Graphics Card Upgrade

[T0M722]

Hey :hello:,

 

At the moment I'm using a Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT 512mb. This has been fine for TDU and many other games usually. But, this is getting a little old and I really want TDU2 to run flawlessly on the computer with the G25. I was wondering what sort of upgrade I'll have to get when new games come out like TDU2. At the moment there's no price limit for the card, but I can't go crazy. Also, what would happen if I got a new card and processor can't keep up with it? I was told that the processor isn't used as much in games as the Graphics card.

 

We had this computer made back in 2007ish:

-Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @2.66ghz

-Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT 512mb

-2gb DDR2 ram (I'll get more RAM.)

 

Thanks so much! :run:

[GTAMADDOG]

Hey :hello:,

 

At the moment I'm using a Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT 512mb. This has been fine for TDU and many other games usually. But, this is getting a little old and I really want TDU2 to run flawlessly on the computer with the G25. I was wondering what sort of upgrade I'll have to get when new games come out like TDU2. At the moment there's no price limit for the card, but I can't go crazy. Also, what would happen if I got a new card and processor can't keep up with it? I was told that the processor isn't used as much in games as the Graphics card.

 

We had this computer made back in 2007ish:

-Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @2.66ghz

-Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT 512mb

-2gb DDR2 ram (I'll get more RAM.)

 

Thanks so much! :run:

 

 

It all depends what you're willing to pay.

 

Your processor might bottleneck the performance of the computer if you buy a really high end graphics card, but this should only really be noticeable if you play games at lower resolutions, the more you make your graphics card work the less bottlenecking there should be. If you think your processor is still bottlenecking the performance too much you could try overclocking it.

 

Just don't go overboard with overclocking and it would be advised to fit an after market cooler to the processor if you were going to overclock it because the stock Intel one's fail.

 

If I still had £150 I'd be looking at an ATI HD4890. They seem like a complete bargain to me. Nvidia need to sort their pricing out with it's rivals, although with the new series of Nvidia cards being talked about the prices of the 4890 rivals may take a hit. The ATI HD5*** series cards seem well over priced in my opinion, too.

[chika.doctor]

If I still had £150 I'd be looking at an ATI HD4890. They seem like a complete bargain to me. Nvidia need to sort their pricing out with it's rivals, although with the new series of Nvidia cards being talked about the prices of the 4890 rivals may take a hit. The ATI HD5*** series cards seem well over priced in my opinion, too.

 

HD5*** overpriced? Depends, for example, Diamond Radeon HD5770 in my country is around 130 Euros which is about 115 pounds, and is very good.. :)

 

EDIT: Found it on NewEgg

EDIT2: Or this one, it's the XFX HD5770, a bit cheaper than the above Diamond, but still very good.. ;)

[Camel]

There would be a bottleneck there, but it will be barely noticeable and should hardly effect you at all.

 

With that CPU, it would be a good idea to go for a card in Nvidias GTX2** range as they take quite a bit of load off of your CPU by calculating all of the physics in the GPU. You could also wait till around June when the newer, cheaper GTX4** cards will be out and they should be able to max TDU2 when it comes.

[GTAMADDOG]

HD5*** overpriced? Depends, for example, Diamond Radeon HD5770 in my country is around 130 Euros which is about 115 pounds, and is very good.. :)

 

EDIT: Found it on NewEgg

EDIT2: Or this one, it's the XFX HD5770, a bit cheaper than the above Diamond, but still very good.. ;)

 

 

Fair enough. I just checked the website I last looked at the HD5*** series on and they seemed to have dropped the prices alot since I last looked.

[T0M722]

Thanks very much everyone. I was actually looking at a nvidia 9800 gtx card already and I was also looking at this expensive hardcore radeon one as well.

[Beav]

Thanks very much everyone. I was actually looking at a nvidia 9800 gtx card already and I was also looking at this expensive hardcore radeon one as well.

 

I have a 9800GT and it plays TDU very well :) I brought it August 2009 for £90 :D

[Rodrighazzo]

The 9800GTX well... is kind of old...

 

Get the XFX HD 5770 if you can.

Is cheap, it doesnt overheat and is like a 260GTX i think a bit better, oh! and is ready for DX11.

It requires 1GB of RAM eh, by the way, dont worry about Bottleneck, the Nvidia 2**GTX got Bottleneck problems, the ATI 5 series doesnt.

I have the 5750 and i love it TDU all at max and 40FPS ( before I had the 8600GT and same FPS but all at low xD) Tested on Dirt 2 and I play it all at max and 50FPS.

[Bozickovic]

Well i have Ati HD4850 and it's doing the job... Everything on max... Antialiasing at max...

 

And if i need extra juice there is Ati HD4870 (second PC)

[Camel]

It's not the graphics card that causes the bottleneck, it's the CPU not being fast enough or efficient enough for the speed of the graphics card.

 

Also, the 4850 is a great card(my other computer has one) but it will more than likely struggle to play TDU2 on max when it does come out.

 

Stay away from Nvidia GeForce 9*** cards as they are quite old now. The GTX2** series are newer and better than the 9series.

[Rodrighazzo]

Well the ppl told me that with my CPU... Im in the limit to have Bottleneck with a 260GTX =/ because it requires an E6300 Intel and the ATI doesnt just have 1GB of RAM

 

Well I'm not a pro of this, I just know a bit but enough.

[Bozickovic]

It's not the graphics card that causes the bottleneck, it's the CPU not being fast enough or efficient enough for the speed of the graphics card.

 

Also, the 4850 is a great card(my other computer has one) but it will more than likely struggle to play TDU2 on max when it does come out.

 

Stay away from Nvidia GeForce 9*** cards as they are quite old now. The GTX2** series are newer and better than the 9series.

 

Mine Ati 4850 is overclocked... so it is making little bit more power than default HD4870 :thumbsup: And CPU is Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200...

[Treads1337]

i like my XFX Radeon4350... its a 80 steam processer, 1GB RAM, and it kicks TDUs ass!

[Ryzza5]

At the moment there's no price limit for the card, but I can't go crazy.

If that's the case I would get a nVidia 400 series card. The new series means it'll last longer. If you're not in a rush to get one, then wait for a month or two for the prices to drop (once supply meets/exceeds demand).

 

If you end up getting a 200 series card, I'd probably wait again as those prices will quite likely drop when the 400 series is more readily available.

 

 

Bottlenecks won't be a massive issue with a Core2Duo CPU, but I would recommend upgrading your RAM to 4GB if possible (even if you run 32bit Windows). If you've got access to it, Windows 7 64-bit is great.

[T0M722]

Yep, I will get more RAM definitely. Not sure about Win 7 atm, probably soon. Also, I just mainly want the card before TDU2 comes so I'll wait for 400 series. :D Thanks

[Leadfoot[YT]]

Ryzza's correct, but if you're planning on playing older games, there's some that have difficulty with 64-bit Windows 7 (there's a bunch of complaints that I've seen of Battlefield 2 users having problems). Could be a coincidence, but it's something I've noticed.

 

Of course, new things are supposed to install to the "Program Files (x86)" directory if they're for a 32-bit system (or something), which apparently means they'll work.

 

I'm not too certain on the pros and cons of each version, but they should both work for most stuff (and my example, BF2, is a picky game to start with).

 

Anyway, Ryzza's right - nVidia 400 series for video card. :)

 

-Leadfoot

[iLLGT3]

ATI 5870

 

Make sure you have proper power supply amount.

[Camel]

I doubt that he will want to use 6 monitors for playing his game. Not many people do.

 

Also, don't buy/order a GTX4** card if you are going down that road right now. Wait till the production of them increases so shops have more stock. They will come down in price over the next few months as well as newer revisions of the card coming out.

 

Sometime in May/June I think it is, is when Nvidia are releasing the next set of GTX4** cards and some of those will also be cheaper and should perform at around the same level.

 

E: I've just looked at your current specs and noticed that you currently have an Nividia graphics card, so you more than likely have a motherboard with an Nvidia chipset on it. You'd see best results with your mother board by using an Nvidia card over and ATI one.

[T0M722]

Hmm, I see. As I said, I'm not getting the card straight away, it's for when newer games like TDU2 come out which I want to run perfectly. For TDU2 to run very smoothly, would you think all I need to upgrade is RAM and graphics card?

[The Queen]

I doubt that he will want to use 6 monitors for playing his game. Not many people do.

 

Also, don't buy/order a GTX4** card if you are going down that road right now. Wait till the production of them increases so shops have more stock. They will come down in price over the next few months as well as newer revisions of the card coming out.

 

Sometime in May/June I think it is, is when Nvidia are releasing the next set of GTX4** cards and some of those will also be cheaper and should perform at around the same level.

 

E: I've just looked at your current specs and noticed that you currently have an Nividia graphics card, so you more than likely have a motherboard with an Nvidia chipset on it. You'd see best results with your mother board by using an Nvidia card over and ATI one.

 

As Mellors said, it's just not worth it to get a 400 series card atm. Theres not enough difference between the high 200 series cards to justify the price difference imo.

 

Also most probably you will have to get a new motherboard as I reckon it won't support a new card if you are running with an 8600 atm. You will definitely need one if you are planning on upgrading your processor, which I would advise. Anything like an i7 or even a quad core would need you to get a new motherboard. That's what I had to do when I upgraded to a quad core from a dual.

[Ryzza5]

I think the motherboard will be fine (as long as it supports PCI 2.0 - use a program like Everest (demo) to get that info).

 

You will probably, however, need a new Power Supply Unit (PSU). The graphics card needs direct input from the PSU from a 6-pin and 4-pin cable. Even my 9800 GX2 needed both of these connections, so make sure you've got a 800w (or higher) PSU with these connections. You can get cheap adapters to convert the normal 4-pin molex (the power connectors that go in your HD and DVD drives) to the plugs that the card takes, but this isn't recommended (especially for such a high end card).

 

Since you're in Melbourne, feel free to send me a message when you are closer to upgrading, and I can show you the best/cheapest places to go shopping.

[The Queen]

...so make sure you've got a 800w (or higher) PSU with these connections.

 

No need for a PSU of that power. Even a 700w would be enough. Atm I am running with a 750w and it's more than enough. I would make sure though that you get a decent brand of PSU as many of the cheap ones which say they have a certain wattage but may not even give out half of what they say.

[Seluryar]

i replaced my gts 250 with a gtx 260 earlier this year, i do not plan on upgrading until the end of the year, and when i do upgrade, i plan to go for a Nvidia 400 series card