Another Upgrade Thread

[Visaoni]

I haven't really kept up to date with hardware for the last year or so, but it is getting to the point where I need to upgrade.

Currently I'm running an E8400 stock (if needed I've pushed it to 3.8 Ghz stable before) and a good ole 8800GTX. It has served me surprisingly well up until recently. However it is starting to show it's age. Right now I'm running at 1680x1050, but recently I've been thinking of moving up to 1920x1080/1200. My board is SLI capable, but I am a little wary of going with multiple GPU's until I get around viewing a multi-GPU setup to determine if I notice any microstutter.

I don't really have a hard cap on the budget, but I'd like to avoid it getting too high. I'm looking for the best bang for the buck, (mostly) regardless of the actual price. Any input would be much appreciated.

 

[toyota]

whats the rest of your system such as ram, os and psu look like? really if you have no concrete plans of going to 1920x1080 very soon then there is no point in getting a very high end card at 1680x1050 especially with a dual core cpu. something like a gtx460 of any kind or 6850 would be the very highest I would go at that res. and yeah you would need to oc that cpu to get the most out of those cards and really just help out in cpu intensive games in general.

 

[Visaoni]

Windows 7, of course. 4gb of RAM, but I wouldn't have much of an issue bumping it to 8gb if really needed. Although as far as I know no game is that much of a RAM hog. The PSU shouldn't be an issue. It is a 1000W unit from Cooler Master. It came with a case I wanted, and at the time I was thinking I might end up with dual- or tri-SLI, so I went with it. The single card held me significantly longer than expected though, and in hind sight I should have grabbed a smaller PSU rather than run this one so far below peak efficiency for so long.

I really haven't decided if I want to jump up to 1920x1080 yet, but it is something I have been seriously looking into. Is there a significant difference between your recommendations for the two resolutions?

 

[toyota]

going to 1920x1080/1200 would still have those same cards for options but open up a few more such as the 6870, 6950, gtx560 and gtx560 ti.

honestly I would just stick with your 1680x1050 monitor as long as you can if it is getting the job done for you. doing that I would get the cheapest gtx460 or 6850 I could find, oc your cpu and call it a day.

 

[Visaoni]

After spending a few hours trying to decide between the 460 and 6850 I still find myself unable to choose. However, I have looked around at the different 460 and 6850 cards available, and have picked out a couple that stand out.

For the 6850 the choice seems rather easy. The Asus EAH6850 V2 1gb is only ~$10 more than the cheapest, an XFX, and reviewed here at Anandtech quite well against the XFX (or at least the V1 did). It was a little warmer but significantly quieter. It is also longer but that isn't a problem with my case.

Things get a little tougher with a 460. The main contenders seem to be Asus, Gigabyte, and EVGA. Asus 460 1gb v2 comes in as the most expensive, a solid $50 above the cheapest, an EVGA. The Gigabyte 460 1gb is $30 more than the EVGA. Of the three the Asus comes with the highest stock clocks, and from a Tom's Hardware review (again done with the v1) also keeps the chilliest.

All prices from Newegg.

Any further input to help me decide between the 6850 and 460 would be great. As I previously mentioned, my board does have SLI capability, but with my current card I waited so long to upgrade that it hardly made sense to grab a second on. Then again, if I upgrade my cpu/mobo before my video card again, I could always grab a Crossfire board. Whichever card I get I will OC to a decent level. I'm not going to go and voltmod the thing, but I will see how far it can go with reasonable voltages. Heat production and sound are also fairly important factors. Summer is hot enough before my computer/space heater gets to the room, and my case is about as far from sound proof as you can get.