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Pivo504

2[H]4U
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Feb 18, 2005
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I currently have a 7900GT CO EVGA. I have a opteron 2.8 dual core w/ 2 gigs of ram. Im wondering if I wanted to play games such as left for dead 2 & modern warfare 2 what sort of upgrade would I need to play both at resolutions for a 20-22 inch monitor & high settings?
 
something like a gts250 level of card would be the highest I would go with that cpu. 4770, 4830, 4850, 9800gt, or gts250 would all be good options. they all perform about the same but some use way more power than others so make sure your psu is decent for those.
 
Id recommend a gts250 or 4850 there almost identical in performance take whichever is the better deal
 
Would either of these be able to play modern warfare 2 & the upcoming games at 20inch monitor res?
 
What Im wondering is will there be something better or cheaper by the time they are reeased? Does upgrading the CPU & Ram really make a big difference in video gaming at 20 inch res? BTW I have a 420 watt OCZ powerstream psu. I havent been following PC hardware so Im not sure whats going on. Does quad core, more than 2gigs of ram really make that big a difference in gaming? Also is there any better monitor to buy over a Dell 2007 WFP? I feel like I might need something a tad larger but still w/ awesome quality & colors.
 
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Your Opty should be fine with a card such as a 4850/GTS 250. I'm an Nvidia fan, so I would probably go with the Nvidia card, but the 4850 can be had for as little as $100 from Newegg, making it a much better choice for the money. Just don't get a 4850 with the reference single-slot cooler, it sucks. I don't think that the Opty would bottleneck the 4850/GTS250, if it did it wouldn't be too much. You will need a new power supply for either of the cards (at least it would be a good idea so that you don't stress your current one too much and risk a failure), I would recommend a Corsair VX550 if you don't need modular or either an OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w/Corsair HX520w if you do.
 
I had a Opty170@2.8ghz, 2gb ram. Went from 7800gt to 4830 when i got my 1920x1080 lcd and saw a huge performance boost in source games. CPU was a noticeable bottleneck most of the time, but still alot more playable than the 7800gt.

I then upgraded to my current setup, 720BE, 4gb, 4850 (4830 rma'd and Asus didn't have any replacements). Everything is a whole bunch better.

Quad can help in some games, but the biggest thing is just how much faster current generation cpus are per clock. Your platform is nearing its end and current midrange video cards are more power than you can take advantage of.

Personally I would just get a 4770 right now and call it good on the pc itself. Its priced above some 4850s, but I think it would be the better choice for your psu situation. Getting something more powerful will likely not show much advantage. Waiting for the release would just save you a couple $$, but I'd rather have the 4770 now and have a better playing experience for the next 3 months.

That's just my view on it after going through a similar upgrade on my old system last February. I'd probably still be using it, but after getting some strange behavior then noticing 5 blown caps on my 4 year old evga nforce4, it was time to get some new parts :eek: .
 
CPU is pretty important to gaming performance; generally speaking, a better CPU, the less propensity there is for the CPU to be a bottleneck, especially towards higher resolutions.

Your "20 inch res" is vague and confusing, the correct terminology would be "1680x1050 resolution", is pretty demanding, and you might find yourself getting bottlenecked by older CPUs at that resolution.

Modern Warfare 2 won't be that GPU intensive, especially if it's going to be coming out on the Xbox 360. In my experience, an 8800GT ran COD4 perfectly well at 1680x1050, I don't suspect MW2 to be that much more graphically intensive, but the recommendations in this thread are good. a GTS250 (9800GTX which in itself is an upclocked 8800GT with more pixel shaders) or a 4770 would be a good start.

As for your monitor question, you'd be better off asking that in the Displays forum. I've used the same monitor you had for 2 years and I upgraded to a 2407WFP and haven't looked back since. :)
 
Im a bit confused. Why would I get a 4770 if the 4850 is better & cheaper?
 
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Is there anyway to check the wattage of my PSU ?? Its either 420 or 520. Im guessing it the latter. Is 520 watts enough to power the 4850 safely?
 
Just look at your PSU's label.

But be forewarned - it's not all about wattage as it is about amperage across the +12V rails. Wattage for a PSU is at best an unreliable measurement of what a PSU can handle, especially cheap ones that have trouble maintaining 12/5/3.3V properly.
 
Pivo504 said:
Is there anyway to check the wattage of my PSU ?? Its either 420 or 520. Im guessing it the latter. Is 520 watts enough to power the 4850 safely?
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420 would be fine if its a good one, what kind of PSU is as important or more so then the wattage. Post your results.
 
Its a older OCZ w/ adjustable rails & green lights. Most likely a power stream because it resembles that the most. Is there anyway to test how much watts it is without removing it from the case?
 
Pivo504 said:
Its a older OCZ w/ adjustable rails & green lights. Most likely a power stream because it resembles that the most. Is there anyway to test how much watts it is without removing it from the case?
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Did you even read my post? Look on your PSU for a sticker that has all the specifications of the PSU. If it doesn't have that (which it shouldn't, but someone could've removed it for whatever reason), then look for any identifying marks, like a model number and google up the product ID. That'd be the easiest way to measure your PSU. Like I said in my other post, it's not all about wattage as it's mainly a marketing thing, especially if your PSU is of cheap quality.
 
Is ram really going to be an issue for FPS gaming? As long as my comp can play it at 20inch native res I dont care about upgrading CPU or RAM. Im tired of constantly upgrading comp parts when there are hardly any games that push them.
 
Pivo504 said:
Is ram really going to be an issue for FPS gaming? As long as my comp can play it at 20inch native res I dont care about upgrading CPU or RAM. Im tired of constantly upgrading comp parts when there are hardly any games that push them.
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constantly upgrading?? your pc is very outdated so it hardly seems like you have been constantly updating.


if you have XP then 2gigs should be fine for games. there are 3 or 4 games where having more than 2gb is necessary in Vista to eliminate hitches. your cpu is decent enough if you go with something like a 4770 or 4850 or less. again just make sure you have decent psu for that 4850.
 
20" native res of 800x600, sounds like, with his computer components. The OP still hasn't specified the exact resolution he's playing his games at, still referring to "resolution" in terms of screen size. :rolleyes:

I'm done with this guy. :D
 
Sorry Synatx. Its 1680x1050 resolution. Well the thing is if getting a quad is not going to significantly increase my gaming experience then I dont want to update. While on the other hand a graphics update will significantly improve my gaming experience.
 
Pivo504 said:
Sorry Synatx. Its 1680x1050 resolution. Well the thing is if getting a quad is not going to significantly increase my gaming experience then I dont want to update. While on the other hand a graphics update will significantly improve my gaming experience.
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well there is no point in getting a really fast card with your cpu. like I have already mentioned a 4850 or 4770 would be a good choice with your setup as long as your psu is fine.
 
cannondale06 said:
well there is no point in getting a really fast card with your cpu. like I have already mentioned a 4850 or 4770 would be a good choice with your setup as long as your psu is fine.
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^ This, just buy a 4850. Or spend 10$ more and get a 4770 that uses less power. Either one will be the exact same performance since the CPU will most likely be holding it back.
 
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