Best Upgrade Path

Reaper652 · 23 Jul 2010 at 14:41

Im looking to upgrade the monitor and graphics card of my rig, the problem is I only have the money for one, and it will be at least a month before I can afford the other. Im currently running a Palit 9800gt (soooo noisy, sort of why I want to upgrade it soo much) and an Acer x193hq 18.5" 1366x768 monitor.

Looking to upgrade to a decent 24" 1080p monitor (with led and HDMI if possible) and a graphics card to power it. So after the lengthy introduction, would i be best to upgrade the card or the monitor first? Both ways have their advantages.

So far been looking at these:

Graphics card:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-003-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411
or
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-032-ZT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=

Monitor:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-033-BQ
or
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-060-IY&groupid=17&catid=510&subcat=
(if it ever comes into stock)

Any help would be greatly appreciated

mp260767 · 23 Jul 2010 at 15:23

have you got a decent enough psu to power the 5850 ?, and whats the rest of your spec.

i'd get the 5850 first, as you seem to have more issues with your current gfx card (ie its noisy) than monitor, then go for the benq monitor, seems to be liked a lot around here.

Reaper652 · 23 Jul 2010 at 15:29

I have a 600w OCZ modXstream, so plenty of power. Running an e7500 @ 3.4 in an MSI p43 neo-f (not a very good board

) and win 7 if that makes a difference.

xBLiNG · 23 Jul 2010 at 15:42

I would get the 5850 first (considered a 460?) then get the Benq monitor.

Redmint · 23 Jul 2010 at 15:46

^ Agree with Mr Bling.

Reaper652 · 23 Jul 2010 at 16:17

I hadnt really considered the 460 as i have the money to spend, i want to get as much performance as i can. I had thought about the 470, as its on this week only. Do you think it would be worth it for the 3dvision and physx support? (might be able to streach to a 120hz monitor if i save for a while longer)

Redmint · 23 Jul 2010 at 16:20

Physx isn't really that noticeable these days (as far as I know). 3D is just a matter of personal preference...

Reaper652 · 23 Jul 2010 at 16:27

Do many games support the 3dvision? Will help the choice a lot.

Reaper652 · 23 Jul 2010 at 16:39

Just looked for a list of supported games and confused myself.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-vision-3d-games.html

So am i right in saying that the "NVidia 3d vision ready" games are made for it, and the others are compatible, but not as good?

Reaper652 · 23 Jul 2010 at 18:13

Edit: Scratch that, was a silly idea...

Basically decided on the Sapphire 5850 toxic, as its the very quiet vapour-x cooling and a good deal at £256 (competitor)

Also would i be right in saying that EK do a waterblock for this card? (going by http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/step1) as i would like to do a watercooling setup sometime in the near future.