Help on upgrading graphics card

[myersprostatus]

Hey guys, Im looking at upgrading my graphics card because my old one took a dump.

My computers specs are AMD 4600+ dualcore socket 939

4 gigs of ram

my mobo is an Asus A8N5X

What graphics card do you guys recommend. I can run a PCI-e 2.0 in a PCI-e slot, correct? Ive also been reading on this forum and from what I can understand, too powerfull of a GPU can bottleneck your CPU. Anymore technical info on that topic would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
-Mitch

 

[Wolfshadw]

Yes, you can use a PCI-E 2.0 graphics card in a PCI-E 1.0/1.1 slot. That older system shouldn't take anything more than what is on par with an 8800GTS-320 (used to use an 8800GTS-640 with my S939 X2-4800+). At the most, I'd look to an HD4670.

-Wolf sends

 

[mc_creeper]

Otherwise a GTX 550 Ti if you can get your hands on one.

 

[DRosencraft]

I don't usually recommend this, but perhaps you should look into building a new system altogether. You can get a new CPU for $120 or less, a motherboard for under $100, plus that graphics card for around $130, or less... you're looking at $450 for a modern system for a few years. But yeah, if you're not interested in a new system, you can get a gtx 550 pretty cheap.

 

[myersprostatus]

I would love to get a new system, money is just really tight right now and im using spare parts from my other computers.

thanks for the recommendations guys, I appreciate it.

 

[myersprostatus]

so you guys think my system would be able to withstand a gtx550ti?

 

[ismail1993]

i guess if you can get a 5870 amd its gonna be great but its like an old graphic card but its better than the 550 gtx for sure and i guess its cheap now if you can find one

 

[Wolfshadw]

Personally, I think the GTX 550Ti is way too much graphics card for your system.
Just my $0.02

-Wolf sends

 

[ismail1993]

the Memory Interface Width of the 5870 is better than the 550 ti
ATI is : 256 bit
nvidia is : 192 bit
you can check this out and then you decide : http://graphics-cards.findthebest.com/compare/70-81/ATI-Radeon-HD-5870-vs-Nvidia-Zotac-GeForce-GTX-550-Ti-AMP-Edition

 

[sam_p_lay]

Nobody is gonna deny the 5870 is faster, but that's old hardware. You're gonna have a hard time finding one unless it's used. And if you did find one that wasn't used, it would probably be overpriced. You could equally argue the GTX285 is better but it doesn't really count for much when they're not sold any more. Plus they have massively higher power consumption for the performance they deliver.

 

[ismail1993]

Nobody is gonna deny the 5870 is faster, but that's old hardware. You're gonna have a hard time finding one unless it's used. And if you did find one that wasn't used, it would probably be overpriced. You could equally argue the GTX285 is better but it doesn't really count for much when they're not sold any more. Plus they have massively higher power consumption for the performance they deliver.

i agree with you.. but if he can browse for it on ebay i guess he can get one but its going to be like you said overpriced but if it was like 200-250 $ what should he get ?

 

[sam_p_lay]

A GTX660 - comparable performance to a 5970, which is a doubled up 5870

 

[myersprostatus]

I saw that the gtx 550ti is available band new, but as wolf said he thinks its too much card for my system. I would hate to buy a card new and it end up doing more harm than good. Is there any card available thats new in box that is adequate for my system?

I sure like the price of the gtx 550ti

 

[Wolfshadw]

The GTX 550Ti isn't going to do any harm to your system. It (and all of the other suggestions) are just wasted money (the GTX 550Ti being the least wasteful). You won't get anywhere near the performance those cards *can* provide as the rest of your system is holding it back.

-Wolf sends

 

[myersprostatus]

so what card can provide the least wasted money?

 

[Wolfshadw]

In my opinion, the HD4670. It should be able to be utilized to the fullest extent.

-Wolf sends

 

[ismail1993]

i would go with the 6870 HD in that way its cheap like 130 $ but its absolutely better than the 550 gtx

 

[sam_p_lay]

With this kind of advice, people tend to overlook the fact that even something like a GTX670 can be a good purchase even when bottlenecked. When the time comes for a CPU upgrade, you unlock the rest of that performance and don't need to buy yet another card because the bottleneck was removed.