Video Card Upgrade

[Sentrosi2121]

System Specs:
Processor - 3.0Ghz E8400 not overclocked
Motherboard - Gigabyte EP-35C w/ one x16 slot
RAM - 4Gb DDR2 800
Power Supply - Thermaltake Toughpower 650W Modular
Video Card - Asus 4850 w/ Zalman cooler
Monitor - Westinghouse 22" 1680x1050 native resolution but planning on upgrading to a monitor that supports 1920x1080 at some point in the future.

Budget - around $225 solid.

Games I'm playing: Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Left for Dead 2
Future Games: Star Wars: The Old Republic, Aion

Should I go with a 5770 or save some extra scratch and go with a 5850?

 

[toyota]

IMO a 5770 isnt much of an upgrade but if you are not going above 1680 then it should be more than enough for most games. at 1920 you will probably want something with a little more power though. 5830 should be out in less than a month if you dont need to upgrade at this very moment.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

Yeah, I was looking at the other threads after I posted mine. I might as well go get a 4890 over a 5770! The 128-bit bus seems to be limiting it, if I'm reading the data right.

 

[toyota]

Yeah, I was looking at the other threads after I posted mine. I might as well go get a 4890 over a 5770! The 128-bit bus seems to be limiting it, if I'm reading the data right.

well some will argue that it isnt but to me its clearly at least part of the problem. the overall memory bandwidth is just so much lower than the 4890 that performance is taking a hit. with a 128bit bus, there is no gddr5 fast enough at this time to match the 4890s memory bandwidth.

 

[aclim]

save your money until you have $50 more and get a 5850. No point spending on that old tech. 5770 is not an upgrade either

 

[NoQuarter]

You could probably sell your 4850 for enough to cover the cash you need for the 5850.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

Yes, the thought has entered my mind to sell the 4850. But I may want to replace the 9600GT I have for the family PC. Decisions...decisions.

So the general consensus is go with the 5850.

 

[toyota]

Yes, the thought has entered my mind to sell the 4850. But I may want to replace the 9600GT I have for the family PC. Decisions...decisions.

So the general consensus is go with the 5850.

at 1680 the 5770 is okay but its not much of an upgrade so yes a 5850 will be much better and almost needed if you go to 1920 and want to crank game settings. again the 5830 may be a good compromise especially if you stay at 1680.

 

[EnzoLT]

at 1680 the 5770 is okay but its not much of an upgrade so yes a 5850 will be much better and almost needed if you go to 1920 and want to crank game settings. again the 5830 may be a good compromise especially if you stay at 1680.

this. BFBC2 isnt coming out til March anyways so just wait out a it longer for the 5830. that way you can sell the 9600 and put in the 4850 in it.

 

[crisium]

I don't know about BC2, but it is a console port and I'd guess it's not horribly demanding (might like VRAM though). A 4850 should offer adequate performance in L4D2. I can max out the L4D 1 at a higher res. Wait. Even if BC2 tasks your GPU more than you'd like, you can always play at reduced settings for a week while waiting for your 5830 to come in the mail.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

I max out L4D2 graphics wise with zero problems. When I played BC2 demo/beta last night it felt very sluggish. I'm going to hold off on pulling the trigger on the 5850 until it goes retail. I'll have to read up on the 5830s, but right now I'm keeping my eyes on the XFX flavor of the 5850.