Gfx Card recommendations (NEwb)

The Apprentice

Hi ..

Dont really know a whole pile so looking for some feedback..

My main pc is well old at this stage .. close to 5 or 6 years
Custom build, was a beast but now she,s a dead donkey.
Running a few fps games and what not and its starting to struggle it has

2gigs ram and a 7600gt gfx card
600w psu

Should i just purchase the below.. ?
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/12966073/art/msi/radeon-hd-7770-1-gb-gddr5.html#pix-review


Or should i stick in another 7600gt just to boost her a small bit till maybe get another 6 months out of it ..

Budget 100 notes or so ??

Any ideas ??

Monotype

Yeah, a 7770 would be about right - aside from pixmania not being a popular seller.

It wouldn't be worth your while getting a second 7600gt as a new card would be MUCH more powerful. Alternatively, you could look for second hand cards going for below the €100 mark - maybe a 6850 or 550ti or cards around that area.

tuxy

7770 is the best option, I can't see sli 7600gt performing will in recent games.
Only problem with the 7770 is you will probably want to replace it if you build a new pc in 6 months.

Moon54

The Apprentice wrote: »

Should i just purchase the below.. ?
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/12966073/art/msi/radeon-hd-7770-1-gb-gddr5.html#pix-review

That card is only 128-bit which wouldn't be great for gaming.
Try and find a 256-bit card if you can, it would be well worth it.

I'd agree a 6850 would be ideal, or even a 5850!
I'm running a Sapphire 5850 and it still runs all my games at max settings.
There's a few 5850's & 6850's on Adverts atm.
http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_5850/
http://www.adverts.ie/for-sale/q_6850/

tuxy

Moon54 wrote: »

That card is only 128-bit which wouldn't be great for gaming.
Try and find a 256-bit card if you can, it would be well worth it.

The 7770 even with 128 bit bus beats the 6850 in some game but not others there is not much in it.
If you can get a 6850 second hand for less than a 7770 then it's a good option.

The Apprentice

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/11391849/art/amd/radeon-hd-6870-oem-1-gb-g.html


what you think ?? should i cancel my purchase and just get this ???

Went and dropped to the floor on me ?

TerrorFirmer

If the PC is 5 or 6 years old, the CPU is probably as old as the 7600GT, which means getting a newer card is going to be extremely limited. What CPU do you have?

The Apprentice

Amd 3.0ghz
and if i remember correctly an A7vx8x duluxe fatality motherboard.. i think

tuxy

That cpu with a 7770 might be ok for games on medium settings no AA. What do you guys think?

TerrorFirmer

I doubt it. It's a bottleneck. Pretty sure the 6000+ is slower than even old Core2's like E6700 and E6600.

I would say overclock it as best you can, and maybe get something like a 7750.

III

you need to get some ram... 8gb kit (2x4gb) are 30 euro these days, no excuses

TerrorFirmer

Definitely. At least 4GB of ram and given the meager price difference between the 7750 and 7770, you're actually probably better off with Tuxys suggestion of the 7770.

The Apprentice

Ok .. ye i,ll lob in maybe 16gbs just to be certain .. i can see the limitations of putting in a gfx card like that, just at the moment if it gets me a 6 months i,ll strip it again and start from scratch.

Thanks guys !!

marco_polo

The Apprentice wrote: »

Ok .. ye i,ll lob in maybe 16gbs just to be certain .. i can see the limitations of putting in a gfx card like that, just at the moment if it gets me a 6 months i,ll strip it again and start from scratch.

Thanks guys !!

Just get another 2GB for now TBH, it'll be ddr2 ram that you won't be able to use in a new build anyway, no point buying too much as it is quite expensive to source nowadays.

TerrorFirmer

The problem is the CPU, it's very old and would definitely be the bottleneck in the equation. 8GB ram is plenty though, and a 7770 will definitely see you out the next while, it can handle most new games at 1080p at fairly decent settings - but your CPU will limit it before it reaches its top potential to be honest. I think another 4gb of ram picked up cheap, and a 7770 will tide you over quite nicely - especially if you've been coping with a 7600GT until now! Surely you can't be playing too many recent games - can't think of many recent ones that'd even run on the 7600GT in the FPS genre! With the upgrade mentioned above, you'd be good for the likes of Battlefield 3 at medium settings at 720p, ....not too shabby, really. Try overclocking that sucker for all it's worth as well....it'll really help!

TerrorFirmer

marco_polo wrote: »

Just get another 2GB for now TBH, it'll be ddr2 ram that you won't be able to use in a new build anyway, no point buying too much as it is quite expensive to source nowadays.

I thought the same when I was buying DDR2 the other week for my other machine, I remember about a year ago it was ludicrously expensive, seems to have gone full circle again and become very affordable again. I got a single 2GB stick for 20 euro brand new, and if you look at the b-grade section of the likes of Dabs, you can get a single 2GB stick for about 12-15 euro if you look around. Otherwise, MemoryC do a new 2GB stick for about 20.

marco_polo

Oh thats not bad at all, didn't realise it had gotten so cheap again.

The Apprentice

Sorry to be a pain in the Hole ---

Got a refund from pixmania, for the card i ordered mistakenly and its taken so ****ing long now i have upped the budget a little.
3 weeks and still no cash.. Should get it tommorrow or Friday hopefully

Looking to buy maybe 8gbs of ram and maybe Decent gfx card..
Obviously im fully award the cpu will limit any card i buy at this stage, im only a few months away from purchasing a new rig, i can strip the ram and card and put into a new purchase ..
Im not willing to get the Cpu,mobo done at this stage i,ll just sink a new pc come june july after college year end !!!

Budget approx 200-220 ..

Any suggestions guys ??

Tij da feen

You won't be able to use RAM that you get for this build in a new build. I presume that the system you have now uses DDR2 and any new motherboard you buy will need DDR3. Upgrading to 8GB of RAM in that system is completely pointless as it won't be used anyway, maybe just upgrade to 4GB. Have a look at getting a 7850/7870 as that will carry over well into a new build. What resolution are you playing at?

The Apprentice

1024x768 ... didnt even realise that .. lol

Ya if the ram is not going to be ddr3 **** it, i,ll wing it until i purchase the new build

marco_polo

Actually is it quite likely that you have a 32bit OS? In that case anything more than 4GB would be a complete waste anyway. Even if you have a 64 bit OS 8GB is excessive for a build you will be discarding in a few months). One cheap 2GB DDR2 (preferably second hand) set is all I would bother with.

Hi,

If you are looking for a 6850 I have one (sorry op's if I'm not allowed to do this) Reason I'm selling is because if you see my other post I'm looking to upgrade.

Edit: Sorry my bad its a, Club 3D Radeon 6870 1024MB, AMD Radeon HD 6870, PCI-Express

The Apprentice

corsair cm2x1024 -6400 ram 800mhz

x 2 pcs is what i have actually .. think 1 may be malfunctioning ... hmm

areyawell

If your gaming at 1024 resolution just get something like the the 6570 for 45 quid and an extra 1 or 2gb of ram to tie you over till your new build.

Don't know how anyone can game on that resolution