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Should I Upgrade?

D

DudeItsMe

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Messages
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I am pondering a video card upgrade, was wondering if it was worthwhile and what I should look at upgrading to.

Here are system specs:
CPU: Q6600
Mobo: Abit IP35 Pro
Video Card 1: EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX 768 MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCIe x16 (main monitor)
Video Card 2: GeForce 9500 GT or something like that (second and third monitor)
PSU: PC Power and Cooling 750 W
Memory: 8 GB DDR2 800
Case: Antec P180

Reason I want to upgrade is because I like running things sharp and smooth--high settings, decent (30+) frame rate. This is starting to not be possible in WoW. I am not sure if it is video card or CPU limited though.

I have been thinking about getting an Eyefinity card, but only if the price is not too high. My monitors run at 1920 x 1080, 1920 x 1200, and 1920 x 1080. Obviously I would have to gimp the middle monitor, but it would work, right (like, bars at the top and bottom of image instead of just stretching).

My usual use usually consists of a game on middle monitor (usually WoW), movie on another (Bluray), and internet/e-mail/chat on the outside. So if I replace BOTH cards it is going to have to be at least capable of running all that at once.

Budget: Pretty flexible, let's say $250 - 500.
 
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You are GPU limited, Wow has had tangible graphic upgrades and a 8800 GTX will struggle 1920x1080 all high. The q6600 is still a capable gaming processor esp if you are overclocking.

Dont think you need to upgrade both cards, I suggest looking at the GTX570 which we will know a lot more about in the next few day $370 ish. Also keep an eye out for the new ATI 6900 series over the next week ish.
 
First thing is to give credit where it's due. Anyone looking at this thread, take note of thorough listing the OP made about his setup. This is extremely advice-friendly, and helps us give advice much better than we could otherwise. Thanks OP, for helping us help you.

Do you only play WoW? I just looked at the OP and realized that this seems to be the case. If it is, a single 5850, or a 5870 if you can snag one for around $220 on sale(Sapphire has had one around this price a few times), will be good. All the SLI suggestions I made are complete overkill for your setup.

This is the cheapest 5850, and has a double lifetime warranty(when you sell it, the buyer gets a lifetime warranty too, for better sell prices).

Here are all the cheapest 5870s. As you can see, the Sapphire one is $250 AR, which is still good.
 
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I think I need to read up on Nvidia Surround and see how it compares to Eyefinity. Eyefinity is tempting, but I know realistically I would not use it that much in WoW. WoW isn't really limited by field of view, plus then I would not be able to watch movies, monitor Vent, etc. I'm not sure if I would be able to play WoW if I had to pay attention to it full time.

Anyways, I'll start looking into the suggestions posted. Problem is, I just don't follow the video card market enough to make sense of what I need without someone pointing me in the right direction.

As for waiting, I can definitely do that if new releases are coming soon.
 
eyefinity isnt just for ingame. Its to support multiple monitors. You dont have to use it in wow. It would just make using three monitors easy by using only one card. If WoW is all you mainly do then i second the 5850.
 
eyefinity cards at the egg right now are pretty cheap ~$300.
i'd say grab one and be done with it.
 
Definitely GPU limited. The Q6600 is still a strong processor and at your resolution, the 8800GTX is definitely old now. I second getting a 5850/5870 on clearance and calling it a day. You'll easily be 2x faster at that resolution
 
bore_u2_death said:
First thing is to give credit where it's due. Anyone looking at this thread, take note of thorough listing the OP made about his setup. This is extremely advice-friendly, and helps us give advice much better than we could otherwise. Thanks OP, for helping us help you.

Do you only play WoW? I just looked at the OP and realized that this seems to be the case. If it is, a single 5850, or a 5870 if you can snag one for around $220 on sale(Sapphire has had one around this price a few times), will be good. All the SLI suggestions I made are complete overkill for your setup.

This is the cheapest 5850, and has a double lifetime warranty(when you sell it, the buyer gets a lifetime warranty too, for better sell prices).

Here are all the cheapest 5870s. As you can see, the Sapphire one is $250 AR, which is still good.
Click to expand...

I pretty much just play WoW right now. I occasionally pick up a random game like a Need for Speed title, RTS game, or whatever FPS is cool at the time. However I usually don't stick with those so long that I need to have the best performance.
 
I would grab either a

6870 or a GTX 470. The 470 comes with Mafia 2 Free. My choice is the 470 over the 6870 you get a free game and better performance.
 
The only concern I have with the 470 is the heat issue. I am not worried about the heat in the room, as my house is cool int he winter and I have a whole house fan for the summer. However the heat in the case could be a problem. Couldn't the chip get hot enough to hinder its own performance in games? With my 8800GTX (also a hot model), it seems like when the temperature is pushing the higher digits performance suffers.
 
I disagree with some of the comments. The Q6600, despite being a quad core, runs only at 2.4ghz which is pretty slow by today's standards. If OP overclocks the CPU to ~3.2ghz, I'd say he'd be good for a GPU upgrade. Without the OC, the GPU wouldn't really be fully realized. That CPU probably runs just as fast as my old X2 5000 in games like WoW.
 
Well the Q6600 is never maxed out while playing WoW. Usually under half total usage, never have one thread maxed out either. I may try OC'ing though, I have just been lazy.

I think I'll wait a bit for whatever new stuff comes out then pick up a card. Want to spend at least $250 so I can put it on the Newegg card and pay for it over like three months.
 
Overclock the Q6600 to atleast 3.2GHz and get a 5870 (can be found around $220 new often when deals arise). My similar set-up plays WoW at ultra settings (4320x900 + bezel correction) with 4x AA at 60+ FPS average.
 
exlink said:
Overclock the Q6600 to atleast 3.2GHz and get a 5870 (can be found around $220 new often when deals arise). My similar set-up plays WoW at ultra settings (4320x900 + bezel correction) with 4x AA at 60+ FPS average.
Click to expand...

Nice.

I would however like to keep it above $250 (what? When is the last time you heard that) to give me a few months to pay for it. I could afford to put it on my AmEx card this month, but I'd rather pay for it next month since I know I won't be buying a ton of Christmas presents.
 
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