Need advice on a new graphics card

[Dewy250]

looking to buy a new graphics card in the $200~$300 range,
my system specs are:
AMD phenom II X4 820 2.8 ghz
windows 7 64 bit, 6gb ram
xfx 650w psu
ati xfx hd5770

 

[fritz7]

In performance order:

HD 7870 $310
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418

GTX 570 $280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593

HD 7850 $240
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102986

GTX 560 Ti $225
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

 

[Dewy250]

hey thx for the reply, i was just wondering would nividia card work well with my amd processor?

 

[megagabobe1]

for that budget i would tell you to get a 7870 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418 it performs very similar to a gtx 580

 

[dudewitbow]

GTX 480 if you can handle the temperatures and voltages. you will need an aftermarket cpu fan if you want to get any overclocking done with this, but this is hands down the best performance to price contender.


other alternatives:

Sapphire 6950 OC 250-50$=200 with code EMCYTZT1834 expires on midnight on July 1st/2nd border. also comes with BF3 code
HD 7850 ~250-260$
GTX 570 ~260-280$

these three cards generally perform about the same level give or take a few fps. the more expensive cards have the slight lead, the 7850 gets special mention as its the only card in this range that only uses 1 6 power pin(most models), making it crossfirable on a 650w power supply


Other mentions: gtx 560ti 200-220, possible to find it lower in several occasions
HD 7870 last week, the XFX and HIS 7870 was on sale for 300$. atm its still slightly above 300, but it occasionally may come back. Several models go under 300 after rebate if you do rebates.


only reason why i usually dont mention the gtx 560ti448 is that its basically like the same price as the gtx 570

 

[megagabobe1]

hey thx for the reply, i was just wondering would nividia card work well with my amd processor?

no matter if you have intel or amd, amd gpus or nvidia gpus will work fine

 

[fritz7]

hey thx for the reply, i was just wondering would nividia card work well with my amd processor?

As long as your motherboard has a PCIe x16 slot, you're fine. AMD or Intel processor doesn't matter in terms of what video card you have.

 

[Dewy250]

oh ok thats good to hear, is there a big difference between the 7850 and 7870?

 

[megagabobe1]

oh ok thats good to hear, is there a big difference between the 7850 and 7870?

like 20%

 

[dudewitbow]

oh ok thats good to hear, is there a big difference between the 7850 and 7870?

Relative difference

 

[megagabobe1]

oh ok thats good to hear, is there a big difference between the 7850 and 7870?

but the 7870 overclocks better, seen it hit 1200 on the core on extreme systems forums

 

[fritz7]

oh ok thats good to hear, is there a big difference between the 7850 and 7870?

There's a pretty significant difference in performance, yes, but with that comes a difference in the price as well ($50+). So really it's just whatever you're comfortable paying. Any of those cards will perform wonders compared to your current 5770.

 

[megagabobe1]

i would get the 480 as dudewitbow, for the price its a very good choice

 

[Dewy250]

thanks for the help guys is this 6950 anygood? tempting b/c it come with bf3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102987

 

[dudewitbow]

thanks for the help guys is this 6950 anygood? tempting b/c it come with bf3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102987

like i said in my quote above, it will similarly work like a 7850, but consume more power. up there is also the code which puts the card down to 200$, which is a nice price.(it comes on sale every once in awhile). if you want to take a flash chance as well, it is possible to turn a 6950 for a 6970 through a flashing, but doing so has a chance of bricking it.

 

[Dewy250]

Best answer selected by Dewy250.

 

[Dewy250]

i think im going to get the 6950 xD flashing it sounds sketchy is it worth the risk?

 

[dudewitbow]

if i owned the card, no =X, but there are others who would.

 

[Dewy250]

oh i see, im from canada can i still get this deal or is it only available in us

 

[Wisecracker]

+1 on the HD 6950

What speed are your RAMs? What flavor motherboard? With the left-over cash you could go quite a number of ways ... SSD ... after-market cooling, etc.

You even have room for a C3-stepping CPU.


edit: Radeon HD 6950 2GB -- The Egg of the Great White North

edit #2: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Deneb

[:lutfij:4]

 

[Dewy250]

hey thanks for the link, i think the ram is ddr2 and mother board is from gateway dx4300

 

[Dewy250]

and noooo the canadian card doesn't come with bf3! T_T

 

[Wisecracker]

I've never done the free game thing ... maybe there is a way to pull a switcheroo between the Dirt3 and BF3

With an OEM build your over-clocking options will be limited unless your motherboard supports AMD OverDrive.

That 955BE is a C3 stepping and should run much cooler than your C2 820 -- your current cooler should work just dandy ...


edit: I've changed my mind (a bit) on the CPU ----- we need the model# of the computer to see if it will take the 125w 955

(I suspect it will ... but we should probably check it out)


edit #2: Ignore me ... that OEM 955BE is a 95W Quad!

 

[Dewy250]

hmmm getting the 955be is very tempting.... will there be a noticeable difference if i get it

 

[Dewy250]

ya maybe i can trade the dirt 3 code for the bf3 code some how that would be amazing