6850 for an ageing system.

[Rahr85]

Hello i was just looking for some thoughts regarding a graphics card upgrade. I last considered this around the time the 5770 came into being but the upgrade didn't seem like anything more than a sidegrade from the 4870 that i was running.

However i have been looking at the Asus EAH6850 and looking at the reviews it does seem to offer a performance upgrade while still remaining quiet enough and not breaking the bank. Going up to the 6870 just means a few more months waiting for the spare cash and with my e8500 its probably not going to make much of a difference anyway.

The only other card i was looking into was a 1gb gtx 460 but as far as i was aware this doesn't offer the same flexibility when it comes to HDMI sound output for use with an HDTV.

system specs are as follows:
E8500 @ 3.8ghz
4gb (2x2gb) corsair pc8500
X-Fi Titanium
iiyama prolite e2407hds (1920x1080)

 

[Freddie1980]

If it were yesterday the 460 would have been the card of choice but now the sale has ended the 1Gb's are now £150+ and you can pick up the 6850's for less now at OCUK.

Is there anything your currant card can't play, do you really need to upgrade from the 4870? A 6850 would be an upgrade but hardly spell binding but you do get DX11, eyefinity etc.

 

[tom91x91]

460's are a bit faster mostly, And a dual core at that speed really isnt ageing imo, i just got a 460 for my e6400 and it flies in every game.

Edit: overall i dont think a 6850 will be a big enough upgrade, maybe a 470 or 6870 if you saved up a bit.

 

[PhoenixUK]

I wouldn't buy 6870 at its current price.
If you can get it under 180/175 then go for it, if not I'd look at 6850 around ¬140.
Good card for the money and should be a decent improvement over 4870 as well.

Does your motherboard / PSU support CF?
I'd definitely try getting another 4870 for around 50quid if you just want a small boost.

Otherwise I'll wait for '570' and 69xx series for a bigger step up if you can afford it later in a month or two.

Also if you get 2nd 4870 even if you decide to sell it later, you can't really loose much more on those anymore, they won't go any lower than 40-45quid for the next year or so yet at least.

 

[Rahr85]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm using a p45 motherboard so crossfire isn't an option i can take up as the second slot is only 4x. I don't have free delivery options and have found the asus 6850 for just under £150 delivered. Quite happy to put the card up to 940/1150 so i'm sure this will help.

As for games that the current card can't handle its pretty much the more recent ones doing more than 4xaa/medium settings at 1920x1080.. plus WoW with its new fancy settings gets a bit choppy. In the next 6-12 months i'll probably move along to an am3 system which will offer the opportunity to run 6850CF if the price is acceptable.

When i bought this system i was looking for price/performance/noise to be the key factors. I like all the sparkly graphics but i'd rather keep the price down which right now rules out any major upgrade until its absolutely necessary

 

[easyrider]

The only other card i was looking into was a 1gb gtx 460 but as far as i was aware this doesn't offer the same flexibility when it comes to HDMI sound output for use with an HDTV.

The 6850 is a nice upgrade. HD master audio Bitstreaming over HDMI etc..

Go for it...

 

[Rahr85]

Due to unavailable stock (and it being delayed until at least 1/12/10) i have had to cancel my order but on the plus side have found a sapphire 6870 for £190 including delivery. That should keep me going for another year or two Goes above my budget but it seemed like good value.