Replacement for 8800GTX

[jpeterson92]

Hey guys,

I was hoping you might be able to give me some advice on upgrading my current rig. I'll list my specs below. The main questions I have are:
1) Is upgrading from an 8800GTX to a card in the ~$200 range going to give me significant gains, or should I wait?
2) I believe my current mobo is PCIE 1.0 x16. Would this be bottleneck for a new graphics card?
3) Is the graphics card the most important piece of hardware that I should upgrade at the moment?

Specs:
- ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
- BFG Tech BFGR88768GTXE GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz
- 2 x G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
- SILVERSTONE ST60F 600W ATX 12V 2.01 / EPS 12V SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply
- Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive

Thank you!
Jared

 

[Tamz_msc]

A GTX 460 1GB will be a good upgrade.

 

[purple stain]

For less than $200 you have lots of choices.Personally I would reccomend going with the 6870.It's a pretty decent upgrade from a 8800GTX but you may have to O.C. your processor to not cause a bottleneck.

No your 1.0 mobo won't bottleneck any newer cards but you should stay away from the 2.1 cards as they are known to have issues with 1.0 boards.You should look for the 2.0 cards.

Your CPU is long overdue for a replacement but since it's already at 3ghz if you can O.C. it more to say about 3.5ghz you should be able to extend it's useage some more or at least until you have the money for a complete overhaul.

After looking at some 6870's it seems none are 2.0 that are under $200.Their are some 6850's that are 2.0 but they cost the same as the 6870 2.1 cards.Might be best to look at the GTX460 or 5850 instead.

EVGA GTX460 $145=$115 after MIR + Free Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130591&cm_re=460-_-14-130-591-_-Product

Actually I just checked TigerDirect and they DO have a 6870 that is 2.0.

XFX 6870 $190=$170 after MIR + Shipping

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6817295&CatId=3669

The 6870 is much faster than the GTX460 and is better at tessselation making it better for future games.And I feel is the best for your money.
I personally own a 6870 and it is a great card.

 

[shobits1]

I advice you to go with a GTX560 (it's not the GTX560Ti which is more expensive)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446

here is a review :

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_560_TOP_Direct_Cu_II/1.html

according to the review its better than HD6870, HD6850, GTX460 or even HD5850

 

[purple stain]

Really depends which game your playing.The GTX560 vs 6870 is very close.But do keep in mind that the Asus GTX560 version is highly factory O.C.'d and the 6870 is not.And it's the O.C. version that is able to throw blows at the 6870.Like I said it really depends which game your playing.

 

[nforce4max]

Well your choices have already been stated if you are willing to hold to your current budget. 6870 or gtx 460. The gtx 460 isn't a card for those who do not make sure there won't be any problems. If you want to card much like your 8800gtx that works as it is expected to choose a different card like a 6870 or gtx 560 but go for the TI that is reference.

 

[shobits1]

@purple stank, true but even the OC 6870 will have the same performance as the oc gtx560 depends on game and resolution; look here
PowerColor HD 6870 PCS++ 1 GB(6870 over clocked to 975Mhz) Performance Summary:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_6870_PCS_Plus_Plus/23.html

and here the Gtx560 oc
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_560_TOP_Direct_Cu_II/27.html

having the GTX470 as reference We'll:
under 1080p resolution:
GTX560OC performs better than HD6870OC by about 1 to 6%.
over 1080 resolution:
HD6870OC performs better than GTX560OC by about 2 to 5%.

also, I believe he said he has a mobo with PCI-E1.0 and all the HD6870 I have seen are PCI-E2.1. and judging from some people reporting issue when using PCI-E2.1 cards with their PCI-E1.x mobo. I advice him to go with the GTX560 since it has PCI-E2.0.

@nforce4max: he wants a card in the range of $200, that why I said the gtx560, the gtx560ti is more expensive about +$250. if he can afford to go with the Ti then a card with better cooler will be better; (also if he doesn't plan to overclock it then an overclock card will serve him good)

 

[purple stain]

The 6870 I linked above is 2.0,I made sure of it.Also the 6870 I linked is cheaper than the GTX560.The GTX560 is a brand new card so the prices are very high for it still.And it really does depend on what game you play and you can tell some games are coded more for Nvidia than AMD.I saw in a benchmark that a 6950 performed worse than the 6850.
And I don't know why but i've been noticing in most games that the 6870 performs better than the GTX560 at larger resoultions.

 

[shobits1]

The 6870 I linked above is 2.0,I made sure of it.Also the 6870 I linked is cheaper than the GTX560.The GTX560 is a brand new card so the prices are very high for it still.And it really does depend on what game you play and you can tell some games are coded more for Nvidia than AMD.I saw in a benchmark that a 6950 performed worse than the 6850.
And I don't know why but i've been noticing in most games that the 6870 performs better than the GTX560 at larger resoultions.

sorry, but look here at the xfx official site :

http://xfxforce.com/en-us/products/GraphicCards/HD%206000series/6870.aspx?lang=en-us

the xfx official site state that the HD 6870 they made are PCI-E2.1.

better stay away from it, IMO.

 

[purple stain]

That maybe but someone is giving the wrong info.Either TigerDirect or XFX,i'm not sure.I just read it...
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6817295&CatId=3669&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=je6NUbpObpQ-WdFwa8tWGzUa.ru3jXmntA

Specifications

XFX Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 PCIe, Dual DVI & HDMI Chipset: ATI Radeon


GPU Series: AMD Radeon HD 6000
Lifestyle: Enthusiast
GPU/VPU: Radeon HD 6870
Additional Features: ATI Avivo HD Technology
Memory Interface: 256-bit
Memory Type: GDDR5
Video Memory: 1GB
Stream Processors: 960
Core Clock: 900 MHz
Memory Clock: 4200 MHz
Interface Type: PCI Express 2.0
Interface Speed: x16
Connector(s): Dual DVI
HDMI
Dual mini-Display Port
Multiple Monitors Support: Yes
Max. Monitors Supported: 3
Overclocked: No
APIs: DirectX 11
OpenCL
1080p Support: Yes
Video Output: DVI
HDMI
Display Port
Low Profile: No
Cooling Type: Fan
Multi-GPU Support: CrossFire-X
Minimum PSU Wattage Requirement: 500 Watt



Thats the specs for the XFX6870 on TigerDirect's webiste I linked

 

[shobits1]

I don't blame you, but IMO I'll stick with the specification on the manufacturer website (xfx); sometimes the sellers does anything to avoid unnecessary explanation (that what they thought)

Specification from xfx site
Processor & Bus
Bus Type: PCI-E 2.1
Performance: Standard
GPU Clock MHz: 900 MHz
Stream Processors: 1120
Minimum Power Requirement (Watt): XFX PRO550W
Memory
Memory Interface Bus (bit): 256
Memory Type: DDR5
Memory Size (MB): 1024 MB
Memory Clock (MHz): 4200 MHz
Rendering
Microsoft® DirectX® Support: 11
Shader Model Support: 5.0
Open GL Optimization and Support: 3.2
Feature Technologies
ATI Radeon CrossFireX™ Technology
ATI Radeon PowerPlay™
ATI Eyefinity Technology
AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) Technology(m)
AMD HD3D
Unified Video Decoder (UVD):3

 

[jpeterson92]

Thanks for all the input guys. The general idea that I've gathered is that I should get a 460 GTX or a 6870. I also need to be careful about not getting a PCIE 2.1 card, as they've had issues with PCIE 1.0 mobos in the past.

I saw on Slickdeals today a Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 GC 768MB for $90. I know it's not the 460 GTX 1GB, but from the FPS charts I can find on Tom's Hardware, I don't know if I think the additional .25GB is worth the cost, especially with a good deal like this. Do you think this is a good upgrade choice, or should I maybe wait till Memorial Day and see if any deals come out then? Thanks again!


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?SID=u1107123t2942975f9fp0dd0c0s701&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16814162058