Opteron165 and 4870?

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CruisD64

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Hello everyone! I'm wondering if it is a worthwhile upgrade switching from an 8800gts 640 to a 4870 512. My current setup is in my sig. I don't care much about crysis, just games like CoD4 and Bioshock etc.... The reason I ask is because I just purchased a Samsung 120hz 40 inch tv (Model: LN40a650) and I'd like to play some games over on it. The 8800gts ran everything fine with max settings minus AA. Would the 4870 deliver similar performance with AA? I hear that AA hardly hinders the performance of these cards at all. I plan on building a new computer within the next 8 months, maybe sooner, but the purchase of the TV has drained my wallet. I can only afford like a 4870. What do you think? Is it worth it? AA is the main reason I'm considering the upgrade. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
 
I would say go for it, if you are satisfy with the performance you are getting now, but need more GPU power since you bought a bigger screen, I don't see how you can go wrong with the HD4870.

Maybe a better CPU combo down the road, but you said everything runs fine but you need more gpu power so HD4870 it is!
 
I played Bioshock at max w/ DX10 on a 3800+ X2 (939) with a HD4850, and it always ran at 60+ fps, so you should be more than good.

What resolution do you plan on playing at?
 
the world in conflict review paints a different picture though! i drool at some of the setups that people have, but I must say that my system chugs along and I havent upgraded in 2 years! once I'm done with college and start making some bank though, a new computer is near the top of the list. for now, a 4870 will suffice. thanks for the help everyone! :)
 
I'm pretty sure that you should be able to clock that opty higher then 2.7. Try taking out an extra ram stick to make it 2Gbs or just have two identical sticks in, optys generally clock rather well.
 
you would be very happy with a 4870, gtx260 or 280. the 4870 is stronger in AA in all but the last one.

your PSU on the other hand may need an upgrade. Isn't that the series that tend to blow the caps? you may want to upgrade it if its really old (guessing that it is) then again I am not sure just suggesting you check on it.
 
I would go two 9600 GTs since you have a SLI board. Best bang for buck... the 9600 GTs scale incredible with SLI, and you can do two of them for under $200 if you look around.
 
I'm looking at the same situation - getting a new vid card for similar games but also upgrading to an Opteron 165 or FX 60. (Currently running an Opteron 148).

You don't think the video cards would be CPU limited, do you?
 
Yes they would be limited... but if dollars count, GPU still beats CPU on the upgrade path, so long as you can pull off 2.6Ghz or more out of your CPU. This is especially true considering how much GPU power you can get for your dollar today.
 
Excellent point - my Opteron 148 is at 3.1ghz right now. Put the money into the video card and just save the cash from a CPU upgrade to move to an AM2 (or something else) down the road.

Thanks!
 
DeadSkull said:
I'm pretty sure that you should be able to clock that opty higher then 2.7. Try taking out an extra ram stick to make it 2Gbs or just have two identical sticks in, optys generally clock rather well.
Click to expand...

I wish I could but not with my stepping. :( CCBWE 0546MPMW. Not the best stepping. I'm actually surprised I was able to get 2.7 out of it. Idle temps are 43c and 33c. A ten degree variance between cores! If I come across a 165 for around 40 bucks that has a better stepping I may jump on it but for now I'm not planning to switch out this CPU. Would 3.0ghz instead of 2.7 make a huge difference?
 
I will probably try and find an Opteron 165 as well, if the price is right. Looks like a video card would be the best money spent now.

Don't forget to check out http://www.amdgeeks.net/steppings to look for the best stepping for your AMD chip.
 
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