upgrading gpu

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oliharan92

Member
Sep 9, 2010
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hi,
i currently have a HP a6652uk desktop with the following spec

motherboard: Asus M2N68-LA
cpu: Phenom-9650 (A) 2.3 GHz (95W)
ram: 4gb PC2-6400 MB/sec
graphics card: Radeon HD3650 512mb
power supply:300w

im after a new graphics card around the £150 mark, im upgrading my pc at the moment but i cant afford to do it all at once! i want to try and max out games like bf2, battlefield bad company 2 and run crysis well and cod:mw2! i currently use a 17" monitor but plan on getting a 1080p 24" monitor in the near future

so if anyone has any advice about what graphics card to get?
thanks
oli
 
RussianSensation

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
126
GTX 460 768mb/1GB fit the bill nicely if you can find one for that price.

Be mindful of the fact that your PSU, which is likely generic, could pose a problem.
 
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oliharan92

Member
Sep 9, 2010
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thanks for the quick response! iv read that the 460gtx was having problems on battlefield so im leaning towards ati, will a 5770 max out these games with my system? also will by cpu bottleneck a newer card?
 
RussianSensation

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
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oliharan92 said:
thanks for the quick response! iv read that the 460gtx was having problems on battlefield so im leaning towards ati, will a 5770 max out these games with my system? also will by cpu bottleneck a newer card?
Click to expand...

Not BF:BC2 and Crysis. CPU is an issue too. But anything below 460 is a decent pairing. 5770 is about 40-50% slower than a GTX460. Considering the price difference, I'd spring for the 460. Overclocked, the GTX460 will surpass the 470/5850.
 
Attic

Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
4,282
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Good recomendations here.

I'm going to throw out another idea and advise you to put the upgrade fever on ice until the 6000 series from AMD arrives in Oct/Nov. This will also coincide with a later date when you hopefully do a much needed CPU upgrade and monitor upgrade. There is a good chance AMD will have a GPU out right in your budget that would be a very strong performer.

Reason it makes sense to wait in your situation is because your CPU is going to be holding you back with any decent current gen GPU you purchase. So you are not going to get the full effect of an upgraded GPU on gaming performance until you upgrade your CPU. You will of course enjoy the 460 now, and more later when you upgrade your CPU, but if you are not going to be getting the full effect of the 460 until you upgrade your CPU later, I think it makes sense to consider the possiblity of upgrading your CPU and GPU at a later time together.

460 is not going to be the 460 everyone is crazy about when paired with a phenom@2.3ghz. It's going to be much slower. When you get a faster CPU you can enjoy the full effect of the 460 or a 6770, but why not wait until then to decide?
 
Attic

Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
4,282
2
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oliharan92 said:
thanks for the quick response! iv read that the 460gtx was having problems on battlefield so im leaning towards ati, will a 5770 max out these games with my system? also will by cpu bottleneck a newer card?
Click to expand...


BFBC2 has improved performance from nVidia's newest beta drivers.

5770 won't be a good match for 1920x1080, I used it and got by with it but was much happier with a 460. I like to use at least High settings and prefer Ultra. With a phenom@2.3 bfbc2 is going to have a miserable frame rate no matter what you pair it with.
 
happy medium

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
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The good news is with your new psu ,you an overclock the phenom and get that gtx 460 sweating for mercy. :)

Really though at 1900x1080, your cpu/new gpu will run most games just fine,espcially comming from a 3650.
 
Attic

Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
4,282
2
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happy medium said:
The good news is with your new psu ,you an overclock the phenom and get that gtx 460 sweating for mercy. :)

Really though at 1900x1080, your cpu/new gpu will run most games just fine,espcially comming from a 3650.
Click to expand...

I think that is misleading in this case. The OP is specifically interested in a game like BFBC2 and is likely going to want to be having a solid framerate in this and other similarly demanding games.

Looks like he's running a Hewlett Packard system, those may not have any options for even a small OC. Really need a dual, preferably quad core at 3+ghz to get reasonable performance in the demanding games like BFBC2 from what i've experienced and read.
 
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oliharan92

Member
Sep 9, 2010
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thanks for the responses!
i think i will, get a gtx 460 and psu now
then when i can afford it a asus motherboard and a i5 750 unless i7 prices come down!
unless ati's new 6 series will be a big improvement worth waiting for? i want this setup to last a while because im about to start driving and i will be moving out in the next year or so, so my money will be alot tighter! thanks for the advice
 
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oliharan92

Member
Sep 9, 2010
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last night i brought a:
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB

and i also brought a:
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply

they should arrive tomorow :D

what performance increase should i be expecting?
 
Attic

Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
4,282
2
76
Congrats on the new card, solid choice. The card will come with a two four pin to 6 pin adapter, and it may come with two. Those can be used to connect the cards 2, 6 pin power plugs to your PSU if your PSU has only one 6 pin PCIEX plug.

I wouldn't worry about it till you need to, you will most likely be good to go, 99.92%.
 
happy medium

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
oliharan92 said:
last night i brought a:
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB

and i also brought a:
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply

they should arrive tomorow :D

what performance increase should i be expecting?
Click to expand...

Please let us know what kind of performance increases you have.
 
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oliharan92

Member
Sep 9, 2010
62
0
61
hey all!
so its all installed and everything working,
iv only tryed bf2 so far but im slightly worried!
before my fps ranged between 30-80 maxed out
now im recieveing around 40-80 maxed out.

any idea why this is? i know my cpu isnt the best but it should handle an old game like bf2 100% fine i would have thought! since the games like 5 years old!

i didnt uninstall the old ati drivers could that cause this?
maby i need a fresh install of vista?
any ideas would be amazing!!!
right now im thinking iv pretty much wasted like £230 :(
 
edplayer

edplayer

Platinum Member
Sep 13, 2002
2,186
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Could be your cpu is too slow but I'm just guessing. I'm guessing that BF2 only uses one core. Try running Task Monitor.


Fresh OS install is a good idea.
 
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RavenSEAL

Diamond Member
Jan 4, 2010
8,670
3
0
Clean install OS, install new UPDATED ATI drivers. Never the ones from the CD that comes with the card. Get rid of vista, and you're good to go.
 
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