advice needed on GPU for new catleap q270

CursiveQ

Junior Member
May 23, 2012
17
0
0
System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU: AMD Athlon II x4 630 (planning on upgrading to i5-2500k very soon)


II. Current Graphics Card: RADEON HD 4870


III. Display Resolution: 2560x1440


IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341017


V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent): Antec p180


Purchase Details:

I.
Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.
200-250 (rebate are OK. prefer amazon)


II.
Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?
No preference for brand, prefer a really quiet card


III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI? No.


IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?
Looked into gtx560ti 1gb and 2gb and HD 7850 2gb


V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?
Mostly Diablo 3 but I won't be upgrading for a long time so I want to be able to play games of the future as well. Ideally Diablo 3 on maxed out settings


VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?
I've never overclocked a GPU but am open to the option.


thanks in advance for the help!
 

Joseph F

Diamond Member
Jul 12, 2010
3,522
2
0
I'd say that the best option at that price bracket would be a Radeon 7850.
They're close to the performance of a Radeon 6950 at stock, and at a high OC, they give the 7950 a run for its money.

Furthermore, they all come with 2GB standard, which is a comfortable amount for 2560*1440.
 

borisvodofsky

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2010
3,606
0
0
I'd say that the best option at that price bracket would be a Radeon 7850.
They're close to the performance of a Radeon 6950 at stock, and at a high OC, they give the 7950 a run for its money.

Furthermore, they all come with 2GB standard, which is a comfortable amount for 2560*1440.

nah dude, he definitely needs 7970 to do 25x14 seriously.

I have been using 25x16 for years now, and the problem will always be the minimum frames, drops like a rock.:(
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
nah dude, he definitely needs 7970 to do 25x14 seriously.
7850 should be able to run games on low-medium settings at that resolution.
 

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
7850 should be able to run games on low-medium settings at that resolution.
8/10 games can be run on high details at 1440 with a oc"d 7850. thats overclocked 580 territory

including Diablo 3.... the main game stated. maxed no problem
 
Last edited:

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
126
Based on your budget for that resolution, there is only 1 option: HD7850. It won't be fast enough for most modern games maxed out at the rez, but if you are willing to tone down the settings, with an overclock, it's the best card at $250.

If won't overclock, HD7850 is not much faster than an HD6950. In that case you could save some $ and buy a used HD6950 2GB. Be prepared to tone down settings a lot. For Diablo 3 it's more than enough. For future games 2-3 years from now, no chance without turning down settings. Regardless, NV has nothing in that price range worth buying imo. The 7850 is best option new at $200-250 since at that resolution 2GB of VRAM is a must especially if you intend to keep that card for a while.
 
Last edited:

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
126
Just to give you an idea of how cards perform at higher resolution in Diablo 3:

2560.png
 

Ieat

Senior member
Jan 18, 2012
260
0
76
With a 7850 overclocked you should be able to play most games at high. Out of low, med, high and ultra.
 

bxcloud

Member
Apr 18, 2012
38
0
61
Use to have 7850 oc to about 1250-1300, runs D3 max at 1440p 70fps. You will need to turn things down on games like Crysis 2, Witcher 2 and B3.