• 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.

Upgrade Advice

I

ivanolo

n00b
Joined
Aug 28, 2010
Messages
9
My PC has an overclocked Core 2 Duo E6600 running at 3.0GHz, 4GB of RAM, and a GeForce 9600 GT driving a 17" monitor with a resolution of 1280x1024. The PSU is an original EA380.

This is what I'm looking at to replace my current monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009212

My question is, given my current configuration, what GPU will be able to play most games--maxed out--at 1680x1050? I'm trying to decide between GTS 450, HD 5770, GTX 460 768MB, and GTX 460 SE. Will I be severely bottlenecked by my CPU? Will I need a better PSU if I choose either of the GTX 460s? Should I go for a regular cooler or something with a shroud that exhausts air out of the case?
 
You will want an upgraded PSU for the GTX460 really. You could run one with a molex->6-pin adapter but I'm not especially fond of those. I'd say go with the HD5770, it's not that much slower than the GTX460, and it'll do reasonably well for 1680x1050. It won't be maxing crysis but it will play anything out there at a reasonable detail level. It'll run on the 380W Antec too.
 
samuelmorris said:
My question is, given my current configuration, what GPU will be able to play most games--maxed out--at 1680x1050? I'm trying to decide between GTS 450, HD 5770, GTX 460 768MB, and GTX 460 SE. Will I be severely bottlenecked by my CPU? Will I need a better PSU if I choose either of the GTX 460s? Should I go for a regular cooler or something with a shroud that exhausts air out of the case?
Click to expand...
In order:
No.
No.
Whatever's cheaper.
 
Either the GTS 450 or HD 5770 should do nicely. The HD 5770 generally costs a little more but has a little higher performance. Whether you see any difference depends on games you play and settings. On the other hand, the GTS 450 has Cuda which more games are slowly adopting to improve game performance. So just depends on your personal preferences.

At http://www.upgradevideocards.com/ you can find general information and suggestions for upgrading video cards and reviews of the cards you are looking at.
 
I've heard about instability problems with the HD 5770, caused by AMD's drivers. Can anybody shed light on that?

As for a new PSU, would a Neo Eco 400C be enough, or should I go for a 520C?
 
Are you going to overclock? The GTX 460 768 will destroy a 5770 and they both overclock really well. I would find a gtx 460 768 or if you have a microcenter nearby go and get the 130 palit GTX 460 1gb they have right now for 130 after rebate.
 
ivanolo said:
I've heard about instability problems with the HD 5770, caused by AMD's drivers. Can anybody shed light on that?

As for a new PSU, would a Neo Eco 400C be enough, or should I go for a 520C?
Click to expand...

If you have a 380W PSU then getting a 400W would be wasteful for such a minor gain, 450-500W would be a decent upgrade, just keep the future in mind. A little more money spent on a good PSU now can save you from buying yet another one if you decide to do an upgrade that is more power hungry.

A 460 will satisfy your performance needs for sure and if you get a good deal the 1GB version will give you more future proofing than a 768MB.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top