Mate got i5 but gash graphics card

Guest2 · 9 Mar 2010 at 21:40

My mate has been sold an I5 pc that has 6GB of ram, an I5 but a Radeon HD 4350 graphics card. What card would you recommend for him thats not going to break the bank but will be good enough to play Bad company 2, Crysis etc.

He said he tried to play Bad Company 2 and it just sits at a black screen. Is the 4350 even capable of playing latest games/any games?

Strawberry · 9 Mar 2010 at 21:46

4890, 5770CF or 5850 depending on budget.

leunghk · 9 Mar 2010 at 21:47

what resolution is he gaming on?

cmndr_andi · 9 Mar 2010 at 21:47

What PSU does he have in the machine?

I agree, the 4350 is a bit shocking, especially if it was sold to him as a gaming machine. I wouldn't try playing games on it - the best it will do is less than 30fps at low resolutions.

RJC · 9 Mar 2010 at 21:48

Something like the 5770 would e good, but what size screen and budget does he have.

stulid · 9 Mar 2010 at 21:48

alex24 · 9 Mar 2010 at 21:58

PSU?

If the builder scrimped on the gfx, no doubt this will be poor too. Mobo?

Kurisu Makise · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:06

Strawberry said:
4890, 5770CF or 5850 depending on budget.

C64 · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:09

5770 will do

Strawberry · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:18

5770 will/might struggle with Crysis at 1080p though, my 4890oc gets me about 40fps and as far as I know the performance is slightly worse on the 5770.

So if 60fps @ 1080p is a requirement you should at least get a crossfire or 58* card.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:20

Crossfire is only an option if the P55 motherboard in the PC can do this at PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X. I also hope that the RAM is configured as 2X2GB and 2X1GB as opposed to 2X2GB and 2GB.

Josh P · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:20

My single 5770 gets 65-70 fps in BC2, 1920x1200 maxed with no AA. It is overclocked to 960/5200.

clv101 · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:27

alexhull24 said:
PSU?

If the builder scrimped on the gfx, no doubt this will be poor too. Mobo?

It need not be scrimping, it's all about building a system suitable to the task in hand. Seems the problem here is the OP's mate bought the wrong machine. My work system is an i5 with 4350. It's fine for the number crunching, mathematical modelling work it's used for.

alex24 · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:31

I got the impression it was bought for gaming since that's what he's trying to do.

I think a lot of machines are mis-sold in this respect, my post was with reference to that. For example, I see machines advertised as gaming PCs in large chain stores or on auction sites that have only low end gfx, psu and mobo. They advertise to emphasise the CPU, RAM and HDD specs but neglect the rest.

Strawberry · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:39

Josh P said:
My single 5770 gets 65-70 fps in BC2, 1920x1200 maxed with no AA. It is overclocked to 960/5200.

Oh nice, those framerates are good. (I'd never tried BC2)
Out of interest, what about Crysis?

Guest2 · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:49

He's a drummer and mainly uses it for audio creation/recording programs like Cubase, Reason and Sonar. Probably was sold the correct pc really but fancied a stab on a couple of games after watching me play BC2. My 8800GT copes with it pretty well in 1680 x 1024. Doubt he will be bothered about running in max res aa etc, he's never even opened his pc and has never heard of overclocking.

Thanks, i'll suggest a 5770 but doubt he'll be as interested when he knows he has to spend over £100

Strawberry · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:51

Then 5770 will be perfect, especially since he doesn't orgasm over SSAA etc like the rest of us.

MikeHunt79 · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:54

Guest2 · 9 Mar 2010 at 22:54

This seems pretty good for £120. Might have to get one myself on next payday as an upgrade from my 8800GT...

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [21163-00-20R]

s452 · 10 Mar 2010 at 03:29

if you have the cash to spare you could consider selling your mate your 8800GT put the money towards your 5770