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CPU Bottleneck *Worth Upgrading?*

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Joined
9 Sep 2009
Posts
255
Location
Notts, England
I'm thinking of upgrading to a 7850 2048MB.

Is it going to be worth it with my i5 and 1156 motherboard?

I could always get another 5870 and CF them for £80?

Any help would be appriciated...
 
I play Crisis 3, Tombraider, New Bioshock etc. FPS mainly.

I only have 2x 19" 4:3 monitor at the moment. So its 1280 x 1024 now but only on one for gaming
 
Are your 19" monitors CRTs? If so, the tube size is misleading. A 19" CRT is roughly equivalent to a 17" flat screen, so anything 20" or above will be a nice increase.

In any case, you can get 22" and 23" 1080p screens for under £150.
 
Are your 19" monitors CRTs? If so, the tube size is misleading. A 19" CRT is roughly equivalent to a 17" flat screen, so anything 20" or above will be a nice increase.

Remember of course that if your monitors ARE flat screen (as I would expect in 2013), then the above is reversed, a 19" 4:3 1024p screen is roughly equal in height and DPI to a 23.5" 16:9 1080p screen. So if you go for a 23-24" 1080p screen it will pretty much look the same but with more viewable area to the sides (which is cool).

*EDIT*

I just remembered, 1280*1024 is a 5:4 ratio, not 4:3, if you are running 19" 1280*1024 screens then you will want at least 24" 16:9 screen as you have the same panel height as 24.2" @16:9.
 
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Thanks for all the advice. I have realised that I will need a 24" then.

So many to pick from! I've been looking at this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-050-AS&groupid=17&catid=510

My 5870 has 2x DVI, 1x HDMI and 1x DP on the back. Which monitor and port gives the best quality for gaming?

at 1080p they are all the same, they are all digital and all well within specs
the monitor should come with a cable - either a HDMI or DVI to HDMI, just use that
 
Remember of course that if your monitors ARE flat screen (as I would expect in 2013), then the above is reversed, a 19" 4:3 1024p screen is roughly equal in height and DPI to a 23.5" 16:9 1080p screen. So if you go for a 23-24" 1080p screen it will pretty much look the same but with more viewable area to the sides (which is cool).

*EDIT*

I just remembered, 1280*1024 is a 5:4 ratio, not 4:3, if you are running 19" 1280*1024 screens then you will want at least 24" 16:9 screen as you have the same panel height as 24.2" @16:9.


Yes, that is a good point.
A 19" flat screen at 5:4 ratio is 14.8" wide and 11.9" high.
A 24" 16x9 screen is 20.9" wide and 11.8" high: roughly same height, a LOT wider.
A 22" 16x9 screen is 19.2" wide and 10.8" wide. So an inch shorter and still a lot wider. It isn't that much worse if you are on a budget. Slightly higher vertical resolution (1080 vs 1024) so you'll still get more in screen at same zoom, and it will be easily clear enough to read comfortably).
 
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