~$100 8800 Ultra upgrade worth it?

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IceDogg

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I decided on getting a 60/64gb SSD for my birthday gift this year. However, I'm considering if a video card upgrade would be a wiser choice? My current system is:

ASUS P5K Deluxe P35
Q6600 @ Stock (have OC to 3.0ghz before)
4GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 1066
EVGA GeForce 8800 Ultra
Corsair 650HX
23" Samsung LCD Monitor (2048x1152 resolution)

I can play almost any game I'm interested in at the moment, usually at medium settings. My favorite games to play at the moment are: WoW, SC2, L4D series, Counterstrike, Bad Company 2, FFXIV. I'd like to try Battlefield 3, but I'm not usually a hardcore title gamer.

Would it make sense to upgrade my video card as well? Would prefer to spend around $125 max. I know the next gen cards will be out around the holiday season. My system is almost 5 years old, but I don't feel it's terrible just yet to completely upgrade everything. I considered:

5770/6770
6790
550 TI

Are any of those worth the $100+ upgrade for my system? Thanks for you help guys
 
IceDogg said:
I decided on getting a 60/64gb SSD for my birthday gift this year. However, I'm considering if a video card upgrade would be a wiser choice? My current system is:

ASUS P5K Deluxe P35
Q6600 @ Stock (have OC to 3.0ghz before)
4GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 1066
EVGA GeForce 8800 Ultra
Corsair 650HX
23" Samsung LCD Monitor (2048x1152 resolution)

I can play almost any game I'm interested in at the moment, usually at medium settings. My favorite games to play at the moment are: WoW, SC2, L4D series, Counterstrike, Bad Company 2, FFXIV. I'd like to try Battlefield 3, but I'm not usually a hardcore title gamer.

Would it make sense to upgrade my video card as well? Would prefer to spend around $125 max. I know the next gen cards will be out around the holiday season. My system is almost 5 years old, but I don't feel it's terrible just yet to completely upgrade everything. I considered:

5770/6770
6790
550 TI

Are any of those worth the $100+ upgrade for my system? Thanks for you help guys
Click to expand...

It depends. An SSD will definitely lower the load times in your system, no doubt about it.

At 64GB however - you'll probably going to have to do a lot of uninstalling and installing games if you want to fit stuff. Windows has an uncanny way of growing in size all the time.

If you are used to Nvidia and their drivers, that's probably what you want to stick to. switching can be annoying. I've had my radeons now for several months, and I am just getting used to their quirks.

The 550 Ti is pretty universally considered "not worth it". For a similar price you should be able to get a good deal on a GTX460. Shoot for the 1gb, but if that's too much money., even the 768mb version will be a faster and better video card than the 550Ti.

Reference this review for comparison
 
I've seen the GTX 460 online, but it's mostly around ~$150. I could afford it if I went the used/refurbished/recertified route, but I'd rather have the real warranty. I'm guessing I might just have to pass then.

For the SSD, I'd only put Windows 7, WoW, and my essential smaller programs mostly. Down the road I might get another just for other games.

I could spend a lil more and get

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150564

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-68...ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1317408574&sr=1-6
 
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SSD is a waste of money for you. Upgrade the gpu at the very least. Doing so will provide you the biggest boost for the least amount of money in your case.

There are several gpu companies with transferable warranties. Buy used. Save a ton.
 
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I have a 64gb OS SSD. It was a good buy for me (I couldn't afford larger).

I put most of my games on another drive and just defrag it regularly. If I have one game that seems to have unreasonable load times, I'll SSd it, but for the most part load times are not an issue for me.
 
IceDogg said:
I've seen the GTX 460 online, but it's mostly around ~$150. I could afford it if I went the used/refurbished/recertified route, but I'd rather have the real warranty. I'm guessing I might just have to pass then.

For the SSD, I'd only put Windows 7, WoW, and my essential smaller programs mostly. Down the road I might get another just for other games.

I could spend a lil more and get

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150564

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Radeon-68...ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1317408574&sr=1-6
Click to expand...

Hmm.. that's odd. The GTX460 768mb models must have gone up in price. I remember seeing them for ~$119 new a while back.

I know you are on a budget, but I just can't bring myself to recommend anything below a 6850HD on the Radeon side, or a GTX460 768Mb on the Geforce side.

I guess my minimum recommendations would be:
GeForce 4xx series: GTX460 or higher
GeForce 5xx series: GTX560 or higher
Radeon 5xxx series: 5830 or higher
Radeon 6xxx series: 6850 or higher

Anything lower than this, and I'm just not sure you'll be happy with the upgrade.

I'll poke around and see if I can find any deals on these cards for you. it should be possible to get at least one of them for ~$129
 
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Naieve said:
New 1gb 460 with EVGA warranty. I find using the google shopping to be the best way to find good prices. Look more if you want, but definitely get the 1gb version.

http://www.directron.com/01gp31366tr.html?gsear=1
Click to expand...

I would agree that the 1Gb is the better card, and that this is a pretty good deal for a GTX460 1gb, but his budget is tight, and for him a 768mb model may just be a better fit. It's sure as hell a lot better than a GTS 450/550 though.

Hmm.. Where did all those $119 768MB GTX460's go...
 
An SSD will at best improve level load times in games. If you want your gaming experience to be worth while you need a new video card. Plain and simple. The 8800 Ultra was a great card in it's day but it's seriously old now.
 
If I could find a GTX 460 for $125 without rebate, I'd buy it in a second. I might just wait a little bit I guess, see if the prices come down a bit. If I did upgrade, would I be limited by my processor/ram at all? Or is there still decent breathing room?

On a side note, I think I'll just save some money and get a decent SSD on sale.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057A5RA6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I only have SATA 3 on my motherboard I believe. I've read to stay away from OCZ, and all the Crucial SSDS are $110 or so
 
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If you only have $125 available, sell the 8800 Ultra and then you have ~$200-$225 to play with.

Then you can easily buy something like a GTX 560 Ti or better depending on sales and such.
 
IceDogg said:
If I could find a GTX 460 for $125 without rebate, I'd buy it in a second. I might just wait a little bit I guess, see if the prices come down a bit. If I did upgrade, would I be limited by my processor/ram at all? Or is there still decent breathing room?

On a side note, I think I'll just save some money and get a decent SSD on sale.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057A5RA6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I only have SATA 3 on my motherboard I believe. I've read to stay away from OCZ, and all the Crucial SSDS are $110 or so
Click to expand...

At stock speeds the platform is dated to say the least but it should be able to handle most games well enough depending on what resolution you run at. An OC to 3.0GHz or so would certainly help the performance.
 
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KatalDT said:
If you only have $125 available, sell the 8800 Ultra and then you have ~$200-$225 to play with.

Then you can easily buy something like a GTX 560 Ti or better depending on sales and such.
Click to expand...

I support this idea, though it might mean going without a video card for a couple of days.

IceDogg said:
If I could find a GTX 460 for $125 without rebate, I'd buy it in a second. I might just wait a little bit I guess, see if the prices come down a bit. If I did upgrade, would I be limited by my processor/ram at all? Or is there still decent breathing room?
Click to expand...

With a 460 I think you're still fine. If you go much higher you may start seeing CPU bottlenecks in some games that are particularly CPU intensive.
 
KatalDT said:
If you only have $125 available, sell the 8800 Ultra and then you have ~$200-$225 to play with.

Then you can easily buy something like a GTX 560 Ti or better depending on sales and such.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking about that. I have a PNY 9800 GTX+ I bought a few years ago as a backup, since I had to RMA my Ultra a few times. I could put that on eBay and use the money to get a little better card as well.

I get to pick a birthday gift for around $100. So I figured that to be the SSD. But I wouldn't mind a decent video card as well for that price, that I could pay out of my pocket. But I think I'll just stick with the SSD for now.

I don't feel like my system is slow or anything, it's still in the enjoyable range, but I know I could greatly benefit from an upgrade.
 
I doubt you will find a 1gb 460 for less than $150. But I really think you are going to want that extra quarter gb or vram. Games are pretty demanding now.
 
Definitely upgrade video card first. An SSD is not going to improve your framerates, at all.
 
MavericK96 said:
Definitely upgrade video card first. An SSD is not going to improve your framerates, at all.
Click to expand...

I found a GTX 460 1gb at best buy online. Going to see if they have it in stock at the store today. I might have to charge it, but if they have it think I'll get it.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/EVGA+-+...Card/1700638.p?id=1218282102998&skuId=1700638

As for the SSD, I want it moreso for multitasking. I tend to have a ton of browser tabs, programs, and I like to game in window mode. For $80 even an average upgrade I can justify.
 
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IceDogg said:
I found a GTX 460 1gb at best buy online. Going to see if they have it in stock at the store today. I might have to charge it, but if they have it think I'll get it.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/EVGA+-+...Card/1700638.p?id=1218282102998&skuId=1700638

As for the SSD, I want it moreso for multitasking. I tend to have a ton of browser tabs, programs, and I like to game in window mode. For $80 even an average upgrade I can justify.
Click to expand...

Looks like a decent card at a decent price. Not something I usually expect from Best Buy.
 
check the fs/ft forums. i just picked up a xfx 6850 (double lifetime warranty kicks ass) for $100.looks absolutely new with no dust and in the original box with accessories.
 
If you haven't ought it already, and you are within range of a Microcenter this deal popped up in the [H] deals thread which looks pretty fantastic
 
Find a HD6850 on sale (~$130) and yes it's worth the upgrade. The video cards you listed are not worth spending $100 on to upgrade.

A used GTX460 or HD6850 for ~$100 is also a good bet.
 
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