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What to do about upgrading graphics

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Joined
21 Jul 2006
Posts
220
Location
Leicester , UK
Hi guys,

I've recently gotten into gaming more on my PC but its struggling to run some games at the highest settings.

I have a Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L motherboard but cant find out if this is SLI compatable. I also have a leadtec Geforce 8800GT which I was going to add to.

I'm a complete noob to SLI/Corssfire so I'm not sure its even possible given my current setup. I'd be looking at around £100 to upgrade so perhaps I'd be better off getting a new card?

The games I'm looking to play are Metro 2033 type games.

Thanks in advance.
 
The games I'm looking to play are Metro 2033 type games.
The thing is...there is no "Metro 2033 type game", except for Metro 2033 itself :D The game is ridiculously demanding that even high-end graphic card would struggle, and 98% of the games ain't even as nearly demanding as it is.

You could sell your 8800GT (should hopefully get you £30 excluding postage) and put that toward your budget on getting a GTX460 1GB and overclock the card. But even with that, you'd most likely have to keep the settings down and res at only 1680x1050 to get reasonable playable frame rate in Metro 2033.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_580/15.html
 
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'but cant find out if this is SLI compatable'. Not sli compatable, only 1 X Pci-e x 16 and 3 X Pci-e 1-4x. At £100 you cant get much grunt and certainly not for Metro 2033 unless on low res and settings off. Agree with the above 1Gb 460 is about as good as you can get for that money.:)
 
Your board will not accept SLI or Crossfire as you only have one PCI-E slot.

You can run single card solutions that utilise SLI and Crossfire, ie the ATI 4870X2 or The Nvidia GX2.
 
I think what the op means by 'Metro 2003 type game' is next gen dx11. (Metro looks like Stone Giant Benchmark for instance)

Some games just implement certain features of dx11 and then overlay them on top of dx10, basically creating a hybrid, aka BFBC2.

But Metro 2033 is more Dx11 through and through.

From looking at benchmarks etc..... the MINIMUM gpu needed at present, would be a 5850 or a GTX 470 caliber card.... that is of course if you want to set a decently high IQ.

(All my references to cards are with 1920x1080 resolution in mind)
 
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I'm not running a full HD resolutions although I cant remember what they are off the top of my head.

Whats the best bang for buck card in the GTX460 range?
 
If your not at high resolutions then this is an extremely well priced gpu:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-068-GI&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1830

Shame it doesnt have the full 1gb of vram, but it shouldnt matter too much if your not at high resolutions.

What resolution are you playing at?

Alternatively if you want to future proff your self incasew you get a bigger monitor, similar card with 1gb ram:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-092-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1830

The difference in frames can be noticable in some games!
 
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If your considering the 470, then you can also consider the 6870 as well.

But that is a different ball game compared to the 460's!

If you want the most power but able to run off a 500w psu, then your more likely to get away running a 6870 than a 470....

You can send a webnote to overclcokers asking them if a 500w psu can run a 6870...
 
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How will I know if i can run a 470? I've looked but cant see any power ratings.

How is it a different ball game to the 460's?
 
yea you will.

I would recommend either the 470 or the 6870, as they will gave a bout 2 good years of performance in them.

The 460 .... doesnt give you as much flexibility as the oother two cards.

6870 vs the 470 is more or less even performance wise.

6870, will run cooler, quieter and use less power.

470, will have 3d support, physx, better tesselation (this was the case compared to 5000 series) and some would argue has better driver support.

If your psu can run a 470, then its upto you. It'l be hotter and more noise, but ... will have the benefits noted above.

I think find out if psu can run a 470, if it can... then it comes down to you looking at benchmarks for individual games you play to see which game performs better with which card.

If overclcoking is your thing, supposedly the 470 overclcoks very well, of course it will get hot and noisey.

I can definitly say, if the 6870 is anything like my 5870 your be suprised. I couldnt believe how cool and quite it runs!
 
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THanks for the reply. How will i know if my PSU can handle a 470?

I've just got home and am running my monitors native resolution of 1680 x 1050

Cheers
 
At that Res I'd go for a 460 or 470 both overclock well and give great frame rates at that Res should last u some time
 
THanks for the reply. How will i know if my PSU can handle a 470?
According to Anandtech, the max power consumption on their test system with a GTX470 is 408W in furmark:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/160
Let's assume CPU become under load as well, then the total system power consumption woul become higher as well. With just a 500W PSU, I wouldn't recommend you overclocking the GTX470 since it would further increase the power consumption and might get too close to or over the rated 500W of the PSU and end up overloading it. Considering GTX470's main advantage over the 6870 is on the performance gain on overclocking...with your PSU limitating you from overclocking the GTX470, you'd probably better off getting the 6870 since it consume less power and runs cooler. Don't get me wrong...if you had a decent 550W or 600W PSU, then it would probably be better to get the GTX470 if you are overclocking and don't mind the extra heat and noise.
 
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