8600GT to HD5670?

[Smartazz]

Hi everyone,
A friend of mine has an older HP computer with a Core 2 Quad Q6700 and an 8600GT. The power supply is a no name brand that claims 350w and I think 18 amps on the 12v rail. Would it be a good idea to jump to an HD5670? Main games he plays are WoW, CoD 4, L4D 2. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[v8envy]

Does that PSU have a PCIe connector? If so, it should be sufficient. HP doesn't skimp on PSUs, so that 350w is a real rating. While this card would be perceptible improvement over the feeble 8600, there are also much better gaming cards in the $100 range. GTS250 and Radeon 4850 for example.

Edit: woops, the 5670 doesn't need a pcie connector. So yeah, go for it.

 

[Rhezuss]

Hi everyone,
A friend of mine has an older HP computer with a Core 2 Quad Q6700 and an 8600GT. The power supply is a no name brand that claims 350w and I think 18 amps on the 12v rail. Would it be a good idea to jump to an HD5670? Main games he plays are WoW, CoD 4, L4D 2. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Depends on his budget but like the above poster said, a HD 4850/GTS 250 would be quite an upgrade. I saw great improvements when I jumped from a 9600GT to a HD 4850.

If he wants to spent a little more, 160-200$ i'd go for the HD 5770.

If not, the HD 5670 would do the job depending on the resolution he plays.

EDIT: Sorry, the HD 5770 needs a 450W minimum. So the 5670 would be the best choice.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

5670 doesn't require a power connector. It draws its juice straight from the slot, which is awesome.

Its also a shit-ton faster than an 8600GT.

 

[toyota]

if thats an HP comp with a 350 watt unit then it most certainly has more than 18 12v amps. even their 300 watt power supplies have 19 amps. they use power supplies from various manufactures but all have the same advertised specs for their respective wattage. truthfully they are fairly crappy psus and they dont come close to making their rated wattage. still though the 5670 should be fine if that is a 350 watt unit with over 20 rated amps.

 

[Smartazz]

Hmm, I'll look again at the PSU, seeing as 18A on the 12v rail would be pretty low. He's told me it wouldn't bother him to replace the PSU, so I was thinking about something along the lines of this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139008 unless someone else has a better recommendation for a new power supply. I'm assuming that an HD5750 wouldn't be out of the question with that Corsair PSU, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Phynaz]

EDIT: Sorry, the HD 5770 needs a 450W minimum. So the 5670 would be the best choice.

Dell ships systems configured with a HD 5770 and a 350w power supply.

the 5770 itself is rated for 108w.

 

[Smartazz]

I found this 9800GT on newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143186

Would that be a better choice than the 5670?

 

[toyota]

I found this 9800GT on newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143186

Would that be a better choice than the 5670?

you never listed the exact specs of that psu.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I found this 9800GT on newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143186

Would that be a better choice than the 5670?

That would be roughly the same speed as a 5670.

Your standard 9800GT is on average 5-10% faster than a 5670 with 600/1500/1800 core/shader/mem speeds. The card you listed takes 10% off the top of the core and shader speeds and a custom PCB to get below power specifications, in which case its really not so different from a 5670 at all.

Performance wise the two cards would largely be indistinguishable, the 5670 wins on thermals and power hands down, and would almost certainly come with a more capable cooler.