HD4670 or new motherboard?

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shaftymcnasty

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Dec 10, 2009
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Hi everyone, I've been checking out the forums here for a bit and decided to register.

I am running an older AM2 machine right now with an MSI K9VGM-V board, 2GB Crucial DDR-667, AMD 3800+ and a cheap PSU in an old Compaq case. I buying a Corsair CX400 PSU tomorrow and should have enough to buy either an HD4670 or a Gigabyte board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128394. I am upgrading the PSU for obvious reasons (no upgrading with a 250w). I want to play a few older games like Painkiller and Half-Life 2 on the machine. Right now I can play Painkiller at 800x600 with low settings and it is barely playable. HL2 is way too laggy. I would like to play these at 1280x1024 resolution with decent settings.

Now, should I get the board or the GPU? I know the GPU will play the games but will the HD4200 on the board? I know that the board will give me upgradability for the future but I would have to buy some Arctic Silver for reseating the cpu/heatsink onto a new board and reformat the hard drive.

My budget for upgrades is max $140-150 including shipping.
 
cubeless

cubeless

Diamond Member
Sep 17, 2001
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shaftymcnasty said:
So, my CPU won't be a bottleneck for the GPU on the older games?
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would have to look back at some old benchies, but i think that any 2+ year old game should play ok on a 9800 and a 2ghz x2 chip @ 1280... i built a handful of boxes with 8800gts320's and 3800x2's with 1440 lcds that still run ok with steam games... of course i oc the chips to 2.5 or so...
 
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cubeless

cubeless

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Sep 17, 2001
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tcsenter

Lifer
Sep 7, 2001
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cubeless said:
msi says your mobo will handle a 6000+ 125w... you can get the 9800 and a 6000 Athlon 64 x2 6000+
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No, the K9VGM-V does not support any 125W models:

K9VGM-V CPU Support

If this were a different chipset, I would say go for a better graphics card such as 9800GT or something, but there have been reports of issues running PCI-E 2.0 cards on VIA chipsets. The K8M890 PCI-E x16 interface in particular, seems to under-perform by about 20%.

BTW, if you want the latest BIOS update, I created a bootable update CD for version 1.80:

http://s89934018.onlinehome.us/BIOS/K9VGMV_180.iso

Standard ISO image file that should work with any decent CD burning app. After creating the CD, you should find a README file on the disc for more instructions.
 
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ShreddedWheat

Senior member
Apr 3, 2006
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I would get the 9800 and try it out first with your system. HL2 should do fine....I played hl2 with a fx55 and x800xt all the time at 1280x1024 w/ 1 gig ddr400 memory no problems. If I remember also some painkiller. I would try the card first....then upgrade cpu/mobo in the future. 9800gt will play almost all games at 1280x1024 with decent settings.
 
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shaftymcnasty

Member
Dec 10, 2009
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Well, I ordered the 4670 today along with the CX400 and an Antec 300 with a couple extra fans. I'll test it out and see if I need the BIOS update (thank you very much for the link by the way =)
 
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shaftymcnasty

Member
Dec 10, 2009
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I'm going to be looking for recommendations for a full ATX motherboard that supports DDR667 and my 3800+ too. I ordered the case so I can get a full ATX. OC options are a must for the new board. $100 top budget on the motherboard. That way I can upgrade my CPU in a few weeks to a dual or quad core
 
cubeless

cubeless

Diamond Member
Sep 17, 2001
4,295
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i can sell you the 965x4 and ma790x-ud4p i got at frys a couple weeks ago... probably the hottest amd ddr2 setup u will find...
 
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shaftymcnasty

Member
Dec 10, 2009
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cubeless said:
i can sell you the 965x4 and ma790x-ud4p i got at frys a couple weeks ago... probably the hottest amd ddr2 setup u will find...
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That is probably going to be out of my price range but shoot me a PM with price. Also, wondering if it is the 125w or 140w version


About my current motherboard... According to MSI http://www.msicomputer.com/index.php?func=prodmbspec&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=260#menu

it says that PCI-E 2.0 is supported on the chipset in the specifications. Just don't know what "Gen1 (1x16)" means next to it
 
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shaftymcnasty

Member
Dec 10, 2009
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Well, everything came in today and went together without issue. The K9vgm-v took to the 4670 without the need for a BIOS update or anything. My CPU temps dropped from 50C idle to 40C idle too =)
 
J

jvroig

Platinum Member
Nov 4, 2009
2,394
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Glad the OP had his problems solved.

If I may continue here, why is the 4670 the prime choice for low power, decent performance card?

I thought there were 9600/9800GT cards that were lower-power versions of the original releases? Or, even the new GT 240 (is this another rebadge of the 9800GT?). It says in the specs it only has a max card power of 69W, so it also does not need an external power connector. The specs remind me of a 9800GT.

One of my friends just bought a 4670 for almost the same reasons as the OP. I'd like to get a very cheap upgrade from my 8600GTS, and I rather want a card that doesn't have external power. I was going to settle for a 4670 myself when I saw the GT 240 page.

Any feedback?

Thanks in advance.
 
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tcsenter

Lifer
Sep 7, 2001
18,884
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GT 240 with GDDR3 is roughly comparable to the HD 4670 GDDR3 in performance. GT 240 with GDDR5 is faster but not by much. 10% ~ 15% maybe.
 
notposting

notposting

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2005
3,498
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jvroig said:
Glad the OP had his problems solved.

If I may continue here, why is the 4670 the prime choice for low power, decent performance card?

I thought there were 9600/9800GT cards that were lower-power versions of the original releases? Or, even the new GT 240 (is this another rebadge of the 9800GT?). It says in the specs it only has a max card power of 69W, so it also does not need an external power connector. The specs remind me of a 9800GT.

One of my friends just bought a 4670 for almost the same reasons as the OP. I'd like to get a very cheap upgrade from my 8600GTS, and I rather want a card that doesn't have external power. I was going to settle for a 4670 myself when I saw the GT 240 page.

Any feedback?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Even the lower power versions of the original releases sucked down more power. Cost was another reason though right now with all the inventory dumps you could get better performance for cheaper at the cost of slightly higher power draw.

I have a 4670 paired with a 5050e and I game on 1280x1024 so I'm pretty content with that setup...until I go higher res someday. Waiting for the 5670 to come out before I do that :D
 
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jvroig

Platinum Member
Nov 4, 2009
2,394
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notposting said:
I have a 4670 paired with a 5050e and I game on 1280x1024 so I'm pretty content with that setup...until I go higher res someday. Waiting for the 5670 to come out before I do that
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Actually my thoughts as well! I'm almost itching to get a 4670 or 9600/9800GT low power, or the GT240. But with the 56xx so close to release, I'm thinking maybe I should wait and the 5670 is guaranteed to be low power but better performing (at least, I'm crossing my fingers, but its bigger brothers are doing great so far). The only factor would be price since it would definitely cost more that the 4670, so it has to be determined if the price difference is worth it, although in my mind it almost assuredly will be worth it already (a little biased there, I admit).
 
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