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I'm after a new(2nd hand) GPU

Jonners

Jonners

Jonners

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Hi

This is my first post in the hardware section after a while

I'm looking at getting back in to PC Gaming, but currently have an 512mb 8500GT in my prebuilt tower(HP a6325) which is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

So been looking at 1gb 7950GX2's which are £70 second hand with 12months warranty. Is this overpriced or fair?

Whichever route I take I understand I'll need a new psu as my current one is 300w or 350w...

Over to you people...
 
No don't buy that. What's the rest of your setup?

A 4670 might be ideal as it doesn't need a PCI-E power plug and is not bad card.
 
Core 2 Duo E4500 @ 2.2ghz
Asus Micro ATX mobo (Intel G33 chipset) with HP Bios
3gb PC5300 DDR2 (2x1gb + 2x512mb)
Nvidia 8500GT 512mb
500gb HDD
300/350w psu

Whats the best gpu I can use without the PSU going bang?

My 22" Monitor has a maximum res of 1680x1050 so would like to make the most of this when gaming...

Thanks
 
I'd say 4670....it's very power efficient and not a bad card at all either. Certainly better than a 7950GX2
 
So with all this talk of the 4670, you make the 7950GX2 sound so bad and old hat...are they awful performers by todays standards?
 
There are much better cards to be had. £70 would get you a 8800GTX or 8800GTS G92 or even a 9800GTX.

In fact, 2nd hand 4870 512MB are selling for under £100 now.
 
Tupac said:
How does the 1gb 3870x2 differ to the 4870?

Is the 3870x2 worth £120 or not?
Click to expand...
They're quite similar but the 3870X2 is limited by its 512mb of ram (uses this amount per core which is why it's listed as 1gb) and the fact it has two cores. It relies on crossfire working so the single core of the 4870 is generally superior.

Also, for almost the same amount you can get something like a 2nd hand GTX260 (similar to the 4870) which is also a great card. You would need a new PSU though.

TBH, if you wanted to stick with that PSU i'd probably just get either a 4670 or 4830.

gt
 
gt_junkie said:
They're quite similar but the 3870X2 is limited by its 512mb of ram (uses this amount per core which is why it's listed as 1gb) and the fact it has two cores. It relies on crossfire working so the single core of the 4870 is generally superior.

Also, for almost the same amount you can get something like a 2nd hand GTX260 (similar to the 4870) which is also a great card. You would need a new PSU though.

TBH, if you wanted to stick with that PSU i'd probably just get either a 4670 or 4830.

gt
Click to expand...

I agree with GT, a 4830 would give you the best performance for only £80. Anything else isn't really worth it, especially second hand cards.
 
guys he has an E4500 and an HP bios which most likely does not allow for any overclocking. A 3870x2 is a crossfire setup which benefits massively with CPU power......

A 4670 is sufficient and will most likely be fine on his current PSU, otherwise I would just recommend something like a 4830, or used 8800GT along with an Antec Earthwatts 380
 
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