Looking for something new!

A

Admiraloftheblack

n00b
Joined
Jan 16, 2006
Messages
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So, my 7950GT Just died and I'm looking for something new, in the price range of 140-170$. I pretty much only play World of Warcraft, Looking to be able to play this at max settings at a decent resolution and still have decent FPS.

I was looking at some ATI card's, But I've been reading about problems with ATI cards and World of Warcraft(Can anyone confirm this?)

Any help would be appreciated :D (Links would help alot)
 
Don't waste your money on the GTS250. hardwareguru is right with his GTX260/216 suggestion
 
Yup, that's the same one that I mentioned earlier. Zipzoom sells it for $150 w/free shipping $20 MIR
 
another day and another video card thread with people giving suggestions without even knowing what the rest of the OPs comp is like. no need in buying a gtx260 if his cpu and power supply arent decent or he doesnt have enough memory.


OP please list ALL your specs including res you want to play at.
 
Thermaltake PowerStation 520W
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+
2GB OCZ Platinum
Want to play at 1680x1050

My computer is pretty old, But it dosen't take much to run WoW
 
Admiraloftheblack said:
Thermaltake PowerStation 520W
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+
2GB OCZ Platinum
Want to play at 1680x1050

My computer is pretty old, But it dosen't take much to run WoW
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absolutely no point in putting a gtx260 in there. that cpu will really kill the gtx260 especially at 1680. I had a 5000 X2 and at 1680 I literally only got 55-65% of what even my 192sp gtx260 could do. no point in going with anything better than a 9800gt or so for that res with that cpu. a 9800gt would still be a massive jump over your 7950 and you would actually be able to utilize almost all of it.
 
cannondale06 said:
absolutely no point in putting a gtx260 in there. that cpu will really kill the gtx260 especially at 1680. I had a 5000 X2 and at 1680 I literally only got 55-65% of what even my 192sp gtx260 could do. no point in going with anything better than a 9800gt or so for that res with that cpu. a 9800gt would still be a massive jump over your 7950 and you would actually be able to utilize almost all of it.
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I dont agree with this.. I ran a gtx 260 for awhile with my current rig which has a similar processor as his. I felt I got a decent expereince out of it. I agree that its at the limits of the processor though. My current 4870 I feel iam getting about 85% to 90% of its full potential with my x2 running at 2.8ghz.


point is i dont think its as bad a choke as stated.

frankly if i hadnt bought this 4870 a few months ago i be all over those 165 - 180 doller 4890's runnign around, and iam sure i still get decent play outa it. Probaly wouldnt go any higher though. without upgrading CPU.
 
dajet24 said:
I dont agree with this.. I ran a gtx 260 for awhile with my current rig which has a similar processor as his. I felt I got a decent expereince out of it. I agree that its at the limits of the processor though. My current 4870 I feel iam getting about 85% to 90% of its full potential with my x2 running at 2.8ghz.


point is i dont think its as bad a choke as stated.

frankly if i hadnt bought this 4870 a few months ago i be all over those 165 - 180 doller 4890's runnign around, and iam sure i still get decent play outa it. Probably wouldnt go any higher though. without upgrading CPU.
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facts are facts and what you feel doesnt mean a whole lot. you are just like anybody else that has not compared your cpu side by side with an E8500 or other high end cpu. you just dont know any better. its like driving a medicore car and thinking it fast until you get in something really fast and see what you are missing. ;)

FACT: I have had a gtx260 in a an X2 system and now in an E8500 system
FACT: even a 4670 was bottlenecked with the 5000 X2
FACT: the gtx260 will easily lose 30-40% of its potential performance at 1680 when paired with the ops 2.4 X2

this is just to show you how much his cpu kills a gtx260 and mine is the the old 192sp model.

I ran the Far Cry 2 benchmark at 1680x1050 since that is what the op will be playing at. I also ran it at Ultra settings and 4x AA to make it about as gpu limited as possible.

first run is with my E8500 at 3.16 and the next run was at 1.6 which would be about equal to his X2 at 2.4.. his cpu being a bottleneck is an understatement.

Settings: Demo(Ranch Small), 1680x1050 (60Hz), D3D10, Fixed Time Step(No), Disable Artificial Intelligence(No), Full Screen, Anti-Aliasing(4x), VSync(No), Overall Quality(Ultra High), Vegetation(Very High), Shading(Ultra High), Terrain(Ultra High), Geometry(Ultra High), Post FX(High), Texture(Ultra High), Shadow(Ultra High), Ambient(High), Hdr(Yes), Bloom(Yes), Fire(Very High), Physics(Very High), RealTrees(Very High)


E8500 @ 3.16 GTX260 @ 700/2250
Total Frames: 2736, Total Time: 51.01s
Average Framerate: 53.64
Max. Framerate: 86.20 (Frame:414, 6.34s)
Min. Framerate: 37.74 (Frame:1037, 17.55s)


E8500 @ 1.60 GTX260 @ 700/2250
Total Frames: 1612, Total Time: 51.02s
Average Framerate: 31.60
Max. Framerate: 50.15 (Frame:257, 6.63s)
Min. Framerate: 20.69 (Frame:1084, 33.76s)

thats right the E8500 gave the gtx260 65% better performance than his 2.4 X2 even on gpu limited Ultra settings and 4x AA. his cpu being a bottleneck is an understatement. :eek:
 
The GTS 250 is basically a Geforce 9800GTX+ with a 55nm die shrink. So, this would use less power than the 9800GTX+ based on the 65nm die. Also, the cards size is shorter in length than an older 65nm die 9800GTX+ video card. Most of the Geforce GTS 250 video cards require only 1 x 6pin PCI-E power connector. That EVGA Geforce GTS 250 only requires a power supply with a 24A rating on the +12V rail. Your Powerstation 520W should handle that video card. I mean.. other quality PSU at 500W puts out more Amperage on the +12V rail but, your Thermaltake will suffice. Although...they don't state what's the total combined amperage on your Powerstation 520W, it has Dual +12V rail rated at 15A/each. Soo... it should have at least 26A total on the +12V rail.

By the way, I agree with Cannondale on the GTX 260 video card. I know I mentioned that video card earlier and it falls within your budget. However, It's not worth getting a GTX 260 for your system with those specs. Plus, the fact that you're only mainly playing WOW. I don't have a GTX 260 myself and I have a Core 2 Quadd Q6600 with an 8800GT video card playing all the graphic intensive games. I should be getting a GTX 260 not you. Hehe.
 
HardwareGuru said:
The GTS 250 is basically a Geforce 9800GTX+ with a 55nm die shrink. So, this would use less power than the 9800GTX+ based on the 65nm die. Also, the cards size is shorter in length than an older 65nm die 9800GTX+ video card. Most of the Geforce GTS 250 video cards require only 1 x 6pin PCI-E power connector. That EVGA Geforce GTS 250 only requires a power supply with a 24A rating on the +12V rail. Your Powerstation 520W should handle that video card. I mean.. other quality PSU at 500W puts out more Amperage on the +12V rail but, your Thermaltake will suffice. Although...they don't state what's the total combined amperage on your Powerstation 520W, it has Dual +12V rail rated at 15A/each. Soo... it should have at least 26A total on the +12V rail.

By the way, I agree with Cannondale on the GTX 260 video card. I know I mentioned that video card earlier and it falls within your budget. However, It's not worth getting a GTX 260 for your system with those specs. Plus, the fact that you're only mainly playing WOW. I don't have a GTX 260 myself and I have a Core 2 Quadd Q6600 with an 8800GT video card playing all the graphic intensive games. I should be getting a GTX 260 not you. Hehe.
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the 9800gtx+ was already 55nm. the gts250 1gb has a different shorter more efficient pcb and components. the gts250 512mb can have that same new pcb but can also literally be a 9800gtx+ with a different sticker. the one the op picked does appear to be the new shorter pcb though.
 
Actually, a Geforce 9600GT will do him nice already with a big boost over his 7950GT. That GTS 250 card is a good price though at $100 w/free shipping and $10 MIR. Regardless whether his Thermaltake Powerstation 520W can handle the GTS 250 or not, it's old already. That PSU is a good 4 years old. My Antec Trueblue 480W has showed its age already with constant freezes as I boot up the PC. A swap with an Antec EA650 psu and it runs smooth. I would say BFG 9600GT for $75 + Antec EA430 PSU for $45 w/free shipping.
 
WoW is a lot more graphically demanding than you guys think. Even my GTX 275 and C2D 3.0GHz setup can't always maintain 60fps in WotLK content. If I set shadows to max, I can kiss my framerate goodbye. :)
 
Well.. at least he will see an improvement over his 7950GT that's for sure. Hehe :). If he gets the GTS 250 card for $100 with a new PSU such as the Antec E430 for $45, It's still within his budget.
 
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