Questions about GPU and upgrading to HD5850

[Dolphindream]

I decided that its time to upgrade my GPU. I did some research and i was told that in my country, right now ATI HD5850 is the best power/money. So here my question: How much of a bottleneck my other hardware would be?

About me, asking a lot. I am the kind of person who likes to know what he buys. So everytime i buy something, specially for my pc, i try to get to know the thing i buy as much as i can. Check people's comments and stuff. Make sure that its quality product and worth the money. So, dont be too harsh on me if i ask alot here 🙂

Is this right that newer gpus are only better at higher resolutions? I mean, i am only playing games on lower resolutions, like 1024x768 and 1280x720, i have rather small crt monitor. SO is there a difference between 5850 and 5770 on that resolution? Or i still get better perfomance on all resolutions with 5850?

I also checked the power requirements on 5850, its only 25W more than my current 8800. So, i guesss i dont have to buy a new PSU? I do have 2 harddrives too... makes me wonder.

How are ATI drivers nowadays, years ago i heard a lot of people having problems with them? That the ATI drivers are not as stable as Nvidia drivers. Well, i have been nvidia user almost always, my first gpu was radeon 7000 though, lol. So, any words for newbie on ATI?

What should be minimum lcd monitor that is same gaming quality (no blur) as crt monitors?

I also have 2 PCI-E x16 slots, should i keep my old card too? So i could use it for PhysX someday? When i feel like buying new PSU.

What can you tell me about my CPU, i bought it quite a while ago... i think. But i checked some gaming pcs available on stores and they still put this cpu on mid-end gaming pc's. Can i max out all games today with this cpu? Lower resolutions then... For example, GTA 4?

Is antialiasing gpu or cpu job?

How much impact does ram speed have on games?

Okay, enough of the questions... for now 🙂

 

[Dark Shroud]

If you're going to ask about your CPU it would help if you told us what you have. Also would help if you told us what Power Supply you have as well.

 

[Dolphindream]

OH SORRY

Asus P5K (not sure about the exact model)
Pentium E8400 3,0 ghz
Nvidia 8800 GTS 320MB
4GB DDR-II 800 RAM
Integrated soundcard
2 Harddrives:
Samsung HDJ502IJ 500GB
WDC WD3200AAKS-00VYA0 320GB
550W PSU

 

[zerocool84]

Is this right that newer gpus are only better at higher resolutions? I mean, i am only playing games on lower resolutions, like 1024x768 and 1280x720, i have rather small crt monitor. SO is there a difference between 5850 and 5770 on that resolution? Or i still get better perfomance on all resolutions with 5850?

There is absolutely ZERO reason you should buy a 5850 if you're going to be playing at that rez.

 

[james 1]

There is absolutely ZERO reason you should buy a 5850 if you're going to be playing at that rez.

totally agree with you, 5850 is such an over kill, you should look for something cheaper unless your going upgrade your monitor

 

[Borealis7]

5770, heck even 5750 (but don't get that...), would suit you and your PSU just fine.

 

[Dolphindream]

What card would you reccommend then??

 

[Dark Shroud]

I would suggest a 5770. It will suit your needs and you can crossfire it when you get a better monitor.
_______________________________________

I also checked the power requirements on 5850, its only 25W more than my current 8800. So, i guesss i dont have to buy a new PSU? I do have 2 harddrives too... makes me wonder.

That depends on your PSU's build quality and the amperage running on the 12v rail. You're also forgetting your CPU's draw.

How are ATI drivers nowadays, years ago i heard a lot of people having problems with them? That the ATI drivers are not as stable as Nvidia drivers. Well, i have been nvidia user almost always, my first gpu was radeon 7000 though, lol. So, any words for newbie on ATI?

ATI's drivers are solid. In fact one could even say they're on par if not better than Nvidia as of late.

I also have 2 PCI-E x16 slots, should i keep my old card too? So i could use it for PhysX someday? When i feel like buying new PSU.

Not without modding Nvidia's software. For a short period of time you could do this is you have Windows 7 and fully updated Vista. But Nvidia decided to block PhysX from running hardware accelration if it detects an ATI card in the system.

Is antialiasing gpu or cpu job?

GPU

 

[Dolphindream]

Thak you Dark Shroud!

How powerful are 2 5770's together? Is it less powerful than one 5850? I checked the price, 2 5770's cost as much as one 5850.

What if i i would buy a big monitor too in near future... i would also have to buy a new psu for 2 cards, but my current should run one 5850. The PSU is CHieftech, when i bough on forums they said that its very good one, stable and stuff.

 

[yh125d]

2 5770s is faster than a 5870

And your PSU would run both just fine, unless it's a really bad one

 

[Powermoloch]

5770 is fine for you atm, especially at that settings. My current build is crossfire 5770 and it flies on crysis @ 1080 P on high settings 2AA/16AF with respectable performance.