New graphics card sub £150?

[saitrix]

Hi,

I am thinking about upgrading my current pc to get it a new gpu. This is what I currently have:

E7200 @ 3ghz
4gb ddr2-800
4850 512mb
19" monitor running 1440x900

As you can see I don't run the highest of resolution plus I don't have the most powerful cpu. Will the cpu cause too much of a bottleneck if I was to upgrade?

If not, then I am after a sub £150 gpu, but the important part being is low heat production, thus quiet. I really am out of the loop these days I am afraid!

 

[mickyflinn]

What psu do you have ?

 

[saitrix]

Don't worry about my psu, its a Nexus 430W, plenty of power for what I need.

 

[95thrifles]

Sticking within budget, an ATi 6870, or for a tenner more you can get an NVidia 560 Ti, that would be my choice but it depends if your budget is flexible or not
The CPU will bottleneck on some of the newer games which are designed for more than 2 cores, but most games (pretty much all upto last 6 months) still only utilise 2

 

[mickyflinn]

Don't worry about my psu, its a Nexus 430W, plenty of power for what I need.

Im not worried but you should be, because if you get a 6850 or 6870 you will need a 500 Watt or greater power supply.

 

[arc@css]

Yeah, a 6870 or a 560 / 560ti should be ok. You'll get quite a nice return on performance for the cash, even though the cpu is holding you back a bit.

Edit : re the psu, a good quality brand of psu that is up to the job is essential.

 

[saitrix]

The one I have can do 240w per rail, so it is fine really, plus Nexus is a good make of psu. What I would do is use two rails anyways. My current draw is 175W when playing games, that's with the 4850 which has a TDP of 110W. So going to something like the 6870 it will be a gain of 40W, so would expect roughly a total draw of 215W.

Currently I am pulling the whole 110W from a single rail on the 4850, so I know for sure with two rails I can go up to 220W on the cards power usage, which incidently is the 560ti's TDP.

By the looks of things though the power usage has increased more, is there any good aftermarket coolers for these? Or infact does any cards come with good coolers from the start?