Upgrading video card

[Rhezuss]

Hey all!

Fisrt of all, thanks making this place a great spot to ask questions and actually get the answers!! Many cheers to the community!

I currently have this gaing setup:
- ASRock 939Dual-SATA2
- Athlon64 X2 4600+
- 3gb DDR400 (Kingston Value RAM)
- Palit 9600GT 512mb
- SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
- WD 320gb 16mb CACHE (SATA2)
- OCZ Modstream 450W

For now, this RIG "delivers". I'm currently playing games like Dawn of War, Oblivion, Bioshock, WoW, Titan Quest, Age of Conan and others at smooth FPS, usually well over 30.

I also plan to get Dragon Age, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, etc.

After many researches, I narrowed down to those cards:
- Radeon HD4770 1gb (or 512mb)
- Radeon HD4850 1gb
- Radeon HD4870 1gb
- GeForce GTS250 1gb
- GeForce GTX260 896mb

Many questions comes to my mind:
- How can I know if my CPU will bottleneck a specific video card?
- Will my PSU have enough juice for an upgrade?
- Is 1gb a minimum now a days?
- Are any of those choices a noticeable upgrade?
- Lastly, should I wait for the Radeon HD57x0 series?

Thanks a bunch all!

 

[crisium]

Judging from a similar Athlon X2 upgrade thread (here), you'll find people that insist that a 9600GT is the max you should have for your CPU. I disagree, but at the same time my max recommendation isn't hugely faster (I'd say a 4850 or 4770 512MB is quite a fitting card to max out on an X2 system). And with your PSU (26amps on the 12v) I'd recommend a 4770.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/HD_4770/28.html

So you're looking at about a 25% improvement.

If you don't want to build a new system, then this is what to get. Otherwise I recommend building a cheap AM3/AM2+ system (so you can buy DDR2) and getting an X3 720 with a Radeon 4870 1GB, but sometimes you cannot upgrade. I would not put a 4870 in your PSU, and also the CPU would not be really using t properly.

What screen resolution do you use? 1GB isn't needed for many the games you listed, especially at low resolutions. I don't think there are many 1GB 4770s either.

 

[Rhezuss]

My screen is a Viewsonic VX922, a LCD with a native 1280*1024 res.
Not a huge res and maybe the 9600GT would do the job for most upcoming games?!

But you know, when you WANT to buy something...it's hard not to mwahahaha!

I know a AM3 setup with DDR2 or DDR3 would not cost my lots but a new card, correct me if i'm wrong, would have a more noticeable boost then a CPU/Memory upgrade?

 

[Rhezuss]

Other thing, I bought the AM2CPU board for the mobo. With that, I can upgrade to a AM2 CPU and DDR2...

Would it worth it to get an AM2 CPU, at least trying to find one?

 

[crisium]

At 1280x1024 there's no need for more than 512MB. I'll let someone else chime in on the CPU vs GPU (when the CPU is an aging X2), but I'll just say that it's up to you if you think the $100-$110 4770 is worth it for a 25% performance boost.

I'm not sure what you mean in that last post. Are you saying you already have an AM2 board somewhere?

 

[nemesismk2]

I would go with a 4850 or 4770 too as member Crisium said earlier.

 

[Rhezuss]

Originally posted by: Crisium
At 1280x1024 there's no need for more than 512MB. I'll let someone else chime in on the CPU vs GPU (when the CPU is an aging X2), but I'll just say that it's up to you if you think the $100-$110 4770 is worth it for a 25% performance boost.

I'm not sure what you mean in that last post. Are you saying you already have an AM2 board somewhere?

ASRock release an "expansion" board called AM2CPU board. You just plug it in the yellow slot made only for this board and it allows you, withou buying a new mobo, to upgrade to a AM2 CPU and DDR2 ram.

But it's as aging as the mobo itself so not worth it imo.

 

[toyota]

now a 4850 will be an overall improvement but you wont come close to getting what that card is capable of while using that cpu especially at just 1280. also your min framerates in most games will still stink because of that 4600 X2.

 

[s44]

GTS250 (better power draw) or wait for the 57x0.

 

[v8envy]

MMOs suck up texture RAM like a sponge. If you're a big MMO fan (and run multiple clients on one machine) it's not necessarily a waste to kick it up a notch with more video memory.

I would not recommend a 512 meg video solution to any MMO player. Get a 1G 4870 (but verify it's compatible with your board), and plan on an upgrade for the CPU, PSU & RAM as budget permits.

 

[Rhezuss]

Originally posted by: v8envy
MMOs suck up texture RAM like a sponge. If you're a big MMO fan (and run multiple clients on one machine) it's not necessarily a waste to kick it up a notch with more video memory.

I would not recommend a 512 meg video solution to any MMO player. Get a 1G 4870 (but verify it's compatible with your board), and plan on an upgrade for the CPU, PSU & RAM as budget permits.

Compatibility? Thanks for the tip...but I don't think it'll be easy to find out BEFORE trying the card...

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: v8envy
MMOs suck up texture RAM like a sponge. If you're a big MMO fan (and run multiple clients on one machine) it's not necessarily a waste to kick it up a notch with more video memory.

I would not recommend a 512 meg video solution to any MMO player. Get a 1G 4870 (but verify it's compatible with your board), and plan on an upgrade for the CPU, PSU & RAM as budget permits.

a 4870 1gb for 1280 and with that cpu? unless he plans on upgrading that cpu SOON then that would be a waste of money over getting a 4850 which will already be severely held back. no matter what he upgrades to I think he is certainly going to find out that his cpu is part of problem. I dont play MMOs so do they really suck up that much vram at such a low res?

 

[Rhezuss]

Looks like the obvious option is to upgrade PSU, mobo, CPU, mem and video card.

Or get a video card "future proof"...

 

[v8envy]

Originally posted by: toyota

a 4870 1gb for 1280 and with that cpu? unless he plans on upgrading that cpu SOON then that would be a waste of money over getting a 4850 which will already be severely held back. no matter what he upgrades to I think he is certainly going to find out that his cpu is part of problem. I dont play MMOs so do they really suck up that much vram at such a low res?

The price difference between a 4850 and a 4870 is not huge, once you look at 1GB models. And yes, even at low res -- what happens is you're looking at hundreds of people running around, all with a different textures for similar or same meshes to make the players look unique. It's infreakingsane. Even an old MMO like Anarchy Online will have you hitting the disk to swap textures when you join a raid with a couple hundred (thousand?) people all wearing different outfits. And once you're hitting the disk your performance crashes to single digit FPS levels.

A 4870 will last a couple of years. Well into when the OP will want to upgrade the rest of his parts. Trying to save $20 on a GPU now will seem like false economy once the other parts are due for an upgrade.

A GTS250 aka 9800GTX aka 8800GTS would be a terrible upgrade over a 9600GT for the money though.

 

[Rhezuss]

The 4870 1gb is the one tempting me like hell!

But if I decide to upgrade my entire system, should I go the crossfireX way?

So I could buy, say, a 4870 now and buy another one later when I upgrade.

 

[Denithor]

No. Instead of buying two 4870 either grab a 4870X2 or a 5870/5850. But these are complete overkill for your stated screen resolution. A single 4870 is plenty to max out your performance in these games at 12x10.

If you're seriously into the MMO games you might have just as much improvement by upgrading your cpu/ram. Newegg has a combo of X4 620 + 780G mobo for like $135AR. Four cores would help WoW specifically and cannot hurt in the others either.

 

[happy medium]

I would buy a used card off the for sale forums here. I got my 8800gt with accelo cooler for 60$ shipped 3 months ago. I just seen a 1gb 4870 for 115$!!!! and 8800gts 512mb for 80$. gtx260 for 130$, 4850 for 75$ shipped. Good deals there.

Just my .02

 

[Rhezuss]

Originally posted by: happy medium
I would buy a used card off the for sale forums here. I got my 8800gt with accelo cooler for 60$ shipped 3 months ago. I just seen a 1gb 4870 for 115$!!!! and 8800gts 512mb for 80$. gtx260 for 130$, 4850 for 75$ shipped. Good deals there.

Just my .02

Thanks happy medium, I roam the place since you told me. Found some nice things for sale there the only prob is that I live in canada and not everyone is willing to ship herer hehehh!

Thanks again!

P.S. After some reconsideration, I'm gonna upgrade my system. Looking for an AM3 mobo (Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3P looks good), PhenomII X2 and 4gb DDR3. Gonna shop for those things in the enar future. Maybe i'll keep the 9600GT and see what it can do with the new setup.

 

[nicnas]

Originally posted by: Rhezuss
P.S. After some reconsideration, I'm gonna upgrade my system. Looking for an AM3 mobo (Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3P looks good), PhenomII X2 and 4gb DDR3. Gonna shop for those things in the enar future. Maybe i'll keep the 9600GT and see what it can do with the new setup.

Wise decision!

Even if you have some low FPS in a game, a better GPU than the 9600GT would have CPU bottleneck.

I tried my brother's GT9600 1GB on my Core2Quad Q6600 (my monitor was 1280x1024 - same as yours). I could play every game i own at 100+ FPS! Counter-Strike Source run at 150-300 FPS with 2xAA medium quality. So yes, you will do the right thing.

 

[Rhezuss]

Originally posted by: nicnas

Originally posted by: Rhezuss
P.S. After some reconsideration, I'm gonna upgrade my system. Looking for an AM3 mobo (Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3P looks good), PhenomII X2 and 4gb DDR3. Gonna shop for those things in the enar future. Maybe i'll keep the 9600GT and see what it can do with the new setup.

Wise decision!

Even if you have some low FPS in a game, a better GPU than the 9600GT would have CPU bottleneck.

I tried my brother's GT9600 1GB on my Core2Quad Q6600 (my monitor was 1280x1024 - same as yours). I could play every game i own at 100+ FPS! Counter-Strike Source run at 150-300 FPS with 2xAA medium quality. So yes, you will do the right thing.

Thanks for the advice!
After some thinking...and it was not that hard to decide, the CPU/mobo/Mem upgrade will worth much more than just the video card.

 

[bryanW1995]

i'd look at the athlon 2 x4 that just came out, it's msrp is only $99 so you'll get a quadcore on the cheap. I have one sitting on my desk right now

 

[Rhezuss]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
i'd look at the athlon 2 x4 that just came out, it's msrp is only $99 so you'll get a quadcore on the cheap. I have one sitting on my desk right now

You have one to sell?
Or using one right now?

EDIT: In fact, i'm looking at the Phenom series. A little more expensive but have L3 cache among other things.

 

[Rhezuss]

Hey...a little bumpy question...

I really want to upgrade my video card...it's maing me crazy...hehehh

So, from a 9600Gt, would a HD 5750 would be a nice upgrade, since i'll probably get Windows 7 before the end of the year and for the DX11 future games?

 

[cusideabelincoln]

It would be an upgrade. The 5750 is about 35-40% faster than the 9600GT. A card like the HD4890 or GTX275 is almost twice as fast. An HD5850 would be over twice as fast as the 9600GT.

 

[Rhezuss]

Originally posted by: cusideabelincoln
It would be an upgrade. The 5750 is about 35-40% faster than the 9600GT. A card like the HD4890 or GTX275 is almost twice as fast. An HD5850 would be over twice as fast as the 9600GT.

So by replacing the 9600GT by at least the HD 5750, I would see a difference?

I'm leaning toward the 5750 for the low power/temp/noise and the price too. Surely I can OC it to near the 5770 clocks?