upgrade advice

[flclisgreat]

probably going to be getting a new video card as an x-mas present. good thing as im pretty sure my 4870 is on its last leg.


system specs
biostar t-power i45
hd 4870
e2180
4gb ddr2 pc2 8500
1tb and 250gb seagate sata hd's
psu: galaxy dx X 1000w psu


i know my cpu is kinda a bottleneck but i dont play at super high res's or settings. looking for a mid range card(personnel preference is ati/amd). from 100-150 in price or so. just a quick look at newegg and the HIS hd 7770 for ~130 or so doesn't look to bad but im way out of the loop on the new stuff so any advice would be appreciated


edit: i see the hd 7850's are around ~170 i could probably find a used one on a forum for 140-150. thoughts?

 

[bafoKrator]

How much watt is your psu?Noname or a brand?

 

[flclisgreat]

oops sorry forgot my psu. added it. galaxy dx X 1000w psu

 

[XL-R8R]

Pick up an old E8xxx CPU or low-end Q8xxx S775 CPU and shove in a used 5850/5870 or something along those lines that can be found on here from $80 - $120 for the card and the rest for the CPU.

Two upgrades for the price of one and a much more rounded investment... certainly so seeing as that E2180, regardless of its OC, will be holding you back in minimum FPS to no end.

 

[Dent1]

probably going to be getting a new video card as an x-mas present. good thing as im pretty sure my 4870 is on its last leg.


system specs
biostar t-power i45
hd 4870
e2180
1tb and 250gb seagate sata hd's
psu: galaxy dx X 1000w psu


i know my cpu is kinda a bottleneck but i dont play at super high res's or settings. looking for a mid range card(personnel preference is ati/amd). from 100-150 in price or so. just a quick look at newegg and the HIS hd 7770 for ~130 or so doesn't look to bad but im way out of the loop on the new stuff so any advice would be appreciated


edit: i see the hd 7850's are around ~170 i could probably find a used one on a forum for 140-150. thoughts?

Save your money.

Your CPU is on it's last leg. If it was heavily overclocked maybe, but at stock it's not going to push a modern video card. I believe your current 4870 is the best card to drive it. Don't get me wrong you will see a mild performance boost, but you certainly will not get your money's worth. The 7850 isn't design for your setup. Maybe if you can find a used Q9xxx it might be worth a shot otherwise I would upgrade the mobo, CPU, GPU and RAM in one go.

 

[bafoKrator]

In my mind find a used one from the forum or any other forum that has still warranty on and buy it!Doesn't matter AMD or Nvidia just the one that can your money buy! If you are not playing at high resolutions then it will be enough for you,though i suppose the bottleneck will still be there!You need to uprade you cpu+mobo still though!

 

[flclisgreat]

i don't have the cash to do a full upgrade or i would. my current 4870 is artifacting n pretty sure close to dead. thats why i NEED a new gpu.

 

[bafoKrator]

then finding a new cpu and gpu from the forums will be your best choice than going straight to 7850!you will do an upgrade to both then you may add a mobo+ram!

 

[Fourstaff]

Get the 7850 and a dirt cheap E7xxx/E8xxx chip off ebay if your motherboard can support them. That combination will give you quite a nice boost without spending too much.

 

[Dent1]

i don't have the cash to do a full upgrade or i would. my current 4870 is artifacting n pretty sure close to dead. thats why i NEED a new gpu.

Without upgrading the CPU to a high end core 2 quad your choice of GPU is very limited, the 7850 is a no go.

The 7770 is only like 25% faster than the 4870 on a modern rig, which is only a slight boot anyways, most of that 25% will be negated by the your old CPU, so you'll probably only see 10% boost which is a waste of money for $130?


If you are unwilling to upgrade the CPU your best bet is to find a second hand 4870 or 4890 for like $50 and save for a proper upgrade.

 

[DarkOCean]

Your cpu is on its last leg not your gpu, i know because i have an e2160 @ 2.4ghz with a 4850 and its botlenecking the hell out of it.
Upgrade your platform first (cpu+mobo+ram) then worry about the gpu.

 

[flclisgreat]

im sorry but you guys seam to not be reading what i say. yes i know my cpu is a bottleneck. i don't have the money to do the whole nine yards or i would. id love too. but i CAN'T. i MIGHT be able to get a cheapish cpu and card though. found a decent deal on another forum for a MATX mobo/q6600 and 2gb's of ram. which would be PERFECT for me. i could put the e2180 and my DIEING 4870 into it for my room mate to use. this isn't about upgrading cause i just want to see prettier pixels. i just want to see all the pixels lol.

 

[JrRacinFan]

What's your budget looking like? Here's why

Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, L...

Pay close attention as that board also comes with a free 2x4GB kit. I say get that and run it til your 4870 goes, then move over to the onboard video , while saving up the whole time for another video card also. Heck even Sneekypeet has a used 470 for $80 which is comparable to performance as a 7850.

 

[Dent1]

im sorry but you guys seam to not be reading what i say. yes i know my cpu is a bottleneck. i don't have the money to do the whole nine yards or i would. id love too. but i CAN'T.

We haven't misunderstood you.

I told you if money is an issue buy another 4870 or 4890 second hand and save for a entire rig meanwhile. This takes into consideration of your current money issue.

JrRacinFan's suggestion also seems credible.

Also,

If you look around you could find new AM3+ boards for $40, a 4GB DDR3 memory kit for $40 and a second hand Athlon II X4 for $50. You'd be in a better upgrade position jumping ship to AM3+ than sticking with socket 775. The only missing element would be a new video card, but I'm sure you can find someting temporary for $50. $50 over your budget.

Saying that you can find AM2+ and AM3 boards for $40, keep your existing DDR2 memory, find a second hand Athlon II X4 for $50, then buy a used 7750, 5770 or 6790 with the remaining $60!

 

[Jetster]

I just bought a E8500 for $35 off e bay for a cheep build Im doing

So how much cash you got?

 

[DarkOCean]

used 470 for $80 which is comparable to performance as a 7850.

You exageratting quite a it, dont you think? it takes tons of oc to do that and that thing uses power like ther's no tommorow in comparison with the card you mentioned.

To the op it might be cheaper to invest in a new platform like an am3 with a 4 core cpu(search second hand market) than buying a cpu for the dead platform 775, the guys that still have quad core for that platform still want ridiculous amounts of money for hem.
Do not buy a new cpu + mobo +ram on 775 again.

 

[JrRacinFan]

OK just my thinking, 560Ti is comparable to 7850 which 560Ti is also comparable to 470 no?

 

[DarkOCean]

OK just my thinking, 560Ti is comparable to 7850 which 560Ti is also comparable to 470 no?

stock 470 is weaker than 560Ti(and also less power efficient) wich is weaker than 7850. If those are comparable then 7770 is comparable to 470 .
But those old cards cant compare with the new ones at efficiency they are power hogs now.

 

[JrRacinFan]

What I mean is that they are all within 5% performance of each other, with the 6950 right there with them too.

 

[DarkOCean]

What I mean is that they are all within 5% performance of each other, with the 6950 right there with them too.

If after A we have B then C that doesent make A and C comparable they are to far from each other, yes you can compare everything but what's the point?
From A to C its alot more than 5%.
...just my opinion.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Still, the 470 is alot better than the 4870 that's currently in use. We're also talking budget here, going by the current cost of the cards with a 470 at the proposed $80, it's 50% as expensive.

 

[DarkOCean]

Still, the 470 is alot better than the 4870 that's currently in use. We're also talking budget here, going by the current cost of the cards with a 470 at the proposed $80, it's 50% as expensive.

Of course its better but on the efficiency side its not or maybe just a little (as crazy as that can be, 55 vs 40nm) because its fermi 1.