Need help with a GPU

[coffeeman_27]

Hello,
i am building a htpc, and don't know what gpu to get. i want to play skyrim, crysis etc
i havent set a budget, i just want to play on max settings without any problems, i will be playing on a pdp 50" screen.
price as low as possible and quiet.

 

[amuffin]

The cheapest card that i can think of to play crysis maxed out is either a gtx 560ti or a gtx 570. Those aren't cheap cards, but don't expect a card under $100 bucks to be able to play crysis or skyrim maxed out.

 

[jaguarskx]

Yeah, you really need to give a budget, otherwise I just might recommend the Radeon HD 6950.

Oh... wait I just did.

 

[amuffin]

Yeah, you really need to give a budget, otherwise I just might recommend the Radeon HD 6950.

Oh... wait I just did.

hehe he wants a high end card in an htpc build, I dun think it will fit

 

[refillable]

When you want to play maxed skyrim you won't use a HTPC in the knee... -_-

Can you give me detailed specs? I am sure you are joking when you call this system an ''HTPC''

 

[Supernova1138]

Yeah, Crysis though 4 years old is still a very demanding game. You need at least a $200 card to run it on very high at 1080p and get playable framerates, and that's without anti-aliasing. My Radeon HD 6870 can run Crysis on very high with no AA with the framerate mostly being between 30 and 40FPS. Some things like the flare effects up close does cause the framerate to drop slightly below 30FPS though. The 6870 is the minimum for running Crysis on very high, Crysis is one of the few games where faster and more expensive cards than the 6870 will do appreciably better.

You also aren't going to get quiet if you want to max out Crysis, cards in the $200 and up price bracket tend to be on the loud side, powerful GPUs have higher cooling requirements, and fan noise is an unavoidable fact of life unless you want to set up watercooling for your video card.

 

[amuffin]

Yeah, Crysis though 4 years old is still a very demanding game. You need at least a $200 card to run it on very high at 1080p and get playable framerates, and that's without anti-aliasing. My Radeon HD 6870 can run Crysis on very high with no AA with the framerate mostly being between 30 and 40FPS. Some things like the flare effects up close does cause the framerate to drop slightly below 30FPS though. The 6870 is the minimum for running Crysis on very high, Crysis is one of the few games where faster and more expensive cards than the 6870 will do appreciably better.

You also aren't going to get quiet if you want to max out Crysis, cards in the $200 and up price bracket tend to be on the loud side, powerful GPUs have higher cooling requirements, and fan noise is an unavoidable fact of life unless you want to set up watercooling for your video card.

he said TO THE MAX!!

 

[coffeeman_27]

When you want to play maxed skyrim you won't use a HTPC in the knee... -_-

Can you give me detailed specs? I am sure you are joking when you call this system an ''HTPC''

I am calling it a HTPC because it's a mix of both. the case is a standing up case which can support the cards
anyway...

I am looking at the Saffire Radeon HD6870 D5 1GB

this ok?

 

[amuffin]

I am calling it a HTPC because it's a mix of both. the case is a standing up case which can support the cards
anyway...

I am looking at the Saffire Radeon HD6870 D5 1GB

this ok?

You need at least a 6950 if you want to play everything maxed.

 

[refillable]

6870 is good but you won't max out Skyrim, but it should run at High.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

OK, ya haven't given us much info .....

< $200, I'd recommend the 6870

> $200, I'd recommend the 560 Ti (factory OC'd model as they same price and come w/ bigger coolers and more robust VRM's.

That's based on the following:

Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite, COD-MW, Bad Company 2, Dirt 2, Far Cry 2, Metro 2033, Dawn of Discovery, Crysis Warhead. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) for the various options in parenthesis (single card / SL or CF) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card - CF or SLI:

$ 170.00 6870 (434/701) $ 0.39 - $ 0.49
$ 220.00 6950 (479/751) $ 0.46 - $ 0.59
$ 240.00 6950 Frozr OC (484/759) $ 0.50 - $ 0.63
$ 205.00 560 Ti (455/792) $ 0.45 - $ 0.52
$ 320.00 6970 (526/825) $ 0.61 - $ 0.78
$ 215.00 560 Ti - 900 Mhz (495/862) $ 0.43 - $ 0.50
$ 340.00 570 (524/873) $ 0.65 - $ 0.78
$ 500.00 580 (616/953) $ 0.81 - $ 1.05

With twin 580's giving ya just 10% more fps than the twin 900 Mhz 560 Ti's, I can't see spending more than twice as much for the 10% .... but if ya got the dough, I can't see a reason to talk ya outta it either

To do the SLI thing, you'll want at least a 750 watt PSU, better to have the 850 watter if OC'ing the GPU further as well as the CPU....I have seen those 560's hit 30+% overclocks

http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=1201&page=17

Of course a roomy, cool case and decent SLI MoBo must e part of the equation.

Here's a $1875 build w/ "everything" hardware wise except monitor and OS that I did for a home entertainment PC for a neighbor.

Case - $ 160 - Antec 1200 V3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129100
Case Fans - $ 17 - Antec Blue 120 mm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209011
PSU - $ 115 - Antec CP-850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024
MoBo - $ 210 - ASUS P8Z68-V Pro /GEN3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
CPU - $ 220 - Intel Core i5-2500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Cooler - $ 50 - Hyper 612 PWM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103103
RAM - $ 46 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186
GFX - $ 230 - Asus GTX 560 (900MHz) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121424
GFX - $ 230 - Same
HD - $ 150 - Spinpoint F3 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
SSD - $ 210 - Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120 GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226225
DVD Writer - $ 59 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247
Keyboard - $ 89 - Logitech G510 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126100
Mouse - $ 50 - Logitech G500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104318

 

[Kkkk1]

If you've not got a budget set why not try a GTX580? That should sort you for the immediate future.

 

[coffeeman_27]

well I do have a budget I guess, 250-300 dollars
I don't have a plan to cross fire, but would be open to the idea in the future to add another card
I am going to install a 650W psu just incase I do decide to crossfire later.
so my mother board should have two slots with 16x or 8x. the asrock seems a good cheap choice..
I dont want to over pay for a mobo rather save the money for a GPU.

so Im thinking now buy a decent card which can run the games. and then add another cheaper 1gig later.
perhaps 2 years later.
my cpu is the 2500K i5
mother board undecided.

ram 8gig vengence.

 

[Kkkk1]

Maybe go GTX 570 in that case. What ever you decide with that budget you'll have a decentg rig.

 

[coffeeman_27]

Maybe go GTX 570 in that case. What ever you decide with that budget you'll have a decentg rig.

any model or brand?

also what about a gtx 560? is there a card just as good for 100 bucks less than the 570 or not?

or perhaps a Radeon card slightly cheaper with the same power?

 

[amuffin]

any model or brand?

also what about a gtx 560? is there a card just as good for 100 bucks less than the 570 or not?

or perhaps a Radeon card slightly cheaper with the same power?

Msi twin frozr 2 560ti, overclock it to 1ghz.

 

[coffeeman_27]

Saffire Radeon HD6870 D5 1GB is a better, faster card and 100 bucks cheaper.

 

[refillable]

Saffire Radeon HD6870 D5 1GB is a better, faster card and 100 bucks cheaper.

Yea but 560ti is faster and at just $250 you can get them

 

[coffeeman_27]

Yea but 560ti is faster and at just $250 you can get them

http://www.hwcompare.com/8890/geforce-gtx-560-ti-vs-radeon-hd-6870/

 

[Sunius]

http://www.hwcompare.com/8890/geforce-gtx-560-ti-vs-radeon-hd-6870/

GTX 560 Ti is way better, not only because it's faster at stock, but it's overclockable like hell. AMD equivalent would be 6950..

 

[refillable]

http://www.hwcompare.com/8890/geforce-gtx-560-ti-vs-radeon-hd-6870/

Man hwcompare is not a good way to compare, you compare by reviews from tom's hardware or something else. Anand tech is also good here is a comparison: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=330

 

[have_it]

I'm going with the MSI GTX560 Ti OC'd to 950 Mhz. I expect to max out SkyRim with that.

 

[Sunius]

You will, if you processor won't draw you back! Remember, skyrim is very CPU intensive game, check this:

Though, that card is the best you can get for our cash, good choice!