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Graphics card confusion

Xire

Xire

Xire

Soldato
Joined
8 Apr 2011
Posts
2,932
Location
London
Hey guys.

I am in a predicament. My current PC has become outdated (mainly the graphics card) and I feel it could use an upgrade, im currently quite skint so Im thinking I should just upgrade my graphics card instead of building an entire new rig. My current PCs Spec is:

8gig ram
Intel® CoreT 2 Duo E6850 CPU @ 3.00GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit
Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
Nvidia Geforce 8800GT
600w PSU

Now, would my PC benefit enough from just purchasing a new graphics card without upgrading the rest of the PC? I have a budget of about £200 for a graphics card. I nearly bought this card yesterday: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-078-GI&tool=3 then I reconsidered and thought i'd ask you lot

Thanks!
 
Hi there,

May I ask what make and model PSU you are using?

With a £200 budget I would suggest going for this graphics card (so long as your PSU can handle it) and spend the rest on a second hand Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU. These are really nice CPUs and with games increasingly using quad cores it will offer a decent performance boost.

The Gigabyte GTX 480 is a really nice card, it is super fast and the cooler is quiet for a card of this level. However, I really think your core 2 Duo CPU will be holding your performance back in many games. Also, you need a really beefy PSU to run a GTX 480 - so long as your 600W is a quality unit then you will be fine.
 
thanks for the response, I will take alook at what you suggested. My PSU is relatively new its an OCZ 600W ModXStream Pro Power Supply.
 
your psu will be fine im running mine on a 550W (not ideal i know but its fine) I have even overclocked my 480SE, Im running a Core 2 Duo E7300 @3.75ghz and i get amazing frame rates in games. Even IL2 cliffs of dover (seems to be the most demanding game out there) and im getting 40-70fps Crysis 2 no problem what so ever. I was also in your shoes but i decided New card now and new i5 after summer. I would defo go for the 480 SE that you have linked too. I have one and its Awsome. Do it !
 
Oh and i have got mine overclocked @ 850 Core 1700 shader and 2000 memory at stock volts giving me another 10fps in Benchmarking i have yet to try any further but i will :-)
 
Thanks a lot for the help guys. Just ordered the GTX 480 :) and got my eye on a new processor...although ive never fitted a new processor so might be interesting :D

again thanks
 
the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 480 "Special Edition" :). Quick question. Will i see a significant increase in a Q6600 quad core over my current processor without overclocking? as i doubt i will feel confident enough overclocking with my ****ty hardware skills
 
tbh in most games no is the answer unless you OC the Q6600 a lot of games still only use a single core, or load the 2nd 3rd or 4th lightly. so at the moment a high clock speed on a Dual core will outrun a lower clock speed quad. How ever video editing etc a Quad will destroy a Dual core. But in Gaming the Graphics card certainly makes a massive difference compared to a Quad over a Dual. your 480 will make a Huge difference and will make you smile :D
 
Right well i'll put the CPU on hold then till I see how my graphics card does...Now to wait till wednesday :@

Again guys, really appreciate all your help, nice friendly welcome to the boards :)
 
Got my 480 today...Installed it with some "minor" adjustments :D
1-7.jpg

seems to be running smoothly!
 
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