Upgrading 512MB 8800 GT

[imrani]

Hi,

I need to purchase a graphics card immediately, My Asus GeForce 8800 GT stopped working yesterday. I am willing to spend $200.
Games needed to run are mainly Assassins Creed Brotherhood, Fable 3, Brink.

My PC specs are as follows(system is 3 years old) :
Asus P5N-D mobo
Intel Q6600 (2.6GHZ)
4 GB Kingston DDR2 800 ram
500W PS

currently using XP service pack 3

I want to purchase a card just to run this system optimally (graphic card must not limit system performance). I have been looking at the 1GB GeForce GTX 550 ti, 1GB MSI Radeon HD 6850.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Might I recommend one of these if you are willing to wait for a rebate? Should be a giant step up.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130634

However, may depend on the quality of your power supply though if it will run.

For another good step up and some $$ left over, maybe grab one of these.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130591

100 after rebate.

Either save the extra cash, or you might consider grabbing up Windows 7, as XP is only DX9, so you are going to limit what games you can play.

550ti may not be bad, but the 460 is a last gen card, but alot of the same features such as dx11 support, etc, and should outperform the 550ti.

If you want Windows 7 and price is a big issue,

Grab one of these things.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500187

then get Windows 7. Not as fast as the 550, but still a better performer than your old card. I would strongly consider Windows 7 so you don't hold back the pc.

 

[Gulli]

ATI (AMD) equivalents to those cards are the HD 6850, 6870 and HD 5850, which may be cheaper.

 

[imrani]

Thanks, So if i get the GTX 460 and Windows 7, the graphics will not bottleneck my PC?
Is it worth it with my system limitations to purchase the HD6850 or should I buy a cheaper card?

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

I think the main thing I'd be worried about possibly is the processor. Other than that, you should be fine.

Here's a link to a page of an article that shows performance of the 460 and 6850.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/37499-hd-6870-hd-6850-vs-gtx-460-1gb-overclocking-study-6.html

 

[imrani]

Thanks
can i upgrade my processor with the current mobo or is my system too outdated? can you recommend a processor?

 

[Gulli]

Thanks
can i upgrade my processor with the current mobo or is my system too outdated? can you recommend a processor?

You have a socket 775 mobo. The Q6600 is not THE most powerful CPU for that socket, but close to it: the Q9xxx series is slightly faster and I believe there was a Q6700 as well, but (if you can find one of these CPUs second hand) they won't run circles around the Q6600. The Q6600 can still handle almost all games out there, all games if you overclock it to say 3ghz.

 

[monkeysweat]

i would stay in the 460GTX, maybe go with a 1GB, that would leave it pretty good with a nice O/C on your Q6600 -- a 460 is about 3x more powerful than the 8800 so you should have a nice upgrade without having to worry about power draw, etc. I have a 460GTX 768 with an AMD x3 445 it is somewhere around the same horsepower of your cpu and it doesn't usually get maxed out on games,,but then again i haven't really maxed out my vid card either

 

[zwink]

For $200 or less, if you are looking at value, go with the ATI HD 6850 or the Nvidia GTX 560. The 560 is probably going to be the single best performer for that dollar amount. Check out www.gpubench.com and try their Value index. Tells you performance for $$

 

[imrani]

okay will stay with the Q6600 for now.

Thanks for all the advice. I will go with the GTX 560.

Is there a difference between the Gigabyte or Innovision?

 

[imrani]

I am currently purchasing the cards in SA and the equivalent price is as follows:

Innovision GTX 560 1GB : ~$285
MSI ATI Radeon R6850 1GB: ~$265
MSI GTX 460: ~$270

Which of these would be the best deal?

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Between those cards at that price, I'd get the 560.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-amp-edition-gtx-560-directcu-ii-top,2944-6.html

 

[monkeysweat]

where are you? those prices a tad high for North America.. i like gigabyte --- i originally suggested the 460 because it was faster than what you were looking at without breaking the bank,, but I do like the 560 ti model,, but it's also 50% more money - unless you plan to upgrade everything in your PC soon, it may be a waste of money unless you have a high res screen already..... just my opinion though.

 

[imrani]

I'm in South Africa, and the prices here are high because of import costs (thats what the retailers tell us). They do have the innovision 460 GTX for $215. I'm not sure about the brand tho

 

[monkeysweat]

Ahh,, I'm used to South Africa being ZA code.

don't spend too much if you aren't doing up your whole PC, moving from 8800 GT a 460 will blow it out of the water,, 560 will put down the hurt on a 460,, so whatever you want to spend here, but I think you would want a faster CPU for the 560.

most brands should b OK,, just try to read up whatever reviews you can before you purchase,,, i know you won't have the greatest selection.

airfreight to ZA is super pricey,, so I can see the higher prices.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

The 460 will probably be fine if you can grab it for 215, just keep it cool is your main thing.

 

[monkeysweat]

The 460 will probably be fine if you can grab it for 215, just keep it cool is your main thing.

460's don't run hot to begin with, low power draw and very quiet,, work well pretty much any case they can fit in,,, at most if you find you are running a bit warmer than your comfort level, just add a case fan or a small 40mm somewhere to move the air around in the case.

i have a matx case with a 460, 4 hdd, dvd drive, 1 add in card and heat or air movement is not an issue..

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Personally, I'd just grab a pci slot cooler fan to help pull air from under the card. Also, you can usually use software to control the card's fan speed.