Looking to Upgrade From My 8800GT, $150 Max Budget

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malachiv

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I'm hoping to get some advice on my loooong overdue upgrade to my Nvidia 8800GT. Here's the info:

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Today if possible, no online ordering BUDGET RANGE: $150 before rebates

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (currently playing: Crysis, Gears of War, 2033, Civ 4, Ghostbusters, Sins of a Solar Empire, Mass Effect)

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Nvida 8800GT and Ultra LSP 550 Watt PSU (CompuUSA brand)

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Duo E5200 2.50 GHz, 3GB of DDR3 RAM, Intel DG41WV mATX mobo

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: n/a

PARTS PREFERENCES: Leaning towards ATI, but no true preference

OVERCLOCKING: No SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024 (old school :??: )

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Also running WinXP, plan to upgrade to Win7 soon.

Currently I'm looking at maybe a Radeon 5770/6770. Any feedback would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you!
 
Solution
I3-2100 is a great choice
beats a amd 955 and is right there with I7 first gen when it comes to gaming

with that said
at the $150 mark
and at your resolution
definitley a GTX 460
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121391
it is $15 over your budget but a great card
or since you like ATI a HD 6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=hd+6850

either way you cant go wrong
both will be awesome at your resolution
and if you upgrade monitor
have no problems playing current games at 1920x1080

legendkiller

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Your CPU Will be bottlenecking these $150 GPU due to it so old+dual core but im im not sure tho...
Im Currently looking at a GTx 460 and it is better than most $150 range videocard...
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?p=EV-G460_1G&c=pw&hash=91f7%2Fm5GG1%2BA0kNxTzlpn3hvYJ5k95IZDsqEm84NCoOZiIb1Qd%2BHu7qMn%2BR2v2h7ekOCgivnBCvf74obdYux%2BPzpWhUoaFUYOfLv913SPhrtoxvjCvH8RIthgA
BUT, If you want to save money, get this 6770 videocard becaise it's only "$100" which is a seriously good deal
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=602046&Sku=P450-6770&SRCCODE=PWATCH&cm_mmc_o=2mHCjCVybgwczfgtCjCVqHCjCdwwp
 
a 955 and am3 mobo can be had little more than the 150 dollar budget
makes sense to me
then OC the 8800
OCing video cards is easy
and not really dangerous
would be a smarter upgrade path
then look at PSU and GPU later after saving

but otherwise at the 150 mark
the GTX 460 768mb is great if you still get one
 
maybe do some hunting on ebay, I just got 6850 crossfire cards for a backup rig for 220 total shipped :) Ive seen some cheap am3 cpu on there as well; just be aware of what you are getting into and make sure you get it relatively cheap if you decide to go that route you could probably save 30-50% if you played your cards right, just a suggestion

furthermore I'd get a new quality psu first and foremost
 

malachiv

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Okay, I've got a bit of an update for my rig. These are either purchased parts or planned purchases.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within a month BUDGET RANGE: $150 before rebates

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (currently playing: Crysis, Gears of War, 2033, Civ 4, Ghostbusters, Sins of a Solar Empire, Mass Effect)

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Nvida 8800GT and Antec BP550+ PSU

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: i3-2100 3.1 GHz, 4GB of DDR3 1600 RAM, ASRock P67 Pro3 B3 mobo

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: Leaning towards ATI, but no true preference

OVERCLOCKING: No SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024, maybe a tad higher

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: WinXP & Win7

Hopefully that should leave me able to get a card that would be a considerable upgrade. Any suggestions?
 

legendkiller

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If your talking about old dual core than yes it is but since the 2100 is 2nd Gen processor, it is currently 15% faster than the first + It got HTT, it performs a bit better than Q9300 on games and 3D http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/75?vs=289 and close to as good as a i7 920 by few FPS like 3-7 FPS
 
He's upgrading from a dual core so it doesn't make sense to go with another dual core.His upgrade could be 15% better or it could be 70% better.

For the games hes playing and the ones he will play he will definitly see a lot better performance with a true quad core.
 
I3-2100 is a great choice
beats a amd 955 and is right there with I7 first gen when it comes to gaming

with that said
at the $150 mark
and at your resolution
definitley a GTX 460
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121391
it is $15 over your budget but a great card
or since you like ATI a HD 6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=hd+6850

either way you cant go wrong
both will be awesome at your resolution
and if you upgrade monitor
have no problems playing current games at 1920x1080
 
Solution



i3-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078&Tpk=i3%202100 $124

955 be http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&Tpk=955%20be
$120

for $5 bucks more I would pick the I3 2100- really a $5 price difference is meaningless
except the 1155 mobos are pricier
but just for the CPU
it is the same

remember later on can upgrade to a I5-2500K
and nothing AMD has now can match up to the 2500k OCd

and Bulldozer MIGHT be great
but at this point that is hopeful thinking

 
$5 people
really?

Dont get me wrong
I have an AMD tower also
but there is no denying that at this time
a 1155 is a better upgrade path
and that the I3-2100 can game better than the 955be
at stock speeds

if the OP wanted to do multi threaded work than
I would say 955be
but for purely gaming the I3 2100 wins

dont believe me
believe Toms
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-llano-processor,2989-3.html

overall the 955be is a better chip
but gaming it loses
plus the 1155 is a better upgrade path
 
Really the point is moot :)
the OP already got the I3 2100
and I have love for AMD and Intel
so really if the OP had a 955be or I3 2100 they are doing
good either way :)

the question is the video card for $150 and they have a decent PSU and CPU now
so my picks are the
GTX 460 1gb
or
HD 6850
or if budget is tight than
a
HD 6770
 
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