Need advice, upgrading from 9800gtx+ 512mb

[BlackAzrael]

Hi, i'm new here and i hope someone can help me on the matter. First, my budget is between 100$-200$.

Today, i bought a new monitor that supports 1920x1080 and i basically want to play The Witcher 2 on high or ultra with that resolution.

My CPU is an Intel Core2Quad 2.83ghz so i think that is pretty much enough cpu-wise. My PSU is an Antec 620 watts.

As for graphic card, i currently have a Zotac Geforce 9800GTX+ 512mb. I have always been with Nvidia but i don't mind if it's ATI this time. It lags on High when in 1920x1080 resolution.

I await your answers, thanks in advance

 

[rolli59]

Depending on budget you can go to HD6850, GTX460 1GB up to HD6950, GTX560ti your PSU can handle any of them,
Missed the budget above
HD6870 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161349
GTX560Ti if you can deal with MIR then under $200 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130634

 

[cuecuemore]

If you can pull it off, definitely go for the 6950, it's the best value in the performance market at the moment.

 

[smango123]

I have a msi 560ti and on witcher 2 I can play on ultra with uber setting turned off. I recommend this card because it highly overclockable but it's a bit over your budget $250 ($230 AR) on newegg i think. On the other hand there's 460's on newegg on sale for about $100 and since your budget is bout $200 you can get 2 and sli if you have that option. On the ATI side the HD6950 is a good choice and some card are you can flash the bios and turn it to a HD6970

 

[bliq00]

If you're going to spend ~$200, I'd be looking at the Radeon 6870 at ~190 or the GTX560Ti at ~220

personally I buy from amazon because no tax and free shipping. If you don't live in CA, then the egg or other retailers may be better for you.



http://www.amazon.com/PNY-nVidia-GeForce-PCI-Express-VCGGTX560TXPB/dp/B004INH10C/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1308697042&sr=8-6

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-DisplayPort-PCI-Express-HD687AZNFC/dp/B0047ZH7GE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308697333&sr=8-1


If you're going to be spending more like $100, 5770, I don't think there's a question. But is it going to perform any better than your 9800+?

 

[BlackAzrael]

Hey roli59, what do you mean by "MIR" ?

 

[rolli59]

Mail in Rebate = MIR

 

[BlackAzrael]

oh thank you. And as for the geforce 560ti, is it really stronger than the one i got. i checked the specs and its better in every way except for the processor clock. current is : 1836mhz and the 560ti is 1645. Wondering if that truly affects the performance.

A better question would be : what affects the performance eactly on a graphic card?

 

[rolli59]

It is the architecture of the card! More cores or processing units the more powerful the card gets (nvidia and AMD use different technology to reach similar results so not directly comparable)
Best way to compare cards is by benchmarking http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_560_TOP_Direct_Cu_II/27.html

 

[cuecuemore]

oh thank you. And as for the geforce 560ti, is it really stronger than the one i got. i checked the specs and its better in every way except for the processor clock. current is : 1836mhz and the 560ti is 1645. Wondering if that truly affects the performance.

A better question would be : what affects the performance eactly on a graphic card?

The shader clock is higher on the 9800 GTX+ but it has far fewer shader cores. Its core is set up 128:64:16 (Unified shader:TMU:ROP) compared to the GTX 560 ti's 384:64:32. So it's kind of like comparing a Pentium 4 clocked at 3Ghz to an i7 clocked at 2.6 Ghz.

 

[BlackAzrael]

lol okay, good comparaison i guess. It appears one of my friend has a spare brand new 6850 for 180$. Does that seem a good deal?

 

[cuecuemore]

If those are US dollars, then no. Newegg has 6850s for as low as $150.

 

[17seconds]

GTX 560 Ti's are now below $200 after rebate.

Galaxy GTX 560 Ti: $195
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162074

EVGA GTX 560 Ti: $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

Even at $250, it was number 1 in Total Value Rating, at $195 it's even better:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3811/galaxy_geforce_gtx_560_ti_1gb_gc_video_card_overclocked/index1.html

 

[blink180heights]

Get an Nvidia card so that you can put your 9800 gtx+ for PhysX - i would get a msi gtx 560 twin frozr 2... no one is gonna buy a 9800 any more so don't just throw it away.. add to the arsenal

 

[BlackAzrael]

It's 180$ canadian dollars, well he offers it to me for 150$ but gotta pay 30$ for gas haha.

 

[BlackAzrael]

Get an Nvidia card so that you can put your 9800 gtx+ for PhysX - i would get a msi gtx 560 twin frozr 2... no one is gonna buy a 9800 any more so don't just throw it away.. add to the arsenal

I'm not sure i can put those two cards together since they're not the same or i'm misunderstanding something...

 

[rolli59]

It's 180$ canadian dollars, well he offers it to me for 150$ but gotta pay 30$ for gas haha.

Still steep http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150505

 

[BlackAzrael]

Thanks to all for you help, i finally went the ATI 6850 afterall. I must say i'm not deceived at the least, it runs everything perfectly smooth, even The Witcher 2 on ultra. So yeah for 180$ i think that was a good offer.

 

[BlackAzrael]

Best answer selected by BlackAzrael.