Upgrade GPU - worth it or not?

Gummy Panda

I have a two year old Overclockers UK "Titan Apache" Intel Core i3 530 2.93GHz @ 4.20GHz Dual Core

System Specification
- Case: Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black
- Power Supply: OCZ StealthXStream 600w Ready Power Supply
- CPU: Intel Core i3 530 2.93GHz Clarkdale overclocked to 4.20GHz
- Motherboard: Gigabyte H55M-UDH2 Intel H55 (Socket 1156) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard
- Cooler: Akasa AK-967 V2 Nero Direct Contact Heatpipe CPU Cooler
- RAM: Geil Value 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
- Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache
- Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 "Modern Warfare 2" 1024MB GDDR5

I think the 5850 is on its way out as the fans seem to be reving up a lot on recent games and the recent patch of Diablo3/WoW has shown its performance is going downhill.

Any suggestions on a card to pick up to replace it or advice?

Monotype

What kind of budget are you thinking of?

Gummy Panda

150-250euro.

Not sure on cards as there seems variations in each model e.g. GTX, GT, TI

EDIT: Not loyal to ATI so either brand

ED E

You could go crossfire, your mobo supports it.

Have you cleaned your case out recently, might reduce the stress on your 5850s fan.

jforrw

AMD Radeon HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 - Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games with lowered detail. One of the best enthusiast-oriented values.

Gbear

jforrw wrote: »

AMD Radeon HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 - Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games with lowered detail. One of the best enthusiast-oriented values.

That's €300+.


I would think your best bet would be a HD 7870 (and then get another to crossfire at a later date) or stretch to a Nvidia GTX 660ti.

marco_polo

The best value is mostly to be had with AMD at the moment with recent price drops, if you are sticking pretty close to the budget then the HD7870 is faster than the GTX660 and very similarly priced at around €220-230 in most places.

Similar story if you can stretch it out to the €280-300 mark, the GTX660ti is a fantastic card, but the HD7950 has fallen too much not to recommend it as the best option here. For me the GTX660Ti ought to drop by around €20 or so to fit nicely in the gap between the HD 7870 and 7950.

If you want to stay under €200 it has to be the HD7850.

Gummy Panda

marco_polo wrote: »

The best value is mostly to be had with AMD at the moment with recent price drops, if you are sticking pretty close to the budget then the HD7870 is faster than the GTX660 and very similarly priced at around €220-230 in most places.

Similar story if you can stretch it out to the €280-300 mark, the GTX660ti is a fantastic card, but the HD7950 has fallen too much not to recommend it as the best option here. For me the GTX660Ti ought to drop by around €20 or so to fit nicely in the gap between the HD 7870 and 7950.

If you want to stay under €200 it has to be the HD7850.

Where is the best place to buy from?

-( i )- Wicker

Amazon.co.uk is usually cheapest if you get free supersaver delivery. Otherwise try Komplett, Elara, dabs, Scan, OCUK

marco_polo

In addition to the above Pixmania have some good deals if you are feeling lucky, but their customer service is absolutely absymal if something goes wrong. I'm usually happy to just pay a few extra quid elsewhere tbh.

Its really just a matter of looking around for for the best product + shipping deal. Overclockers.co.uk sometimes have good weekly deals, scan.co.uk are pretty cheap pricewise but their shipping is £12.50 to Ireland. Much like Amazon the retailers with Irish sites such as Komplett, Dabs and Elara are generally a bit more expensive but with lower (sometimes free) shipping can work out better in total.

EDIT: Actually don't even bother looking at Komplett or Elara at the moment, there prices are miles off everywhere else.

Gummy Panda

I'm going to buy after pay day next week so I'll let you know how I got on

Gummy Panda

I bought a 7870 off amazon today so will be plugging that in by the end of the week.

Thanks for the help

Gummy Panda

Maybe you guys could help me again.

I'm thinking of upgrading the ram from 4GB to 8GB but am confused about which ram to buy from memoryc

I selected DDR3 PC3 12800 page but not sure whih 8GB ram is best due to different timings

Here is Link

Redfox25

7870 is a nice solid card.

game4it70

Are you keeping the old ram and trying to get another 4gb or a new pair of 4gb sticks?

Gummy Panda

game4it70 wrote: »

Are you keeping the old ram and trying to get another 4gb or a new pair of 4gb sticks?

New ram. pair of 4GB sticks

game4it70

Gummy Panda wrote: »

New ram. pair of 4GB sticks

These will be fine once the heatsinks don't interfere with you Cpu cooler.
http://www.memoryc.ie/products/description/8GB_GeIL_DDR3_PC3_12800_1600MHz_Enhance_Corsa_CL9-9_9_9_28-Dual_Channel_kit/index.html

Or these with low profile heatsinks which wont get in the way.
http://www.memoryc.ie/products/description/8GB_G_Skill_DDR3_PC3_12800_1600MHz_Sniper_Series-9_9_9_24-Dual_Channel_Low_voltage_1_25V/index.html

Gummy Panda

game4it70 wrote: »

These will be fine once the heatsinks don't interfere with you Cpu cooler.
http://www.memoryc.ie/products/description/8GB_GeIL_DDR3_PC3_12800_1600MHz_Enhance_Corsa_CL9-9_9_9_28-Dual_Channel_kit/index.html

Or these with low profile heatsinks which wont get in the way.
http://www.memoryc.ie/products/description/8GB_G_Skill_DDR3_PC3_12800_1600MHz_Sniper_Series-9_9_9_24-Dual_Channel_Low_voltage_1_25V/index.html

Thanks for help!