New Graphics Card Advice

[live4spd]

Looking for some advice- I have an older PC that I'd like to stuff a new graphics card into. My 7 year olds and I play NFS Most Wanted (at 720P and low detail) Sim City 5 (the newest one) and a couple games that I only play and we are starting to run into trouble with speed.

Specs are below:

Antec PERFORMANCE TX640B Black Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case
Corsair 650 Watt Power Supply
ASUS P5E Deluxe LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Yorkfield Q9450 12M Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
Corsair CM2X2048-6400C5 x4 PC2-6400 (400Mhz) 8GB Memory
EVGA Geforce 8800GTS 512MB

Looking to purchase a EVGA 650GTX card, but I'm wondering will that 650GTX be enough to speed up games so I can run them at 1080P with maybe full detail or is this a waste of money unless I buy new CPU / Mainboard etc.

Also, if I buy a new graphics card with an HDMI connector will that output Dolby 5.1 to my receiver or do I need some sort of separate connection from the internal sound card? Currently I can only run stereo over a toslink cable not sure why.

Will to spend up to $200 on a card if it will make a difference.

Thanks for the help.

 

[taq8ojh]

I am somewhat afraid graphic card upgrade won't do you much good with that CPU, which is very likely to be bottlenecking anything better than what you have right now...

 

[aaksheytalwar]

I am somewhat afraid graphic card upgrade won't do you much good with that CPU, which is very likely to be bottlenecking anything better than what you have right now...

This. Get a core i3 third gen with a 7850.

 

[Puppies04]

I am somewhat afraid graphic card upgrade won't do you much good with that CPU, which is very likely to be bottlenecking anything better than what you have right now...

I would agree with this however it is going to vary by game. Some games are harder on the GPU and some need a fast CPU.

I haven't seen any benchmarks of the new sim city yet but I would imagine it will be pushing your CPU quite hard. Have you considered overclocking the chip to see if you get better performance?

 

[Jaydip]

Looking for some advice- I have an older PC that I'd like to stuff a new graphics card into. My 7 year olds and I play NFS Most Wanted (at 720P and low detail) Sim City 5 (the newest one) and a couple games that I only play and we are starting to run into trouble with speed.

Specs are below:

Antec PERFORMANCE TX640B Black Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case
Corsair 650 Watt Power Supply
ASUS P5E Deluxe LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Yorkfield Q9450 12M Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
Corsair CM2X2048-6400C5 x4 PC2-6400 (400Mhz) 8GB Memory
EVGA Geforce 8800GTS 512MB

Looking to purchase a EVGA 650GTX card, but I'm wondering will that 650GTX be enough to speed up games so I can run them at 1080P with maybe full detail or is this a waste of money unless I buy new CPU / Mainboard etc.

Also, if I buy a new graphics card with an HDMI connector will that output Dolby 5.1 to my receiver or do I need some sort of separate connection from the internal sound card? Currently I can only run stereo over a toslink cable not sure why.

Will to spend up to $200 on a card if it will make a difference.

Thanks for the help.

Your processor will be an issue but buying a card will surely help in some scenario.650 TI boost is a good card for the price but this looks better http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121660

 

[live4spd]

Anyone want to comment on the HDMI audio coming thru?

 

[SolMiester]

I dont think there is any audio output you can connect to on the GPUs, you would still need to ran your stereo cable...You need a Coaxial S/PDIF or just a S/PDIF cable to your receiver. A GPU with HDMI will only carry the audio along the HDMI cable to the monitor/TV

 

[aaksheytalwar]

ID prefer a core i3 second gen with 7770 if there is no other choice.

 

[Madpacket]

Looking for some advice- I have an older PC that I'd like to stuff a new graphics card into. My 7 year olds and I play NFS Most Wanted (at 720P and low detail) Sim City 5 (the newest one) and a couple games that I only play and we are starting to run into trouble with speed.

Specs are below:

Antec PERFORMANCE TX640B Black Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case
Corsair 650 Watt Power Supply
ASUS P5E Deluxe LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Yorkfield Q9450 12M Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
Corsair CM2X2048-6400C5 x4 PC2-6400 (400Mhz) 8GB Memory
EVGA Geforce 8800GTS 512MB

Looking to purchase a EVGA 650GTX card, but I'm wondering will that 650GTX be enough to speed up games so I can run them at 1080P with maybe full detail or is this a waste of money unless I buy new CPU / Mainboard etc.

Also, if I buy a new graphics card with an HDMI connector will that output Dolby 5.1 to my receiver or do I need some sort of separate connection from the internal sound card? Currently I can only run stereo over a toslink cable not sure why.

Will to spend up to $200 on a card if it will make a difference.

Thanks for the help.

That CPU will be fine for most games, just pair it up with at least a 7770 and you should be good go. I wouldn't bother going over a 7850 and yes with these new cards they should be able to pass through to your amplifier to process 5.1 without issue. If you don't have an a receiver capable of surround sound you will need a sound card that can handle this.

 

[nightspydk]

Get the 660 ti or 670.

Don't fall for that 5xx are cheap trick. You'll loose in the long run. The 6xx series runs at far less power wich is all for the best.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Looking for some advice- I have an older PC that I'd like to stuff a new graphics card into. My 7 year olds and I play NFS Most Wanted (at 720P and low detail) Sim City 5 (the newest one) and a couple games that I only play and we are starting to run into trouble with speed.

Specs are below:

Antec PERFORMANCE TX640B Black Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case
Corsair 650 Watt Power Supply
ASUS P5E Deluxe LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Yorkfield Q9450 12M Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
Corsair CM2X2048-6400C5 x4 PC2-6400 (400Mhz) 8GB Memory
EVGA Geforce 8800GTS 512MB

Looking to purchase a EVGA 650GTX card, but I'm wondering will that 650GTX be enough to speed up games so I can run them at 1080P with maybe full detail or is this a waste of money unless I buy new CPU / Mainboard etc.

Also, if I buy a new graphics card with an HDMI connector will that output Dolby 5.1 to my receiver or do I need some sort of separate connection from the internal sound card? Currently I can only run stereo over a toslink cable not sure why.

Will to spend up to $200 on a card if it will make a difference.

Thanks for the help.

Unless you can overclock the CPU, I think 200.00 is too much for a GPU upgrade. I would go with something like a HD7770 or GT650ti for 100 to 125 dollars. I have a HD7770 and can run every game I have tried at 1080p med to high settings. OTOH, you could get something like a HD7850 2gb or GT660/670 and keep it when you upgrade the CPU.

 

[crisium]

You won't get as much performance as if on a Sandy or Ivy Bridge, but you can certainly upgrade to play games at near full settings. I would suggest the 650 Ti Boost. 650 Ti Boost is the most cost efficient card on the market right now, is relatively cheap, only uses one power connector, and isn't so fast as to be grievously bottlenecked by a C2Q.

I warn you though, be careful of Nvidia's mischievous naming schemes. There are three different 650 models, and the performance gaps between them are very significant. GTX 650 Ti Boost >> GTX 650 Ti >>>> GTX 650. Get the boost if you can afford it. It's worth the extra $40, imo.

 

[live4spd]

Just to provide some closure, I took a gamble and bought an EVGA 650 GTX 2GB SSC and it works significantly better. It very well may be CPU bound at this point but it was enough to overcome the hurdle and looks great.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[winston9t4]

I liked frozentundra's advice, but glad you are enjoying the 650!