Dell XPS 720 for BF3, what card?

[TrevS]

Hi all

I've had my Dell XPS 720 with a Nvidia 8800GTX for a good few years now and it recently decided to die playing BF3. I think it was a little too much for the old card.

So I need a new card and really it's just for BF3 as that's the only PC game I play a lot of. I've read on a few places that BF3 needs quite a lot of VRAM and also I want to future proof the system as I will be upgrading my monitor to probably a 24" running 1920x1200 or 27" running 2560x1440.

I don't want to spend a fortune on a new card and have budgeted around £200-250. The card I been looking at mostly is the Asus GTX560ti 900mhz TOP II 2gb card as it's got plenty of VRAM.

This will work with my system fine currently as I only run 1280x1024 resolution but not sure if it would be underpowered for running higher resolutions in future. The other card I looked at was a Gainward GTX 580 Good edition 1536mb which has less RAM but is a newer series card so I thought it might be a faster card.

Could someone recommend either one of these or suggest some better alternatives in my price range? Any help would be much appreciated

Trev

 

[TrevS]

Also the specs for my PC are as follows. Really I don't want to have to spend loads of money upgrading other parts of the computer if I don't need to

Dell XPS 720
Intel Core2 Quad CPU @ 2.66GHz
5.5gb Ram
Windows 64bit ultimate

Trev

 

[TrevS]

It should be the standard PSU which is a Dell PM480. It's a 1000kw supply

Trev

 

[TrevS]

Sorry guys I must be a bit tired I meant 1000w

Cleeecooo do you mean the Frozr III not II? I could only see this one on
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-154-MS

Also my motherboard is SLI compatible so would the Asus GTX560ti TOP 2gb be better to allow SLI in the future and how would this compare with the Frozr III?

If I did want reduce any chance of bottlenecking would I just need to upgrade the CPU and could this be done on my XPS720 without changing loads of components? Changing a CPU isn't something I've ever done.

Trev

 

[TrevS]

That's the card, my bad.

Does your mobo allow crossfire?

To chane the CPU you new to replace the mobo with one compatible with the socket of the CPU.

whether it'll fit into the sell case is something else.

BTW, have you checked the 7850 will fit into the dell case?

The 7850 should fit fine. For some reason Dell added a bracket to the back of the 8800GTX that came with the machine to help support it in the case. It makes the card about 35cm long

 

[TrevS]

So what do we think Frozr III 7850 or Asus GTX 560ti TOP?

They both are 2gib cards with same 900mhz clock speed. I can get the Asus for £179.99 on **** or the Frozr III for £215.99 on overclockers

 

[TrevS]

7850 is a bit better than a 560Ti, so up to you.

Why not go for the HIS 7850 IceQ or the Sapphire above?

Am I right in thinking that those 2 cards have a slightly slower clock speed? Also someone mentioned that the Frozr III might be worth getting for the warranty.

 

[TrevS]

OK cool, warming to the the 7850, always been an Nvidia man so maybe time for a change. Last point with the 7850 vs 560ti is that I just saw these benchmarks on comparison review. Seems the 560ti is slightly ahead and remember its £40 cheaper

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1437/pg5/sapphire-radeon-hd-7850-overclock-edition-graphics-card-review-battlefield-3.html

Trev

 

[TrevS]

The 560 Ti 448 card is better. It's possible the 560Ti is better in BF3. Not sure which they are using.

edit:

I think they are using the 384 shader card and so yes the 560Ti is better in BF3.

edit2:

But then I see something like this.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7850_HD_7870/8.html

Some interesting stats its a shame they didn't use a 2gb 560ti as the one they used is only a 1gb card. Would have been a better comparison.

 

[TrevS]

I'd rather not get a direct replacement for my 8800GTX and would like something that can cope with BF3 better. My 8800 used to get really hot when playing BF3 on medium/high settings which in the end is what I think killed the card. Therefore something quiet and that will stay cool would be good.

Looking at the BF3 benchmark here a card that jumps out at me is the GTX580. It seems to be much better than the AMD cards at lower resolutions and even pretty decent at higher res despite only having 1.5gb of VRAM.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7850_HD_7870/8.html

Overclockers have a Gainward GTX580 OEM for £239 at the moment. Would this card be suitable as it's just within budget? If I decide to change my PC over the next year to reduce bottlenecking then it also gives me the option to keep the card rather than having to buy another card and in SLI on a better machine I am sure it would fly on BF3
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-161-GW&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1812

Thoughts?

Trev

 

[TrevS]

I hear what your saying Flinco but I just wonder if I upgrade my monitor to 1920x1200 then is game going to be unplayable on a 6850? For £60 extra I could get the VTX 7850. Not sure if this will help on a high res monitor or the bottleneck will still mean the game will be unplayable

 

[TrevS]

OK lets assume I will upgrade the CPU and MOBO in the next 6-12 months assuming that can be done on the XPS. Knowing dell they will have done something on the cheap so I can't change the motherboard.

So if I do upgrade shall I go for one of these VFX 7850's on offer at £169. The price seems good, not sure how good VFX are in terms of noise and heat?

 

[TrevS]

Hi all

Continuing to read reviews etc and really liking the 7850 for it's size, power consumption, noise etc compared to the GTX cards. Also they seem to represent good value for money and would be future proof for any new system.

However, while looking on overclockers I noticed a deal on the Sapphire 7870 at £239 which is in budget. Would it be worth me spending the extra £50 and getting one of these?

Trev