Video Card HELP please

[carchd]

Hi guys, used to be a techie until life (kid) caught up with me. I am wondering if anyone can advise me if I have to buy a whole new system, or if there is a video card I can slap into my rig that will keep up with most current games. I'd like to be able to play shooters and StarCraft 2. My system handles SC2 well already. Super max settings aren't important to me.

i5 2.8 Lynnfield
16 GB ddr3
GTX 460

thanks for the help

 

[Bricked]

Your system is fine. A GTX 660 Ti should be able to handle anything you throw at it. Maybe get a 660 if you want to save some money. They're both PCIe 3.0 but you won't have any issues with a 2.0 x16 slot.

 

[Shmee]

660 Ti does seem like a good upgrade. What motherboard do you have? Would you be able to overclock your i5 a bit?

 

[sublime420ec]

or a ati 7950

 

[carchd]

I'm not at home, but its an MSI P55 something, sorry.

 

[carchd]

What's the ATI equivalent to the 660? I only ask cause new egg has a promo with tomb raider and BioShock for free, sounds tasty

 

[Shmee]

In that case, you may want to consider OCing your CPU to match the GPU upgrade, cooler and PSU allowing. A lot of newer games are more demanding on the CPU as well.

 

[sublime420ec]

the ati 7950 overclocked is on par with a 660ti what is your budget?

 

[Shmee]

What's the ATI equivalent to the 660? I only ask cause new egg has a promo with tomb raider and BioShock for free, sounds tasty

Probably something along the lines of a 7870 or 7850.

 

[carchd]

I'd like to keep it under $300. Over clocking is a possibility if I feel like I need to after the upgrade. But you're saying my CPU should be able to handle most games with better GPU right?

 

[sublime420ec]

your cpu is fine maybe could use a lil overclock

but ya i just bought a HIS HD7950 turbo 3gb card for 300$ got crysis 3 and new bioshock free card can run crysis on very high 1080p 16x aa and 2xmsaa fps varies alot tho from map to map fps is from 45-80 depending on load etc.. =D

 

[Shmee]

Probably, assuming 1080p or less, though you didn't mention what resolution you play at, that is very important to know.

 

[carchd]

Sorry, single monitor, TV sometimes 1080P. Never dual

 

[Stuka87]

the ati 7950 overclocked is on par with a 660ti what is your budget?

A 7950 overclocked is slightly faster/on par than a 670 in most games.

 

[sublime420ec]

yea there's seems to be alot of nvidia fanboys here wanted to sound fair lol

 

[thilanliyan]

the ati 7950 overclocked is on par with a 660ti what is your budget?

An overclocked 7950 is most definitely faster than a 660Ti and matches a 670 on occasion I think.

OP, if you want to spend ~$300 go for a 7950 or GTX670. And if you want to spend less, get a 660Ti or 7850/7870.

 

[sublime420ec]

A 7950 overclocked is slightly faster/on par than a 670 in most games.

in your sig? what voltage do u use? for 1100/1400 i'm on stock..well for my card it's... 1.125

 

[sublime420ec]

An overclocked 7950 is most definitely faster than a 660Ti and matches a 670 on occasion I think.

OP, if you want to spend ~$300 go for a 7950 or GTX670. And if you want to spend less, get a 660Ti or 7850/7870.

ya i've read the reviews lol

just tryin to be nice for the nvidia folks...

 

[carchd]

In you're opinion is there a huge difference between the 7950/7850/70? I'm a casual gamer, just want pretty and playable. Not concerned with eeeking out 5 more fps just because.... BF3 seems to be the benchmark these days, can they all handle that game?

 

[sublime420ec]

the 7950 will play bf at 1080p in ultra max settings 60fps no prob

haha plus in tomb raider ati has that nice new hair effect

 

[thilanliyan]

In you're opinion is there a huge difference between the 7950/7850/70? I'm a casual gamer, just want pretty and playable. Not concerned with eeeking out 5 more fps just because.... BF3 seems to be the benchmark these days, can they all handle that game?

If you can afford to spend more and keep your cards for a while, go for the faster card.

 

[carchd]

OK, thanks guys, 7950 it is

 

[sublime420ec]

good choice you'll be very happy =D

just be sure to remove all old nvidia drivers before install

 

[Stuka87]

in your sig? what voltage do u use? for 1100/1400 i'm on stock..well for my card it's... 1.125

I honestly cannot recall, will look when I get home. Once I set it I have yet to need to mess with it. Been that way for over a year now (I have one of the very first cards).

 

[carchd]

good choice you'll be very happy =D

just be sure to remove all old nvidia drivers before install

No problem, getting an SSD so wipe and start fresh