Upgrading from XFX HD 4850

[Chrisofski]

Hello Forum,

I currently have an XFX ATI Radeon HD 4850 and looking to upgrade it and really not sure what to upgrade to. Looking for something mid range and affordable. I have been looking at Nvidia's 560, 560Ti and 640 but not sure, what do people recommend?

Thanks
Chris

 

[Orcvader]

Budget? What PSU do you have?

 

[Chrisofski]

£100-£200 ish, 600W OCZ PSU

 

[arc@css]

What res do you run and what cpu / overclock do you have in your rig?

 

[Chrisofski]

currently at 1280x1024, have core i7 @ 2.66Ghz (stock), MSi X58M Mobo, G-Card (first post), 6GB Ram, 320GB WD HDD, Seagate 500GB HDD, 600W

 

[Orcvader]

What a small res. Overclock that i7.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-295-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411

 

[arc@css]

If you're happy gaming at that res I wouldn't spend too much at all on a card, it's simply not worth it, unless you're considering upgrading the monitor in the near future? If you do graduate to around 1080p res then I'd look at the 7850.

Anyway, assuming you're sticking with your current resolution, I'd go for either an AMD 6850 / 6870 or nVidia 460 / 560.

That cpu is begging for an overclock.

 

[Chrisofski]

yeah there is a monitor upgrade in the works, something like this
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-170-SA&groupid=17&catid=1120&subcat=

Although I do have a large HDTV i plug into sometimes and that at 1080p.

What sort of speeds could I achieve if i over clocked it, considering only 600w psu, i do have an aftermarket cooler on the cpu as well.

 

[Orcvader]

Should be able to reach near 4ghz depending on the stepping of the 920. Ask the guys in here if you want help on overclocking: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=7

 

[Chrisofski]

Thanks i'll have a look around, I believe, but not sure its a D0 stepping.

 

[arc@css]

Thanks i'll have a look around, I believe, but not sure its a D0 stepping.

It should overclock well.

 

[Chrisofski]

It should overclock well.

Sounds promising, I'm guessing the limiting factor would be the PSU because its only 600w?

 

[Rusty0611]

Nope. PSU wattage is fine.

 

[Chrisofski]

Nope. PSU wattage is fine.

Okay thanks, ill post back in a few days to say what speeds I have been able to achieve.

Would there be a considerable and noticeable performance boost?

 

[arc@css]

Would there be a considerable and noticeable performance boost?

Yes, you'd notice an improvement across most if not all games, especially in cpu dependent titles such as online games.

 

[[WU-TANG]GZA]

Yeah as the guys have said, OC the CPU to get the most out of it (I have the same CPU if it is DO and get VERY easily to 3.8Ghz - saving 4.0+ for later) and yeah depends if ur deffo getting a 1080p+ monitor if ur sure u will do then yeah bang for buck currently is the 7850 at your price bracket. Nice card overclocks very well. If you're not going to then as above something like a 6850 should more than enough for 1280x1024. Although I think (dare I say it?) that overclocking beyond a mild overclock such as 3.2/3.4 the difference is very minimal in normal gaming scenarios.

 

[Chrisofski]

It should overclock well.

It should overclock well, It DID overclock well, currently @4Ghz, just running CPU Burn in atm, couldn't have been simpler. MSI X58m Mobo OC switch notched it up to about 3.8 think i then disabled EIST or something and that unlocked the ratio bumped that from 18 to 20 and now running 4GHz Core i7

 

[arc@css]

Nice one.

Out of interest, try a few games with your cpu overclock and your current gpu. Things should feel more responsive, especially online games.