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Ordering today - best for dual core?

TBirdUK

TBirdUK

TBirdUK

Soldato
Joined
9 Jul 2005
Posts
2,650
Location
High Wycombe
Got a £100 to spend on a GPU, the machine is a AMD 4200x2, 2 Gig of RAM.

Which GPU should I buy that will last for the future (prob 57**) but not so much that it gets limited too much by the CPU - is short - which one is the best value for money for gaming etc (on a max 22 Inch monitor)?

Many thanks
 
would not getting a 5750 be better future proofing - a 4890 although faster will be bottlenecked as stated?
 
I'm think AM2 socket CPU is far too slow for today's gaming standard (for recent and near future games) and yes it will definitely be dragging the feet of the modern graphic cards.

I think you should really upgrade the rest of your PC first...

With a tight budget of around £100, you can build a gaming PC using these:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L (around £35)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-221-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1490
CPU: Intel E5300 (around £55)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-273-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=
CPU heatsink/cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (around £19)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-035-AR&tool=3

And then overclock the CPU from the stock speed of 2.60GHz to 3.6-3.8GHz.

But it's up to you if you want to get graphic card first...but I think you won't be satistified with the result with the graphic card's full potential not even executed at 70%.
 
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mmm, thanks but that doesnt give any left to update the GPU and its really only a GPU upgrade I want to do.
 
I agree. For playing games at DirectX 11, people would need to get 5770 at the very least to have enough power to push the games and run them smoothly. 5770 is slower than 4890 and GTX260...the only advantage it has over them is DirectX11, lower power consumption and runs cooler. To be honest, I don't think a single 5770 would be enough if gaming at DirectX11, 19xxX12xx, AA. It will probably be fine at 1680x1050 though.

At the moment with a budget of £100, I think it's difficult to achieve good balance between CPU and GPU.

Out of curiousity...what graphic card are you using right now?
 
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its for a mates computer, in fact 2 mates. Although I am thinking of doing the same. He was running an 8800GTX which borked and wanted something the same - I thought a 5750 would be about the same with the added bonus of quiet, cooler, less power etc.

Raw power he doesnt need much more, just the same and I wanted to get him the best for his money.
 
well, I have plumped for getting 2 x 5750 (one for each mate). At least this way if they upgrade in the future (CPU etc) they will have a spare DX11 card avail for a 2nd rig.

If they have more than £100 I'd have gone for a 5770 bt the budget was fixed, although I may go for a 5770 to replace my 8800GTX (2 in SLI) on my Q6600 rig. :D
 
straxusii said:
5750 wont run dx11 games anyway so forget future proof, 4890 if your psu can handle it
Click to expand...
I totally agree. Can get better and faster DX10 card at around the price of 5750. True that 5750 is DX11 "compatable", but it's pointless if it doesn't have enough juice for the games and end up with low frame rate with constant jerkiness.

I'll give an example:

Test kit: HD5870, 3.2GHz Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition CPU, Asus P6T V2 Deluxe motherboard, 6GB Corsair 1,333 DDR3 Memory, Corsair X128 SSD (Solid State Drive), Window 7 64 bit, ATI Catalyst 9.10 WHQL

COLIN MCRAE: DIRT 2
1,920x1,200, 4xAA

DirectX 9: 78-86fps
DirectX 11: 48-60fps

(Info source: Custom PC Issue 077 February 2010, p11)

For DirectX 11, if it was a HD5750 pairing with with a AM2 Athlon X2 running this game at 1,920x1,200, 4xAA, the frame rate would probably be something like 10-20fps...or even less. So a HD5750 would need to run the game in DirectX 9 or 10 mode at medium setting in order to get playable frame rate, which defeat the purpose of have DirectX 11...
 
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need the lower power/heat - as long as the 5750 will run games to the same standard as an 8800GTX (or within a bit either way) then they will be happy.
 
do understand the idea of going for the more powerful card but a 4890 for £100, they still seem to be more than this.

(sorry for the extra post - cant edit from work, only post through advanced!)
 
TBirdUK said:
need the lower power/heat - as long as the 5750 will run games to the same standard as an 8800GTX (or within a bit either way) then they will be happy.
Click to expand...
Personally I wouldn't consider moving from 8800GTX to HD5750 as an 'upgrade'...it is almost sidestepping to a cooler card, with DirectX 11 but won't run at playable frame rate- at the cost of £100.

They'd better off just spend around £20 on a decent VGA cooler for the 8800GTX instead...
 
very true, I would but the 8800GTX is completely knackered. you are right, the move is a sidestep but I am sure that it is good value for money (as I said it is a fixed budget - if it was £20 more then I would go for the 5770).

What would you go for with a fixed budget of £100?
 
I think people here are underestimating how much clout a 4200 can still have, especially if overclocked! If GPU-bound I wouldn't expect the framerate to be on the floor with a 5750 vs something newer.

I recently flogged my 4200 for an i5 so I can compare :)
If the chip is running at stock though then that's a different matter.
 
eek, is running at stock but could have a look at that tonight and bump it up a bit. The parameters are pretty rigid on this buy, fixed RAM, PSU, CPU etc - just wanted the best graphics card I couyld get for £100 or less that was equivelent to an 8800GTX
 
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