I think I may need a new graphics card

[Secret_Window]

Hi all,

Basically at the moment my 8800 GTS 512mb is really causing me a lot of aggro and it's mainly in games like Crysis/Crysis Warhead and Left 4 Dead 2.

The problem is my graphics card will not play at any decent graphical setting without giving me ridiculously low fps that severely interferes with being able to play the game properly. For example I can't have the resolution on anything like 1680x1050 (my native res) in Crysis otherwise the fps dips to like 12 and I can barely move the mouse in intense action. I have tried lowering the graphical settings too but it ends up looking like !@&£$!! which defeats the point of playing a game like Crysis. I'm having the exact same issues in Left 4 Dead 2 (but with dips to 25ish fps) which is odd because it plays the first game fine (but I am aware there have been some new minor graphical enhancements in this new game). For the record I'm not getting any other FPS issues in many other games like TF2 (I can play everything on high), COD MW2, etc.

I have noticed that my graphics card sounds (even with the fan speed set to 70-100%) as though it is really struggling in the games previously mentioned when it gets intense. I've checked the temps and it's reaching around 77C to 93C. I'm not sure if this is enough to be classed as overheating as I've had graphics cards in the past hit 70 odd with no problems before. I also cleaned the graphics card fan out and made sure there was no more dirt and junk in there, so I don't think that's a problem.

I'm using the Nvidia 195.55 beta drivers because in Left 4 Dead 2 I was getting crazy amounts of stuttering with and without the multicore option.

I think it's more than anything a likely sign my computer is showing its age. I just find it a bit odd people with 8800/9600 GT's don't have as much problems in these games as me.

So I'm thinking I need to get a card that's gonna give me a bit of a boost in these games because I can barely play them properly. I don't want to be spending a fortune because I don't have that much money to throw at a graphics card but my maximum budget is £130.

I've been looking at in particular the ATI 4870, 4890 and the new 5770. From what I could see from some of the benchmarks the 4890 seemed to the best in giving good results from all games. The 5770 is nice with the dx11 future proofing but I'm not sure if it's ideal in giving me the performance I need for the games I'm playing right now.

So I need some advice as I know you guys in this forum will be able to direct to the right path into getting my games playable again.

Thanks

 

[Secret_Window]

Tbh I think you know enough to choose the card yourself

You seem to be after a card for out and out performance for ~<£130, so your choice is between the 4890 and GTX 260.

lol! well I know there is very knowledgeable people here, much more than me so I'd thought I'd just check with their opinion first.

I checked out the GTX 260 and although I am always inclined to go the Nvidia route, I didn't think the performance it produced along with it's price tag made sense in comparison to ATI's offerings.

I've got a 4870 and am pleased with the performance at 1920 x 1200. Seems to handle most games well. But you can get a 4890 for a little extra. Depends exactly how much you want to spend really.

Yeah the 4870 looks like a lovely card and it's pretty cheap, but as you said the 4890 offers a little extra for a little bit more in price. So I may go with that but I'm still not sure if I should get that or go with something more future proof like the 5770.

Actually, scrap what i said above. You can get a 4890 for £119 on this site, and a 4870 still costs £113.

Yeah I saw that, which was one of the reasons why at the moment it seems the best for the money. The 5770 has a much lower power consumption (which would be more beneficial for my PSU) and has dx11 for future games. However the performance at times is below the 4870 in some of the charts which isn't really ideal.

I suppose I could always get the best card for my money now and worry about Direct X 11 later on but I'm still not sure. I need to hear some more opinions.

 

[Secret_Window]

If crossfire is an option on your motherboard, you could buy one 5770 now and a second later, otherwise the £119 4890 is still a fantastic card for the price.

Nah I can't unfortunately my motherboard's other PCIE slot is 4x speed only.

4800s and GTX200s are old tech, not worth investing in them at the moment.

I'd recommend that you get a 5770.

See, I agree but the performance of it isn't all that great when compared to a 4870. So essentially all I'm doing is paying for the future proofing of DX11 games but not getting the performance increase that I desire for the games I'm playing right now. However, the opportunity of being future proof is really appealing to me still.

If there is some chart that could show me I'm wrong about the 5770 performance in the games I play when compared to the 4870, I'm SOLD! But until then, I'm gonna have to keep weighing it up.

93c does sound pretty hot for that card, i have exactly the same and it never goes above 80c, but idles around 65c.

Whats the ventilation like on ur case?

My case ventilation is very good at the moment. I've just spent a fortune on new fans and ventilation and my CPU temp is something like 36C while overclocked and only 47 to 55ish on load. I think my card might just be getting worn out I'm not sure. I think it's time for something new now anyway.

 

[Secret_Window]

If you've got a PCI-E 2.0 board, a 4x slot won't be much of a performance hit for crossfire.

I see what you mean performance wise though. Ideally, I'd suggest you wait until 5850 availability increases and the price gouging/yields improve and the price is sub £200.

I don't blame you for being indecisive though, it can't be helped in such a situation.

The best cards for price are old technology, the new tech that is much faster is also disproportionately expensive as well as having very limited availability and the new tech cards in the more reasonable price range don't quite match the performance of the old tech, but have better features.

No unfortunately it isn't a 2.0 slot either.

I keep looking at the benchmarks and while the 5770 is between the performance of the 4850 and 4870 it's the same price as the 4890 which is faster than all of them by quite a bit.

The problem is as well that I totally cannot enjoy Crysis or L4D2 without serious fps dips and to wait until one of the 5850's becomes cheaper or to see what Nvidia will bring out is too long of a wait. I want to play these games now, as I bought them recently. Maybe I am being impatient but I just want to play these games and it really £@#*!!! me off that my pc won't play them smoothly enough.

i think its between a 4890 or a 5770. i own a 4890 personally and if it were my choice i'd go for a 5770 but thats just my opinion.

check out some reviews.

heres one i found.

http://guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5770-review-test/

I agree the 5770 is new tech and future proof but I still don't think compared to the other reviews I've read it's going to offer what I want out of the games I am playing right now. However still, the ability to play DX11 games is very appealing. Then again, we still don't know what Nvidia's offerings are in this regard, they may make all the ATI cards look silly yet. How do we also know whether these lower end DX11 cards by ATI will even play the DX11 games well anyway? It just asks far too many questions to which nobody has the answers to. I think it's going to have to be a bit of a gamble really - which isn't what I wanted.

 

[Secret_Window]

I fear it could be my CPU getting on a bit maybe who knows. The temps seem to be ok so I don't think there's anything major going on.

I had the same problem a few years ago with a 8800 GTS 640mb (the old version) and I ended up replacing it with the newer 8800 GTS 512, new motherboard, hdd, and ram and it did solve the problem for a while until now. It definitely isn't my PSU as I've just binned my hiper for a modular corsair. The only thing that's left is the CPU that has never been changed. I've also replaced the CPU coolers over the years as well so it's not like it's been sitting their getting moldy lol.

It could just be that my GFX card genuinly is on its way out - I mean it has been used and abused a lot (though no overclocking) in terms of gaming. I also have a fresh clean install of win7 64bit too, so it's not problems with drivers conflicting.

If it is indeed my cpu, that creates a bigger problem as I can only afford to upgrade either the CPU or the GPU, not both.

Is there a good free benchmark that I can do to test my CPU and GPU is working correctly?

 

[Secret_Window]

I am sure there might be a better way but you could run 3Dmark06 and compare the CPU score and the graphics score to similar systems running at stock to see what compoment is causing the trouble.

Just downloaded the Basic free version and so far can't get it to work in windows 7 lol! Just my luck!

I would also consider upgrading your CPU. I just upgraded my e6600 to a q9550 and I saw a huge jump in performance. MW2 used to run like a dog even on medium settings now everything is really smooth. General PC performance has improved too, much snappier!

That's cool to know. I thought not long ago about getting a Q8400 but I figured I'd try and keep this PC going as long as I can until in the future switching to an i7.

I have thought about just saying "screw it" and forking out on a 5850 and a quad but I still have christmas presents to buy people, so that would be stupid.

 

[Secret_Window]

post up a GPU-Z screenshot

You do realise the 195.55 beta was a complete pos? There is a new WHQL one out now have you tried this? If still no good, try an earlier one, a lot of people have moaned about the more recent Nvidia drivers.

No I wasn't aware of that. The latest WHQL I can see on the Nvidia website is the 191.07 which I was already using before the beta, unless a newer version can be obtained elsewhere?

 

[Secret_Window]

Thanks.

See anything strange in the GPU-Z screeny I posted?

 

[Secret_Window]

Anyone got any other ideas what I should do?

I'm thinking of sticking in a second hand 9600 GT or 9800 GT for the time being and going all out on a 5850 and maybe a QUAD in the New Year or something. What do you reckon?

Also does anyone know when the 5850's are coming back in stock?

thanks