New video card purchase

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r1sefromru1n

Member
May 22, 2009
39
0
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Been out of the game for a while. My 4870 512mb just died on me and I'm looking to just upgrade my GPU - don't have the money to do a full system upgrade so I was looking to get something that wouldn't be bottlenecked by my current specs. My system specs are older but the 4870 was doing pretty well for me. Confused by all the new options out there and was looking for some recommendations:


Purchase Details:

1.Budget(Be sure to include currency if not USD): around $250


2.Do you consider rebates? yup


3.Any particular preferences(Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapp, EVGA, etc], non reference cooler)? no preference


4. Crossfire/SLI? nope


5.Have you previously looked at a product which you feel would fill your needs? 6850 1gb, 6870 1gb


6.Which games (If any)do you plan to play and @ which desired detail levels? BC2, Fallout Vegas


7. Are there any other uses(Folding, Photoshop, Video editing or watching Blu-Ray) or features (DX11, CUDA, OpenGL, 3D, Eyefinity) you are looking for besides gaming? DX11 would be nice


8. Is the performance added by overclocking something you would take into consideration? sure

System Specs:

1. Pre-built(HP, Dell, etc)? Ordering(a new computer) or Upgrading? currently running an asus p5b deluxe with 8gb of DDR2 800 (corsair xms)


2.Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 is the res i game at currently


3.Processor: core 2 duo 2.14 overclocked to 3.0 on zalman 9700


4.Power Supply Unit: antec neo-he 550


5.Case Dimensions(Length, Low Profile, Cooling): Lian-Li PC60 (fits the 4870 with about an extra inch of clearance)


Thanks for any recommendations. I appreciate everyone's time to reply back.
 
Last edited:
happy medium

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
BC2 play better with quad cores I dont think a 6850 is much of a upgrade from a 4870.

I'd go with a 6870 for about 189$ AR or jump in on one of the 5850 deals for 140$ AR if they are still avalable on Newegg.com. I think there is a 5870 still avalable for under 200$ too.
 
toyota

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
Fallout Vegas should be no trouble with your 4870 and Bad Company 2 isn't going to improve any over what you get now because of your cpu.
 
R

r1sefromru1n

Member
May 22, 2009
39
0
66
So it sounds like the best bet is to go forward with a 5850 possibly, or just save up a little more and upgrade the cpu/mb with a new video card purchase? I'll wait for a few more responses before going and making the decision. Thanks for the help all :)
 
toyota

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
BTRY B 529th FA BN said:
If you can do 289$ the vanilla model Sapphire 6950 can be turned into a 6970 through a bios flash...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-914-_-Product
Click to expand...
300 bucks to buy a video card that will not even give him any improvement at all in one of the two games he mentioned and complete overkill in the other? he has a 4870 now and an older model Core 2 duo(E6400 ?) now so many games are not going to show much improvement at all.
 
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R

r1sefromru1n

Member
May 22, 2009
39
0
66
You guys have me thinking now that even if I upgrade the GPU, my Core2Duo is going to hold me back in the end anyway - which is what I suspected. Man now I'm thinking I might just wait a few months and do an entire system overhaul. Thanks so far for all the input guys. It has been of great assistance to me.
 
R

r1sefromru1n

Member
May 22, 2009
39
0
66
@toytoa

Yeah. It's an E6400. I couldn't even play BC2 until I overclocked the CPU to around 3.0. I get pretty damn good performance out of it but its definitely starting to get a little long in the tooth :)
 
cusideabelincoln

cusideabelincoln

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2008
3,275
46
91
Ok... p5b deluxe...

For about $250 you should be able to drop in a Core 2 Quad (Q8400, perhaps) and video card as good as or better than a 4870.

Or you could simply just drop in a video card (5750, GTS 450, 5770, GTX 460) since it seems you need one anyway.

If you had an E6420 then that would be more formiddable, but the E6400's crippled cache really hurts gaming performance, especially for a game like BC2.
 
Last edited:
evolucion8

evolucion8

Platinum Member
Jun 17, 2005
2,867
3
81
Intel's gaming performance is all about cache size. The E7200 could be a better option than the E6420.
 
cusideabelincoln

cusideabelincoln

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2008
3,275
46
91
Yeah even if he dropped in a newer Core 2 Duo, with bigger cache, he would see big gains. But I believe the price difference between Duos and Quads isn't that big (since the duos are even more overpriced than the quads), so I think he may as well go quad.

If he looks for used chips, then he should be able to find a really good deal on a Duo or a Quad.
 
R

r1sefromru1n

Member
May 22, 2009
39
0
66
OK so if I went with the a CPU upgrade and new GPU sounds like I could breathe some new life into my P5B Deluxe. I was thinking a Q9550 or Q9650 with a newer GPU (not sure whether to go ATI or NVIDIA for the GPU yet). Looks like the P5B Deluxe can take up to a Q9650. Am I off base with this? If I could go this route with a new quad core and then throw a new GPU upgrade in there, I think I would be set for a while. Comments? Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate the help.

Found a Q9650 out there for $225....seems like a pretty good price.


Oh and just to make it more clear these are the current specs minus my hard disks:


Core2Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz
ZALMAN CNPS 9700
ASUS P5B Deluxe
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 512MB (the card that just died on me)
CORSAIR XMS2 4x2GB TWIN2X4096-6400C5
Antex NEO HE 550
Lian Li PC-60 Case
 
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evolucion8

evolucion8

Platinum Member
Jun 17, 2005
2,867
3
81
The Q9650 is a nice CPU, I overclocked mine to 3.82GHz effortlessly and its large 12MB cache is awesome for games.
 
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R

r1sefromru1n

Member
May 22, 2009
39
0
66
We'll I got the Q9650 for $225 - just have to wait for it now. So now that I have more headroom I was leaning towards the 6950 2GB.....any more suggestions? Thanks all.
 
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