is this upgrade worth it?

[rh71]

UPDATE: the 6850 is arriving tonight... reviews said install was a bitch after power on. I'm on the same drivers as the old GPU (latest catalyst) according to ATI's site. Can I basically just plug and play or do I need to install with the supplied CD first?

Radeon 4850 to 6870. I want to keep it below like $175. Anything better, maybe on the Nvidia side? Reason is the 4850 (non-O/C'd) doesn't allow me to play WoW or D3 anywhere near max. Even on low settings, I am using a slot fan directly below the GPU card and that's the only way I am keeping it from shutting down my PC. Without the slot fan, it shuts down in a few minutes, guaranteed. Some say it shouldn't cause that and it may be the power supply, but I can see my GPU temp is up to 112C while playing while the other temps are normal. Right now it's idling at 81C. Maybe it's just this ASUS brand. But are all stock fans just generally poor? I don't want to spend that much just to have the same thing happen.

Would maybe new thermal paste on the 4850 help me - assuming I can even take it apart? Is it just better to upgrade since it will be a significant enough difference that I can play games at near max settings? I feel like I'm missing out on the D3 experience having all the settings so low.

Other details:
Rosewill 600w power supply
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
Q6600 quad core
4GB RAM

I assume PCIe 2.1 and 3.0 cards are backwards compliant.

 

[Termie]

Time to dump that 4850. If it's a single-slot model, it just wasn't designed for the long haul.

Here are some benchmarks of newer cards in D3: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-5.html

Something like an HD6870 or even an HD6850 would be perfect. Unfortunately, prices have recently gone up, perhaps because there isn't much on the horizon in this price range and these models are still popular.

Here is a bargain-priced HD6850 at Superbiiz: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-6850_1G. Use code "CONGRATS" for $10 off, making it $125AR/FS.

 

[jacktesterson]

NCIX in Canada has a Powercolor 6870 on sale for $130 AR very often.

I'd look for something like that.

Also, there is a 560 Ti for $184 (Galaxy) on NCIX.com now.

Also, used 5870's are going for $140-170 area in For sale section. 5850s for $100-125.


Look around!

I'll sell you my 4850 and you can crossfire! haha

 

[rh71]

Time to dump that 4850. If it's a single-slot model, it just wasn't designed for the long haul.

Here are some benchmarks of newer cards in D3: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-5.html

Something like an HD6870 or even an HD6850 would be perfect. Unfortunately, prices have recently gone up, perhaps because there isn't much on the horizon in this price range and these models are still popular.

Here is a bargain-priced HD6850 at Superbiiz: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-6850_1G. Use code "CONGRATS" for $10 off, making it $125AR/FS.

looks good thanks

 

[aaksheytalwar]

You are looking at a 100% upgrade or so, going from a 4850 to 5850 was one of the best decisions ever for me. and a 6870 is even faster.

 

[Termie]

looks good thanks

No problem. Here are some new benchmarks of the game:

http://www.techspot.com/review/532-diablo-3-performance/page3.html

 

[BD231]

AMD isn't updating drivers for the 4800 series any more so if you find a deal its definitely a good time to switch.

 

[jacktesterson]

AMD isn't updating drivers for the 4800 series any more so if you find a deal its definitely a good time to switch.

They are still supporting it for Windows 7, just won't be releasing Windows 8 drivers.

 

[mrcmtl]

Maybe you should dust the fan off or take out the fan and replace the paste. I see no real reason to throw away your 4850 just for D3 because it is making your PC shutting down because of heat. I'm playing D3 on my 4870 stock at 1920x1200 maxed out so your 4850 should be similar as well. I dust the fan off regularly on mine because I know the temps are quite high for the 48xx series.

 

[Barfo]

yes

 

[rh71]

^ updated with new question

 

[Barfo]

It's best if you uninstalll drivers, install card, then reinstall drivers.

 

[RussianSensation]

It's best if you uninstalll drivers, install card, then reinstall drivers.

:thumbsup:

Funny enough new Cats 12.4 show up as 11.6 for me in MSI Afterburner, GPU-Z, etc. AMD acknowledged this issue and will fix this in 12.5. AMD drivers at work.

 

[toyota]

:thumbsup:

Funny enough new Cats 12.4 show up as 11.6 for me in MSI Afterburner, GPU-Z, etc. AMD acknowledged this issue and will fix this in 12.5. AMD drivers at work.

lol, remember though we have users here that have claimed to NEVER had a single driver issue ever. :whiste:


that Q6600 certainly needs to be oced to take full advantage of a new gpu. and has the resolution even been mentioned?

 

[rh71]

lol, remember though we have users here that have claimed to NEVER had a single driver issue ever. :whiste:


that Q6600 certainly needs to be oced to take full advantage of a new gpu. and has the resolution even been mentioned?

I'm only at 1280x720 windowed and the heat is still an issue.

I have some O/C experience with a previous AMD Barton... do i want to O/C in the bios the same way? What speed/multiplier? I'll probably do it later on once I know the new card is stable with temps.

 

[toyota]

I'm only at 1280x720 windowed and the heat is still an issue.

I have some O/C experience with a previous AMD Barton... do i want to O/C in the bios the same way? What speed/multiplier? I'll probably do it later on once I know the new card is stable with temps.

so you are going to be playing at only 1280x720 with your new card too?

 

[rh71]

so you are going to be playing at only 1280x720 with your new card too?

hell no not if i can help it... I was trying to take it easy on the card as much as I could. My monitor's max is 1920x1200 so I'm going there. What benefit will I see from O/Cing the Q6600?

 

[RussianSensation]

I'm only at 1280x720 windowed and the heat is still an issue.

I have some O/C experience with a previous AMD Barton... do i want to O/C in the bios the same way? What speed/multiplier? I'll probably do it later on once I know the new card is stable with temps.

Overclocking on that board is easy.

1. Lock PCI Express to 100
2. Set FSP : Memory ratio to the lowest setting which I believe is 2.0 for Gigabyte boards.
3. Relax memory timings to 5-5-5-15.
4. Disable all power saving features C3, C6, EIST (you can enable them later).
5. Set manual overclocking mode. Set multiplier to 9x.
6. Increase CPU voltage to 1.34V.
7. Increase FSB to 350. That's 3.15ghz (upper limit for B3 stepping or so).

If you have a G0 stepping, you can push it to 378-379 FSB. That gets you to 3.4ghz. After that, you'll likely need voltages > 1.34-1.35V and a solid air cooler.

You should get CPU-Z to help you quickly monitor your CPU load voltage and also to check for what stepping you have. Use something like LinX or Prime 95 for stability testing.

Make sure you update your board to the latest BIOS.

*Note* Keep in mind if your DDR2 ram is rated at 667mhz (then above FSB of 333, you are overclocking the ram too). If your DDR2 is rated at 800mhz (you are fine up to 400 FSB). If you need to overclock the memory, Giga boards of that generation start off at 1.8V. So +0.1V gets you to 1.9V. 2.0V should be good enough to overclock DDR2-667 to DDR2-800 if necessary. But most DDR2-667 should hit even 700mhz with no voltage bump; so you are good for at least 350 FSB x 9 = 3.15Ghz.

Be mindful of temperatures if you are running on a stock cooler.

My monitor's max is 1920x1200 so I'm going there. What benefit will I see from O/Cing the Q6600?

Hardly any for Diablo 3 as you'll be GPU limited with an HD6850.

WOW is extremely CPU limited though.

BTW your "My Pics" link in the signature doesn't work.