Need Advice on GTS 450 vs GTX 550 Ti vs HD 6850

[buntoo]

Hi, I've always found tomshardware very informative and helpful community.
This is my 2nd thread here.

I want to upgrade my GPU as soon as possible and I intend to buy it this week or may be tomorrow.

My current system has the following specs:

Processor: C2D E7500 overclocked to 3666Mhz at stock heatsink.

RAM: 2GB (1GBx2) dual channel Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333MHz
(Going to upgrade it to 4GB (2GBx2) XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz tomorrow)


Motherboard: MSI P45-C51 Link

PSU: Silverstone 500W Modular S50F-230 (has 2xPCIe 6pin connector cables) Link

Monitor: Samsung P2370HD 23" HDTV LCD @ 1920x1080 resolution

GPU: MSI N7300GS-256MB (very old & outdated - bought it in 2007)

I personally prefer and like MSI products.

And i'm not a gamer. I just want a good GPU for general purposes web browsing, watching HD movies, photoshop, a little video encoding etc..

Have been looking/searching for a GPU all the week. I am unable to decide which one should I go for.

---------------------------------------------------------

Now I have selected the following three GPUs

1. MSI GTS 450 CYCLONE OC 1G Link

2. MSI GTX 550 Ti CYCLONE II 1G Link

3. MSI R6850 CYClONE Power Edition OC 1G Link

Plz help me decide which one is better for me?
Also tell me why on some cheaper models core clock & other specs are higher compared to the expensive ones but still they don't perform like the expensive models in benchmarking etc.

p.s. I upgraded my Mobo, CPU & PSU last year. Should i need to upgrade to i3 or i5 and a new mobo at this time?


Many thanks in advance.

Regards,
buntoo
.

 

[rolli59]

All these cards are classified as gaming cards and a overkill for your needs. HD5670/6670 even HD6540 or GT220/40, GT430/520/30 would do. Just buy the cheapest one and it will be a upgrade.

 

[buntoo]

Thanks for your reply. But out of those three cards which one is the best?
I want it to be a little future proof. I don't like the specs of GT430-520 etc... I just want to have a GPU which is decent (but not very expensive).

 

[gagan_prakash2009]

If u r not a gamer then u wont need to spend on those cards,just go with HD5670 & if u like nvidia then 440GT will be more than enough.

Core clocks are not the only thing in gpu there are other things like SPU,ROP,texture units,bus type(128bit/256bit),memory bandwidth.u need to keep all these in mind while buying gpu.


u also have a decent CPU for your needs,so no need for upgrading mobo+cpu

 

[gagan_prakash2009]

Have u any budget or u want to select frm these three options only?

If budget then tell us.

 

[geofelt]

As a ranking, 6850>GTX550 ti > GTS450. The difference im measurable with a benchmark, but not much difference otherwise.
For HD movies, a $50 graphics card should do the job.

Your upgrade to 4gb is a good one.

For your usage, I suspect that your best performance upgrade will be a SSD for the os and apps. Look for 60-120gb. Expect to pay $2 per gb.

If you think your cpu is the weak link, then sandybridge with the integrated graphics will be good enough for movies and your apps.
For what it is worth, the E7500@stock 2.93 has a passmark number of 2012, a sandy bridge 2100 @ 3.1 has a number of 3859.

 

[buntoo]

Have u any budget or u want to select frm these three options only?

If budget then tell us.

Yes sure I can afford any one of those cards. I have budget even for a GTX 560 but don't want to spend that much on a GPU...


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As a ranking, 6850>GTX550 ti > GTS450. The difference im measurable with a benchmark, but not much difference otherwise.
For HD movies, a $50 graphics card should do the job.

Your upgrade to 4gb is a good one.

For your usage, I suspect that your best performance upgrade will be a SSD for the os and apps. Look for 60-120gb. Expect to pay $2 per gb.

If you think your cpu is the weak link, then sandybridge with the integrated graphics will be good enough for movies and your apps.
For what it is worth, the E7500@stock 2.93 has a passmark number of 2012, a sandy bridge 2100 @ 3.1 has a number of 3859.

My OS is Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit. I am having no prob with my CPU or mobo. I was just asking if they are ok with a R6850?

And is 500w PSU i mentioned in the first post capable of providing enough power to 6850?

@gagan_prakash2009:
I know a little bit about Rops, shaders, memory width etc... But still little confused...

And what about GTS 450 cyc oc? Is that enough for me at the moment? I like it but it has mini-hdmi port while i want a regular 1.4 hdmi port (6850) and don't want to use the converters.

 

[rolli59]

If you are dead set on one of those cards the GTS450 is plenty for your use and your Quality PSU is plenty for any of them.

 

[Onus]

Rolli and gagan are correct. If you are not a gamer, buying one of those cards would be a waste of money. What do you do now that does not perform as well as you'd like, or, did your current GPU die?
It is possible that one of your video programs can take advantage of CUDA processing (which means a nVidia card; a GTS450 might be justified in that case), otherwise a HD6450 would be my suggestion (if you need an upgrade at all).
Your RAM upgrade will likely make more difference than a GPU upgrade.

 

[gagan_prakash2009]

A HDMI 1.4 port can be found in any of radeon 6k series.

Why taking a HD6850,if u r not gaming?

 

[buntoo]

Rolli and gagan are correct. If you are not a gamer, buying one of those cards would be a waste of money. What do you do now that does not perform as well as you'd like, or, did your current GPU die?
It is possible that one of your video programs can take advantage of CUDA processing (which means a nVidia card; a GTS450 might be justified in that case), otherwise a HD6450 would be my suggestion (if you need an upgrade at all).
Your RAM upgrade will likely make more difference than a GPU upgrade.

Thanks.. Actually my old GPU N7300GS gets sometimes very hot approx 110 degree celcius. And two paddles(blades) of its cooler fan are already broken. And last month it suddenly stopped giving any signal to DVI port to which my monitor is attached. After some cleaning and bit struggling it started working again.. But i think it's not reliable now and could be dead anytime.. So it's time to upgrade.

I am unable to understand why majority of nvidia cards are coming with mini-hdmi while the standard is regular HDMI??

And I'm thinking of playing a few games in future @1080p. So i want to buy a mid-range decent GPU with good features and a higher WEI Score


So plz guide me if it's still wrong and waste of money to buy the 6850?

 

[buntoo]

A HDMI 1.4 port can be found in any of radeon 6k series.

Why taking a HD6850,if u r not gaming?

Coz it seems to have appealing good specs at the price Rs.17900 (approx US$204) here in my country.

 

[Onus]

Well, if you're thinking of playing some games, a HD6670 or HD6770 would let you try just about anything, even if the settings would have to be lowered on the newest games. If you really get into it, you can upgrade; if you don't, you won't have spent too much money.

 

[gagan_prakash2009]

@buntoo
i think u have made some mistakes there what's ur specs price Rs.17900 or USD204

since Rs.17900 is almost 375USD while 204USD will be around Rs.9800

are u thinking abt spending Rs.17900 on GPU or 204USD?

 

[buntoo]

@buntoo
i think u have made some mistakes there what's ur specs price Rs.17900 or USD204

since Rs.17900 is almost 375USD while 204USD will be around Rs.9800

are u thinking abt spending Rs.17900 on GPU or 204USD?

No dear no mistake as It is Pakistani Rupee

1 U.S. dollar = 87.7039116 Pakistan rupees

 

[gagan_prakash2009]

opps sry my mistake i thought its INR

Anyway
As jtt283 stated HD6770 is a good choice.It will beat gts450 in every benchmark with almost same powerdraw and has hdmi1.4

A GTX550ti is not bestbuy,rumors abt it that it is overpriced,so remove it

a hd6850 is ur extreme choice regarding your PC since higher than this may harm ur psu health.

 

[buntoo]

opps sry my mistake i thought its INR

Anyway
As jtt283 stated HD6770 is a good choice.It will beat gts450 in every benchmark with almost same powerdraw and has hdmi1.4

A GTX550ti is not bestbuy,rumors abt it that it is overpriced,so remove it

a hd6850 is ur extreme choice regarding your PC since higher than this may harm ur psu health.

Ok lets remove the GTX 550 Ti... (It's MSI cyclone II version is short in stock and only EVGA version is available which i don't lyk..)

I've checked their website and 6670 (US$114) and GT440 (US$100) are able in MSI. And both looks ok and have the necessary output ports. But now again i'm confused as GT440 is DDR3 and both are 128bit cards

While 6770 is available but only XFX & HIS.. No MSI... And it's also a 128-bit card.
(p.s. is xfs a good company?)

What about 6790? (256-bit) available in XFX & HIS...?

 

[Onus]

I have bought numerous HIS cards and never got a bad one. I've got one XFX and one MSI, also good. I've had to return a couple of Asus.

 

[gagan_prakash2009]

Look
440gt is available in DDR3 as well as in GDDR5. A HD6790 is better choice against GTX550 ti but it draws more power, even more than a HD6850.so if ur psu allows it then go for it.


u can't differenciate b/w two cards only on the basis of bus type(an old 9800gt is also 256bit but not superior to HD67.. series).

 

[gagan_prakash2009]

Similarly u will notice memory bandwidth of a HD6790 is greater than a HD6850 but 6850 is ahead of 6790.

u can trust on HIS/Sapphire/Gigabyte cards.

Dont get confused,i have a HD6750 which is repack of HD5750 with some small modification like hdmi ports & m happy with it.

Go for 6770 & if u r thinking abt changing nothing for 3-4yrs then take a HD6850.

 

[spentshells]

6750 will also allow for 3d movie playback, (if that is your thing) and if you ever take an interet in any games you will be able to play them well enough where as the 6670 will offer really low settings, which isn't bad but you might as well use an xbox or PS3

 

[buntoo]

6750 will also allow for 3d movie playback, (if that is your thing) and if you ever take an interet in any games you will be able to play them well enough where as the 6670 will offer really low settings, which isn't bad but you might as well use an xbox or PS3

Thanks for your reply

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Similarly u will notice memory bandwidth of a HD6790 is greater than a HD6850 but 6850 is ahead of 6790.

u can trust on HIS/Sapphire/Gigabyte cards.

Dont get confused,i have a HD6750 which is repack of HD5750 with some small modification like hdmi ports & m happy with it.

Go for 6770 & if u r thinking abt changing nothing for 3-4yrs then take a HD6850.

I think HD5750 also comes with HDMI port... Anyways...

My mind is almost clear now and I'm going to Lahore 2day... Lets see what's available...!

p.s. If a card suppose 6770 is not available in MSI, is it ok to buy the HIS or XFX edtn??

Do you think the cyclone versions of MSI are better (cooling wise)? Or should i buy a version which expels the heat outside the casing?

 

[gagan_prakash2009]

HD5750 has hdmi1.3 port(u want 1.4 port)

as i already said HIS edtn would be nice not confirmed abt XFX

cyclone version is better not only cooling wise but they are also overclocked(if i m not wrong)so if u are not comfortable in overclocking then it is good choice but on other hand if u r comfortable then after overclocking u may need a good cooler.Also in ur case where money is not a prblm then go for it(cyclone edtn)

 

[buntoo]

Thank you gagan_prakash2009 and thanks everybody for your help

I bought MSI R6850 Cyclone Power Edition OC version & 4GB (2gbx2) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600Mhz RAM 2day

Haven't installed anything yet. A bit tired right now. Anyways, I am happy with my purchase.

Thanks once again.

p.s. why i'm not allowed to edit my posts?

Regards,
buntoo

 

[buntoo]

I installed it 2day and everything is great

But there is some prob with the text quality on my lcd when connected via hdmi... It is not easily readable. I've tried to adjust the ClearType and some other settings but still it's bad... Could some one help me regarding this issue??