good upgrade from Radeon X1900 for 500W?

[false_dmitrii]

I have a video card from the Radeon X1900 series that appears to be dying (won't turn on during some boots, motherboard video error LED goes on). I'd like to find a modern replacement that would stay within my system's power envelope.

I have a Core i5-750 processor, ASUS P7P55D motherboard, 4GB RAM, Audigy 2, 32GB OCZ SSD for the OS, and an assortment of older HDs and DVD drives that I can disconnect if needed. Power supply is a 500W Seasonic M12II Bronze, which lists the 12V rails as 17A and 18A. As far as I can tell, it's fine with the current hardware. In ASUS's PC Probe II software, 3.3V and 5V readings are always the same, and 12V sits at around 12.21 idle and 12.10 loaded, without fluctuating.

I'm not sure how much headroom there is for the replacement video card. I doubt this system could handle multi-GPU cards. I'd like something that uses little power when idle and doesn't have unusually loud stock cooling. The X1900's fan noise is usually fine except when running at full power. I'm running Windows 7 64bit, so DirectX 11 capability would be useful. I'm not usually running anything at resolutions above 960 vertical, so I don't need the absolute fastest card around. And I'm not intentionally overclocking above what this motherboard does by default.

Backwards compatibility with 32bit Windows XP might be useful to me on rare occasions. It's not particularly important, though.

Any suggestions? I have some built up brand loyalty to AMD/ATI but can go with Nvidia if they fit my needs better.

 

[HOOfan 1]

Are you using if for gaming???

How about HD5770 or HD5830

 

[RussianSensation]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151093

^^ this one?

That's the same PSU as the Corsair HX-520 I have. This puppy easily handles a Core i7 860 @ 3.9ghz + 4890 OC both at 100% load (even tested in SETI@Home + Milkyway@Home). Your cpu is probably a good 120 Watts less at load than an overclocked Core i7 and 4890 OC is about 5870s level. Therefore, you can easily swing a 5870 card or dual 5770s.

I would recommend 5770 for 1680x1050, 5850 for 1920x1080 and 5870 for 1920x1200.

Sounds like 5770 will fit you best. Make sure to get the 1GB version.

 

[Arkaign]

Welcome to AT, I second the 5770 for a good midrange card.

 

[Barfo]

Do you have a budget?

 

[Attic]

I use a 5770 coupled with a Q6600@3ghz and am satisfied with it's performance at 1280x720, it still leaves something to be desired even at this low res though IMO. Depends how much you like to game, but I'd say look at 5850. If your mobo is Xfire capable, you could do a 5770 now and xfire later if you need to.

 

[Hadsus]

You'll see a huge difference in the 5770.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

I use a 5770 coupled with a Q6600@3ghz and am satisfied with it's performance at 1280x720, it still leaves something to be desired even at this low res though IMO. Depends how much you like to game, but I'd say look at 5850. If your mobo is Xfire capable, you could do a 5770 now and xfire later if you need to.

What are you playing? I play at 1360x768 (on a 720p monitor) and the 5770 plows through everything. Granted, I don't play Crysis (heh), but I can't see the 5770 not performing extremely well at these low resolutions.

Another vote for the 5770. I upgraded from an X1900 also, no regrets here.

 

[Attic]

What are you playing? I play at 1360x768 (on a 720p monitor) and the 5770 plows through everything. Granted, I don't play Crysis (heh), but I can't see the 5770 not performing extremely well at these low resolutions.

Most games it crushes at this res and overall i'm very happy with the 5770, i use it in a HTPC and so it's very quiet nature is important to me. I use vysnc and I like to run 60fps solid, 5770 gets there some of the time. Metro 2033 gets there at High Settings with Tess and DOF off, but at such a low res I was hoping to be able to maintain better frames with Very High and Tess on, DoF I can live without. I admit I judge it harshly, getting 60fps solid with vysnc may have more to do with other components of my system than the GPU.

Just Cause 2 and Crysis Warhead left me a bit desiring for more performance at this res.

 

[blanketyblank]

Most games it crushes at this res and overall i'm very happy with the 5770, i use it in a HTPC and so it's very quiet nature is important to me. I use vysnc and I like to run 60fps solid, 5770 gets there some of the time. Metro 2033 gets there at High Settings with Tess and DOF off, but at such a low res I was hoping to be able to maintain better frames with Very High and Tess on, DoF I can live without. I admit I judge it harshly, getting 60fps solid with vysnc may have more to do with other components of my system than the GPU.

Just Cause 2 and Crysis Warhead left me a bit desiring for more performance at this res.

Honestly I don't think it's possible to get 60 fps in those games even with a better video card with your CPU. Check out this benchmark of Dragon Age using different CPUs and a 5870. You'll notice you need a core i7 at 3.5 Ghz to have minimums at 57 fps. Considering Metro is a lot more intensive than DA your expectations are kind of unrealistic to begin with. Not to mention Vsync will exacerbate the problem since anything under 60 fps will get knocked down to 30 fps. And if it dips below 30 it will go to 20.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...rks-75-percent-boost-for-quad-cores/Practice/

I'm not saying the 5770 isn't holding you back in those games, but I am saying you probably can't get steady 60 fps regardless even if you got a 5970 instead.

 

[Termie]

I originally ran an x1900xt on my current Seasonic 500w power supply, which is almost identical to yours. Since then I've been through two other graphics cards and the Seasonic has never missed a beat. Yours will easily power a $300 HD5850 (which is what I now use), but if you don't need 3-4 times your current performance, a $150 HD5770 will easily give you double the performance of your current card. For reference, an x1900xt is about equivalent to an HD4670, which you can get for $75 and uses very little power. I run an HD4670 off a 400w Corsair. Your power supply isn't the limiting factor here...it's your budget and gaming needs.

 

[Dark Shroud]

I ran an x1950 off a 350W for awhile before upgrading to a generic 400W Ultra brand.

A Corsair 400W can power the 5770 no problem since it has a 30amp 12v rail.

Just go with a 5770, it won't do you wrong for this round. You can then save up and in a year upgrade to a newer card & PSU.

 

[Attic]

Honestly I don't think it's possible to get 60 fps in those games even with a better video card with your CPU. Check out this benchmark of Dragon Age using different CPUs and a 5870. You'll notice you need a core i7 at 3.5 Ghz to have minimums at 57 fps. Considering Metro is a lot more intensive than DA your expectations are kind of unrealistic to begin with. Not to mention Vsync will exacerbate the problem since anything under 60 fps will get knocked down to 30 fps. And if it dips below 30 it will go to 20.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...rks-75-percent-boost-for-quad-cores/Practice/

I'm not saying the 5770 isn't holding you back in those games, but I am saying you probably can't get steady 60 fps regardless even if you got a 5970 instead.

Thanks for that link. Good perspective there.

What I notice most that I don't like during gaming is going from 60fps to 30fps, it feels like i'm running and then somebody reaches out from nowhere and grabs me by the collar.

 

[StrangerGuy]

I ran an x1950 off a 350W for awhile before upgrading to a generic 400W Ultra brand.

A Corsair 400W can power the 5770 no problem since it has a 30amp 12v rail.

Just go with a 5770, it won't do you wrong for this round. You can then save up and in a year upgrade to a newer card & PSU.

350W? Pffft ...I ran a X1800XT 512MB (thats 112W already) with an OCed A64 1.8Ghz @ 2400 MHz + 3GB RAM on a 300W Aopen PSU....Zero problems. But then again, my country's (Singapore) AC power is prolly the best in the world.

 

[A5]

500W Seasonic PSU is enough for any modern cards except the dual-GPU cards and maybe the new GTX 480. I'd just get a 5770 - should be a pretty good upgrade.

 

[bryanW1995]

I ran an x1950 off a 350W for awhile before upgrading to a generic 400W Ultra brand.

A Corsair 400W can power the 5770 no problem since it has a 30amp 12v rail.

Just go with a 5770, it won't do you wrong for this round. You can then save up and in a year upgrade to a newer card & PSU.

I ran an x3350 at 3.6 with an oc'd gtx 260 and seti 24/7 for a year on an hx520, he's not going to need a new psu for a long time unless he wants sli/crossfire.

btw, I still have that system but the gtx 260 is in my i7 rig now.

 

[false_dmitrii]

Thanks for all the good advice. 5770 sounds ideal. Are any particular brands better for their stock cooler design and card longevity?

 

[faxon]

The XFX that has the egg cooler on it is the one I just got for my friends comp. Cooler is quieter and cools better than the ref cooler does

 

[Dark Shroud]

You want the at least the egg cooler. If you want even cooler you could go Sapphire vaporX or with the MSI Hawk.

The Hawk is probably the better over clocker.