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card upgrade

Dave0w

Dave0w

Dave0w

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Joined
22 Oct 2010
Posts
997
Location
Pontefract
right now am using 2 HD3870 in crossfire, i dont need to upgrade because there running everything i want them to, but there power monsters and starting to get a little noisy. what would be an upgrade to a single card without busting the bank.

I have a media centre that dose the blue ray stuff, and a PS3 for real gaming. all i use this PC for in internet and playing Very light games like command and conquer and so on.

the upgrade would be a max of £200 but only if real needed i would like to be round the £100 mark but can go up for the extra power.
 
For £100 notes the nVidia 460 GTX is good as is the ATi 6850 and this will mash your 3870's... for £200 notes, you could go ATi 6950 or save some cash and go nVidia 560Ti...

However from your needs, I'd not spend anymore than £100 like I did on my son's PC two weeks ago and bought a 6850 from overclockers for £100 notes... he's now running BF3 on HIGH everything 45fps+ at 1650x1050... job done.
 
Dave0w said:
if it can run BF3 it will pwn my games
Click to expand...
Exactly, I was actually astouned at the speed of the ATi 6850 at 1650x1050 have to admit, thought it'd struggle on my sons Quad Core Q6600 as it only runs 2.8ghz as well so... PLUS they clock like mutha's, really do. Very very good card.
 
To be honest 6850 far exceeding your need for the games you play, and could potentially be bottlenecked by your CPU.

Just go for something that consume little power, and generate little heat (and quiet/silent) that's good enough for playing the games you play rather than overkill. I would say a 6670 would be ideal for your situation:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=gx-258-as&tool=3

reviews here:
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...-6570-graphics-cards-review-introduction.html
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...rofile-graphics-card-review-introduction.html
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...-6670-graphics-cards-review-introduction.html
 
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The 460 is probably your best bang for buck really, but if you want some more grunt, the stock 560ti is 9"/23cm and OCUK do one @£160(you would be better to check if it's a reference card before you buy though):

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-173-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1341

1Gb 560ti MSI twin Frozr II dimensions are 238 x 111 x 37mm:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=1914&subid=1341

For £15 extra, the 2Gb version is on special this week for only £15 more:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-140-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1341

The extra vram may very well help you out in the future(with slightly higher settings) if you are keeping your card for a good few years like your 3870 CrossFire setup.

There are some Evga/Zotac reference versions too, but they cost more.

Direct performance comparison between the 460 and 560ti(note the twin frozr will be slightly faster than the results shown due to it being an oc'ed version):

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/313?vs=330
 
Tough call plenty of cards around the £100-150 mark. Given the PC is pretty low priority in terms of gaming I'd save a bit of money and grab a 1GB GTX460. The 1GB VRAM will probably limit you in the high end games at high settings but as you say the PS3 is where you do most of your gaming so spend the rest on new games.
 
Dave0w said:
Ok if i go with the 460 would i be best getting the stock or the Superclocked, price difference is £20, but looking at the clock speeds i think i could get them out of the stock card with MSI afterburner

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-140-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-160-EA&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830
Click to expand...
You'll probably get similar speeds however eVGA are awesome on their RMA's and support/warrenty (you get an extra year here standard), the best begind BFG when they were around... so for me, I'd get the eVGA one... sorry OC ;)
 
May I say I find it really weird that you are going to be doing "real gaming" on the PS3, when the graphic chip it uses is not even half the speed of the GTX460; CPU must slower than your i5 [email protected], and run most games at 1280 res or less with no AA?

It's like keeping a Mercedes in your garage, but you use a cheap 2nd hand KIA for all your transportation and meeting up with friends :P
 
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