Should I upgrade? To what?

Tarrosion

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 2, 2007
Messages
110
Current setup:
i5-2400
8gb ddr3
VisionTek ATI 4870 512MB

Monitor resolution: 1920x1200

Budget: $200 (preferred), $250 (max if it provides excellent value)

Primary usage of graphics card: games

Other considerations:
- the card can't be super long. The 4870 above barely fits in my case.
- I'm alright with used or factory refurbished as long as the card is in excellent condition and comes from a reputable source.
- For the next 2 days, I'm 20 minutes from a Microcenter.
- Quiet is not essential, but my current card sounds like a desk fan on high; quieter would be nice.
- I don't currently overclock but would be willing to do so minimally for big gains in performance and small dips in stability/lifetime.

1) Should I upgrade? I can't max everything with the 4870, but everything I've played still plays alright. So it'd be nice to have something new now, but I could wait if need be. If I upgrade, the new card will stay with me for at least 2 years, so future proofing is important to me.

2) If so, to what?

Thanks,
Tarrosion
 
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FWIW, I just upgraded from a 4870 1GB to this MSI 7850 2GB and have been very happy with the performance. It is also about 8" in length. I bought the MSI when the price was lower and Newegg had a 30 dollar rebate, bringing it down to $210... looks like they've cranked up the price on it, so maybe wait for a better price...
 
Thanks for the reply.

Based on the dimensions here and my instinct, I think my current card is around 10.5 inches. So 8" would be an easy fit.
 
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Just a thought to you is in the past i had two of the xfx 5770 and if you go on ebay or amazon you can pick one up for around $80 and if you have room why not two?
These cards are great for what they are and do an excellent job in gaming. No they are not the best but they are the right size and at a great price. Just a thought to throw out there to you.
 
Just a thought to you is in the past i had two of the xfx 5770 and if you go on ebay or amazon you can pick one up for around $80 and if you have room why not two?
These cards are great for what they are and do an excellent job in gaming. No they are not the best but they are the right size and at a great price. Just a thought to throw out there to you.

No point in going HD 5770 CF when you can get much more consistent performance from a single GPU like HD 7850. Also the 1GB on HD 5770 is too less for games like BF3 with Ultra 4x MSAA at 1200p. The HD 7850 is simply the best card for the OP.
 
Others in threads similar to yours have suggested waiting until the GTX 660 comes out on August 16th. I second their suggestion, as it may drive prices downwards on other video cards, depending on the price the GTX 660 retails at upon launch (anywhere from $250-300, apparently). In this case, I believe playing the waiting game is the way to go.
 
+1 go for the HD 7850 or wait for the 660 Ti

660TI seems like it is going to be a great card, but could be out of his price range. I don't think it would be much better than just getting a 7850 unless he really wants nvidia.
 
Thanks for the responses folks. I'll wait till the 660 comes out and then check the state of the market.
 
Thanks for the responses folks. I'll wait till the 660 comes out and then check the state of the market.

Smart thinking as the 660 is so close to release, prices should adjust by the end of the month.
 
I too upgraded several month ago from a xfx 1gb 4870 to an asus 7850. The increase in performance is quite noticable even with my CPU bottleneck.

I personally think a 7850 is a bit stronger than a 4870x2 and with the OC potential you should get a great boost.

However, my 7850 gets to around 60°C when fully stressed (not oc'ed). But thats my fault/choice since I use a Corsair 550D and only 1 casefan as an exhaust. It is, compared to my 4870, near silent.
 
the 660 is so close waiting is a good idea. because it will most likely lower those 7870 prices into a range thats more affordable for you. and the 7870 is an amazing card. consistently praised throughout reviews. the 660 will be 300 most likely maybe even more so probably not what youre looking for
 
Wait for the 660 Ti. It's supposed to come out in about 2 weeks, and the benchmarks from Tweaktown show that it is MUCH better than the 7850.
 
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