Can I run the 6870?

[Threepwood_2012]

SPECS

Dell Inspiron 545 Minitower
Memory 4096MB Dual Channel DDR2 800MHz [4x1024] Memory
Monitor 21.5in S2209W Full HD Widescreen Black UK/Irish (1920 x 1080)
Video Card 512MB ATI® Radeon™ HD 4350 graphics card
Hard Drive 640GB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium with Service Pack 1, 32-bit - English
Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q8200 Processor (2.33GHz, 4MB cache, 1333MHz FSB)

PSU: unsure, research seems to suggest that 300W is standard with the 545.

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Quick Q - After much meandering over which card to buy I've decided on the HD 6870 with a new 550W PSU. My Q is can this rig handle it or is it going to get bottlenecked (i.e. downgrade to the 6850)?

This is the card: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11179-09-20G-6870-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B004R7MTPQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top


Can I also say a big thanks for everyone's help on this forum over the past few days, I've learnt stuff I never though I'd NEVER learn about PSUs, graphics cards etc. In case anyone saw the previous post, I was leaning towards the GTX 560 SE because Nvidea favours WoW (and I couldn't afford any other decent Nvidea card), but in the end, WoW or not, the 6870 seemed to offer a HUGE improvement in graphics for only £30 more than the 560 SE.

Thanks again.

 

[clutchc]

If your concern is CPU bottle neck, yes there will be some. Only because of the processor's frequency, not the number of cores. But the slight bottle neck will still produce better frame rates than downgrading to a lesser card that doesn't get bottle necked by the processor. And who knows, maybe next you could upgrade the CPU to a faster C2Q. They still show up for sale on ebay. But if you do, remember to update your BIOS to the latest version while you still have the old CPU in.

 

[Threepwood_2012]

If your concern is CPU bottle neck, yes there will be some. Only because of the processor's frequency, not the number of cores. But the slight bottle neck will still produce better frame rates than downgrading to a lesser card that doesn't get bottle necked by the processor. And who knows, maybe next you could upgrade the CPU to a faster C2Q. They still show up for sale on ebay. But if you do, remember to update your BIOS to the latest version while you still have the old CPU in.

Thanks. It will definitely work then?

What sort of price would a decent new CPU set you back?

 

[Threepwood_2012]

Can anyone confirm that I can definitely run the 6870? I saw another post on here where you recommended the OP buy a whole new computer because of his poor rig...

Thanks.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Not sure if it will fit in your case. The 6870 is big card and it is a mini tower.

I'm trying to find an inside pic of your pc, still looking.

 

[zcoot]

I would not recommend buying that card, my set-up is currently running a C2D at 2.93 Ghz and it is just about bottle necked with my 6770.

 

[Threepwood_2012]

Not sure if it will fit in your case. The 6870 is big card and it is a mini tower.

I'm trying to find an inside pic of your pc, still looking.

Hero. Thanks.

Is the GTX 560 any smaller?

 

[Threepwood_2012]

I would not recommend buying that card, my set-up is currently running a C2D at 2.93 Ghz and it is just about bottle necked with my 6770.

Is that so? I was originally looking at the 7770/GTX 560 SE before I decided to spend a bit more, but if that's as high as I can go I wouldn't want to waste the money...

 

[zcoot]

I was a bit disappointed when I upgraded too. I replaced my Pentium D 3.2 Ghz and OC 4670 for the current setup I had. It was good but not as good as I would have expected.

If you want performance you really need to start considering new processors from the sandy/ivy bridge range.

I am planning on getting a i5 3570K and then running cross fire with 2 6770

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Hero. Thanks.

Is the GTX 560 any smaller?

Not really. All the high end cards are pretty big.
I did find a pic ; http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-inspiron-545/4505-3118_7-33703128.html , but it's hard to see from here if a big card will fit.
My son is running an xfx 6870 BE and it's 25cm long, i believe this is one of the bigger cards but still.

So, if you have about 24-25 cm from behind the back of your case ( inwards ) and two slots free it should fit.

You can find exact sizes on the manufacturers sites i think.

 

[Threepwood_2012]

I was a bit disappointed when I upgraded too. I replaced my Pentium D 3.2 Ghz and OC 4670 for the current setup I had. It was good but not as good as I would have expected.

If you want performance you really need to start considering new processors from the sandy/ivy bridge range.

I am planning on getting a i5 3570K and then running cross fire with 2 6770

Thanks for the info. Any new card will still be a big upgrade from the trash I have in there at the moment, might just be worth spending less with the 7770/560se and putting the spare money towards a new rig in a year. Really just going to be playing GW2 and WoW in the immediate future.

 

[zcoot]

Not really. All the high end cards are pretty big.
I did find a pic ; http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-inspiron-545/4505-3118_7-33703128.html , but it's hard to see from here if a big card will fit.
My son is running an xfx 6870 BE and it's 25cm long, i believe this is one of the bigger cards but still.

So, if you have about 24-25 cm from behind the back of your case ( inwards ) and two slots free it should fit.

You can find exact sizes on the manufacturers sites i think.

Talking about larger GPU's my 6770 silent cell is 28 cm and from what I know cards do not get much longer then it unless it is like a GTX 690.

 

[Threepwood_2012]

Not really. All the high end cards are pretty big.
I did find a pic ; http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-inspiron-545/4505-3118_7-33703128.html , but it's hard to see from here if a big card will fit.
My son is running an xfx 6870 BE and it's 25cm long, i believe this is one of the bigger cards but still.

So, if you have about 24-25 cm from behind the back of your case ( inwards ) and two slots free it should fit.

You can find exact sizes on the manufacturers sites i think.

Thanks for that research, really helpful. Are you able to comment on whether my processor can properly manager it or not?

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

That's damned big :lol:

Can't tell you anything about the bottleneck, my son is running 2 cores and it's definitely bottlenecked. But further don't know much about that stuff.
Can you oc the cpu maybe ?

Imo, buying a good card now which maybe is bottlenecked for the time being and use that in a new rig in the future is smarter than waisting money on an old card and throw that away after only 1 year.

 

[ncasolo]

My concern is if he has a 300W PSU that he won't be able to power the card.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

He states he'll buy a new 550 psu with the 6870

About that psu ; make sure it's a good brand like corsair, antec, xfx, ocz ( did i forget some ? )

 

[zcoot]

He states he'll buy a new 550 psu with the 6870

About that psu ; make sure it's a good brand like corsair, antec, xfx, ocz ( did i forget some ? )

Do not ever, ever, ever buy an Antec PSU, I have had 3 of those fail in the past 2 years. I currently have a Thermaltake one which is perfect.

Corsair, OCZ and Thermaltake are the best you can get.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Well you're hexed than or something, Antec is a good brand.

I forgot seasonic btw.

 

[clutchc]

+1^
I use to use low end Antec 520W NEOs in all my budget builds. They are are still running perfectly.

 

[crimsondivel]

+1^ i have gigabyte 6870 soc and seasonic sII 520 watt psu

 

[clutchc]

Thanks. It will definitely work then?

What sort of price would a decent new CPU set you back?

Yes, it will work. But measure the room you have in the case from expansion slot covers to any obstruction a double wide card will hit. Compare that to the length of the card you choose to the card's length in the specs. Most HD 6870s are <= 10.5 inches long.

I doubt you can still find any new C2Q processors. I would look at someplace like ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/CPUs-Processors-/164/i.html?Processor%2520Manufacturer=Intel&Number%2520of%2520Cores=4&_dmpt=CPUs&Socket%2520Type=LGA%2520775%252FSocket%2520T&rt=nc

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

8,66" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150561 , smallest i could find.

 

[zcoot]

C2Q would have been nice when I was upgrading from my old PD but I ended up getting the e7500 because I couldn't find anything faster brand new.