Gaming graphics card for the right price

[.Lethal]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to order a PC this afternoon and need to build a PC that doesn't cost the earth. At the same time I'm looking for the best graphics card vs money.

Ideally it is for WoW but it will be for CoD and other random games over time. I'm looking for one that will last me a while and I'm presuming atm the best in this catergory is ATi's 5770 card????

I'm looking for advice so I don't regret anything so I can compile a build and try and convince my wife it won't be something I regret later on.

Thanks

 

[HeX]

5770 by far. Can't go wrong with one

 

[.Lethal]

Thanks for the quick reply

 

['Wes]

5770.

 

[Marine-RX179]

I may be too late in replying if you ordered already. But I'll post anyway.

Graphic wise, 5770 would easily handle WOW and COD. However one thing you should know that is for WOW, it is very important to have fast CPU.

I heard that WOW is poorly optimized on CPU usage and extra cores of CPU don't benefit it much, so raw power in more needed than extra cores. For CPU you should really aim to overclock it to 4GHz or something. Or if you are not familiar with overclocking, just grab one of the core i3/i5/i7 overclocked 4GHz bundle depending on your budget.

 

[matt_fsr]

I may be too late in replying if you ordered already. But I'll post anyway.

Graphic wise, 5770 would easily handle WOW and COD. However one thing you should know that is for WOW, it is very important to have fast CPU.

I heard that WOW is poorly optimized on CPU usage and extra cores of CPU don't benefit it much, so raw power in more needed than extra cores. For CPU you should really aim to overclock it to 4GHz or something. Or if you are not familiar with overclocking, just grab one of the core i3/i5/i7 overclocked 4GHz bundle depending on your budget.

Not trying to rain on your parade here, but that's a bit out. WoW site recommends:

Minimum: Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+
Recommended: Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2

I've seen people playing WoW over 2 years ago, fully maxed on a 22" screen, on an old Athlon dual core - there really isnt a need for a super-expensive 4Ghz PC to run a several year old not-very-demanding game in my opinion.

 

[.Lethal]

I didn't manage to order yesterday due to people telling me the CPU I had suggested was over kill. Having red up a bit over lunch yesterday It was pretty clear I'm going to have to spend the weekend looking into it more.

Graphics seems pretty decided on the 5770 though.

As for WoW being 7 years old that may be the case but it is still a demanding online game. My old Quad core struggled in Dalaran sometimes on heavy peak times.

 

[matt_fsr]

I didn't manage to order yesterday due to people telling me the CPU I had suggested was over kill. Having red up a bit over lunch yesterday It was pretty clear I'm going to have to spend the weekend looking into it more.

Graphics seems pretty decided on the 5770 though.

As for WoW being 7 years old that may be the case but it is still a demanding online game. My old Quad core struggled in Dalaran sometimes on heavy peak times.

What speed was your old quad clocked at? I think Marine is right, its badly optimized for multi-core, so it doesnt matter if you have 1 core or 8, a 3.5Ghz machine is going to wipe the floor with a 2Ghz machine.

 

[OCDStevo]

I don't play WoW but did play Warhammer online until very recently, can't imagine that the engines are that different...

My CPU was only over clocked to 3.2Ghz until a few weeks back, then I got a new case and CPU cooler and over clocked it to 3.8Ghz... the difference was impressive (no i didn't run any benchmarks, but my game play experience was vastly better)

If I go back to playing, then I will be looking at overclocking to 4Ghz and replacing my ageing 4840 with a 5770 or if budget allows a 5850.

For these older MMO games, CPU speed is the winner in my opinion.

 

[.Lethal]

What speed was your old quad clocked at? I think Marine is right, its badly optimized for multi-core, so it doesnt matter if you have 1 core or 8, a 3.5Ghz machine is going to wipe the floor with a 2Ghz machine.

You hit the nail on the head with that comment as others have pointed out to me in the last 24 hours.

My quad core was ran at stock Q6600 it was.

I suppose if I did buy intel it should be overlclocked, perhaps a pre clocked package from OcUK may be the way to go, I won't make any decisions just yet though.

 

[reflux]

Not trying to rain on your parade here, but that's a bit out. WoW site recommends:

Minimum: Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+
Recommended: Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2

I've seen people playing WoW over 2 years ago, fully maxed on a 22" screen, on an old Athlon dual core - there really isnt a need for a super-expensive 4Ghz PC to run a several year old not-very-demanding game in my opinion.

You say that but we get consistent complaints on here about WoW running like a dog all the time even on decent machines. When there is a lot going on on screen, things tend to slow down - the game is badly coded.

 

[anty1]

It's all the data and statistic they collect now that has really done it. If your questing out and about by yourself, a 5 year old PC can handle it np, but when your in a 25 man raid and there are thousands of numbers flying out it gets really clunky.