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Help deciding on a new video card

C

Cyberia123

Member
Hello everyone! I'm really looking for a new video card to replace my 8800GTX. It's showing it's age and I'm also experiencing random crashes/texture corruptions in StarCraft 2, which seem to be common for 8800 class cards, according to the Blizzard forums.

My current setup is as follows:

Windows XP Pro SP3 updated
EVGA 8800GTX 768MB
Core Duo Extreme X6800
Asus P5N-T Deluxe
4 GB RAM (I think it's Corsair, off the top of my head)
Dell 3007WFP @2560x1600
3 HDDs (one boot, two big data drives RAID mirrored)
2 CD/DVD drives
750W PS


I don't necessarily game at 2560x1600 unless I can get away with it, which is rarely on my 8800GTX. I take the highest playable resolution i can get, and will do that on a new card too. I'm looking for a single card setup, no SLI/CF, but x2 is fine. I've had both ATI and Nvidia before, both are good products.

Money isn't particularly an object, but I definitely don't want to spend unnecessarily. Also: I live in a warm climate, room temp is often 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit, and don't currently have overheating issues on anything. I won't OC unless I can easily/safety get a small boost on stock coolers.

So what do you guys think? 5970? 5870? 5750 OC'd? or go the 460/470 route?

The 5970 is very pricey, and might need a new PS to run it, I dunno. I'm leaning towards either a 5870 or 470. All advice is welcome.

EDIT: I'm going to switch to Win7 probably this fall/winter.
 
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If money is no object and you want a single card solution then the 5970 is the obvious choice. Or a 480 if you go green. Both will run on a quality 750w PSU no problem.
 
since you mentioned no preference get the 5970. if heat becomes too much of an issue you can undervolt/underclock it a bit.
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

@ my cpu - I've been thinking about doing a complete system rebuild within the next 6 months anyway...maybe I should hold off on a super-high end 5970 (or whatever is available then) and just get a 5870 to replace my aging 8800gtx. A second advantage there is that I won't have to cannibalize my main box at all... making troubleshooting (there are always new-system problems) and data-transfer easier.

I've read that VERY soon there will be 2gb 5870s available, perhaps I should wait another 2-3 weeks?
 
Cyberia123 said:
Thanks for the comments guys.

@ my cpu - I've been thinking about doing a complete system rebuild within the next 6 months anyway...maybe I should hold off on a super-high end 5970 (or whatever is available then) and just get a 5870 to replace my aging 8800gtx. A second advantage there is that I won't have to cannibalize my main box at all... making troubleshooting (there are always new-system problems) and data-transfer easier.

I've read that VERY soon there will be 2gb 5870s available, perhaps I should wait another 2-3 weeks?
Click to expand...

Save your self some money and grab a gtx 460 and overclock it.
They do make 2gb gtx 460 for 260$
A 380$ 5870 is a terrible buy and a $400+ 2gb model is worse.
 
Well, I was originally looking at a single card solution, but now I notice the price on the 460gtx. I can get two for less than one 5870 and get better performance. My Mobo does support SLI, and since I currenntly have an Nvidia card I wouldn't even have to remove drivers (a minor benefit, but still....)

Forgive me for being SLI illiterate.... Do two 1gb 460s make 2gb of video ram, effectively? I guess the Anands chart (linked above) suggests it works as 2gb since it runs 2560 well.

Will my 750W PS still be ok, or replace that too?
 
Grab a 5850 for $255 for now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-494-_-Product

5850 will be faster than GTX460 at your resolution since you likely won't overclock the 460 based on what you said. Then in 6 months when you want to do a complete rebuild, grab HD6000 series or Fermi refresh, etc.

Performance 460 vs 470 vs. 5850 vs. 5870:
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/..._460/20/#abschnitt_performancerating_mit_aaaf

I would generally recommend the 470 over 5850 and 5870 given the current pricing, but since you live in a hotter environment, grab the ATI cards.
 
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