6670 + C2D E6600 = Good Match?

Regk

Senior member
Apr 14, 2009
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Hey All,

I am using a dell SFF PC that I have all but maxed out with a C2D E6600, 4 GB Ram, 1 TB WD Green HDD, 280 watt Dell PSU. I have no ability to overclock the CPU as I am stuck at 2.4ghz. I have heard that going with a more powerful card like a 5750/70 is pointless in a system like this due to CPU limitations. I am also restricted to a low prowile card. I am currently using an overclocked 5570 which has done well for some light 720P gaming, movies etc. Would the 6670 Low Profile be a worthwile upgrade? I can shuffle the 5570 into another PC and believe it or not, it would be an upgrade for the other PC...

Some Day I will have a powerhouse PC!! Until Then.....

Your Thoughts...
 

InfoTiger

Golden Member
Sep 10, 2004
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Depends on games you playing. Most of games are GPU bonded and not using more than 2 CPU cores. So 5770 is a better choice, and it's now in $80 range.
 

notty22

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2010
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The op needs half height gpu for a slim line pc I think.
I'm guessing the stock Dell psu, has NO 6 pin pci-e connector and probably does not even have 2-extra molex to couple together. They started coming with just a couple extra sata power connectors on the lower end models.
No one started a thread in this forum about the couple new AMD cards released yesterday. The 6670 seems slightly more powerful than the 5670 using even less power. Less than 200 watts with a quad during gaming, tested here at Anands.
So it should work. And you can up the clock speeds with the new card also.
 

Regk

Senior member
Apr 14, 2009
298
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notty22, you are right, I am bound to a half height GPU, unless I purchase an angled Dell riser card, then I can use a full sized card. However then I need to take power requirements into consideration. I have no 6 pinners, I think i may have a spare sata and a spare molex connector. From my research the 6670 should be somewhere between a 5670 and a 5750, sound about right?

The system is an Optiplex 745 desktop w/280 watt PSU.
 

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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This is an amazing half height card. More powerful than a 5670, as compact as the 5570. My only concern is whether it's a big enough upgrade to make it worth $100. Look at anandtech's review to decide that for your gaming needs.

Edit: Techpowerup has a helpful summary chart that compares the 6670 to other cards: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_6670/22.html

Looks like the 6670 is 50% faster than the 5570. That's about the minimum that I consider necessary to justify an upgrade. In this case, because you're constrained by the half height requirement, I'd say that's a pretty good jump and probably worth it. And I don't think you'll be that constrained by the e6600. I set up an old e6600 system with an HD4830 (which is slightly more powerful than the 6670, and it's a good match.
 
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Regk

Senior member
Apr 14, 2009
298
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Sweet, I'm liking what I am hearing! I should be able to sell my 5570 to recoup some cost, put a nice little OC on the 6670 and enjoy some newer titles at middle of the road resoloutions/ graphics!
 

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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Sweet, I'm liking what I am hearing! I should be able to sell my 5570 to recoup some cost, put a nice little OC on the 6670 and enjoy some newer titles at middle of the road resoloutions/ graphics!

Techpowerup was able to get an astronomical overclock out of their 6670: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_6670/25.html. Looks to be very close to matching a 5750, although that card isn't tested. It's just below a GTS450 once overclocked. Note that they work around the CCC overclocking limits (using GPU Tool, but you can use MSI Afterburner as well with some tweaking to the config file), so keep that in mind.