Great Monitor...!! Now what do I do?

[saiku]

I saw this great deal on the Dell 24" 2408WFP and pulled the trigger. The monitor is on its way but as you can see in my sig, my other gear may not be handle this all that well. I primarily use my computer for gaming...Left for Dead, TF2, Company of Heroes and new AAA FPS titles if they interest me.

Since I have a SLI motherboard, I was wondering if it makes sense to buy another 8800 GTS or if it makes sense to simply get a new graphics card. My target resolution is going to be 1920x1200. Currently, I game at 1280x1024 to keep my framerates acceptable on multiplayer games.

I can spend upto 250 bucks.

I've been out of the hardware tracking mode for a few months and I'm tearing my hair out with the sheer number of options to consider.
Should I spring for a new GTX 275? or should i go SLI? (I won't say no to saving some money)
Will be CPU be a major bottleneck?
I am not big into overclocking.

Please help !

 

[Blurry]

CPU is a little on the slow side - might want to consider upgrading that to a faster C2D or even a C2Q.

Do not get another 8800GTS as it'll still be limited to 640MB of RAM and it's slower than say a single 260 216c / 4870 / 4890, etc. Not to mention the added complications of having SLI.
(Scaling issues, power requirements, etc)

For me, generally, if I can avoid an SLI setup with a single card, then I will always go with a single card.

What I recommend:

Upgrade video card first - for $250 you can get a GTX 275, or 4850x2, or a 4890. All are good cards and more than capable for gaming at 1920x1200 everything maxed (except Crysis)

Down the road once you have more money, upgrade your CPU.

 

[Blurry]

Also just realized - I have no idea if your PSU is sufficient for those cards. Perhaps someone in the know might want to chime in?

 

[CurseTheSky]

At higher resolutions, the CPU matters less and less. Your E6400 might be a slight bottle neck, but I wouldn't worry about it.

Your 640MB 8800 GTS should still be up to the task for most games. Turn down the eye candy (AA, AF, view distance, shadows, water reflections, etc.) if you're getting low FPS, but otherwise you shouldn't have a problem. None of the games you listed seem to require a top-end system.

If you REALLY want to upgrade, I'd go with a GTX 280 / 285, or a 4890. If you can find another 8800 GTS 640 very cheap, SLI wouldn't be a bad option, but keep in mind that you may run into a ton of driver headaches and other performance issues in games. Before you go for SLI or a newer card, you should consider upgrading to a solid power supply. Something like a SeaSonic, Corsair, Antec, PC Power & Cooling, etc. would be your best bet, and 500w for a single card should be plenty, while 600-700 would give you more headroom for a SLI setup. You're probably not going to be able to get a good PSU and a newer graphics card together for $250, though.

Bottom line: in my opinion, keep what you have for now, see how it works, and save up some more cash.

 

[fffblackmage]

If you really think the cpu could be a bottleneck, you could try overclocking, given that it's free to OC and a new cpu isn't.

If the 8800gts is still fine now for gaming, you could just hold off upgrading until newer graphics cards come out.

I think the psu is fine with a single graphics card if you do decide to upgrade, but I'd probably avoid any dual gpu set-ups like the 4850x2 or other xfire/sli.

 

[alevasseur14]

I played many games with my 8800 GTS 640 until I ran into GTA IV. The last game I played all the way through was COD 4 and it played absolutely fine. GTA IV wasn't even that bad, I just wanted to turn on more eye candy so I went with the 4870.

 

[happy medium]

This is what I would do in this order.

1.Try to overclock my cpu. If you can't get it over 2.8Ghz ,I would just buy one of these cards 9800gtx+/gts250/hd4850/hd4770 and save my money for a Core i7/i5 system. No psu upgrade needed.This option will cost you less then 60.00$(sell you 640 gts for 60$) and give you a 35/40% improvement in gaming perfromance.

2. If overclocking don't work, I might try buying used off the for sale/trade forums. Right now I can get a 896mb 260gtx (192sp version) for 115.00$. and a e8400 for 135.00$.Buy the cpu first and check to see if performance improves enough (with 8800gts 640) before you buy video card. If not, this option will cost you 150.00$(after you sell your cpu/gpu) for 100$ ) and give you a 100% improvement in gaming performance.

3.Do some leg work and try selling your old stuff (video card /cpu) and raise your buget 100$. Now spend 350.00$ on new cpu/gpu. If you want to go the New route.

4. Buy a highend video card 4870/4890, gtx 260/275 and find out how bad my cpu @2.0 Ghz 2mb cache is gonna bottleneck my new graphics card and be pissed that I listened to them guys at Anandtech saying it won't be that much of a bottleneck!!:roll:

5. Save your money play at lower resolution till you can afford a full Core i7/i5 upgrade when prices drop.

A few good options for ya:thumbsup:

 

[saiku]

awesome tips...thanks...i wanted to avoid the SLI route...just seems like too much work. I am not even sure if i can play @ 1920x1200 with the GTS 640MB. I can turn down the eye-candy and try it I guess.
So, I'm thinking here's what I'll do:
1. wait for the new monitor.
2. See if there is any ghosting (i cant stand ghosting)
3. Wait to see how crappy it looks.
4. Upgrade my graphics card (not sure if i should get the 275). Is it worth the premium over the 260? (I'll probably stay with Nvidia...havent had luck with ATI/AMD)
5. See if CPU is bottlenecking me (i'm not sure how i'd do this)
6. OC my CPU a bit (can you suggest a tool?)
7. Upgrade CPU if necessary (Any suggestions?..I'm fine with used at around 100 bucks)

 

[postmortemIA]

first, congrats on great monitor choice

second, see my second rig, same gpu, similar monitor of same resolution - TF2 plays just fine. but not everything does.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: saiku
awesome tips...thanks...i wanted to avoid the SLI route...just seems like too much work. I am not even sure if i can play @ 1920x1200 with the GTS 640MB. I can turn down the eye-candy and try it I guess.
So, I'm thinking here's what I'll do:
1. wait for the new monitor.
2. See if there is any ghosting (i cant stand ghosting)
3. Wait to see how crappy it looks.
4. Upgrade my graphics card (not sure if i should get the 275). Is it worth the premium over the 260? (I'll probably stay with Nvidia...havent had luck with ATI/AMD)
5. See if CPU is bottlenecking me (i'm not sure how i'd do this)
6. OC my CPU a bit (can you suggest a tool?)
7. Upgrade CPU if necessary (Any suggestions?..I'm fine with used at around 100 bucks)

If you have the money and are willing to upgrade your cpu (and you will be bottlenecked) after your new card then thats a good plan.

To determine if you are bottlenecked ,run an average game benchmark (Call of Duty 5) at 1280x1024 and with the same in game settings run it at 1920x1200. If your fps are about the same your cpu is bottlenecking your gpu.

As for the question about the gtx275 vs the gtx260?
I think you should spend as little as possible now (just to get by) ,because of the new graphics cards comming at the end of the year.
A gtx 260 will last you easily till next year. Right now I would say no the gtx 275 is not worth the price premium unless you find one for like 200.00$.

As for your question on how to overclock? Heres a link to some basics. It's not hard to do.

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2057083&enterthread=y

Used cpu for 100.00$ ? Hmmmm, Go with the e7xxx series. They are 20% faster then your cpu @ stock and they easily overclock to 3.5Ghz or more.

Hope this helps. :beer:

Edit: take your pick of gtx 260's cards here . some come with game, some with rebates, some with free shipping .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...e%20GTX%20200%20Series

 

[happy medium]

Saiku u have PM

 

[brblx]

i would definately look at a gtx260 as a minimum upgrade. that would top SLI 8800's and wouldn't murder your power supply like twin g80's. though i would look to upgrade that in any case- i've used rosewill PSU's and while they seem to last okay in e-mail machines, they do not do rated power and i wouldn't lean too hard on one. you'd probably get a lot more out of an earthwatt's 380 or something similar.

you can probably get an extra 500mhz or so out of your CPU with very little fuss. my 2.53ghz c2d does 3.16ghz at stock voltage with stock cooling just fine.

 

[sxr7171]

Get a new video card pronto, then consider overclocking your CPU.

 

[saiku]

I caved in and ordered the evga gtx 275. This should hopefully keep me going for atleast a year or more. I will OC my CPU soon as I get that gfx card in ! Thanks all for excellent suggestions.