Upgrade path?

[Bleek]

Current spec is:

AMD Phenom II 720 (triple core) @3.9GHz
ATI 4870 512MB
500w PSU

I game at 2048x (23" Samsung) so obviously the ATI card above is just starting to struggle especially as also run 2-4AA and full AF.

I'd like to stay ATI, is crossfire a good option or will my PSU go bang? What card should I be looking at for a good increase in performance but not at a silly cost?

 

[Bleek]

Will a 5830 suffice?

Surely if my 512MB 4870 is just about handling it the extra ~20% from the 5830 should be enough?

For the sake of £30 surely it's better than the 5770, although it's hotter and more power hungry?

 

[Bleek]

Do you have a set budget in mind?

Well I'd rather see the best gain for the least amount of money, otherwise I'd just grab a 5870.

So thing 'bang for buck' at a higher rez.

I can probably get what £50-60 (I think) for my 4870 so that takes the sting out of the upgrade.

 

[Bleek]

You know what, the 5770 might just cut the mustard for now, should be ~10% quicker especially when overclocked and run much cooler using less juice.

So when the comes XFire with two of them will mean a very cost-effective upgrade.

 

[Bleek]

the 1gb on the 5770 will help a lot at that resolution even if the GPU core isn't that much more powerful.

That's what I hope.

My current 4870 doesn't like to be clocked so it's virtually stock but from what I can see the 5770 doesn't mind some extra clock thanks to the lower juice and lower temp gpu.