Is this Video Upgrade a good idea considering entire system?

[ChinaCat]

Currently using an Asus 9800 GTX with a Intel 8400 CPU. Motherboard is an Asus Rampage Formula LGA 775.

I am about to pull the trigger upgrading my video card to an EVGA 470 GTX OC+

Clearly this should be a huge improvement per the video card, but concerned how much of a difference it will really make if my CPU remains the same.

Are MMO's more GPU or CPU dependent these days?

OS: Vista 64, RAM: 4 gigs, Sound: Creative Fatality Champion, HD: Western Digital Raptor, etc.

Thanks -CC

 

[faxon]

MMORPGs have always been extremely CPU defendant. which MMO are you playing? there are some which will run everything fine on an 4670, but will still be starved by the fastest dual core you can buy, yet are incapable of using a quad (see everquest 2). you could get an i5 680 and push for 5GHz and EQ2 would still want more cpu time! then there's other ones, like age of conan, which could use that 470 just fine, so long as you get a fast enough cpu to keep up

 

[toyota]

E8400 or Q8400? I certainly would not drop 360 bucks for that card. I would wait 3 weeks and get a gtx460 for 130 bucks less. with your stock cpu and the fact that you can oc the gtx460, you would never know the difference. not to mention the gtx460 will use MUCH less power, create much less heat and probably be much quieter.

 

[BFG10K]

Clearly this should be a huge improvement per the video card, but concerned how much of a difference it will really make if my CPU remains the same.

What settings do you play your games at?

And when you reduce you current settings, does your performance go up or stay the same?

 

[ChinaCat]

What settings do you play your games at?

And when you reduce you current settings, does your performance go up or stay the same?

I play at 1920 x 1200 and when I reduce my settings performance increases.

Games I play currently are Darkfall Online and Mortal Online.

Of course I'm a gamer by hobby so there will always be random games I'm messing around with.

Thank you all. -CC

 

[BFG10K]

I play at 1920 x 1200 and when I reduce my settings performance increases.

You’re clearly GPU bound then, so go right ahead and get that 470.

The one you’ve picked with the high airflow bracket is a good choice as it’s about 7C cooler than the reference version.

 

[ChinaCat]

Sweet. Thanks BFG. That was my thinking but always appreciate the wisdom to be found here.

Have a great weekend and will report back after I install it next week.

Cheers -CC

 

[Petey!]

The 400 series are somewhat CPU limited moreso then the 5xxx series. At your resolution you'll definitely see an improvement, but you'll also a nice bump when/if you switch to a i5/i7

 

[Genx87]

Your setup is very close to mine.

Here is mine.
E8400@4Ghz
8GB PC1000
74GB Raptor
500GB WD
EVGA GTX 470
Win 7 64bit

I just got the EVGA GTX470 2 weeks ago or so. Are you overclocking your CPU? I am pushing mine to 4Ghz. And I felt the upgrade was nice coming from a 4850. Obviously it is faster but also quieter and my case is cooler due to the design of the cooler. My 4850 spit the heat into the case, the 470 spits it out the back. Next year I plan to upgrade the CPU to a sandybridge based core.

 

[Petey!]

You'll notice a big difference once you upgrade. I had an E8500 @ 3.6 and when I switched to a i7 930, even at stock, it was night and day.