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Best £340-ish card for my system. Thanks.

Spencerk

Spencerk

Spencerk

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Joined
27 Feb 2009
Posts
70
Hi guys - well, it has been sometime since I've been here I must say. Whenever I come to this forum it costs me loads. Last time I got a card, Ge-7 7950gx2, it cost me a whole system upgrade. This was because the card was good, and the rest of my system was not - therefore I had to upgrade RAM/MB/CPU/HD/PSU - well, I do not want to fall into this same trap again.

So, I need a good - great - card for about £340-£350, but it has to be fairly compatible with my current system. I just got a 28" Hannas.g LCD mon, so want a good card to go with it.

Current System:
6GB 800MHz 6600 RAM - XP Pro - thus only 3 is scene.
P5B Delux Motherboard
660Watt PSU http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/enermax600/noisetaker.htm
360gb 10k rpm
Core Duo E6600

So, that is my system - my other worry, mainly, is that my PSU will not have enough 6pin plugs - after quickly viewing some cards now have to have 2 of those.

Would most new cards cause me to have a bottleneck with components in my system. Still, suppose that depends on the card.

So, any suggestions for a good card - last time around I went and got the 7950gx2 about 2 weeks before the 8800's were out .. I kicked myself, should have been more patient.. So will make sure this purchase rocks..

Thanks chums..

Spencer K
 
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Your psu link doesn't work, but fixed here http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/enermax600/noisetaker.htm I'ts 600 watts i think not 660?. Was going to say XFX ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-118-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1235 out of stack at the moment at £344.00 But not 100% sure if 600 watts would run a 4870x2, but does seem like a good psu, but just 35 amps on both rails combined..hmmmm

You could easily get get a GTX285 running though i'd say (single non-sli card), http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-190-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1341

Would most new cards cause me to have a bottleneck with components in my system. Still, suppose that depends on the card.
Click to expand...

What's your 6600 clocked at?, would advise 3Ghz+


Look for some more suggestions before buying:) welcome to the forums!


~Ant
 
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Hi,

With your current system I wouldn't spend so much on a card.

The 4870 1GB or a GTX 260 maxcore (216sp) will both give good performance.

To get the best you'll need to have the E6600 clocked above 3Ghz but that should be very easy to do.

The GTX285 is far too expensive for the little extra performance over the other cards making it poor value. The original GTX280 is now EOL and can be picked up at a fair price but again this isn't a lot faster than the other cards.

The 4850X2 2GB is an option and performs similar to the better cards in many games but I'd wager this and and anything faster would be held back by other components.

I recently got the GTX 280 when it was @ £220 and it's fine with a 1920x1200 display in everything except Crysis ... and what sensibly priced solution plays that well with all the frills.

If I was buying today I'd get the 4870 1GB as for £165 it's a steal and will be big leap from your 7series GX2

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-091-PC

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Hello guys - firstly, thank you very much for your input. These forums have always been full of helpful folk.

I was thinking about OC my CPU - but to be honest, I got lost when trying figure what what multiplier to put my memory at. I mean, I cannot just raise the FSB without it adjusting the RAM speeds - so I have to adjust the timings on the RAM I think. Still, this is not a question I should be posting here :)

I'm hoping just to get a card to chuck in and have it work. The Gef 7950gx 2 is 1024 MB, and it has served me well.. And I do not plan on getting another card for a year or 2.. So, really want to get a £300+ card.. Even if, to some extent, it does produce a bottleneck - as long as its not overly detrimental to my systems performance it should be OK.

Still, the 4870 1GB is relatively cheap, and will be a lot better than what I have.

I just checked my PSU and it does indeed have 2 6 pins, on the same lead. So I will browse a bit more, but the its either the GTX 280 or the 4870 1GB - which is about £100 lower than what I want to spend..

Will have another look and report back.

Thanks for the help guys..
 
Sounds like you want to get something that will future proof as much as possible regardless of teething troubles, which is fine but I'd defo recommend you o/c that cpu. If its viable then perhaps one of those 285gtx or 4850X2?
 
Hey mate - yeh, future proof is a big concern here.. I'm am looking at the 4870x2 range, especially the XFX ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5.

I will OC my CPU - but even if I don't that card will see me through the next few years. Plus the E6600 is a pretty good CPU, even if it does cause a bottleneck, it will still play most of my games well, just not as well if I had a better CPU.
 
Hi mate, I do have a question.

It appears as if the only 4870 x2 card in my price range is the XFX ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5, however this is out of stock. So my next choice would be the Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 2048MB. Now, the only difference is the DD3 of the 4850, to the DDR5 of the 4870 - is this a major concern. Would it be better to wait until the new stock comes in for the 4870x2?

Or would it not make much of a difference.. lol, really don't want to have to spend the next hour reading wiki on DDR technology.

And finally, both cards need (and come with) a six pin/8 pin combo. My psu has x2 6 pins.. So I take i can use one of those, then use the 8-pin that comes with the card and hook that up to a normal psu connection?

Thank you very much indeed..
 
I wouldn't worry "Too much" about your CPU, as I have had a GTX8800 in my old FX-55 socket 939 rig, and played Games fine, but chugged a lot on CPU intensive games like Colin Mcrae DiRT.

I'm not sure what games are heavily CPU dependent (maybe someone can list a few?) but at 1920x1200 (that's your res isn't it?), with lots of AA/AF, your GPU will be stressed more. Yes, you can go for the cheaper 4850, but was just replying to your £340 price request;)

~Ant
 
Hey guys - thanks for the info, and the links.. Think I will get myself a XFX 4870x2 !

This card as well as my new should be enough to power my fav game - doom1! Might have to reduce the res though! :)

Thanks for the help!
 
You might see a better performance gain in games by getting a 1GB 4870 and an E8400, and E6600 even at 3GHz will bottleneck the 4870X2 and that card just isn't necessary unless you have a 30" monitor with a 2560 x 1600 resolution, not needed for 1920x1200.
 
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