Single slot Graphics Card upgrade for 1920x1080

[AprilMay]

Hi everyone,

I'm reading these reviews for graphic cards and they talk a lot about 2560x1600 resolutions so I was wondering if anyone can help me find a good single slot card upgrade. Due to motherboard (Asus P5K-E) and space constraints, I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card for 22" (1920x1080 resolution) monitor.

My current computer contains:

• Asus P5K-E motherboard (I have two PCIe slots, but one at 16x and one at 4x). I believe it is crossfire compatible, but not optimal. I'm okay with single slot.
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
• 8gb RAM (DDR2 PC2-6400) w/ Win7 64-bit
• BFG nVidia GeForce 8600GTS

I don't plan on getting a new computer for another year or two, but I am hoping to be able to use move the video card over when the time comes. But because of space constraints, 22" is probably the max I can go. The games I have installed right now are: WoW, Rift, Civilization 5, Shogun 2. I can't play first person shooters, so I guess my requirements may not be as stringent. But I do want to play Diablo 3 when it comes out.

My budget is below $200, but if something's really good at $250 i might change my mind. I'm currently looking at nVidia 460 (possibly 560) and Radeon 6870/6950 ... Would you think that these are overkill for my configuration?

Also, are there any brands I should keep in mind when looking for cards? I'm okay at finding chipsets but I don't know the difference between brands.

Thank you everyone for your help in advance!

 

[Red Hawk]

Another major limiting factor on your PC is the processor. It's an aging Core 2 Duo. It just so happens that RPGs and strategy games like the ones you have are the most processor-intensive types of games. I would suggest you think about upgrading the processor. It's a bit more complicated than upgrading a graphics card, and you have to make sure your motherboard is compatible, but it's still doable. At the very least you should try overclocking the processor.

Without a processor upgrade, your viable graphics card options are limited. Nvidia graphics cards have more processor overhead than AMD cards currently, meaning they actually take up more processor power, so it would be better to stick with AMD. A Radeon HD 6850/6870 is probably the best you can get without ramming into a processor bottleneck, at which point the processor has reached its limit and no matter how fast the graphics card is games won't run any faster. Even a 6850 may be too much, and you might be better off by saving money and settling for a Radeon HD 5770/6770 (they're almost the exact same thing, identical when it comes to performance).

As for brands, I've bought a couple ASUS graphics cards with ATi chips and they've served me well. I've also owned a couple of EVGA cards with Nvidia chips, and they were good too.

 

[AprilMay]

Thank you for your prompt reply and your point about CPU bottleneck! I hadn't considered that before.

I think the motherboard (P5K-E) is LGA775, and if i understand correctly, this means that the most I can upgrade is to a quad core version of the Core 2 Duo series. The computer store down the street sells the Q8300 2.5ghz as the highest (and only one) that's still available. :\ Would that be better though? Because it's a bit less in ghz and I'm not sure if the games I'm playing can use all four cores. Because otherwise, the only alternative is the i-series and that would mean new desktop completely :\

Maybe I should take this over to the CPU forum. In the meanwhile, I'll take a look at the 5770s. Thanks!

 

[Red Hawk]

An LGA 775 indeed means that you are limited to older Core 2 Duo/Quad processors. You can probably find better prices by purchasing used processors on eBay or here at Anandtech's For Sale/Trade section. A Core 2 Quad Q8400 or a Q9400 has the same clock speed as your current processor, but keep in mind that "8000" and "9000" series Core 2 processors use a more efficient architecture than the "6000" series. A single core of a 8000 or 9000 series processor will be faster than a single core of a 6000 processor at the same clock speed.

 

[AprilMay]

Great! Thanks I'll definitely look into getting a quad processor when I have the budget again. Actually, I snuck out at lunch time and got the 6850. It might bottleneck for now, but when I get my new comp, I'll get another one and Crossfire them! I guess at this point, anything is better than the 8600GTS I have now.

Thank you so much for your advice

 

[Madcatatlas]

wow this was some quick action. How much did you buy that 6850 for? Since you mentioned that you would carry your GPU card over, id have suggested a 6950 2gb version for the extra VRAM. What "was" your budget anyway?

 

[AprilMay]

My budget is below $200, with the provision that if something hit $250 I would still consider it. I live in Canada, but I think it's more or less equal to USD right now. The local store had Asus DirectCU 6850 for $179.99, but with a $20 mail in rebate. The 6950 would've been amazing, but right now it's close to $300 where I am. At that price, I would seriously consider getting 2x 6850 for Crossfire, cuz two of them would have been $320 (after rebate)

Unfortunately, my motherboard (Asus P5K-E) wasn't really made for Crossfire/SLI. That will have to wait until my next desktop, maybe two, three years from now. Thank you for your suggestion though!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

How does that 6850 compare to the GTX 560 Ti?

 

[3DVagabond]

How does that 6850 compare to the GTX 560 Ti?

It's slower. Is there a single slot 560ti?

Edit: Just noticed that OP bought a dual slot card. I was only going by the title of the thread when querying about the 560ti being available single slot.

 

[Kevmanw430]

But not much slower. A 6870 might be about equal.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Very hard to find single-slot cards now. Except the uber-budget cheapo cards.