Recommend Upgrade for Low- Mid-Range Setup

the.ronin

the.ronin

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
508
I'm looking to upgrade a component of my system. My budget is $150-$200 so nothing too crazy. I do game (Dragon Age Origins, Tropico 3, Crysis) but don't consider myself a serious gamer. I do a lot of photo and video editing and rendering. I use just one monitor - a 22" Acer X223W at 1680 x 1050.

Thanks for any advice.

System specs:

Windows 7 Pro x64
AMD Phenom 9950 3.11 GHz (OC)
Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
HIS HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3
Antec BP550W
Corsair H50 Cooling
2x OCZ Gold DDR2 800
2x A-DATA 2GB DDR2 800
OCZ Vertex 60GB SSD
WD Raptor 150GB
3x WD Caviar Blue 500GB
CM Storm Scout

scoutblue2.jpg
 
For a gaming upgrade I'd say try selling your GPU for 25$ or more, making your budget 225$, and then get a 4890 or 5770 OC'd edition. Your PSU looks good enough for the job.
4890 has better fps in benchmarks, but 5770 has more features like Direct X11, Eyefiniti, and bitsreams audio. I personally went with the 4890 OC'd edition recently because I won't use those features. Maybe DX 11, but def not for a year or two...
EDIT:
The GPU may help out in the video rendering too, although I'm not really familiar with that stuff. If this doesn't sound appealing I'd say upgrade your CPU to a Phenom 2 X4 965, and sell your old one for a little $$. Keep in mind you OC'd it so it may not sell for as high as it would if you didn't
 
Thanks for the advice - I was actually just looking at the Visiontek 5750 that was on sale at Micro Center. But wasn't sure if it was worth it since I don't think any of games I play require DX11 and again I just use 1 monitor so no need for eyefiniti.

I Frapps'ed Dragon Age and it seems to run at a smooth 30 fps choking down to 10-15 during cinematic scenes. Not sure if that's that bad though.

I was also thinking about upgrading the RAM since these are pretty old. But again not sure how much of a performance gain I'll get?
 
You'd have to upgrade the mobo too then, because it's a DDR2 board. And I don't think the performance gained from the RAM would be near as noticable from a new GPU. Your 4670 is the bottleneck, def not the RAM.

I'd pass on the 5750, it's meant for those who want the features of 5770 but it comes at a cost for us gamers. Unless you want to crossfire two of them, then it may be worthwhile if they're on sale somewhere.

Dragon Age is a RPG if I'm not mistaken (never been into D&D myself) but 30fps is a little low. Most games you want 40fps or higher, in the cinematic screens too.

I forgot to mention, the 5830 is due out soon, and would be a great GPU for your budget (200-230$). I'd def recommend waiting until it's out, getting whatever $$ you can from eBay for your current GPU, and getting one of those. That will keep your current rig afloat for awhile longer...
 
With your limited budget, it really comes down to what you want more:
A) Better gaming performance
B) Better video photo and video editing and rendering performance.

With $200, you won't be able to get both. GPU wise, at most, I would only recommend the HD 5750. The Antec Basiq BP550 Plus, while Delta built, hasn't been shown to be of actual good quality. It is a low quality Delta built PSU and low quality Deltas can be pretty bad

4GB of RAM should be enough for gaming.
 
stephen0983 said:
I'd pass on the 5750, it's meant for those who want the features of 5770 but it comes at a cost for us gamers. Unless you want to crossfire two of them, then it may be worthwhile if they're on sale somewhere.
Click to expand...

That was my feeling as well (in terms of the features I wouldn't use). But at $140 it is tempting. Would I notice that big of a difference from the 4670 going to the 5750?
 
140$ even with tax and/or shipping included is warm at best. It's better than what you have, yes, but if you're upgrading I'd do better. 5770 is better, too, but I'd use every dollar of your budget and get the best you can.
Personally if I were you I'd sell my GPU and then get the 5830 when it comes out for 240$. If you don't want to wait for the 5830 then get the 4890
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438&cm_re=4890-_-14-150-438-_-Product
Note: I got my 4890 through eBay for 180 shipped, it was new unopened. You may find a similar deal.
Funny thing though, it was defective so I had to send it back. But the seller was cool enough to pay the return shipping and send me a OC'd version of the 4890, which usually go for 230+$. I def lucked out...

Edit: I looked at the 12V rails / Wattage of your PSU and these cards should do fine on them. Came out to 32A. And there was another 12V rail combined with other voltages in addition to that. So you're safe IMO
 
stephen0983 said:
Editt: I looked at the 12V rails / Wattage of your PSU and these cards should do fine on them. Came out to 32A. And there was another 12V rail combined with other voltages in addition to that. So you're safe IMO
Click to expand...

The issue isn't whether or not it had enough amperage. The issue was whether or not it could actually provide the stated/rated amperage.
 
Hmmm ... I didn't know my PSU was so deficient. Maybe that's what I should be looking into. Might not be a performance enhancement but then I'll be able to do a real performance enhancement the next time around. Although that 5770 looks tempting. Thanks again for all the advice.
 
Ok I decided might as well man up and just get both a PSU and a GPU upgrade ... Corsair HX750W and BFG GTX 275. I figure this way, I'll just need to upgrade my mobo if I ever wanted to go SLI. I hope I made some decent choices. Thanks again everyone for the advice.
 
the.ronin said:
Ok I decided might as well man up and just get both a PSU and a GPU upgrade ... Corsair HX750W and BFG GTX 275. I figure this way, I'll just need to upgrade my mobo if I ever wanted to go SLI. I hope I made some decent choices. Thanks again everyone for the advice.
Click to expand...

No you made a pretty bad choice in regards to the GTX 275: Unless you can get the GTX 275 for $155 shipped, it is not worth buying over the $165 HD 5770. In addition, SLI or Crossfire is not needed for a small 22" monitor.
 
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