Recommend a GPU for old comp.

[grah]

Hi all,

I am looking to build a new PC next year sometime (as my current one is 5 years old already!) but in the meantime I would like to upgrade my GPU as the one I currently have is not great.

I currently have a Radeon HD 4350 1GB which was given to me for free as an alternative to my previous Palit Geforce 7600GT 256mb. The new card has given a little boost over the old one tbh, but I really would like to get a decent gaming GPU just for games like FNV etc. In short I am wondering what the best gpu I can get for current system without bottlenecking my CPU.

**Only problem is that, I believe my motherboard has a VIA chipset (not sure what this means) and I have read that this can cause problems with PCI-E 2.0.**

I really don't want to fuss around with various upgrades as I will be building a new PC next year sometime, I just need a recommendation for the best GPU based on my specs. I don't play extreme settings but would like to play the likes of the STALKER series and Fallout NV on high settings if possible. Budget up to around £70.

AMD athlon 64 x2 4200+ (Windsor)
MSI Board K9VGM-V (MS-7253)
ExcelStor Jupiter J8160S 160GB / SATAII / 7200rpm
Corsair Enthusiast Series™ TX650 V2 (650W)
2GB RAM
Radeon HD 4350 1GB
19" LCD Monitor

I hope someone more experienced than I, can give me some advice; I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!

 

[mightymaxio]

I would recommend a ati 6950 or a nvidia 570 gtx because those are both really good cards for a relatively cheap price and those will last when you decide to upgrade the rest of your computer in the next year. These also run on a 650 watt power supply.

 

[mactronix]

I would recommend that you ignore mightymaxio. Both cards are much more expensive that your stated budget and would be totally overkill for your system as it is. Taking the P*** or clueless. You decide.

Now to your question.

I would recommend a HD 5670 or a HD 5750.
This review shows both cards I have recommended in various games. Take a look and feel free to come back with any further questions.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_5670_IceQ/1.html

Mactronix

 

[grah]

Hi mactronix, sorry for the late reply and thank you for your input.

Yeah, I could see where mightymaxio was coming from, but that option I decided against before I posted here, for obvious reasons.

Anyways, both cards are within my preferred budget and both look great options.

After a quick scout I found a XFX Radeon HD 5750, with a price of £59.99, well within budget.

My board is a PCI-E x16 1.1 and I am hoping that the Radeon 5xxx series will run on it OK. I orginally purchased a XFX GeForce 9800GT but I never got it to work, was a bit gutted. The fan spun around but I got no signal from the monitor. That card was a 2.0 also, hence my apprehension to buy another, worse case scenario though is that I simply send it back though.

I did email MSI and they replied with the usual backwards compatibility of PCI-E cards. For now though the 5750 looks a good compromise between my preferred budget and perfomance. I'll mull it over and whatever I decide to buy I'll post back with any results.

Grah

 

[grah]

Also found this pdf, it lists the GPU's tested on my board. Was wondering which would be the best option on here, maybe the 8800 GTX if I can get hold of one for a decent price, or maybe the 4670. Honestly not too sure though.

 

[mactronix]

I would get the 5750, from what i have seen it tends to be Nvidia cards that have the compatibility issues more than the AMD cards.
In general I see more posts about Nvidia cards than AMD cards. Just my experience.

I wouldn't get too hung up on it really if I was you, compatibility is indeed backwards compatible in most cases.
There are some exceptions but most of the time its older 1.1 Motherboards that tend to have issues with 2.1 GPU's.

I'm pretty sure you could return it if it did not work anyway.
Ask them first to be sure.

Mactronix

 

[grah]

OK, thanks for your help. I'll order a 5750 soon and whatever the outcome (works or doesn't etc.) I'll be sure to share here, just incase anyone else runs into the same scenario as me.

Thanks again mactronix!

 

[grah]

Hi again mactronix,

I finally ordered a Radeon 5750 from Amazon, and it was delivered this morning. I installed it (left previous drivers on as they used the same as the 4350) and it worked straight out of the box. Tested a few games and it is a massive improvement over the old cards (auto-detected ultra-high on Fallout NV) and now I finally have a proper gaming card which I am very happy with. For the record I emailed the company before hand and they said even though it should be compatible with my board I could send it back.

Anyways, thanks for your help and recommendation, it's really appreciated!

Merry Christmas!

 

[mactronix]

Thanks for letting us know how it went. I'm glad I could help.

Enjoy your gaming.

Merry Christmas

Mactronix