Best graphic card for me

[sachin vishwkarma]

hey guyz i was wondering which graphic card shud i buy....in buget of 400$
hd7870 or gtx 580...and if u have other gpu suggest me as well...
i have a amd x2 555 be
corsair 550w
wd 500gb hdd
and ram 4gb 1333mhz
and a msi 785gm p45 mobo
....shud i buy a new cpu for it ..like x6 1090t or x4 i can spend extra 170$ for my cpu
or just stick with my x2
i know you wud say get the i5 but ...i can't cuz then i've to buy a new z68 mobo...whiich are roughly at $200
so just tell me shud i buy an x4 or an x6 also don't forget about my first question...about the graphic card...thax

 

[Rockdpm]

well first off, does your motherboard have core unlocker?, your current CPU, can unlock to 4 cores. a 7870 would be better for you and most games is like 1% behind the GTX 580

 

[DarkMatterTrace]

I would agree that the 7870 is better suited for you because of the roughly equal performance and taking in regard that the power comsumption is much lower for the 7870 (so you wont run into power problems).

On a side note if you ever consider the i5 you don't have to buy the expensive z68 mobo. Any mobo that supports LGA 1155 socket can use the i5 and will be suited for upcoming ivy bridge. This one f.ex. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157254

 

[geofelt]

What graphics card do you now have?
You want to make a big jump, or you might be disappointed.

A GTX580 needs a 600w psu.
The 7870 is not much slower than the GTX580 and will be fine with your 550w psu.

Your cpu is likely not strong enough to drive a high end graphics card to it's capability.

To help clarify your options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 50%.

Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
set to 50% and see how you do.


If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

Games rarely use more than 2 or 3 cores, so a X6 cpu would not be very useful. X4 would be better.

But... Intel cores do more work per clock, so there are limits on how well a simple upgrade to X4 would serve you.

Ivy bridge, due in a month should be even 10% more effective.