graphics card upgrade worth it?

[steve wilson]

Hi,
I currently have the following system
ATI 2900 Pro
Core2Duo E6600 2.4GHZ
Asus P5WDH Deluxe S775

The system is starting to struggle with games a little bit and I've not even got medium settings on. Would it be worth updating the graphics card, or is it time to think about a whole new system? I was really hoping to hold out for SSD's and windows 7 SP1 before I bought a new system. Can anyone recommend a graphics cards that would be good to go with what I've got?

Thanks
Steve

 

[kylebisme]

What games are you wanting to run better? Many will be fine with that CPU but could benift from throwing as much GPU at as you care to spend, while in a few newer games that CPU will be holding you back regardless, though some overclocking would help.

 

[vj8usa]

Yeah, you'd definitely benefit from a new GPU in graphically intensive games. OC that E6600 - odds are you'll be able to break 3GHz assuming your RAM is halfway decent. When you say it's struggling at medium settings, what game(s) are you talking about? If, for instance, you're talking about GTA4, OCing your CPU would help a ton.

 

[steve wilson]

Hi,
Thanks for the replys.

I've played GTA 4 and it ran well. At the moment I'm playing Cod 4 and I have set all the settings to low and no AA and it gets a little choppy sometimes. I've capped the FPS to 55 and 99% of the time it's smooth now. I will be wanting to play Modern warfare 2 and Starcraft 2, but I guess no one will know if the CPU will hold me back in those games until they are released.

Really I don't want to be playing games with all the settings on low, but I can hold out until Christmas I suppose and make a better decision then.

 

[ronss]

your ati 2900 is fairly aged, and the numbers from the newer cards will bury yours....in 3dmark06...a 4890 will allmost do 20,000. the ati 4870-18000...and your ati 2900 will peform 12,000......these bench marks come from the same system wth same cpu....so you can see that the 2900 is started to age.

 

[TemjinGold]

Originally posted by: steve wilson
Hi,
Thanks for the replys.

I've played GTA 4 and it ran well. At the moment I'm playing Cod 4 and I have set all the settings to low and no AA and it gets a little choppy sometimes. I've capped the FPS to 55 and 99% of the time it's smooth now. I will be wanting to play Modern warfare 2 and Starcraft 2, but I guess no one will know if the CPU will hold me back in those games until they are released.

Really I don't want to be playing games with all the settings on low, but I can hold out until Christmas I suppose and make a better decision then.

If you can hold just a bit, the 5xxx line will be out very soon.

 

[Gikaseixas]

E6600 @ 2.4 get a 4770 or 9800 GTX

E6600 @ 3.0 get a 4870 or GTX 260

Just my 2 cents

 

[steve wilson]

Thanks for the info TemjinGold, I think I will wait it out.

 

[Gikaseixas]

if you wait for 5xxx generation cards you'll most likely need a better cpu if don't overclock

 

[Denithor]

Have you tried overclocking yet? Take a look in the CPU forum - there's a great guide on how to do this with complete stability.

Once you push your CPU up a bit you will be able to properly drive a much faster GPU than you have currently.

 

[TemjinGold]

Originally posted by: steve wilson
Thanks for the info TemjinGold, I think I will wait it out.

Np. Meanwhile, it's a good idea to do what the others said and OC that cpu a bit. If that makes a solid difference in the games you play, you might wanna think about slapping on a Q9550.

 

[steve wilson]

I haven't tried OC ever before, but I will give it a go.

I would also like to upgrade the CPU but the Mobo that I got will only do 1066 FSB and the Q9550 is 1333 FSB I think? I have an ASUS P5WDH Deluxe, so I think the OC will have to do for now. Will upgrading my memory from 2GB of 800mhz to 2GB of 1066mhz make much of a difference? I'm running XP btw.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Originally posted by: ronss
your ati 2900 is fairly aged, and the numbers from the newer cards will bury yours....in 3dmark06...a 4890 will allmost do 20,000. the ati 4870-18000...and your ati 2900 will peform 12,000......these bench marks come from the same system wth same cpu....so you can see that the 2900 is started to age.

You are drunk. My system does 12.5k when overclocked, and my hardware is a generation or two further along. There is no way he's going to get those scores with a just a dual core CPU.

And why does 3dmark06 even matter? I don't play 3dmark often. Do you?

 

[TemjinGold]

Originally posted by: steve wilson
I haven't tried OC ever before, but I will give it a go.

I would also like to upgrade the CPU but the Mobo that I got will only do 1066 FSB and the Q9550 is 1333 FSB I think? I have an ASUS P5WDH Deluxe, so I think the OC will have to do for now. Will upgrading my memory from 2GB of 800mhz to 2GB of 1066mhz make much of a difference? I'm running XP btw.

No, you won't even notice such a ram "upgrade." Upgrading from 2gb to 4gb however should help some.

 

[SlowSpyder]

If you haven't, you can overclock your 2900 Pro. I think just about all of them could hit 800MHz. That may satisfy you until next gen cards come out. That and a little overclock on your CPU may be enough to hold out for a bit. Even overclocked the 2900 is a bit on the old side now, but another couple hundred MHz on the core will probably give you a noticeable boost.

 

[apoppin]

2900p [probably the 256 MB version] is *painfully* slow by today's standards; think slower than 8800 GTS 320 MB
- about HALF as fast as a 4870 ... even overclocking it to 2900XT speeds still leaves it slow as heck for even DX9c games

a simple overclock to 3.0 GHz on that e8400 would allow the OP to use a 4980 if he wanted

Will upgrading my memory from 2GB of 800mhz to 2GB of 1066mhz make much of a difference? I'm running XP btw.

Not at all; but upgrade to 4GB for Win7 - that 800MHz RAM will usually allow an overclock to 3 GHz using CPU dividers

why wait? if you wait for the new graphics cards, you will likely need an entirely new PC
- i am suggesting a $150 upgrade to really notice a massive framerate improvement

 

[Axon]

Originally posted by: ScholzpdxAnd why does 3dmark06 even matter? I don't
play 3dmark often. Do you?

It doesn't.

 

[Leyawiin]

I wouldn't wait. As cheap as hardware is there's no reason to. If your struggling with the games you enjoy right now, its time to upgrade. This card would be a very good match for your CPU and give you a huge boost in FPS:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814161244

$90 after rebate, great third party cooling solution (effective and quiet).

 

[k0rnh0li0]

ram barely has anyhting to do with you GPU. it uses some of it but not most of it. HDD's also use a little. mainly cpu

keep 4gbs. upgrade you GPU. OC that baby and you should be fine.

 

[Forumpanda]

Keep in mind you can always upgrade the graphics card now (should see huge improvement), and even if you will be CPU limited now if you can still use the new GPU when you upgrade the rest of the system later.

However if you can then I would wait it out until the next gen is launched, we are only talking a few months, and if nothing else you should be able to find some really good deals then.

 

[Warren21]

I don't know about you guys, but I built a computer for my brother out of nearly the same parts and it can run CoD 4 @ 1280 x 1024 all maxed, 2x AA at higher than 30 FPS (no visible choppiness).

Just like OP:
E6600 @ stock, HD 2900 Pro (512-bit mind you) 512MB. I have the 2900 flashed to XT and running at stock XT speeds.

Rest of system:
DFI LP DK X38-T2R
4GB Crucial Ballistix 1066
WD Caviar RE 7200 250GB 16MB
Vista Ult. 32-bit, SP1

As far as upgrades are concerned, I'm thinking of selling him my 4850 512 and that would do him just fine for any modern game at the resolutions he plays (1280 x 1024 or 720P). I recommend the same to the OP: a 9800 GTX/GTS 250 or 4850 would do you just fine, whatever is cheaper.