Seeking Upgrade advice

[Habu32]

Here is my system specs
Q6600@3.3 with Tuniq tower
3gigDDR2@975
Asus x38 chipset mb
Xfire 4850 Stock Speeds
3 500 gig WD drives (drive performance is not a Priority)
Dell 24 LCD
PC Power and Cooling 750 PS
Xi-Fi Gamer (Onboard failed) again not a priority
I dual boot xp and vista--but the only time I actually run vista is to update it on a weekly basis as performance is considerably better in XP
.
My goals

1.Play at native monitor reso (1920x1200)

2. Keep frame rates at 60fps. Im not sure if its micro stuttering or what, but unless I can get Vsync to actually work through CCC and keep the frames at 60, It feels as though im only getting 30 fps, even if im pushing much more .

3. Obviously get the best bang for my buck (approx $500)



I really feel dissapointed in my decision to go with the 4850s and and right now I am leaning towards the Gtx 260 or 280.

One concern is my cpu--Is it fast enough for my current video cards, or Is the 4850 Xfire just Overatted.

I am currently playing AOC,but I play thru all the fps games that come along and any good RPG games.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DSF]

First of all, you need to be realistic. If you want 60 FPS on every game at 1920x1200 with all the eye candy turned on you're going to have to pay through the nose. You're right, 2 4850s won't cut it with that sort of high standard, but a look at any benchmark would've told you that.

A single GTX 260 is going to be a drop in performance. I'm not sure exactly how a GTX 280 stacks up, but I can't imagine in being leaps and bounds better than double 4850s. Your best option for less than $500 is probably a 4870x2, but I would take a long, hard look at some test results before you start throwing money at a problem that may be impossible to solve completely in the first place.

 

[Habu32]

I dont need all the eye candy turned on, for example I run AOC on low.I upgraded from a 8800gtx to the crossfire which now resides in my sons system.

Honestly I dont see much of an improvement from it. as far as the 4870x2 is concerned Ill pass-if the 4850 xfire is any indication of ATI these days, ill stick with nvidia

 

[krnmastersgt]

Originally posted by: DSF
First of all, you need to be realistic. If you want 60 FPS on every game at 1920x1200 with all the eye candy turned on you're going to have to pay through the nose. You're right, 2 4850s won't cut it with that sort of high standard, but a look at any benchmark would've told you that.

A single GTX 260 is going to be a drop in performance. I'm not sure exactly how a GTX 280 stacks up, but I can't imagine in being leaps and bounds better than double 4850s. Your best option for less than $500 is probably a 4870x2, but I would take a long, hard look at some test results before you start throwing money at a problem that may be impossible to solve completely in the first place.

Damn true, to the OP: Can you honestly see a difference between 60 and 45 fps with aa/af turned on? Most games at that res with all the eye candy turned on seem smooth and playable from 30 and up, in which case I think your CFed 4850's could handle it. But if you ABSOLUTELY need 60 fps for whatever reason, you'll be looking more at CFed 4870s or SLIed 260s/280s for that much power. The real question you should be asking is to yourself, whether you care more about the fps number that the game gives you, or if it's pleasing enough to your eyes that you really couldn't care less about a number.

Originally posted by: Habu32I dont need all the eye candy turned on, for example I run AOC on low.I upgraded from a 8800gtx to the crossfire which now resides in my sons system.

Honestly I dont see much of an improvement from it. as far as the 4870x2 is concerned Ill pass-if the 4850 xfire is any indication of ATI these days, ill stick with nvidia

CF and SLI tend to be either amazing or worthless, sometimes you'll get 1 frame per second more than the single card (and in some odd cases even lower than a single card) and sometimes the performance you get blows you away. Only real UPGRADES from 2 4850s in CF would be 2 4870s in CF/4870X2/GTX260s in SLI/GTX280s in SLI.

 

[Habu32]

The real question you should be asking is to yourself, whether you care more about the fps number that the game gives you, or if it's pleasing enough to your eyes that you really couldn't care less about a number.
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Well yes, thats my point, with my 8800gtx I really couldnt tell the diff, but with these 4850s I definatley can. Using fraps even if the game is showing 90 fps it "feels" like im doing 30.

I dont care about the actual numbers, the only reason I downloaded and started to use fraps is because the games felt so --well---stuttery, yet fraps is saying its doing anywhere from 50-100 fps. And thats with CCC forcing vsync.( which obviously isnt working)


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Damn true, to the OP: Can you honestly see a difference between 60 and 45 fps with aa/af turned on? Most games at that res with all the eye candy turned on seem smooth and playable from 30 and up, in which case I think your CFed 4850's could handle it.

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And I yes I can tell if a game is running at 30 or 60--absolutely.

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: Habu32
Well yes, thats my point, with my 8800gtx I really couldnt tell the diff, but with these 4850s I definatley can. Using fraps even if the game is showing 90 fps it "feels" like im doing 30.

I dont care about the actual numbers, the only reason I downloaded and started to use fraps is because the games felt so --well---stuttery, yet fraps is saying its doing anywhere from 50-100 fps. And thats with CCC forcing vsync.( which obviously isnt working)

Have tried running with just a single card to see if lower fps feels smoother? (or less "stuttery" as you call it: is the same as the micro-stutter I occasionally see with my 9800GX2?).