I've currently have a x1900 Pro and am looking to upgrade it recently i was looking to try and do this on the cheap with 5750 as i didn't want to upgrade my PSU but it looks like i'm going to have to buy a new. Due to this wondering what the best card would be for gaming at 1680 v 1050 resolution. I have started to look a NV 460 1GB but worried it could be overkill.
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Card for 1680 V 1050 gaming
- Thread starter Geffen
- Start date
Depends on the games you're playing/going to play, for example crysis, metro 2033, ARMA, just cause 2 will tax even a 480 at max settings 1680x1050. You want to play future titles like crysis 2 maxed out then a 460/470/5850/5870 is minimum spec IMO.
Soldato
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What is your PSU?
If your budget is low, you may want to look at the ATI HD 4870. It runs as fast as a 5770, but can be had a good deal cheaper. However, it is hotter, more power hungry and only DX10.1 not DX11.
If you feel you can afford a GTX 460 768MB - go for it. Its a great card and bang-for-buck one of the best.
Out of interest, what are the rest of your system specs?
If your budget is low, you may want to look at the ATI HD 4870. It runs as fast as a 5770, but can be had a good deal cheaper. However, it is hotter, more power hungry and only DX10.1 not DX11.
If you feel you can afford a GTX 460 768MB - go for it. Its a great card and bang-for-buck one of the best.
Out of interest, what are the rest of your system specs?
I've currently got a 400W PSU which i think i'm going to have to replace as it not giving stable enough power for my system now. My guess is the new PSU will be around the 500W region but could go for something a bit more powerful if needed. The rest of my system is currently E2180 @ 3ghz and 4gb ram plus 2 HDD/1 SSD etc. Do hope to upgrade to a quad core system at some point but keep getting put off due to CORE 2 being a dead system and the I core not offering an affordable quad cores.
With no clear answer now stuck between 4870 and 460. The 4870 would save me quite a bit for a new CPU/RAM/Motherboard upgrade in the future.
With regards to the 460 is there much noticeable speed difference between the 1gb and the 768mb version?
With no clear answer now stuck between 4870 and 460. The 4870 would save me quite a bit for a new CPU/RAM/Motherboard upgrade in the future.
With regards to the 460 is there much noticeable speed difference between the 1gb and the 768mb version?
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 Apr 2009
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- Cheshire
I would suggest going for the 4870 in that case. In many modern games that CPU will be the bottleneck and pairing it with a GTX 460 or better would be a bit of a waste. As you say, this means you can save some money and put it towards a system upgrade later on.
You will definately need a new PSU if you are not happy with its current performance and plan to add a new GPU. I would suggest having a look at this.
You will definately need a new PSU if you are not happy with its current performance and plan to add a new GPU. I would suggest having a look at this.
I was in a similar boat!
I game at the same res and had a 280 which i recently chopped in for a 470, when i got the 280 2 years ago some said it was overkill, but to be honest when it comes to PC games i dont think there is such a thing, and a top line card will always be tested by some games even at lower resolutions
I liked the 280 and thought it was great, it ran games at high settings with smooth and generally stable framerates, but like others have said there are games out there that will tax any card on high settings even at more moderate resolutions, back in the 280's day Crysis stands out as a prime example, but there were others too
Now i got my 470 up and running i expect it will do a good job for another 18 to 24 months like the 280, but i'm in no doubt that there will be a fair few games in that time period that will push it even at 1680 x 1050
I had a E8500 with my 280 clocked in at 3.8, i recently upgraded to a core 2 quad 9650 (same time as i did the card, 2 days ago in fact) and have cloaked that to 3.8 aswell, like you i pondered the point of spending big bucks for a old teck CPU since the CPU was similar in price to modern I7 CPU's!
I went with old teck!, reason being is after some quick research sandybridge will likely be upon us and after taking a few months to bed in, will likely be the mainstream option in 12 to 24 months time, so going for a full system refresh new mobo/memory etc seems like not a good idea right now unless the old system could not be upgraded to handle another 18 to 24 months of top wack gaming, as it's better to buy in new mobo/mem etc at the start of a new CPU architecture rather than near the end which is were the I3/5/7 seems to be now
I wish i had spent a little extra and got a quad 2 years ago to be honest as then i'd just be looking at a card upgrade now!
After a bit of browsing i came to the conclusion that a quad OC to 3.4 or better would be more than enough for the next batch of games and a card upgrade from the 280 would see the graphics side handled aswell
I would not get a new card unless you do the CPU aswell, a dual core will hold you back, my dual core was great when i first got it, but in the last 6 months i have noticed a steady increase in the number of proper quad core games floating around the shelves as in, games that pay more than lip service to a quad core and actually run noticably better on one, Bad Company 2 and Dragon Ages are two examples of games i have recently got were you get noticably better performance from a quad than you do from a dual, even a highly clocked one
I would recomend you get a Q9400, overlcock to 3.2/3.4 which should be easily do= able upgrade your PSU to 600/650 as my 470 needs a 550 W suppy as a minimum according to the requirements box and get a 460, that should see you in good stead for the next 18 odd months gaming wise
I game at the same res and had a 280 which i recently chopped in for a 470, when i got the 280 2 years ago some said it was overkill, but to be honest when it comes to PC games i dont think there is such a thing, and a top line card will always be tested by some games even at lower resolutions
I liked the 280 and thought it was great, it ran games at high settings with smooth and generally stable framerates, but like others have said there are games out there that will tax any card on high settings even at more moderate resolutions, back in the 280's day Crysis stands out as a prime example, but there were others too
Now i got my 470 up and running i expect it will do a good job for another 18 to 24 months like the 280, but i'm in no doubt that there will be a fair few games in that time period that will push it even at 1680 x 1050
I had a E8500 with my 280 clocked in at 3.8, i recently upgraded to a core 2 quad 9650 (same time as i did the card, 2 days ago in fact) and have cloaked that to 3.8 aswell, like you i pondered the point of spending big bucks for a old teck CPU since the CPU was similar in price to modern I7 CPU's!
I went with old teck!, reason being is after some quick research sandybridge will likely be upon us and after taking a few months to bed in, will likely be the mainstream option in 12 to 24 months time, so going for a full system refresh new mobo/memory etc seems like not a good idea right now unless the old system could not be upgraded to handle another 18 to 24 months of top wack gaming, as it's better to buy in new mobo/mem etc at the start of a new CPU architecture rather than near the end which is were the I3/5/7 seems to be now
I wish i had spent a little extra and got a quad 2 years ago to be honest as then i'd just be looking at a card upgrade now!
After a bit of browsing i came to the conclusion that a quad OC to 3.4 or better would be more than enough for the next batch of games and a card upgrade from the 280 would see the graphics side handled aswell
I would not get a new card unless you do the CPU aswell, a dual core will hold you back, my dual core was great when i first got it, but in the last 6 months i have noticed a steady increase in the number of proper quad core games floating around the shelves as in, games that pay more than lip service to a quad core and actually run noticably better on one, Bad Company 2 and Dragon Ages are two examples of games i have recently got were you get noticably better performance from a quad than you do from a dual, even a highly clocked one
I would recomend you get a Q9400, overlcock to 3.2/3.4 which should be easily do= able upgrade your PSU to 600/650 as my 470 needs a 550 W suppy as a minimum according to the requirements box and get a 460, that should see you in good stead for the next 18 odd months gaming wise