core, easily beat the P4.


That aside, the GTS 450 seems to be behind the 5770 most of the time, but not too far behind: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gts-450-gf106-radeon-hd-5750,2734.html

You can see here that the GTX 550 Ti is toe-to-toe with the 5770, but bear in mind that the 550Ti is at least 20$ more expensive: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4221/nvidias-gtx-550-ti-coming-up-short-at-150/10

 

[vcarl]

I can vouch for the 5770. They're slightly over your budget it seems, the cheapest I've seen recently was something like $110ish pre-rebates, but for your PSU and desire for a speed upgrade, it'll definitely be worth it.

I haven't seen how the 4670 performs, but I played most games on upper-medium/high settings with no problems. And, I'm currently running crossfire 5770s with a 550watt PSU (18 amps on two 12v rails), so your power should be fine for one.

 

[gracefully]

When I play BFBC2 on my rig (in my sig), I top out at 180W. That would be the normal "gaming" power consumption. If I run prime95 + FurMark that'd be an entirely different story.

 

[shrkbay]

if you can find GTS 450 more than 10$ cheaper than 5770 then it'd be a great deal for the money. overall 5770 is a bit ahead of 450, but you might like PhysX, i am not a big fan of it, but just saying.

 

[stevie44]

Best answer selected by stevie44.