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video card too much power for my pc?

B

bombatwist

Member
let me start off by listing my specs, i built this 2 years ago

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1.8GHz Venice Core
DFI nF4-DAGF
Rosewill 600Watt PSURosewill 600Watt PSU
1gb ram PC 3200
NEC DVD Burner 3540A
ATi Radeon x600SE


I'm planning on buying a 8800gt, or a HD 3870.

I know that my CPU is not great but thats what i have, i want to know if i buy one of those two cards, will any of my parts be damaged because those video cards run too fast for my current parts? I asked my computer teacher today and he told me by doing so it will damage my CPU and whatnot. I really don't want to upgrade my CPU + Mobo + Ram until the new AMD Phenom cpus come out, and i want a new card now so that i won't have to buy one later and the reason i want it now is because i want to play CS:Source and TF2. I don't wanna have to go buy a 7600gt or a x1950pro, then later on spend more money on a DX10 card for my new build. Im still in High School so money is really tight. what do you guys think?
 
Well, since the GT is a little faster than the 3870 and 8800 GTS I would say your cpu will bottleneck the hell out of it. I use to have a GTS 640 and traded it off because I couldnt upgrade my cpu, and it was bottlenecked severely.

So if it bottle necked my GTS, Then yes, you will be bottlenecked. And no, it wont damage anything, it just wont run to its potential.

But if you dont mind being bottlenecked, then by all means, purchase the card now, and upgrade to Phenom later. That is EXACTLY what im doing. See sig.
 
Yeah I was talking to my teacher and he said i should upgrade the CPU first, and that if my GPU was too powerful, it would damage my parts and im like wtf?!?!

I really don't mind the bottlenecking part, i just don't want to be able to spend more money from spending a better DX9 card for this machine and spending more for a DX10 mid/high-range card.

If my CPU bottlenecks a HD 3870 for example, how do you think the HD 3870 would really feel like? (ex: 1950pro, 7900gt) i could care less about it running at a 7600gt level, i just don't want to go spending and spending again like i said before.
 
What monitor do you run currently ? And do you plan on upgrading it in the near future ?
 
No, it won't damage any parts by being faster. That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard from someone who is supposedly an "expert".....and that's saying something.
 
@JPB

i have a 19inch LCD and i have my desktop @ 1280x1024

and i play CS @ 800x600 and don't plan on getting any higher than that.

i'm not really crazy about having a high resolution but i want to buy one of those two cards just so im prepared if i want to have a higher resolution.

i don't think im going to upgrade my monitor for a while, i think i will stay with it for a year or two.

@SergeC

seriously, i almost laughed when he told me that.
 
If thats the case, then I would go for the cheaper card, the 3870. Or even better...the 3850 ( $179 at Newegg ). Either of these will run 1280 res with no problem with everything maxed.
 
What the hell? I think what your computer teacher means is that if the GPU draws too much POWER (wattage) from the power supply and the power supply is not strong enough, your system may become unstable and perhaps some parts may get undervolted/fried. I highly doubt that you can damage a CPU because a GPU is "too fast". In fact, I wish there was such a thing as a GPU that's too fast...

I think for you, the bottleneck will be the CPU in online multiplayer games, but for single player offline games, a good GPU will be an enormous benefit. I'm running an Athlon 64 3200 and a Radeon x1600, and, for CS:S, the CPU is definitely the bottleneck.
 
yes s939. and that x2 3800+ toledo idea sounds good [:

oh yeah i even told my teacher about how the 8800gt's were supposed to come out for $200-$250 and that the prices were gouged to $250-$300 and he didn't believe me lol.
 
if i don't find a HD 3870 by the end of next week, i'll go ahead and go for the 3850. ]: too bad i dont have a credit or debit card so i can order online. ]: and my parents don't want to order for me ]:

I hope that bestbuy will have them or pcclub. ><
 
For starters, running a faster videocard will not damage your motherboard or CPU. That powersupply should be sufficient with 2x 12V 19A rails, especially since both of those GPUs are very efficient.

However, you only have a single core cpu and only 1 gig of ram. A lot of current games benefit especially from 2gb of ram and new ones like Supreme Commander, Crysis and World in Conflict will want a dual core.

So your Option 1 is:

1. S939 dual core $50-66
2. flash the mobo to the latest bios to support dual core
3. 2x512mb DDR 400 - $54
4. HD 3850 for $185

Total: $289 - $305

With this option all your memory banks are full, no upgrade path to quad core.

Option II:

1. Just get 8800GT for $250

With this option you'll be limited by a single 1.8ghz core and moreso by just 1gb of ram.

Option III:

1. Gigabyte DS3L - $100
2. E4500 2.2ghz Retail - $128
With multiplier of 11 pushing the front side bus to stock 333 speed of the P35 chipset will get you 3663mhz which is way more than the stock heatsink can handle.
3. HD 3850 for $185
4. DDR2 800 2GB $45

Total: $458

Having said that since you are running X600SE, it doesn't seem like you are much of a gamer or dont' really crank your settings too high. Therefore, maybe getting a cheap card like X1900GT for $96, extra 1 gig of ram and overclocking your cpu to say 2.5ghz will still be a big improvement for you until you save enough $ for a full system overhaul.

It all depends on how much you want to spend.
 
If you can find it in a retail store, i'd get the ATI 3850. It will be a huge increase over what you have now and your cpu will still be a bottleneck to it. So later when you upgrade your processor and ram, you'll get even more speed out of it.

No need to spend a fortune on a video card when you can save some of that money to put toward other components in your system.
 
So if i add a HD 3870 to my current system, what will it actually feel like its running under, for example: it will be running like a x1950pro. I know i will be bottlenecked, i'm just curious what you guys think it will run like with my crap specs.

and like i said, i don't want to upgrade anything else until the new AMD Phenoms come out.
 
Personally I would get the bet GPU you can afford right now especially if you plan to upgrade later. Since the interface is the same (PCIe) the card will work with any new setup you buy and will come into it's full potential then. If you did not plan to upgrade your main system for a long time then I might suggest getting a slower GPU.

I am probably going to pick up the GTS refresh when it comes out. Will it be bottlenecked by my Opty 165 @2.52? Heck yeah but I will still get a HUGE improvement in gaming over my current 7800GT. Then when I have some more money next year and buy a new core system I will get the rest of the benefit of the card then. Money wise people might say this is a bad idea but if the GTS really comes out for around the $300 range then the price is still "middle of the road" compared to recent releases and won't be too much of a dent.

Just my $.02
 
i have $260 in my wallet, and i am planning to upgrade my main system around Q1/Q2 next year. So yeah im trying to get the best GPU i can afford so that i can get more out of it later ^^.

i'm not a hardcore gamer, although i do like to try new games here and there, i just want to be ready for dx10 ^^
 
buy a 7900GS on ebay for 80$. this will tide you until you can buy a whole new computer... anything more is a waste of money, your CPU, RAM, and everything else is too slow to see a real benefit from a more expensive card.
 
Think about this, you are using X600SE, a card so crap that Radeon 8500 from 2001 was almost as good. X1950PRO will be a huge boost in performance. Instead of spending $260 on 8800GT, I'd say you get $100 graphics card. Putting $160 in a year with another $40 will most likely get you a card 50-60% faster than 8800GT while with your system 8800GT is overkill for 1280x1024. You wont reach the card's full potential anyway since you'll be either ram limited or cpu limited in all the latest games. You even said yourself that you are playing CS at 800x600. You have to be mad to spend $260 on a graphics card for that rez.

Here is AMD cpu scaling that should help you decide better depending on the games you play (remember a single core will be slower in a lot of games):

AMD cpu scaling - x1950xtx vs. 8800GTX

In a lot of games, it's hard to justify 8800GTX for X2 3800+ 2.0ghz at 1280x1024.

There are games like Oblivion and Crysis that are very heavily GPU-driven. Having said that, both of those games will be still severely handicapped by a single core cpu with 1 gig of ram. For a more balanced system I'd for sure choose a $50 dual core upgrade and 3850 to hold me over for a year than an 8800GT 512mb.
 
"i'm not a hardcore gamer, although i do like to try new games here and there, i just want to be ready for dx10 ^^"

😛

the way i see it is, buy new high end video card first and yes you don't have to keep reminding me that my current cpu is a bottleneck, I ALREADY KNOW THAT!
then upgrade the rest of the parts i have and just move that video card over to those new parts i get later.

i know i said i just play cs:source @ 800x600, but sometimes i like to try new games here and there just for fun, and it kinda sucks to be trying those games with 10 fps. that is why i don't wanna go and buy like a x1950pro for a $100 right now, then buy a HD 3870 or whatever card i decide to get for another $200+. The total comes up to be $300. and thats gonna be just for video cards.

im going to keep my radeon x600se when i get my new video card then when i get the other parts like the cpu and ram and all that, ill take the new card out of my current system, move it to the new, and put the x600se card back in the old and just use that for browsing purposes or typing documents.

I just think its pointless to upgrade a socket939 when there is an AM2 socket out and a Phenom coming very soon and i want to buy a new video card because i wanna have a temporary boost because i play CS in leagues and i don't want to play and lose just cause my fps is low and that i get performance loss, some of the top players use the same CPU as me and they have a better video card than what i have and it satisfied them, even though if i buy the new mid/high end card, I know they wont be powered up to its full potential, but im pretty sure there is enough power to satisfy my needs for the remainder of time until i get the other parts.
 
Dude, I don't think you understand what they are saying. You are going to have a whole system overhaul in Q1/Q2 next year. That is a good 4-6 months away, tell me video card prices don't change in that amount of time.

They are telling you to spend <$100 on a 7900GS or ATi equivalent now, and then spend the extra money on the next card when you do do the overhaul. This is because prices might very well drop by then and you can save some more money for later. You can always sell whatever video card you get now later on to get back some money. To go out and buy that new 38XX or 8800 card is kind of dumb because
A) They are running way above MSRP right now
B) Stock is limited
C) You can't buy online right now, perhaps later? Prices are usually cheaper online.
D) You will not benefit from it at all right now anyways.

That 7900GS or X1950 Pro isn't going to drop too much more in value, maybe $20 more, if that. Most cards below $100 stabilize pretty quickly. Its the higher end that will drop. Also try overclocking that A64 3000+, I have your exact motherboard and got my CPU to 2.6 GHz no problem. Also, if you get that older midrange card you can stop worrying about all that PCIe 2.0 BS that everyone else has to deal with right now.
 
i dont think it could damageyour PC at all assuming your power supply is up to the task.

you should go on newegg and spend $60 to buy an x2 4200... i'd probably just get the 3850 if i were you. its pretty pointless to bother with a 8800gt or 3870. take the money you save and spend it on a new cpu.
 
I'm not sure the advice to grab a X1950Pro or equivalent is the best advice right now. If you have access to one of last year's high end cards (x1950/7950) for cheap (trade, etc) and you can get that under $90 then that makes perfect sense. However, if you want to buy new, retail on the x1950pro is $139 right now for 256MB version. You can get the 3850 today at MSRP for $179 and it destroy's the x1950pro or the 7950GT (twice as fast in most tests). It is available many places at that price.

Normally adding hardware to an older motherboard isn't worth it, but the idea on the X2 4200 or 3800 is brilliant. Many people are in your shoes and if you decide to upgrade in Q1 / Q2 that chip should be worth the same or more than it is now.

So my recommendation is the 3850 and the X2 3800. It will allow you to run at 1280x1024 and very good fps now and the graphics card will still be sufficient 6 months from now with a new rig. The 3850 will not drop in value like the previous mid generation (8600, 2600) because they stunk. The 8800GT set a new standard for value for performance and AMD was forced to value match by lowering prices. So the 3850/3870/8800GT are great values at MSRP. In my opinion the 3850 will hold value much better than a x1950 pro which is totally obsoleted now.

 
I'm revising my recommendation to wait for the 8800GT 256MB version. If this is in stock and is actually at the $179 price some people are talking about, this will be a killer card for the resolutions you are talking about.

If you are looking to go higher than 1280 with AA the 256MB may be limiting, but the 3850 will be in the same boat.
 
Originally posted by: bsix
I'm not sure the advice to grab a X1950Pro or equivalent is the best advice right now. If you have access to one of last year's high end cards (x1950/7950) for cheap (trade, etc) and you can get that under $90 then that makes perfect sense. However, if you want to buy new, retail on the x1950pro is $139 right now for 256MB version.
Click to expand...

There is no need to spend $140 on X1950Pro. You can get X1900GT for $90.
 
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