Sparkle 460 (768MB) worth it?

Z

Zake202

Gawd
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Jan 19, 2008
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Currently I have an MSI 4850 512DDR3. I play most if not all games at 1900x1200.
My concern is future games with this video card at this resolution. I play on a larger monitor so the lowest I go on some games is one resolution under.

The Sparkle is currently $166 at Microcenter. What I'm not sure of, is if it's a big enough upgrade or if I should wait for the Ati 6000 series to come out and see if the 5000 series drops in price.

The problem with a card beyond the 460 is my PSU. It's a Corsair 450watt +12v @ 33amps. It's enough for the 460 I have in mind (only needing 24amp) but not for something higher end.

If I were to wait and grab 5850 for example, I would also need to replace my PSU which is exceeding how much I want to spend. Unless the 5850 is in the mid 100's.

I guess I'm not sure if it's worth the upgrade to this specific 460, or if I should wait and buy a new PSU and a different card further down the line.

My specs are as follows:
Asus P5Q Pro
Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz
4Gb Memory
WD 6400AAKS
MSI 4850
Cm690 Case (if it matters)
Corsair CMPSU-450VX 450-Watt VX Series 80 Plus
 
if I should go for 1gb, should i just wait for the newer ati cards and see how they do instead?

I guess I'll always have the option of a 460 after those come out anyway.
 
I'd wait.....It won't hurt anything. Besides, the 1gb might come down more.
 
go for it, at 1920x1200 you wont notice a difference with 256MB of ram

I got a evga 768MB and game at 1600x1200 no problems
 
86 5.0L said:
go for it, at 1920x1200 you wont notice a difference with 256MB of ram

I got a evga 768MB and game at 1600x1200 no problems
Click to expand...
you gaming at 1600 doesn't mean much compared to 1920. yes he will notice the difference in some cases because 768mb is not enough for all games so he will get some hitching on settings that the 1gb model could handle. also the 1gb card has more ROPs and more memory bandwidth so its not just that extra 256mb that is the difference here.
 
if you want to wait till october then yeah go for it but i doubt that those cards will be in your price range unless youll raise your budget

edit - didnt see that u were waiting for price drops. uhh yeah if u really want to wait that long... personally though i dont think its worth a couple months wait since the 460 1gb can overclock to 5850 speeds...
 
yea, I think I will wait for AMD to release newer cards.

My question is, will the next cards they release compete with the 460's or will they be a newer series all together?

Lastly, should I upgrade my PSU now or just wait? Not sure if I should go with 600 or 700Watt. Not even sure about brand anymore, thinking corsair again. Not in a rush about a PSU I guess.
 
Well, apparently, the upcoming 6xxx is new architecture.
 
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I think I can wait a few months as all the games I play now are fine. With the exception of BC2 which I play at 1680x1050.

Just want to future proof it for the next year or two possibly.
 
Anyone know why the Gigabyte 460 1gb takes a 600watt PSU vs the 768 that only takes a 450?

Just about every 460, even other 1gb's only require a 450watt 24amp PSU vs this specific one.
 
Im really not sold on the notion that there will be huge price drops. The 4800's really arent all that much cheaper than they were almost 2 generations ago! I think the 5850 and 5870 may drop another $20 but doubt the 5770 will go down much. Hell the 5830 has only dropped $10 despite being totally irrelevant at its price point. Hope Im wrong.
 
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