• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Updgrade my GFX?

WhiteZero

WhiteZero

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 21, 2004
Messages
3,638
See current specs in sig.
My main concern right now is that my 512MB 4870 is holding me back at 1920x1200.

Should I really even bother with just a GFX upgrade or wait for a whole new rig.
 
Nice mobo and cpu oc. ;)

I'd get a new card that 4870 is definitely holding you back. What's your price range?
 
Meehhhh... I should have jumped on that $215 5870 around Black Friday...

Anyway, I'd say around $300 is fine... I can then turn around this 4870 for maybe $80.
Lets see what kinda price drops we get when the ATi 69xx drops.

Also, I don't care which camp I'm with (nVidia or ATi), I'm always going for the most bang for my buck.
Just making sure my PSU can handle it.
 
iviyth0s said:
Going just a tad over your $300 budget, here's a 480 for $310. Probably the best card you can afford
Click to expand...

Don't think my PSU could handle a 480. Also don't want to deal with it's heat/noise.
Would rather have a 580 if it wasn't so expensive. Would kind of go to waste in my rig anyway... maybe not...
Maybe I'll splurge on a 580 if it's price goes down when the 69xx drops.

I could really spend whatever I want on the video card, just trying not to waste money at the same time.
 
Last edited:
Well, crap, looks like I won't be looking at a GTX 570 after all. Min of 38a 12v+ rails required. I'd have 2x 18a, which is only 36a.

Guess I'll see what the 69xx has to offer.
 
What games do you play that are holding you back? Depending on the games, dropping a quad core might give you the performance you're looking for.
 
ryken said:
What games do you play that are holding you back? Depending on the games, dropping a quad core might give you the performance you're looking for.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure I'm GPU limited. I don't play very CPU heavy games like SC2.
Stuff like Fallout New Vegas, Metro, and STALKER
 
What are the chances a 5870\6970 would be too much for my PCIe 16x (I'm pretty sure it's not PCIe 2.0)?
 
Two GTX 480s in SLI each running PCIe 2.0 x8(which is the same as the old x16) have no loss in performance. It's not clear if the 6970 will have any performance hit, but if it does, if will be slight. The 5870 will see no performance hit.
 
Your psu is fine for pretty much any single card solution right now. A 580 might be pushing it but you should be able to handle a 5870 easily. My corsair 550vx ran an5870 fine for the last year.
 
Upgrade GFX now. For that matter pop in a better PSU so you can go with something high end later on. I myself ,if I would upgrade my PSU, would get a 1000+ quality PSU. Anyways, if you hate heat and power go HD 5870, if you don't mind it you could go the GTX 470 route and OC it like crazy, but that would require water cooling. To get the best GFX you can get for your needs I would agree with the rest and wait.

As for the rest of your PC, wait until January because that is when Sandybridge comes out.
 
Climber said:
Your psu is fine for pretty much any single card solution right now. A 580 might be pushing it but you should be able to handle a 5870 easily. My corsair 550vx ran an5870 fine for the last year.
Click to expand...

I stick with the data, if my PSU's specs don't meet the requirements of the GFX manufacturer, then I won't be getting that card. So no 580/570 for me.

The 58xx series would certainly be fine for my PSU, but we'll have to see with the 69xx series.
 
The official reqs for the GTX 480 specify 600W minimum and 42A on 12V.
The GTX 580 actually uses less power... Right?

edit;
Nvidia's site shows 600W minimum for the 580, same as the 480.
 
UtopiA said:
The official reqs for the GTX 480 specify 600W minimum and 42A on 12V.
The GTX 580 actually uses less power... Right?

edit;
Nvidia's site shows 600W minimum for the 580, same as the 480.
Click to expand...

While my PSU meets the Watt rating requirement, the 580/570 pull too much amps than my PSU's rails can put out.
 
Negative.

Triple 12V Rails provide independent reliable power to the CPU, video card and other components with a combined rating of 50A (40A on 520W) maximum! Advanced circuitry design that automatically enables power sharing between the triple +12V rails in an event of overload on any single +12V rail.
Click to expand...
 
Hmmmm... I missed that part of my specs...
So even though the max amps a 580/570 is a few over the combine amps of my 2 rails could provide, Corsair claim the powersuply would compensate?
 
WhiteZero said:
Hmmmm... I missed that part of my specs...
So even though the max amps a 580/570 is a few over the combine amps 2 of my rails could provide, Corsair claim the powersuply would compensate?
Click to expand...
No, the problem is that the 620HX has 3 rails.

+3.3@24A,+5V@30A,+12V1@18A,+12V2@18A,+12V3@18A,-12V@0.8A,+5VSB@3A
 
UtopiA said:
No, the problem is that the 620HX has 3 rails.

+3.3@24A,+5V@30A,+12V1@18A,+12V2@18A,+12V3@18A,-12V@0.8A,+5VSB@3A
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. The cards use 2 of the 3. And each of my rails is a couple amps under the recommended for the 580/570.
 
WhiteZero said:
I stick with the data, if my PSU's specs don't meet the requirements of the GFX manufacturer, then I won't be getting that card. So no 580/570 for me.

The 58xx series would certainly be fine for my PSU, but we'll have to see with the 69xx series.
Click to expand...

I see you saw that your PSU is capable for both of Nvidia's offerings, but in all honesty if you want to consider a higher capacity PSU you wouldn't be hurting yourself, unless your wallet is short of funds.

Something to consider is upgrading your PSU and GPU now, then upgrading the rest of the system around those when Sandy Bridge and Bulldozer hit. Basically upgrade your system piecemeal and since the PSU and GPU can be used now just grab them if you can afford it.
 
Climber said:
I see you saw that your PSU is capable for both of Nvidia's offerings.
Click to expand...

-headdesk-
It meets the Watt rating but not the suggested amp requirement...

Also, I'm at the point where if I'm going to upgrade more than one component of my system, I'll just go ahead and get a whole not rig... which I'm not ready for yet.
 
WhiteZero said:
-headdesk-
It meets the Watt rating but not the suggested amp requirement...

Also, I'm at the point where if I'm going to upgrade more than one component of my system, I'll just go ahead and get a whole not rig... which I'm not ready for yet.
Click to expand...

Sorry I assumed Corsair's 650hx series would provide more power than the 550vx series. Since my 550 can power the 570 I was sure your 650 would be able to handle it.
 
Climber said:
Sorry I assumed Corsair's 650hx series would provide more power than the 550vx series. Since my 550 can power the 570 I was sure your 650 would be able to handle it.
Click to expand...

Its 620W.
Anyway, I'm better my PSU would be fine for either card 99.9% of the time... but I still don't think that is a risk I'd like to take.

The 550vx has a single +12V rail at 41A.
My 620HX has 3 +12V rails at 18A each. 2 of them combine don't quite deliver the recommended Amps the 580/570 are specced for.
 
WhiteZero said:
Its 620W.
Anyway, I'm better my PSU would be fine for either card 99.9% of the time... but I still don't think that is a risk I'd like to take.

The 550vx has a single +12V rail at 41A.
My 620HX has 3 +12V rails at 18A each. 2 of them combine don't quite deliver the recommended Amps the 580/570 are specced for.
Click to expand...

Gotcha, while more amps total they're spread out over the three. I would consider then the earlier recommendation to upgrade your psu and gpu if you can afford them now, then wait till sandy bridge and bulldozer hit and upgrade the rest of your system.
 
Bleh, I'm probably just going to go for a 5870 after it's price drops when the 69xx series comes out. Or maybe a 69xx card itself. ATi is far less power hungry.
 
WhiteZero said:
Its 620W.
Anyway, I'm better my PSU would be fine for either card 99.9% of the time... but I still don't think that is a risk I'd like to take.

The 550vx has a single +12V rail at 41A.
My 620HX has 3 +12V rails at 18A each. 2 of them combine don't quite deliver the recommended Amps the 580/570 are specced for.
Click to expand...
I used a GTX 280 in my current system for about 3 months and it has the same amp requirements as the GTX 580 (40A on 12V).
Honestly the amount of rails won't have any impact on the amp requirements.

You can punch GTX 580 (or 480) and 620HX into Google and find people using the setup.
It's too close for me as well, I wouldn't put a 580 into my system without upgrading the PSU first anyway.
 
UtopiA said:
I used a GTX 280 in my current system for about 3 months and it has the same amp requirements as the GTX 580 (40A on 12V).
Honestly the amount of rails won't have any impact on the amp requirements.

You can punch GTX 580 (or 480) and 620HX into Google and find people using the setup.
It's too close for me as well, I wouldn't put a 580 into my system without upgrading the PSU first anyway.
Click to expand...
That's crazy, the 580 I could understand but to run 480 would scare the shit outta me on that setup lol
 
Sorry to thread res: But I think I'm about ready to pull the trigger on an EVGA GTX 570. I've confirmed that my PSU should be fine for the card. I'll have it running on my PCIe1 16x slot, so basically equal to PCIe2 8x, which I think it plenty to not hold back this card.
Any final thoughts?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top