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Think i need to upgrade my graphics card

Subzero85

Subzero85

Subzero85

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Joined
16 Jul 2011
Posts
1,942
Location
Northern Ireland
Hey all, bought a new set up recently, but i think now my graphics card will struggle with the latest games and i plan to upgrade it, heres the specs

AMD Phenom II X4 965 processor 3.40GHz
4 gb ddr 3 ram
ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series

it struggles on starcraft 2 and especially on the witcher 2

what do i need to improve performance on games, and future titles like skyrim and battlefield 3, especially BF3

would that processor be ok if i upgraded the gpu to something like a gtx560 or a 6950 ?

Thanks for any help
 
Yes, it would be fine. A 560 and the 6950 are great performing cards without very high costs attached, and are wise considerations. Also, a 570 can sometimes be be found at around a similar price as the other cards mentioned. What resolution are you supporting?
 
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arc@css said:
Yes, it would be fine. A 560 and the 6950 are great performing cards without very high costs attached, and are wise considerations. Also, a 570 can sometimes be be found at around a similar price as the other cards mentioned. What resolution are you supporting?
Click to expand...


Thanks for the reply
You sure the processor would be ok ?

I game on a 20 inch samsung monitor with a 1680 x 1050 resolution
 
Subzero85 said:
Thanks for the reply
You sure the processor would be ok ?

I game on a 20 inch samsung monitor with a 1680 x 1050 resolution
Click to expand...

A quad core Phenom 2 @ 3.4 stock, can't see how that would hold a new gpu back much, if at all really. I run a Q6600 at the same speed with an overclocked 480gtx, (effectively a 580gtx) and have no problems regarding getting satisfactory frame rates. Yes, changing the cpu to a better one will always give you higher minimum and average frame rates but I wouldn't say in your case it's a must. Your cpu is a decent model. Overclock it to 3.6 or beyond if you need extra performance.

A 560ti would be a nice match with your set-up and supported resolution.
 
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Thanks very much, you looking forward to battlefield 3 ?
When i go for the new graphics card would it out perform the consoles, ps3 and 360 ?

Other users be free to comment, although it might be a bit late now, uk time

Thanks again !! much appreciated
 
Subzero85 said:
Thanks very much, you looking forward to battlefield 3 ?
When i go for the new graphics card would it out perform the consoles, ps3 and 360 ?

Other users be free to comment, although it might be a bit late now, uk time

Thanks again !! much appreciated
Click to expand...

A 560ti easily beats allthe consoles. There us a 570 on this week onl for £230 and I would get that. A 560 will be fine for your res but you might aswell get a 570 seeing as the difference isn't too much.

You've just reminded me of how late it is! Goodnight!
 
Definitely see what others have to say, it makes for a much richer experience, and we learn more that way. I've learnt a lot since I've been frequenting the forum, but on the other hand I still really know very little at all compared to some on here.

Regarding BF3, excuse my ignorance but I assume that is chiefly a multiplayer title coming out later this year? I can't say I'm that interested yet, though I might be when I see some footage. BF2 rings a bell, which I think I've played once. I'm not much of a multiplayer gamer these days, bit of CS:S and L4D is about my lot.

Will your new graphics card be faster than the chip inside a PS3 / 360? Yes, easily. A PS3 uses iirc something like a 7900gtx with 'I think' about 256 of vram, and the 360 runs an X1800 or something close to that, so no competition there. They are five / six year old gpu's.
 
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Definetely don't want to go over £250, and didnt want to upgrade everything since its a pretty new rig, although was dissapointed with the performance of the HD5700 series card i have which is why im upgrading the graphics card, so that card and my current processor i should be good to go ? what about more ram ? have 4 GB of ddr 3 i believe
 
Ok, thanks for that link

my processor similar to yours ? id hate getting that graphics card and find games still struggling, one last time, is the quad core i have be suitable for gaming for a while
 
Subzero85 said:
Ok, thanks for that link

my processor similar to yours ? id hate getting that graphics card and find games still struggling, one last time, is the quad core i have be suitable for gaming for a while
Click to expand...

It will be as most games only use 2 cores max, let alone 4 of them. BF3 will use all 4 cores though according to the previews so you should be good to go. The thing you need to remember is the 5700 series amd cards use 128bit memory bus, which has half the bandwidth to start with compared to any mid to high end gaming card these days. The 570 has a 320bit bus on it giving it not far off 3 times the memory bandwidth of that card you own already, giving you a massive performance boost. 570 has 186.9gb of bandwidth compared to 96gb of a 5770 card.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/296?vs=306

This shows that your looking at 2-3 times faster frame rates in most gaming situations, especially at your resolution with a 570 card.
 
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