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Gaming at 1280 x 1024

ussff

ussff

ussff

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11 Jan 2007
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I've gamed on a PC since doom! (Although Lemmings on the amiga was sooo adictive...) I digress!

I Play main steam first shooter such as FEAR and RTS like C&C etc

SO FEAR 3 says 4800+ is a minimum... Upgrade time! (bring on the Z77, 16Gb ram and i5 - all in progress) ... but its now a bit more difficult to judge my GPU capacity cos I'm SLI with 2xGSO9600xxx and the game recomends 9800GTX or 5750HD... I think I'm fine at the moment but won't know until I try?

So is it time to spec up the GPU too...

I'm currently gaming at 1280 x 1024 (which I believe shifts me from the top end of the gfx table, which makes the decision a little harder again!) and whilst the experience maybe fabulous at HD 1080p, my current monitor will not comply :D and that's not currently on the cards for an upgrade

...and I'm a happy bear as long as the game is "smoooooth" - cos when your fraggin the bad guys - I don't want to see my reflection in his visor as he hits the deck! I'm not looking at him by then! Cos I'm still trying to remember how to switch to missile launcher for the next target! :p

So, in short I have a couple of GSO 9600 xxx sli in my AMD mobo that's at end of life - moving to my Z77 rig and short of TRYING them ...when I pick a CPU! Is there any advice beyond; buy a HD7850, buy a GTX 460 Superclocked 1024MB, to relpace them? In fact should I replace them yet for 1280 x1024 use

If I do move up... I have a multi gpu solution mobo, the Z77 extreme 4 and to plan ahead I'd like the GPU option to be flexible...

Can I buy a graphic's card that exceeds my current performace of 2x GSO 9600xxx SLI at an approx price point of £100 /£120 ...that will still be around in 12/18 months time to pair up as either a crossfire or SLI buddy, to increase my gaming capacity?
 
at that res a 5770/5850 would be ideal,or a gtx 460 if nvidia's your flavour,what mb/cpu you using atm? stick with currnt gpu's and see if they perform better on newer components,then upgrade gpu if needed
 
This will be an interesting upgrade. You'll have to let us know what kind of FPS you can play at once you upgrade (just use MSI Afterburner to display it in-game).

When I switched from 1680 x 1050 to 1920 x 1080, I didn't notice any hit on my FPS but I'm guessing it was ever so slight.
 
An SLI setup for 1280x1024? I really don't know what to say.

Anyway, for your budget the HD7770 is the obvious choice. It's a new card so it will last and it outperforms other cards at a similar price, like the 550Ti.
 
I don't think you should replace them for 1280x1024 especially playing those games,
Can I buy a graphic's card that exceeds my current performace of 2x GSO 9600xxx SLI at an approx price point of £100
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maybe a 6850 for £90 but If you are getting decent performance already why bother upgrading because in ayear that will probably be very outdated and has already been surpassed especially with regards to power consumption
 
The 9600GSO should handle that games max settings at 1280 res when couple with a good Intel CPU. For BF3 or Metro2033 you might need to lower the AA level to lower than 4xAA, but that's about it. Don't really think you would need to upgrade your graphic card for that res just yet.
 
:D That's a mixed bag of results! It seems that my previous gaming machine may have been oversized in the GPU department for what it did?

After I topped out the CPU and RAM for the 939... I picked up 2 of the best specced GPU's for around £100 that were available at the time and never questioned the specifics... played pretty much everything I threw at it. :cool: until the CPU ran out of steam.

Now I'm learning before I invest ££ to look a little harder at the tech :o and see that it matches up to what I'm doing with it.

I was advised that AMD was no match for a 2500K so I've gone AsrocK Z77, 16Gb Samsung Green, planning an i5 2500K or similar Ivy... and it seems that IF I don't upgrade my monitor I'm just as well off trying my GSO's.

It seems my next upgrade is a monitor because the Neovo is maxed at 1280x1024 and that's my weakest link atm.
 
would be a crime to get all that new kit and not upgrade the monitor!

edit - this made me lol then when I remembered that I gamed @ 1280x1024 when I had my ATI x850xt it made me trolol
 
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It would be a crime to upgrade to a SB/IB set up to game at that resolution. Post what your budget is and we can tell you what to get including new GPU and monitor.

Personally I would go with an i3 cpu and spend the difference on a new monitor. Unless you are near blind there is no earthly reason to game at such a low res these days.
 
Clav said:
It would be a crime to upgrade to a SB/IB set up to game at that resolution. Post what your budget is and we can tell you what to get including new GPU and monitor.

Personally I would go with an i3 cpu and spend the difference on a new monitor. Unless you are near blind there is no earthly reason to game at such a low res these days.
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I'm re-thinking my budget (tbh, I was hoping the GSO's would just slide over, so there wasn't really a budget :p)

I'm considering dropping down to an i3, the IB will look a lot more attractive as further releases come out then, for upgrading. I will save the cash I was spending on a corsair H80 as well...

This may be... New Monitor, try GSO's in sli and push up the res, then upgrade to a better single GPU.

Next year add a second matching GPU and upgrade to IB.

So the monitor first priority - I've been sat looking at this thing for... well its a long time!
 
Asus VE228H 22" Widescreen LED Multimedia Monitor - Black, on special seems nice! or the slightly bigger BenQ G2420HDBL 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black, getting out my tape measure!
 
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Most people rarely upgrade their monitor so it's best to make sure you opt for a decent one. There really isn't any excuse not to go for a 1080p/1200p 23-24" - only go for a 22" 1050p if money is really tight. As for the rest of your upgrade, if you cut back too much you're basically just throwing money away and you'll end up in the same situation for the next upgrade. That means don't bother with an i3, as it won't be all too long until games require quad-core processors. And with graphics always go for the best you can afford.
 
Would be such a shame to have a brand new rig and still run it off that monitor.

But if you cant upgrade, then you cant upgrade =(

I would suggest something from the 7*** range considering
that will still be around in 12/18 months time to pair up as either a crossfire or SLI buddy, to increase my gaming capacity?
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The 7770 being the only one that falls into your price range, some guy the otherday was showing off some pretty good scores in Heaven with xfire7700's.

You could drop 8gb of ram and use the money from that to buy a 7850 <--that would be ideal.
 
Tonester0011 said:
Would be such a shame to have a brand new rig and still run it off that monitor.

But if you cant upgrade, then you cant upgrade =(

You could drop 8gb of ram and use the money from that to buy a 7850 <--that would be ideal.
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I'm looking at the 22" Asus 1080p on this weeks special - I need wall mount and the gap between fitted bookcases is 600mm, so the 24" at 570mm wide will look a bit 'wedged in' :p

...and 16Gb RAM is already here! Must do more research before impulse buying... :o
 
TAC4U said:
Most people rarely upgrade their monitor so it's best to make sure you opt for a decent one. There really isn't any excuse not to go for a 1080p/1200p 23-24" - only go for a 22" 1050p if money is really tight. As for the rest of your upgrade, if you cut back too much you're basically just throwing money away and you'll end up in the same situation for the next upgrade. That means don't bother with an i3, as it won't be all too long until games require quad-core processors. And with graphics always go for the best you can afford.
Click to expand...

Cheers,

I can only fit a 22" 1080p into the gap where my current monitor is wall mounted; Asus VE228H :p gets good reviews.

I have to admit that with regard to the i3 - the CPU will play FEAR3 (the game that sparked the upgrade) it recommends; intel Core2 Duo 2.93Ghz or Intel Quad core 2.66Ghz... but its not going to last 5 minutes after that! So at £84, its too much cash to splash for its limited life span, especially as I can't OC it to extend its life.
 
The thing that will have to wait is the GPU! So, until can afford the upgrade to 7850 the GSO's will get thrashed as hard as I can push them on the new Monitor - It will do them good! But the pair of them can only prob compete with a GTS250 according to G3D Mark scores, so they won't be in my rig for long!
 
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