Time for an upgrade...

TheCur

[H]F Junkie
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Feb 7, 2007
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...of my video card maybe?
Currently using a HD4870X2 on a 3.4GHz C2D / 8Gb RAM / Dell 30".

I play a lot of BFBC2, Borderlands, WoW, and usually the FPS-of-the-day/week/month.

I'm using an Intel motherboard, but I'm not brand loyal, just looking for the best bang for the buck. I haven't looked at hardware since I built this rig so I'm very out of the loop. Getting myself an Xmas present.

Looking to spend anywhere up to ~$350 on a new video card or so. Is there anything out there worth getting right now? I thought I read somewhere new video cards coming out might lower prices or some such...

Thanks.
 
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Right now I do not think there are any video cards for $350 that would be worth it for you to upgrade.

I mean a 5970, and 580 are faster, but not by enough to be worth the swap and are more than $350.

I guess you could SLI 580s, but we are talking a LOT more than $350.

"Soon: amd is supposed to come out with a few new cards, but again, I doubt that for $350 you are going to get a significant upgrade.

Yeah, have a excellent card like yours, sucks when you want to upgrade. ;)
 
Thanks for the info Speedy, appreciate it. Guess I'll just stick with what I've got for now.
 
I'd expect the 6950 to edge past a 4870x2, maybe by 10-15%. We'll know in a week.

Add in the fact that you won't have to deal with any CrossFire scaling issues, and it'd definitely be worth the upgrade IMO.
 
How much are they expected to be MSRP?

There's no concrete word on pricing yet, but I expect around $300-350, depending on how well it competes with Nvidia's 570. The 6970 will probably cost $400-450.
 
IMO sell the 4870X2 while you can still get a good return then add $ to what you get and treat yourself to a 480/580.
 
IMO sell the 4870X2 while you can still get a good return then add $ to what you get and treat yourself to a 480/580.

I'll just move it to my kids rig. Probably throw the 9800GTX 512 in there up in GenMay as a freebie, or at least that's my current train of thought.
 
I'll just move it to my kids rig. Probably throw the 9800GTX 512 in there up in GenMay as a freebie, or at least that's my current train of thought.

Keep the 9800GTX as a PhysX card or as a folder ;)

BTW, I was not aware that the 4870x2 had crossfire issues. Do you have any?
 
Keep the 9800GTX as a PhysX card or as a folder ;)

BTW, I was not aware that the 4870x2 had crossfire issues. Do you have any?

I haven't had any issues that I've noticed. Can you use a 9800GTX along side a AMD card? I've been out of the hardware loop for a couple years now.
 
3.4GHz C2D? well that has to be oced but exactly what Core 2 duo model is that? and has anybody even asked what resolution you are at?

remember that a 4870x2 is as fast or faster than a 5870 so your cpu is going to be a very large limitation with anything faster. in fact you are completely cpu limited in several games now.
 
3.4GHz C2D? well that has to be oced but exactly what Core 2 duo model is that? and has anybody even asked what resolution you are at?

remember that a 4870x2 is as fast or faster than a 5870 so your cpu is going to be a very large limitation with anything faster. in fact you are completely cpu limited in several games now.

It's an E8400, but oc'ed. This is [H] after all. I've run it up higher but 3.2 is a nice round number for oc'ed memory too given the multipliers I have on the mb. Well I don't really want to upgrade to a i5/i7 right now, maybe I should get a Q9550 or so? Unsure how much of a boost that would give me however.

Dell 30" I think they assumed 2560x1600.

Yes, 30" is 2560x1600 and a 19 or 20" running at 1280x1024.
 
If you look at the 'Tom's Hardware GPU Charts," the 4870X2 is still at the top of the list just under the 5970. So there is nothing faster than your GPU at $350 atm.
 
It's an E8400, but oc'ed. This is [H] after all. I've run it up higher but 3.2 is a nice round number for oc'ed memory too given the multipliers I have on the mb. Well I don't really want to upgrade to a i5/i7 right now, maybe I should get a Q9550 or so? Unsure how much of a boost that would give me however.



Yes, 30" is 2560x1600 and a 19 or 20" running at 1280x1024.
Ouch, as others have said you need at least 2 more cores before you worry about the video card.

I'm using a Q9550 in my main rig (see sig) that has been great. Two things to keep in mind though, if your chipset is anything but a p45 or x48 you will likely not be able to clock past the 3.6-3.8 range. Also, they're selling for $200 used which is more than what I paid for mine a year and a half ago and it was old then. Sandy Bridge should be about 50% faster than these for around the same cost (you should be able to sell your current proc/mobo/ram and offset most of the cost of the new mobo and ram).
 
Your main problem is a mismatched setup. You are running a high resolution, expensive monitor with a fairly outdated computer. I would wait another year or so to simply get a new computer all at once. There is no substantial upgrade from your current GPU that will not be bottlenecked by your CPU (I'm talking about architecture, not just number of cores or megahertz).
 
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