Upgrade options!

[akros]

Looking for a GPU upgrade for my PC, Here's the specs.

NZXT Gamma case (20” x 7.5” x 17.6” (D x W x H)

480W PSU

AM3+ Motherboard (1 x PCI Express (x1) slot, 1 x PCI slot, 1 x PCI Express (x16) slot)

AMD FX-4100 processor (3.60GHz, 8MB L3 Cache)

8GB DDR3 SDRAM memory

500GB SATA hard drive

NVIDIA GT 520 GPU

Should I upgrade anything else before the GPU? Any ideas for a cheap but solid GPU?

 

[tsnor]

No, for gaming, etc (as given in your last post) graphics is where you need to put the money.

This ref says it all for new, current generation cards: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html The table on the last page also lets you compare performance with older cards.

Given your beefy power supply, you can also dip into older generation cards. For example, an HD5850 or HD5870 still kicks most video cards -- just uses more power doing it. You might find a nice older card on EBAY.

If you give people a rough price range they can point you in the right direction. The FX4100 is not a strong gaming CPU, so you will be CPU bound in some games if you spend more than $150 on the card.

For $100 a new HD6770 / HD5770 is really sweet. A used GTX 285 at the same price is a big step up in gaming.

 

[akros]

No, for gaming, etc (as given in your last post) graphics is where you need to put the money.

This ref says it all for new, current generation cards: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html The table on the last page also lets you compare performance with older cards.

Given your beefy power supply, you can also dip into older generation cards. For example, an HD5850 or HD5870 still kicks most video cards -- just uses more power doing it. You might find a nice older card on EBAY.

If you give people a rough price range they can point you in the right direction. The FX4100 is not a strong gaming CPU, so you will be CPU bound in some games if you spend more than $150 on the card.

For $100 a new HD6770 / HD5770 is really sweet. A used GTX 285 at the same price is a big step up in gaming.

I saw a HD6670 on Newegg for 65 bucks! You think I'll be good if I slap on in there? Also I'm not going to be doing very much gaming, Just some older games like Oblivion, Amnesia, and Minecraft.

 

[tsnor]

An HD6670 is an excellent card. It will certainly run Oblivion maxed.

For me, the extra $35 to get to an Hd6770 is worth it, means less chance of needing to upgrade the card later, and I might go HD7770 or higher. However that's me. For you the right choice could be the hd6670. One strength of an HD6670 or HD7750 is good gaming without the need for a power supply swap in most OEM PCs, but you already have a big PSU).

You will see a huge improvement over the GT 520 with an HD6670.

Whatever card you choose, read reviews @ newegg and amazon and make sure that card is reliable and that noise, etc., is not an issue.

 

[akros]

An HD6670 is an excellent card. It will certainly run Oblivion maxed.

For me, the extra $35 to get to an Hd6770 is worth it, means less chance of needing to upgrade the card later, and I might go HD7770 or higher. However that's me. For you the right choice could be the hd6670. One strength of an HD6670 or HD7750 is good gaming without the need for a power supply swap in most OEM PCs, but you already have a big PSU).

You will see a huge improvement over the GT 520 with an HD6670.

Whatever card you choose, read reviews @ newegg and amazon and make sure that card is reliable and that noise, etc., is not an issue.

Thanks for the tip, friend. I appreciate it