Need to upgrade my vid card

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thecoffeeguy

thecoffeeguy

Senior member
Apr 12, 2001
344
0
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I currently have a ATI 1900 512mb video card that has served me well.

Now it is time for me to upgrade my video card.
I dont need the latest and greatest, but definitely something that will help run my games better.

Just a list of some of the games I play:

Dawn of War II
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
Empire: Total War
StarCarft II: (When available)
Dead Space

Just a short list.

Currently have a 2.4ghz core 2 duo on a gigabyte GA-965P mobo (1st rev) and 4gbs of DDR2 800 ram.

I am planning to upgrade the mobo and CPU down the road, but not right now. Thought I would start with the vid card.

Anyone have suggestions?
Dont want the latest and greatest and if possible, want to spend under $200.

Appreciate it.

TCG
 
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TC91

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2007
1,164
0
0
For under 200 a GTS 250 would be pretty nice, it flies through Dead Space. Otherwise the GTX 260 core 216 and GTX 275 are also excellent choices.
 
AstroManLuca

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
You can afford a GTX 260 or Radeon 4870 1GB with a budget of $200, even before rebates. But if you want to save a bit of money, the GTS 250 or HD4850 are both good choices for under $150.

Any preference for nVidia or ATI? IMO, ATI's cards are a better bang for the buck right now, but the differences aren't huge.
 
thecoffeeguy

thecoffeeguy

Senior member
Apr 12, 2001
344
0
76
Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
You can afford a GTX 260 or Radeon 4870 1GB with a budget of $200, even before rebates. But if you want to save a bit of money, the GTS 250 or HD4850 are both good choices for under $150.

Any preference for nVidia or ATI? IMO, ATI's cards are a better bang for the buck right now, but the differences aren't huge.
Click to expand...

Hey AstroManLuca,

No preference really between ATI or Nvidia. Just want a very good, solid, fast stable card that allows me to run my games fast with lots of details on.

I am open to all suggestions.
Would like to pull the trigger today to get it ordered if possible. :)
 
T

TC91

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2007
1,164
0
0
If you play your older games often, then definitely go nvidia. I have had a hell of a time with my 4870 1GB and a couple of my favourite older games. Anyways, that GTX 260 core 216 that OCguy linked would be probably the best choice for you, a great price for an excellent card.
 
V

vj8usa

Senior member
Dec 19, 2005
975
0
0
What about a 4830? Excellent value, in my opinion, and it should give you a pretty large performance boost from an X1900.
 
P

polarbear6

Golden Member
Jul 14, 2008
1,161
1
0
Originally posted by: TC91
If you play your older games often, then definitely go nvidia. I have had a hell of a time with my 4870 1GB and a couple of my favourite older games. Anyways, that GTX 260 core 216 that OCguy linked would be probably the best choice for you, a great price for an excellent card.
Click to expand...

4870

TC91 what problems did you face, Cause I'm planning on buying one of the 4870's next month or may be the next next month.
 
cbn

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
12,968
221
106
Originally posted by: thecoffeeguy
I currently have a ATI 1900 512mb video card that has served me well.

Now it is time for me to upgrade my video card.
I dont need the latest and greatest, but definitely something that will help run my games better.

Just a list of some of the games I play:

Dawn of War II
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
Empire: Total War
StarCarft II: (When available)
Dead Space

Just a short list.

Currently have a 2.4ghz core 2 duo on a gigabyte GA-965P mobo (1st rev) and 4gbs of DDR2 800 ram.

I am planning to upgrade the mobo and CPU down the road, but not right now. Thought I would start with the vid card.

Anyone have suggestions?
Dont want the latest and greatest and if possible, want to spend under $200.

Appreciate it.

TCG
Click to expand...

I would get a 260 GTX if you want to play Empire Total war and want something under $200. I played the demo and must say it really seems to be tough on hardware compared to the other games you mentioned.
 
C

Creig

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,170
13
81
Originally posted by: jaredpace
You can find HD4890's for under $200. That would be the best performance for your system.
Click to expand...

I agree, that would definitely be the best performance/dollar card. One deal was for $183 AR and one (I think) was for $175 AR. But the OP stated he wants to pull the trigger today. Personally, if I were him I would hold off for a week or so to see if the deal comes around again. He's waited this long to upgrade, what's another week or so to get a really good deal on a card that he will most likely be using for the next couple of years.
 
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OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
Originally posted by: jaredpace
You can find HD4890's for under $200. That would be the best performance for your system.
Click to expand...

Why buy a 4890 over even a 4870 512 for a 19-22 inch monitor? :confused:
 
T

TC91

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2007
1,164
0
0
Originally posted by: ganesh1
TC91 what problems did you face, Cause I'm planning on buying one of the 4870's next month or may be the next next month.
Click to expand...

I am facing severe performance issues with a couple older games, Age of Empires 3 and Dungeon Siege II, which aren't that old since they came out in 2005 and their latest expansions came out in 2007. On my old 8800 GTS 320MB I did not have these issues, the games ran absolutely fabulous.

I've tried reformatting vista a few times, older drivers, and no luck. I've also contacted ATI support and they were just a joke, they refused to acknowledge the issue and kept telling me to "revert to the previous driver that worked" even though I repeatedly told them that I have already used 8.7 to the latest 9.2 at the time and they did not work. The 9.3 and 9.4 catalysts still did not resolve the issue and I doubt it ever will be addressed since they are likely only focusing on games that are commonly benched by hardware sites like AT. I also have other non gaming related issues such as the LOUDNESS of this card during bootup or under load, flickering while watching accelerated video (got this fixed by editing the BIOS to not underclock the vram) and a few more I do not remember at the moment.

I don't know if I'm just super unlucky to have my two favourite older games not work as expected on my supposedly upgraded graphics card or if this is an issue with many other older games, but if there are other issues with other older games (likely) then don't expect them to be fixed. There was a notable water rendering issue with COD4 or COD5 that was pretty well known but I don't know if they even fixed that yet (I don't own those games). I am pretty sick and tired of a company that refuses to stand behind their products. But if you have your heart dead set on a 4870 then there's probably nothing I can really say to change your mind.
 
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polarbear6

Golden Member
Jul 14, 2008
1,161
1
0
Well AOE 3 is a game, On which i spend at least 65% of my free time. So i would like to know what sort of problems you face with it.Well i never heard of any issues with cod 4 or 5( Cause i dont play them and iam not worried)

But seriously AOE 3 is very close to my heart, This can be a deal breaker for me !!
 
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TC91

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2007
1,164
0
0
Originally posted by: ganesh1
Well AOE 3 is a game, On which i spend at least 65% of my free time. So i would like to know what sort of problems you face with it.Well i never heard of any issues with cod 4 or 5( Cause i dont play them and iam not worried)

But seriously AOE 3 is very close to my heart, This can be a deal breaker for me !!
Click to expand...

Yay someone who still plays AoE3 :). The main issue I have is the massive slowdowns faced when there are many units on screen during battle. The fps will drop to around 15-20fps during times when I am besieging the opponents; having lots of siege like mortars or field guns will easily drop it to the point where micro management becomes difficult. Even when looking over my base with say 4 mills and a couple plantations with 10 villagers on them and a few buildings, the fps drops to the high 30's or low 40's when just looking over your town, making the camera a tad sluggish or jerky. The same happens when you have an army of around 50-60 units, the fps drops to the high 30's or low 40's when just looking over them standing there and doing nothing.

I did not have any of these issues on my 8800 GTS 320MB, using the same highest in-game settings, FSAA set to "High" in game (should be equal to 4x msaa) and AF set to 16x from the driver control panel, resolution of 1680x1050 and the camera zoom set to "Very Far" under game options. The fps was much much more solid, did not drop under 45, even in big battles, making micro an easy task. I was also using a slower setup at the time, an E6600 with the 8800GTS 320MB rather than the QX6850 I am using now. I did try the E6600 with the 4870 just in case but that did not help whatsoever. I have contacted ATI support about this and they do not seem interested in fixing or even acknowledging the issue. Please note that the newer games that I own like L4D, DOW2, TF2, HL2, and a few others run as expected so I am very confident it is not a hardware issue.
 
C

Creig

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,170
13
81
Originally posted by: OCguy
Originally posted by: jaredpace
You can find HD4890's for under $200. That would be the best performance for your system.
Click to expand...

Why buy a 4890 over even a 4870 512 for a 19-22 inch monitor? :confused:
Click to expand...

Even if he doesn't need the extra 512MB of memory the 4890 has over the 4870, it's still a good deal faster than the 4870. It's up to him whether the 4890 1GB ($175 AR) would be worth $40 than the cheapest 4870 512MB ($135 AR). But it appears he plans to do some upgrading in the future and buying a 4890 now would mean it would have a longer useful lifespan than a 4870 would. He wouldn't really go wrong with either choice (or a GTX260). But as I said, if it were me, I would wait and see if the 4890 went on sale again soon and buy that. Otherwise I'd probably go with either the 4870 or GTX 260.
 
P

polarbear6

Golden Member
Jul 14, 2008
1,161
1
0
Originally posted by: TC91
Originally posted by: ganesh1
Well AOE 3 is a game, On which i spend at least 65% of my free time. So i would like to know what sort of problems you face with it.Well i never heard of any issues with cod 4 or 5( Cause i dont play them and iam not worried)

But seriously AOE 3 is very close to my heart, This can be a deal breaker for me !!
Click to expand...

Yay someone who still plays AoE3 :). The main issue I have is the massive slowdowns faced when there are many units on screen during battle. The fps will drop to around 15-20fps during times when I am besieging the opponents; having lots of siege like mortars or field guns will easily drop it to the point where micro management becomes difficult. Even when looking over my base with say 4 mills and a couple plantations with 10 villagers on them and a few buildings, the fps drops to the high 30's or low 40's when just looking over your town, making the camera a tad sluggish or jerky. The same happens when you have an army of around 50-60 units, the fps drops to the high 30's or low 40's when just looking over them standing there and doing nothing.

I did not have any of these issues on my 8800 GTS 320MB, using the same highest in-game settings, FSAA set to "High" in game (should be equal to 4x msaa) and AF set to 16x from the driver control panel, resolution of 1680x1050 and the camera zoom set to "Very Far" under game options. The fps was much much more solid, did not drop under 45, even in big battles, making micro an easy task. I was also using a slower setup at the time, an E6600 with the 8800GTS 320MB rather than the QX6850 I am using now. I did try the E6600 with the 4870 just in case but that did not help whatsoever. I have contacted ATI support about this and they do not seem interested in fixing or even acknowledging the issue. Please note that the newer games that I own like L4D, DOW2, TF2, HL2, and a few others run as expected so I am very confident it is not a hardware issue.
Click to expand...

yeah yeah.. Same problem here .. with my 8800gt.. I always don't have the problem.

I always use cheat codes. So i have a very big army and so do my computer enemies. But only sometimes.Do i get the problem. You notice that we don't get that sort of jerky motion. We only get it after say half a hour, One hour or so...May be its some sort of issue with AOE 3 i guess. I think it overly uses the video memory. Since you had 320 mb GTS i guess it used less memory.

But anyways i love AOE 3 i play it with my mom, friends, neighbors over LAN. As internet is a bit costly in my country i dont play it over the net.

 
T

TC91

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2007
1,164
0
0
Originally posted by: ganesh1
yeah yeah.. Same problem here .. with my 8800gt.. I always don't have the problem.

I always use cheat codes. So i have a very big army and so do my computer enemies. But only sometimes.Do i get the problem. You notice that we don't get that sort of jerky motion. We only get it after say half a hour, One hour or so...May be its some sort of issue with AOE 3 i guess. I think it overly uses the video memory. Since you had 320 mb GTS i guess it used less memory.

But anyways i love AOE 3 i play it with my mom, friends, neighbors over LAN. As internet is a bit costly in my country i dont play it over the net.
Click to expand...

lol cheat codes, but that spoils all the fun!!! How massive are your armies... are you over the population cap of 200? I don't use any cheat codes so my armies are usually 100-130 or so units at the very best, but even a 30-50 man army causes the fps to tank in battle on my 4870 1GB so I think you will have even more severe slowdowns on a 4870 than I will...
 
P

polarbear6

Golden Member
Jul 14, 2008
1,161
1
0
Originally posted by: TC91
Originally posted by: ganesh1
yeah yeah.. Same problem here .. with my 8800gt.. I always don't have the problem.

I always use cheat codes. So i have a very big army and so do my computer enemies. But only sometimes.Do i get the problem. You notice that we don't get that sort of jerky motion. We only get it after say half a hour, One hour or so...May be its some sort of issue with AOE 3 i guess. I think it overly uses the video memory. Since you had 320 mb GTS i guess it used less memory.

But anyways i love AOE 3 i play it with my mom, friends, neighbors over LAN. As internet is a bit costly in my country i dont play it over the net.
Click to expand...

lol cheat codes, but that spoils all the fun!!! How massive are your armies... are you over the population cap of 200? I don't use any cheat codes so my armies are usually 100-130 or so units at the very best, but even a 30-50 man army causes the fps to tank in battle on my 4870 1GB so I think you will have even more severe slowdowns on a 4870 than I will...
Click to expand...

Well there is the factory naa. It produces siege army. so either its that or i produce some ~ 150 army. I even take the admiralty card so thats makes some 30~ 40 ships.I hardly have more than 2 ~ 3 villagers:laugh: But i always don't see the slowdown. I remember this morning's play. Me and my mom had some 100+ armies each and we both went against a single guy who had some 120 soldiers. I didn't experience any lag but my mom's PC crashed !!(it had a 8600gt with AMD 3600+)

 
thecoffeeguy

thecoffeeguy

Senior member
Apr 12, 2001
344
0
76
Really appreciate everybodies input here.
looks like I can not go wrong with a GTX 260 or a 4870?
Sound about right?

What should I be looking for here?
Just cruising newegg, lots of things to consider.

here are a few I found:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814125256

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102801

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814161265

Nvidia

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130398

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...3173%2CN82E16814130370

THanks!

 
O

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
You cant go wrong with the EVGA that is 167 after rebate.


Step-up, overclocking covered in the warranty, etc.
 
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