Advice on New Graphics Card

Exogenesis · 9 May 2011 at 13:53

Hey,

Im looking to buy a new graphics card for my system.
Im not that great with finding the best parts so thought i'd ask on here.
My computer is used mainly for gaming, and its starting to slow down with the more recent games.

Please could anyone offer any ideas on what graphics card I could buy?
And also if I should be upgrading my CPU aswell?

My specs are:

CPU- Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 @ 3.20GHz (overclocked from 2.66GHz by overclockers when I bought it)
Memory- Corsair XMS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2
GPU- Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890 Plus 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
Motherboard- GA-EP45-UD3LR
Case- Antec 902
OS- Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Thanks in advance!

Oli

Nightglow · 9 May 2011 at 13:58

What's the budget?

Exogenesis · 9 May 2011 at 14:11

Oh yeah forgot to mention that...

About £200

Randomface74 · 9 May 2011 at 14:16

Orcvader · 9 May 2011 at 14:20

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-255-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

And flash it to a 6970. Not sure if this model can be flashed though. What PSU do you have?

w00dy85 · 9 May 2011 at 14:26

Orcvader said:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-255-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

And flash it to a 6970. Not sure if this model can be flashed though. What PSU do you have?

I think you can only flash the 2GB versions.

I would go with the GTX 560Ti SUPER OC, if you can afford the extra £10.

Orcvader · 9 May 2011 at 14:35

w00dy85 said:
I think you can only flash the 2GB versions.

D'oh, silly me, had a quick look and didn't see it was the 1gb version :rolleyes:

.

Then if that's the case, go for the 560.

Stoner81 · 9 May 2011 at 14:36

@ Exogenesis - What PSU do you have?

Stoner81.

Exogenesis · 9 May 2011 at 14:43

My PSU is OCZ ModXStream 700W

Thanks for the input all

A friend link me this...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-248-AS&tool=3

I'd be willing to spend that much if its good, but how does it compare to the 560 you have mentioned?

rolypolyman · 9 May 2011 at 14:45

This is hard to beat for the money.

Stoner81 · 9 May 2011 at 14:50

^^ The above GTX470 is excellent price for the card and well worth thinking about imho the price to the 480 jumps up a fair bit after that.

What screen resolution do you game at and do you use more than one monitor?

Stoner81.

Orcvader · 9 May 2011 at 14:50

Exogenesis said:
My PSU is OCZ ModXStream 700W

Thanks for the input all

A friend link me this...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-248-AS&tool=3

I'd be willing to spend that much if its good, but how does it compare to the 560 you have mentioned?

It's flashable to the 6970 and is comparable to the 570, so it performs better then the 560. Your PSU will be fine with it.

Exogenesis · 9 May 2011 at 14:53

Thanks again

I play at 1680x1050 and use one monitor.

Stoner81 · 9 May 2011 at 14:54

Any card mentioned in this thread will be more than enough for what you need it just depends on how much you are really prepared to spend more than anything. But for the money I would say the GTX470 is your best option, it is a powerful card and a bargain price at the moment (well I think so anyway).

Stoner81.

opethdisciple · 9 May 2011 at 15:06

Your better of going with a 560 over the 470.

Benchmarks here, remember the 560 I'v linked to is the overclocked version.

Or get a 6950 (flashable) and hope that you are able to flash it to the 6970.....

I guess it depends on your competance levels.

I would say your choice is:

6950

or

560 or another 560 or even better!

w00dy85 · 9 May 2011 at 15:17

May be worth reading this review on the SUPER OC 560

Exogenesis · 9 May 2011 at 15:38

Thanks for all your input

Im leaning towards the 6950 as i've always been with ATI and know of a friend that has the 6970 and speaks highly of it.

One last question... how hard is it to flash the 6950? I've never flashed anything before so unsure about this but card reviews say it is very easy!

TheRealDeal · 9 May 2011 at 15:42

Get the 6950 2gb, there is evidence to suggest that 1gb memory is not gonna cut it to much longer. For this reason i would definately go with the 6950. Flashing the card sounds really easy and the card is dual bios i think, so theres no real risk involved.

opethdisciple · 9 May 2011 at 15:42

I think all in all, the 6950 is a good buy.

Mainly becuase, there are games appearing that can make use of 2Gb of ram.

DA2 for instance and the high res texture pack etc.....

I posted this, and justed noticed the above post.

So yea, 2Gb of ram is the deal clincher.

w00dy85 · 10 May 2011 at 09:40

Exogenesis said:
Thanks for all your input

Im leaning towards the 6950 as i've always been with ATI and know of a friend that has the 6970 and speaks highly of it.

One last question... how hard is it to flash the 6950? I've never flashed anything before so unsure about this but card reviews say it is very easy!

The 6970 is an excellent card, I have one

This thread may be useful, it's about flashing the 6950 to 6970.
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18221844