Help choosing video card

[imported_Khan]

Can anyone recommend a good video card to play Crysis warhead, Far Cry 2 and hopefully the new Cod and BF:BC2 at high details? I was using an old Sony Trinitron 19" 1280x1024 CRT but bought a new LG 23" 1920x1080 lcd. I can no longer run Crysis Warhead with the details maxed out, Crysis Warhead doesn't run well unless I put on Mainstream settings. All the other games I have run fine though (TF2, CS:S, L4D, Bioshock, Fear 2,). Also I can no longer run AA or AF in Far Cry 2. Here is my current build:

Asus mobo. (unsure which but there is only 1 pcie slot)
Intel e8400 3.0ghz
4GB ram
8800gt 512mb
LG 23" 1920x1080

Which graphic card do you guys recommend for maxing out the above games (I know it is hard to max out crysis so just Enthusiast settings in that without AA/AF)? Will the next generation of cards from Ati and Nvidia be coming out soon? If yes should I wait for those? I was thinking about one of these:

4870x2
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/P...x?Item=N82E16814150349

Will this video card let me play crisis warhead and crysis wars with all enthusiast settings smoothly (over 40fps)? Or should I just wait for the next gen cards as it is only Crysis warhead which I can not play yet. Thank You in Advance!

 

[Tempered81]

if you're thinking about a 4870x2, i would just wait a couple months and get a 5870x2

 

[Kakkoii]

Yeah, since your going for the highest end, it would be a good idea to just wait a bit longer for the 5000 series.

 

[Elfear]

Check out Anadtech's review from June. They have a bunch of cards and test at 1920x1200 (very similar performance to your resolution) with Gamer settings.

From my experience and judging by Anandtech's results, I'd say an overclocked 4890 or GTX 275 or a stock GTX 285 would be the bare minimum to get smooth frames and even then you're going to get some slow-down in a few areas. I'd probably make a custom config file and run DX9 with about the same level of detail to eke some more performance out of whichever card you get.

For a single-slot solution, the best you can do is a 4870X2 or a GTX 295. IMO the GTX 295 is way overpriced as it only offers 5-10% more performance than the 4870X2 at 1920x1200. If you can find a good deal on one I'd grab it. I loved mine before I picked up my 4890s. If you can wait for another month, the new ATI cards are supposed to be out on Sept. 10 and will offer better performance (how much and at what cost is yet to be seen).

The other games you listed won't give you as much trouble as Crysis.

 

[imported_Khan]

For that Anandtech review, aren't they using an overclocked i7 processor which gives an extra boost compared to my e8400? I just read on these forums the next ati cards will be out in september, I guess I will wait for those as I am willing to pay ~400cdn. Any idea when the geforce counterparts come out?

 

[Udgnim]

wait for AMD 58XX series to be released, then decide

it's only less than a month

no idea what is Nvidia's schedule for their next gen card though

 

[TemjinGold]

AFAIK, the nVidia stuff won't be out till Q1 2010 but that's not much more than a rumor.

 

[dflynchimp]

I agree with others that tell you to wait. Yes the 4870X2 will get 30-40 fps solid at 1920 at very high settings. don't worry about your cpu because crysis isnt' heavily multithreaded and if I can get smooth framerates using a 2.66GHz Core 2, your 3.0 Core 2 should do just fine. Trust me the extra cores on my proc don't do shit other than offload background tasks, something you can just manage and turn off yourself.

However given the current time window in both gpu companies' development/release schedule you'd be better off waiting another few months, since either you'll net yourself a much faster gpu or a much better discount on the soon-to-be-old generation.

 

[TemjinGold]

Originally posted by: dflynchimp
I agree with others that tell you to wait. Yes the 4870X2 will get 30-40 fps solid at 1920 at very high settings. don't worry about your cpu because crysis isnt' heavily multithreaded and if I can get smooth framerates using a 2.66GHz Core 2, your 3.0 Core 2 should do just fine. Trust me the extra cores on my proc don't do shit other than offload background tasks, something you can just manage and turn off yourself.

However given the current time window in both gpu companies' development/release schedule you'd be better off waiting another few months, since either you'll net yourself a much faster gpu or a much better discount on the soon-to-be-old generation.

The issue with that is the OP would end up "waiting forever" as by the time nVidia's next gen comes out, ATi's refresh will likely be "just a few months away" as well. The only reason I suggested Evergreen along with the others is that it's so close (less than a month away.)

 

[Kakkoii]

Originally posted by: TemjinGold

Originally posted by: dflynchimp
I agree with others that tell you to wait. Yes the 4870X2 will get 30-40 fps solid at 1920 at very high settings. don't worry about your cpu because crysis isnt' heavily multithreaded and if I can get smooth framerates using a 2.66GHz Core 2, your 3.0 Core 2 should do just fine. Trust me the extra cores on my proc don't do shit other than offload background tasks, something you can just manage and turn off yourself.

However given the current time window in both gpu companies' development/release schedule you'd be better off waiting another few months, since either you'll net yourself a much faster gpu or a much better discount on the soon-to-be-old generation.

The issue with that is the OP would end up "waiting forever" as by the time nVidia's next gen comes out, ATi's refresh will likely be "just a few months away" as well. The only reason I suggested Evergreen along with the others is that it's so close (less than a month away.)

That's assuming Charlie's "source" is right about Nvidia's first tape out only just happening a while ago. Which I highly doubt is true. And even if it was, I doubt Nvidia would let such a gap happen between their DX11 cards and ATI's. They'd most likely push out with poor yields if they had to, just to get some out there.

Mark my words, Nvidia's DX11 will be out this year.