Seeking lower wattage alternative

[severus]

I currently have a pretty power hungry system described in my sig. The card I'm running is an XFX HD4870 1gb. I'd like to upgrade? my card but I don't want to get anything that's going to draw even more power than what I have. I only have a 19" 1440x900 monitor, but I'm also running Win 7 and I'd finally like to be able to take advantage of DX 11. I was considering the GTX 460 or HD6850 since they are both under $200, but I am sure if I look around I can find a used GTX 470 for under $200. Would this upgrade be worth it for me?

I intend to build a new system after Bulldozer's release (whenever that is...) and I will recycle whatever graphics card I have (even if it's the 4870) in that build.

 

[Phynaz]

4870 board power = 160w
GTX 470 board power = 215w

The GTX is not your answer.

Actually staying within your power envelope I don't think there is a reasonable performance upgrade from a 4870.

 

[Absolution75]

The HD6850/HD6870/460 1GB would fit in your power envelope.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/304?vs=291

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/304?vs=313

 

[Ghiedo27]

A 6850 would use 10% (30w) less power and be ~25-35% faster. Probably your best bet.

The 6870 / 460 1GB are a bit more of an upgrade but have a similar power req. The GTX 470 uses 60w more than your current card in Crysis and 100w (!!) more in Furmark, unfortunately

If dropping power is the most important factor for w/e reason, then the 5770 will bring you a 75 watt or so drop, but it's slower than your 4870, so it's hard to recommend.

If you can wait, then there's always the chance that a 6770 part will materialize with better power savings and solid DX 11 performance.

 

[happy medium]

I only have a 19" 1440x900 monitor

Keep the card untill you rebuild the entire system and or monitor, a 4870 is fast enough, anything more is getting wasted @ 1440x900 in most cases.

When you do you complete system rebuild ( you will not see Bulldozer for 4 months), cards will cost much less by then.
Hold onto your money and your 4870.

 

[severus]

Well after seeing this I think I might as well wait. I can get a GTX 460 768mb for about $100 AR locally, but I guess I should wait for the HD6850 to come down to about that price as well. I know my card current card is overkill for my resolution, I picked it up when 4870's were cheap (before the market dried out) for about $120 shipped then they spiked back up.

I'm concerned about wattage so much because well, my electric bill is high. I've taken to using my notepad more often, but an SL510 isn't going to play Bad Company or Metro

 

[mnewsham]

ASUS G73 if you want low power gaming. at 1000 bucks it aint cheap tho

 

[happy medium]

I'm concerned about wattage so much because well, my electric bill is high

In reallity you might save a few dollars a month (2$) by getting a more efficient card.
The eqivelent of having an extra 40 watt light bulb on while just gaming.

 

[Skurge]

In reallity you might save a few dollars a month (2$) by getting a more efficient card.
The eqivelent of having an extra 40 watt light bulb on while just gaming.

We have to find out where he lives 1st. Power here is ridiculously expensive. Might be the same for him.

 

[severus]

I'm in North Jersey. Recently everything here has skyrocketed. Taxes on my home are roughly the cost of a low end brand new chevy. I'm trying to cut corners without cutting quality wherever I can.

 

[happy medium]

I'm in North Jersey. Recently everything here has skyrocketed. Taxes on my home are roughly the cost of a low end brand new chevy. I'm trying to cut corners without cutting quality wherever I can.

I'm about 50 miles from you, I feel your pain, but really it might save you a few dollars.

 

[Ghiedo27]

You'd probably get a better ROI by changing to compact fluorescent bulbs if you haven't already. You would have to spend a ton of time playing Bad Company and Metro to make a video card change worth it!

 

[toyota]

Well after seeing this I think I might as well wait. I can get a GTX 460 768mb for about $100 AR locally, but I guess I should wait for the HD6850 to come down to about that price as well. I know my card current card is overkill for my resolution, I picked it up when 4870's were cheap (before the market dried out) for about $120 shipped then they spiked back up.

I'm concerned about wattage so much because well, my electric bill is high. I've taken to using my notepad more often, but an SL510 isn't going to play Bad Company or Metro

a gtx460 would use more power than your 4870 and a 6850 would save you maybe 20-25 watts. you are being ridiculous if you think getting a card like that is going to help on your power bill. if things are so bad that its come down to this then you need to re evaluate your entire financial situation.

 

[Concillian]

I'm concerned about wattage so much because well, my electric bill is high. I've taken to using my notepad more often, but an SL510 isn't going to play Bad Company or Metro

You turning off everything you can at night? We dropped our bill by almost half just turning stuff off at night. Our billing is tiered, so the reduction was very significant even though total usage went down only about 20%.

We found our entertainment center was sucking down close to 100 watts when it was all idle. Receiver, cable DVR, Wii, few other devices and such all are now on a timer outlet like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-DT6...p_ob_e_title_1

It's now completely shut off from 1am to 7am. There's an easy override if we're having company over and need it to stay on past 1am.

Between that and turning off our computers at night it really made a significant dent in our bill. We've managed to drop completely out of the 35 cents per kWh tier, all our power now comes from the 11-14 cents per kWh tiers.

 

[arkcom]

Between that and turning off our computers at night it really made a significant dent in our bill. We've managed to drop completely out of the 35 cents per kWh tier, all our power now comes from the 11-14 cents per kWh tiers.

Geez. My ~6 cent/kwh is starting to sound pretty good.

edit: Just checked my online bill, and the price actually goes down the more we use. 10,000 kwh is only 5.5 cents each. Jerks, punishing me for conserving energy.

 

[3DVagabond]

If you have an electric water heater, turn it off at night and when you are at work. You really only need it on for a few hrs a day, assuming typical usage. It's the single most expensive appliance to run in your house, by a huge amt.

I used to do this when I lived in upstate NY. Power bills could bankrupt you in the winter, if you weren't careful.

 

[severus]

If you have an electric water heater, turn it off at night and when you are at work. You really only need it on for a few hrs a day, assuming typical usage. It's the single most expensive appliance to run in your house, by a huge amt.

I used to do this when I lived in upstate NY. Power bills could bankrupt you in the winter, if you weren't careful.

That's one of the main things. I have an electric water heater, BUT someone is always home and you know how people are about heat.. I personally can do without it but I've only got a small say here

I didn't realize how much an idling entertainment system could really burn up. I have about 10 appliances running throughout the night so that's definitely getting put on a surge protector and turned off at night.