GFX help for a site newbie !!

[abeyance]

Hello to all !!!

To cut a long story short I am looking for a bit of advice on a budget replacement for dead overclocked HD4870 1Gig crossfires if that’s even possible.

I wont be upgrading my system for about a year and don’t really want to spend that much on a gfx card right now. At the same time given what’s on the way from both Ati and nvida, I don’t want to buy a high end card either. Well at least not until next year !!! So I need a card that will compete ( if possible ) with my old setup and will still allow me game on new titles due for release between now and this time next year. ( have already pre-ordered “Homefront”, “Brink” and “Crysis2” :S )

I play on a 22 @ 1680x1050 so a card for the ultra high res isn’t needed but I still want to be able to game at full settings.

Anyone any ideas on what card will allow me game at full settings in all current games at a reasonable fps and which will still hold its own for the next year or so ?

Unfortunately my budget is about 120 notes which kinda ruins the idea of a gtx480.
I was leaning towards a gtx460 but not sure how that holds up against some of the other cards on the market.

All help and suggestions appreciated ^^ thx thx

 

[Cleeecooo]

For that budget o would get the 1gb EVGA superclocked. I think its aroind 140 ATM so slightly over.
You may want to look into a 6850/5850
Are ur current cards in warranty?
If so just RMA them and your sorted. Use the money for a full hd monitor

 

[abeyance]

Cheers for the reply ^^

Cards are out of warranty and not really planning on any major upgrades until i get around to doing another build so gonna stick with my current monitor for a little while.

Really just looking for a "temp" card to do for a year ( max ) and i'm way out of touch with whats what these days so looking for a few tips from people in the know atm.

Will take a look at the 6850 and see whats going but tbh i have no idea how any of these cards compare to my old ones and cant find benchies anywhere to compare them.
All the benchies seem to be for the 512 4870 and none i found had crossfire benchies so it has me well confused .. hehe

Would you go for the 6850 over the gtx460 ?

 

[Kanpai]

I'd try finding a second hand GTX275/GTX285 for the time being to see you through for the year or so.

Edit: Even a second hand GTX295 can be had for 120 notes but you'll need a good PSU for this one as it's dual gpu and draws a lot of power

 

[Cleeecooo]

Yes what psu do u have?
Id rather get a 460 over a 6850. However a 5850 will probably be the best for you. Do you plan to overclock??

 

[abeyance]

never even thought about looking for a second hand card :S lol

mite have a root around and see what i come up with

Have an 1100 watt psu with 80 amp 12v rail so power shouldnt be an issue

Much thx


@ Cleeecooo : not to pushed on overclocking it but will probs clock it up a bit to give a bit of a boost

 

[abeyance]

Could get a HD5870 XFX one for 160 ... that worth the extra few quid as it is more powerful than the 6850 ( i think ) .... not sure if i want to spend that though lol

 

[Cleeecooo]

A 5870 is a but more powerful than the 6870.
If you are happy to overclock then i would recommend the 460.
If you buy the evga one it already comes "superclocked" saving yoi the time and hassle.
Saying that i would still get the 5870 if possible. Just be wary of who u buy from as xfx have rubbish rma.

 

[Kanpai]

If it's not a 3D monitor, go for the 5870 to be honest.

 

[Cleeecooo]

Im saying 460 because 5870 is £40 over his budget. The 5870 will still be the best tho

 

[abeyance]

Thx for the suggestions guys .... My screen isnt a 3d one, its an old 2253bw syncmaster so runs 1680x1050 @ 60Hz and i wont be changing my screen until i get round to a new build ..

While my budget is 120 notes, the main reason is due to me not wanting to spend much when i will probs be replacing my gfx setup next year. But i still want to be able to play new games like crysis2 which will kill the 7800gt i'm stuck with atm lol

If it was really worth stretching the budget a bit i would, but only if its worth the extra few quid for a big performance difference.

So after looking up info and benchies for the cards you named i came up with a few interesting cards ....

Budget @ £120 so all cards more expensive are a maybe if they were really worth the extra ....

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC 768MB ( £120 )
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-068-GI

MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB ( £134 )
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-103-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411

Asus ATI Radeon HD 6850 OC 1024MB ( £137 )
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-241-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1866

MSI GeForce GTX 460 HAWK "Super-OC" 1024MB ( £150 )
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-099-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830

XFX ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024MB ( £161 )
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-147-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1502

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 SUPER OC 1024MB ( £164 )
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-071-GI&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830

MSI GeForce GTX 470 Twin Frozr II 1280MB ( £166 )
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-117-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1810

So .... should i stick with my 120 pound gtx 460 or are any or the rest worth the extra investment and will that first 460 play games like crysis, metro2033, civ 5, Cod series... ?

thx in advance lads ^^

 

[Jakus]

I doubt any of the above cards will be as powerful as Your 4870 crossfire, in most games, surely only 1 card has died ? why not just pick up a second hand 4870/4890 ?
I actually have an almost brand new 4890 here and I would say they are about the same performance as the later 5850 which is about equal to Nvidia 460... see the trend here ? You really need to be spending £220-270 to get around the same performance You had.

 

[abeyance]

True it is a lot to spend to end up with a card that is sub standard to what i had ... and as odd as it sounds both 4870s failed within 2 days of each other ... d601 errors suppose thats what i get for pre-ordering the 1gigs :S

Like i said above i kinda know to get the performance i'm used to i would need at least a gtx480 and probably a lot better considering the overclock on my 4870s but who knows what cards will be out this time next year when i do intend a new build, so i dont want to spend over the odds on a top card when even a dual card setup in the future may not be as good as whats to come ... if you get me ?

Besides my pc is "quite" good but a top card would probably be wasted in my current system and a new cpu to avoid bottling a high end card is way outta the question atm unfortunatly So while its a pain i havent really got a choice but to go for a good mid end card and put up with the loss of frames for a while

 

[Jakus]

True it is a lot to spend to end up with a card that is sub standard to what i had ... and as odd as it sounds both 4870s failed within 2 days of each other ... d601 errors suppose thats what i get for pre-ordering the 1gigs :S

Like i said above i kinda know to get the performance i'm used to i would need at least a gtx480 and probably a lot better considering the overclock on my 4870s but who knows what cards will be out this time next year when i do intend a new build, so i dont want to spend over the odds on a top card when even a dual card setup in the future may not be as good as whats to come ... if you get me ?

Besides my pc is "quite" good but a top card would probably be wasted in my current system and a new cpu to avoid bottling a high end card is way outta the question atm unfortunatly So while its a pain i havent really got a choice but to go for a good mid end card and put up with the loss of frames for a while

Simple then.. Find a well priced HD5870

 

[abeyance]

yeah kinda leaning that way but XFX :s ... only doubt i have then again it is well priced at 160 odd