GPU Recommendation: Upgrade from 8800GT

[Starbuck1975]

Last summer I built a new rig, but didn't have the budget for a new GPU, and given the games I was playing at the time, I really had no reason to upgrade my 8800GT.

I usually get a lot of life out of my GPUs. I rarely upgrade unless a game comes along that I truly want to play at settings other than the bare minimum.

I recently purchased Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Bioshock 2. Ironically enough, the original Deus Ex prompted my upgrading my GPU at the time when it came out.

I can't get either game to run at a smooth framerate with all the eye candy turned on, and I don't want to miss out on enjoying the full potential of thsee games by turning off all the settings just so it will run on my rig.

So I am ready to upgrade my 8800GT, with a few limitations and caveats:

1. Would like to keep my budget under $250.
2. I will never run two GPUs in my system, so looking for a single card solution.
3. It has to run on my current PSU.
4. I rarely purchase games when they first come out. I am usually a year or two behind any release cycle, so I need a card that can run what is out there now, and potentially what will come out in say the next two to three years.
5. I am not loyal or partial to any particular line of cards.

Read the holiday system guides, and the midrange system is not that far off from my current rig:

ASRock Z68 PRO-3
Intel x5-2500K
eVGA GEFORCE 8800GT
2x4GB Mushkin Enhanced Silverline
OCZ Solid 3 60GB
2xSamsung SpinPoint 1TB
ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W PSU
LG 226WT

The GPU recommended for that setup is a Radeon HD 6850.

Should I just get the HD 6850 and call it a day? Can my Enermax Liberty 500AWT support it? From what I can tell in head to head reviews, the HD 6850 seems to beat comperable nVidia cards, and also seems to pull less power, which is actually a preferred benefit.

 

[NoSoup4You]

GTX560ti or just the regular 560 should be fine. Or the Radeon you listed, can't lose either way.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Depends on what you value.

A 560 ti would be better than the 6870, but cost more.

Outside that, used would get you the best price/performance, you can get 480s for under $250.

 

[Tempered81]

GTX560 or HD69502GB. Both these cards can be found in a deal around your price range. They are the two best bang for your buck purchases in that range.

They also overclock and the 6950 OC's and unlocks.

 

[Majcric]

In a nutshell, the 6950 2gb.

 

[tweakboy]

If he goes towards ATI hes going to have driver conflicts with his OS.

You have a 8800 GT now, stick with nvidia and grab a 460 1GB for 130 dollars or a 5xx variant. gl

 

[RaistlinZ]

If he goes towards ATI hes going to have driver conflicts with his OS.

You have a 8800 GT now, stick with nvidia and grab a 460 1GB for 130 dollars or a 5xx variant. gl

With his budget of $250 and a strong CPU (i5-2500k) I think he should shoot for the 560Ti over the old 460. The 560Ti will give much better performance and won't hold back his CPU as much.

They're currently $225.00 after rebate on Newegg. 😎


OP,

You may also want to wait for the 7970 to be released next week as many people (me included) will be upgrading from our 5850/5870 cards and selling them off.

 

[lavaheadache]

6950 2gb

He isn't going to have driver conflicts as long as he goes about uninstalling his current card properly.

I have bounced back and forth many times from AMD to nVidia on my current rig with no so much as a hiccup.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Thank you all for the responses. I am leaning towards the 6950 1GB at the moment, with the 560 Ti at a close second. I read a review on another site that the performance jump from 1GB to 2GB is negligable on the 6950?

Given what others posted:

He isn't going to have driver conflicts as long as he goes about uninstalling his current card properly.

What is the proper sequence for uninstalling my existing GPU to avoid a drivers conflict?

With his budget of $250 and a strong CPU (i5-2500k) I think he should shoot for the 560Ti over the old 460.

I've heard that nVidia cards are less power efficient. If I decide to go nVidia, do I have to worry about my PSU?

Also, would a 6950 equally not hold back my CPU as you mentioned on the 560Ti?

Also, should I consider the 560Ti-448, which is slightly over budget, but I can wait for it to come down a bit in price.

 

[bryanW1995]

560 ti 448 is actually a cut-down gtx 570 rather than just an overclocked 560 ti. If you can stretch the budget to make that card work then I would, it's much better than 560 ti or 6950 1/2gb. As an added bonus it has 1.25 gb of ram, which could come in handy in modded games going forward. However, it is a lot more power hungry than 6950 or even gtx 560 ti.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

560 ti 448 is actually a cut-down gtx 570 rather than just an overclocked 560 ti. If you can stretch the budget to make that card work then I would, it's much better than 560 ti or 6950 1/2gb. As an added bonus it has 1.25 gb of ram, which could come in handy in modded games going forward. However, it is a lot more power hungry than 6950 or even gtx 560 ti.

Its more of a failed 570

 

[Joseph F]

Thank you all for the responses. I am leaning towards the 6950 1GB at the moment, with the 560 Ti at a close second. I read a review on another site that the performance jump from 1GB to 2GB is negligable on the 6950?

Given what others posted:



What is the proper sequence for uninstalling my existing GPU to avoid a drivers conflict?



I've heard that nVidia cards are less power efficient. If I decide to go nVidia, do I have to worry about my PSU?

Also, would a 6950 equally not hold back my CPU as you mentioned on the 560Ti?

Also, should I consider the 560Ti-448, which is slightly over budget, but I can wait for it to come down a bit in price.

1: To uninstall your card correctly: Uninstall the drivers from the "Programs and Features" section of the control panel, then, (I like to do this next step before I reboot) go to the device manager, under "Display adapters" you should find your card. Right-click on it and select "Uninstall".

2: I'm not really sure about your PSU. You should ask over at the Power Supplies subforum.
However, note from the review I linked that the 560-448 draws 52W more power than the 6950.

4: I think that you'd be better off just getting a Radeon 6950 2GB than a GTX 560 Ti-448.
Furthermore, I think that the 560-448 will be a very limited-production part.
So, It probably won't be on the market long enough for a price-drop. Remember the Geforce GTX 275?
Here's a review on the 560-448: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5153/nvidias-geforce-gtx-560-ti-w448-cores-gtx570-on-a-budget/1

 

[Starbuck1975]

Quick follow-up question. I am running an LG 226WT panel. I was reading the tech specs on it, and I believe its max resolution is 1680 x 1050.

I assume this means my panel is now a constraint. Would my panel severely limit a 6950 or 560Ti in terms of resolution?

I don't plan on immediately replacing my panel, but may choose to do so during the lifetime of my new GPU.