worth upgrading

Jobe

Jobe

Jobe

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26 Oct 2002
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Corby Glenn
Hi guys.

my system is in sig.

is it worth upgrading my graphics yet?

apart from black ops i prob won't be getting any other game so dx11 doesn't worry me.
the only other new game i have is civ 5.
also whats comparable to my xfire setup. would a 5850 be any better?

also would my cpu be a bottleneck?

thanks for any advice
 
Try it out and see! The 4870 is no slouch so 2 in xfire should be fine for your current needs. Civ 5 would certainly benefit from a faster, more-cored processor, and I think Black Ops would as well, but what kind of framerate are you getting at what resolution?
 
What C2D do you have? If the games you play make use of quad cores then a second hand Q6600 G0 stepping would be a good move.

Graphics wise, a 4870x2 ranges from slightly beating a 5850 to significantly beating a 5850 depending on the game so you should be ok there with your crossfire 4870's. The biggest drawback is that a single 4870 uses more power than a 5850 so your pair of them will use more than double the power of a single card. If you are going to change them i would not be getting a 5850 now. If you can wait the 6950/6970 will be out in a couple of weeks. If not then a ATI 6870, Nvidia GTX 460/470 would be a good move.
 
thanks for the replies guys.

its a E6600 so 2.4g as standard but oc'ed to 3.3g. i game native at 1920 by 1200

would a quad really make much difference for gaming. if it would be better than maybe 20% then the outlay prob wouldn't be worth it.

civ 5 runs fine although loading between go's can be slow. same as everyone else.

cod bo. i've had to disable xfire until a profile comes out but it still runs good. no aa or aniso, auto textures.

not too fussed about the power draw on two cards.
not sure what framerates i get either, it plays well. fraps don't seem to play ball with my win 7 setup.

suppose i can't decide whether the time is right to do the whole mobo/cpu thing or not. if i do the gfx will have to stay.

jobe
 
Upgrading to a Q6600 or going for the full i5/mobo upgrade would offer slightly improved loading times, although an SSD would make a bigger performance leap in that area. It really isn't worth the money, my belief is that the xfire not working atm is what's holding your system back.

Wait at least till 2011 to upgrade.
 
I agree with pastymuncher. Snag a q6600 GO second hand from MM and clock it to 3.2 or above and look at the 6950/6970's when they come out. Your system will be strong for a decent while and then you can upgrade to the Sandy/Bulldozer offering once they are out and prices come down a bit in a year or so.

My 2 cents anyways.
 
ok thanks guys.

if i can find a quad cheap enough i'll get it otherwise i'll stay with what i have.

jobe
 
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