Upgrading Graphics Card. Been so long I don't know where to start.

Forums › Desktop computing › Upgrading Graphics Card. Been so long I don't know where to start.

Kiwi1971

696 posts

Ultimate Geek

#88585 18-Aug-2011 14:15

After 4 years of pretty reliable gaming it is finally time to replace my video card as newer games are starting to lag a bit too much.
Assassin's Creed 2 = Fine
Witcher 2 = Playable with Game Booster
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood = Like fighting in tar at times.

However it has been so long since I upgraded I am at a loss as to where to start.
I don't want to buy a card that looks better on paper but doesn't really provide the improvement I am looking for and by the same token I also don't want to end up spending twice as much as I need to because I didn't know what I was really looking for.

Currently running an Intel Dual Core system, CPU is a Core2 Duo E6750 [I think] but I will be upgrading to a Quad Core system later in the year and will need to use the same card.

I currently have an MSI NX8600GT ...Well this one below exactly even the passive cooling.

Any advice or pointers appreciated.
Looking on PriceSpy there is just an overwhelming amount of cards, I need some help to whittle it down to a managable list of choices or at least know what filters I should apply.

ChrisNZL

309 posts

Ultimate Geek

#508597 18-Aug-2011 14:45

What's your budget?

Creator of Tallowmere. Working on Tallowmere 2.

Kiwi1971

696 posts

Ultimate Geek

#508655 18-Aug-2011 16:41

ChrisNZL: What's your budget?

I am not even sure what I would expect to pay but I guess I would be happy enough up to $200 if I was going to get a noticable improvement and it would be a good addition to a more up to date rig later in the year.

Oh and PCIe 16x of course

Rig...is that even a term I should be using, so out of touch since I returned to NZ.

DLS

ChrisNZL

309 posts

Ultimate Geek

#508671 18-Aug-2011 17:24

Not looking at this very in-depth myself, but check out PriceSpy:
http://pricespy.co.nz/category.php?l=s73216729&o=lokal_rank

Raise the price filter if you'd like, or sort by something else. I've sorted by rank/popularity, which reckons a Sapphire Radeon HD5830 Xtreme Lite HDMI Dual-DVI 1GB might be good. Roughly $175.

And then to compare your current card with this new one:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/178?vs=171
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=626&card2=513

Might give you up to twice the power? PCI-E 2.0 x16 is backwards-compatible with PCI-E x16, by the way, so don't have to worry about that. You will also want to ensure your power supply unit has enough juice, probably 400+ watts?

note: The anandtech comparison only goes down to the 8800 GT, not to your 8600 GT.

Creator of Tallowmere. Working on Tallowmere 2.

Kiwi1971

696 posts

Ultimate Geek

#508678 18-Aug-2011 18:05

ChrisNZL: Not looking at this very in-depth myself, but check out PriceSpy:
http://pricespy.co.nz/category.php?l=s73216729&o=lokal_rank

Raise the price filter if you'd like, or sort by something else. I've sorted by rank/popularity, which reckons a Sapphire Radeon HD5830 Xtreme Lite HDMI Dual-DVI 1GB might be good. Roughly $175.

And then to compare your current card with this new one:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/178?vs=171

Actually that was the one I was nearly going to go for before I posted.

Will probably grab one of those, looks good for price.

Thanks,

DLS

Ragnor

8223 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#508710 18-Aug-2011 19:10

What screen size and resolution do you have, eg: 22" 1680x1050, 24" 1920x1080 etc?

Generally for 1920x1080 or 1680x1050 resolution I think $300-400 is the sweet spot in price/performance.

This means Nvidia GTX 560Ti 1GB or AMD Radeon 6950 1GB at the moment.

If you want to go a bit cheaper $200-300 Nvidia GTX 460 1GB or AMD Radeon 6850 1GB.

Tomshardware does a "best graphics card for the money" recap each month, here's the august one (note: the price ranges they are using are in usd)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997.html

I have a Radeon 6850 1GB myself at the moment.

Kiwi1971

696 posts

Ultimate Geek

#508844 19-Aug-2011 08:45

Ragnor: What screen size and resolution do you have, eg: 22" 1680x1050, 24" 1920x1080 etc? .

It's a 24" Full HD.

DLS

RealityClash

192 posts

Master Geek

#509153 19-Aug-2011 18:28

+1 to what Ragnor said :)

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

P1n3apqlExpr3ss

853 posts

Ultimate Geek

#509171 19-Aug-2011 19:16

A 6870 for just over $300 would be the best choice imo
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=860501

EDIT: How capable is your current PSU and what type of games do you play?

Kiwi1971

696 posts

Ultimate Geek

#509197 19-Aug-2011 20:29

P1n3apqlExpr3ss: A 6870 for just over $300 would be the best choice imo
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=860501

EDIT: How capable is your current PSU and what type of games do you play?

Hi there, all your answers are in my original post.

DLS

P1n3apqlExpr3ss

853 posts

Ultimate Geek

#509276 20-Aug-2011 08:21

Kiwi1971:
P1n3apqlExpr3ss: A 6870 for just over $300 would be the best choice imo
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=860501

EDIT: How capable is your current PSU and what type of games do you play?

Hi there, all your answers are in my original post.

DLS

I see games but not what power supply you have? If your brought the system prebuilt I doubt it will be able to handle these bigger cards until you get the new system later in the year

Kiwi1971

696 posts

Ultimate Geek

#510048 22-Aug-2011 17:07

P1n3apqlExpr3ss:
Kiwi1971:
P1n3apqlExpr3ss: A 6870 for just over $300 would be the best choice imo
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=860501

EDIT: How capable is your current PSU and what type of games do you play?

Hi there, all your answers are in my original post.

DLS

I see games but not what power supply you have? If your brought the system prebuilt I doubt it will be able to handle these bigger cards until you get the new system later in the year

Sorry I was thinking CPU not PSU I am pretty sure the PSU is 500W. I went for overkill at the time I built it.

The case is a large Antec HCPC case so there is a lot of room... mind you with the Heat pipes over the top of my current card, it only just fits the lid on.