Upgrading my graphics card - advice needed

[Jackofspades0]

Hi,

I would like to replace my Nvidia GTX 260 with a Radeon HD 7850 2 GB graphics card. Basically what I would like to know is if this upgrade would make a huge difference. Is the 7850 a good card? Is it much better than the GTX 260? I have enough money to go out and buy the 7870, but I'm not sure if I want to spend that much cash on a graphics card... Do you think it would be worth it?

Also I see the HD 7850 is a PCI 3.0 card, and I think I have PCI 2.1 or something like that. Would that be problem or will the card be compatible with my mobo?

Games I would like to play include:
Battlefield 3
Crysis 3
Dead Space 3
GTA V
Command & Conquer Generals 2

Current system:
AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz
4 GB DDR3-1333
550W PSU
500 GB Seagate Hard Drive
GTX 260

Do you think the rest of my system is still good enough to keep up with the latest/upcoming games?

Thanks!

 

[Sunius]

What kind of a power supply you have? If it's a decent one, I'd strongly suggest GTX 480, because it's both faster and cheaper than HD 7850. The only downside of it is that it consumes more power.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130759

 

[Jackofspades0]

It's a 550W Cooler Master power supply. That's all I know about it. Sadly I can't find a GTX 480 over where I live anymore...

 

[Sunius]

Oh, where do you live? Prices might be different, could you give me an online website from your country?

 

[Jackofspades0]

South Africa. Sadly the sites over here don't have the same number of products US sites have, but take a look:

www.takealot.com

 

[Sunius]

I think Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 is the best deal because it's not much more expensive than HD 7850. You get more performance for your money.

http://www.takealot.com/electronics/pc-components-1111/gigabyte-amd-radeon-hd-7870-gddr5-graphics-card-pci-e-3-0,12802565

However, if you really don't want to spend that much, HD 7850 is a step down but will do:
http://www.takealot.com/electronics/pc-components-1111/msi-amd-radeon-hd-7850-twin-frozr-pci-express-gddr5-graphics-car,11037704

 

[Jackofspades0]

Hmmm ok thanks. So the PCI 3.0 thing won't be a problem for my PCI 2.1 slot?

 

[Jackofspades0]

Anyone...?

Please I just need to be sure. If I buy the card and it doesn't work with PCI 2 it's really going to suck.

 

[JamesSneed]

The PCIE 2.1 slot will work perfectly fine. It will also not reduce frame rates as it has plenty of bandwidth for multiple 7850s.

 

[Jackofspades0]

Thanks that's good news. Guess I can go ahead then

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey