Graphics card advice

This Side Up · 24 Oct 2010 at 11:42

Hi all.

I need your guys opinion on the following:

I currently have a Nvidia 9800 GT 512 MB, which is OK for gaming. However I want that little bit extra in terms of performance without having to sacrifice (too much) on graphics.

I am limited at the moment by both money (sub £200 ideally) and the fact that it MUST fit into a Shuttle XPC system.

I am planning to replace my entire system mid-next year, but I am looking for something in the meantime to 'tide me over' until then. Mid next year will be my first all-new PC (i.e. no recycling/cannabilizing parts from older rigs) and will be a stonker! Can't do it this year as I've got bigger things to spend my £££ on (USA holiday, for example).

I have sourced a single-slot profile ATI Radeon HD5770 1GB card for under £150. Question is: is it worth it?

An Exception · 24 Oct 2010 at 12:02

AMD 6850 is the much better card.

This Side Up · 24 Oct 2010 at 12:09

Unfortunately all the ones I have found have been dual-slot profiles (i.e. the cooler will cover another slot up on the motherboard).

Ho hum.

stulid · 24 Oct 2010 at 12:11

how much under £150?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-185-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1515

iBSOD · 24 Oct 2010 at 12:15

If you're looking fo l/p, maybe nVidia's new GT 430? And if you could fit a 9800GT, you could easily fit Palit's GTX 460.

An Exception · 24 Oct 2010 at 12:19

This Side Up said:
Unfortunately all the ones I have found have been dual-slot profiles (i.e. the cooler will cover another slot up on the motherboard).

Ho hum.

Are you actually using that slot for anything?
I remember seeing a few folk with 5870's in their shuttles...

This Side Up · 24 Oct 2010 at 12:41

My Shuttle's PCI-E slot is adjacent to the case wall itself. I physically could not fit a dual-slot size card in the case.

@stulid: that is... the exact card I was looking at

You stalkin' me or sommit?? :cool:

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 24 Oct 2010 at 12:43

What model of Shuttle do you have??

If it is one of the ones with the 250W or 300W PSUs then the HD5770 1GB single slot card suggested earlier would be the best choice IMHO.

Marine-RX179 · 24 Oct 2010 at 12:57

To be honest 5770 is not exactly a huge upgrade from the 9800GT, but moving from 512MB VRAM to 1GB would definitely help a lot for gaming at 1920

stulid · 24 Oct 2010 at 13:23

Marine-RX179 said:
To be honest 5770 is not exactly a huge upgrade from the 9800GT, but moving from 512MB VRAM to 1GB would definitely help a lot for gaming at 1920

thats alittle un true - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/172?vs=178 the 9800gt is a renamed 8800gt after all.

This Side Up · 24 Oct 2010 at 13:24

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
What model of Shuttle do you have??

If it is one of the ones with the 250W or 300W PSUs then the HD5770 1GB single slot card suggested earlier would be the best choice IMHO.

Errrm.

Shuttle XPC Glamor edition, SN78SH7. 300w PSU.

Have bought the gfx card. Many thanks, guys

Marine-RX179 · 24 Oct 2010 at 13:33

stulid said:
thats alittle un true - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/172?vs=178 the 9800gt is a renamed 8800gt after all.

I'm speaking from the prespective of the amount of money needed to be spend (£120) vs the amount of performance gain over a 9800GT. The 5770 seem very poor value now that 6850 can be have for around £130...but since OP must use a single-slot card, I guess that is not an option...

This Side Up · 24 Oct 2010 at 13:59

/thinking mode on

I suppose I could take Mr Dremmel to my Shuttle and 'customize' it slightly. After all, I only need to cut metal to make a larger card fit...

/thinking mode off

Nah, I'd **** it up

Anyway, 5770 ordered, I'm looking forward to this. Will be the first ATI card I've had in years since my Radeon 9800 XT all those moons ago.

This Side Up · 27 Oct 2010 at 19:38

Update

Card arrived a few days ago, installed fine.

Unfortunately I have apalling performance in-game. I've tried everything I can think of software-wise. Seems my GeForce 9800 GT can get over TWICE the FPS that the Radeon 5770 can in games like Bad Company 2.

Oh well, it's only money I suppose

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 27 Oct 2010 at 19:40

This Side Up said:
Card arrived a few days ago, installed fine.

Unfortunately I have apalling performance in-game. I've tried everything I can think of software-wise. Seems my GeForce 9800 GT can get over TWICE the FPS that the Radeon 5770 can in games like Bad Company 2.

Oh well, it's only money I suppose

The HD5770 1GB should as fast as a GTX260 896MB in BBFC2:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/07/19/gigabyte_hd_5770_super_overclock_video_card_review/5

I would makes sure that you have uninstalled all the Nvidia drivers fully before installing the AMD drivers.

opethdisciple · 27 Oct 2010 at 19:42

Hmm maybe you have some driver conflict?

If it doesnt improve a reinstall of windows should sort the card out!

Just remeber to install drivers from AMD website...

crackerbear · 27 Oct 2010 at 19:43

This Side Up said:
Card arrived a few days ago, installed fine.

Unfortunately I have apalling performance in-game. I've tried everything I can think of software-wise. Seems my GeForce 9800 GT can get over TWICE the FPS that the Radeon 5770 can in games like Bad Company 2.

Oh well, it's only money I suppose

I know it's a bit late, but you should've bought a GTX 460 1GB if your budget was £150.

/pointless post

opethdisciple · 27 Oct 2010 at 19:45

crackerbear said:
I know it's a bit late, but you should've bought a GTX 460 1GB if your budget was £150.

/pointless post

He can send it, back if its before one week!

It maybe a hassle to send it back, but the 460 will be a lot better than the 5770, however the op says he has space issues....

crackerbear · 27 Oct 2010 at 19:47

opethdisciple said:
He can send it, back if its before one week!

It maybe a hassle to send it back, but the 460 will be a lot better than the 5770, however the op says he has space issues....

Ah, I missed the single slot profile bit. Fair enough on the 5770 then.

Edit: Though these people managed to fit the 460 into a Shuttle XPC SX58JS and Shuttle XPC SH55J2:

Inspired by this article i got an sx58js and put this in the box:

Shuttle SX58J3 XPC Barebone Personal Computer
EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Super Clocked 768MB
Intel Core i7-930 Quad Core Processor
80GB Intel X25-M Mainstream 2.5" SSD
6GB Corsair XMS3 1333MHz DDR3 Triple Channel Memory Kit

I just built a SH55. Here are my specs and what I am running.

Intel i5 750 2.6ghz (not overclocked)
8GB of GSkill Ripjaws (2x4gb) (1003)
EVGA 460 GTX 1gbDDR5 256bit
Windows 7 64-bit
WD 500GB Harddrive
LG Disk Drive (Can’t remember the model)

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 27 Oct 2010 at 20:18

The H7 design has the PCI-E slot on the outside meaning that only single slot cards can be used unless you do not have the outer cover on.

The SX58J3 has a pair of PCI-E slots whereas the SH55J2 has a PCI-E slot on the inside meaning that both designs can accept a dual slot card with the outer cover on.

Also,a GTX460 1GB has much higher power consumption than an HD5770 1GB:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_GTX_460_1_GB/29.html