Upgrading 7900GS for some new resolutions

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Grentz

Fully [H]
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May 5, 2006
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Ok, I dont ask for advice very often, but I will at this point cause everyone always gets way crazy about Video Cards (kinda like PSUs) and it is hard to glean accurate info. Its amazing how in a short period of time the 8800s for example go from being so amazing to "pure crap" by many's standards :rolleyes: ...I would hate to know what they think of my 7900GS which does work on the games I play :p

I am not a HUGE PC gamer anymore, but casually play. I currently mostly play BF2, HL2: DM, and TF2. All are maxed on my 7900GS OC @ 1280x1024 no problem. (CPU is an e6600, 4gb RAM)

I am looking to move up to a 23 or 24" monitor at 1980x1020 or 1980x1200 OR the odd beast that is the 2342BWX which is 2048x1152.

So for those games @ those resolutions, I was looking at something like the GTS 250. Seems to be a cooler running nice card for around $100. I also saw the GTX 260 which seems to be a jump in performance, but also price as well and extra heat. Seems like it might be overkill for the games I play. I would prefer to stay with NV, preferably BFG as well, but willing to look at others like eVGA, XFX, etc.

Thoughts?
 
I would like to stick around $100 if possible, around the price of the GTS250s I saw.

I am pretty dynamic though, if the GTX260 is really worth it for the games and resolutions I posted, then I might go for it.
 
The GTS250 would be fine for those games, but will struggle on the newer games at your increased res, but if that is of little concern then save the money.

There was a deal for the evga 260 core 216 for $125 after rebate if that influences you decision at all. Better to have a card that is overkill than one that falls short of your needs if it still fits your budget.
 
Ya, I was debating on that eVGA deal at dell. Would prefer a BFG card though and they are a bit more.

If the GTS 250 is enough I might just stick with that for now. Sick of spending so much on video cards that are worthless a year down the line :p The 7900GS OC has been a fabulous card though, even if it was expensive when I got it.
 
Hellz yeh, my 7900GS kicked ass. Stock version hit 605/800 if I remember correctly. Was a steal imo at $150, had been used to forking out ~$300 for cards. Then this game you may have heard of called Crysis came out and I was back to spending $300 :D.
 
I wouldn't worry about BFG vs eVGA. The cards aren't made by either and both have lifetime warranties and a step up program.
 
A lot of the eVGA cards dont have lifetimes anymore...and I like the stock BFG OCs on their cheaper cards.

But ya, I am open to both TBH.
 
I have a GTS250 (The 1GB Gigabyte one with the Zalman heatsink) and it works fine for me at 1920x1200 for me. I also have an e6600 (@3GHz).
Perfectly smooth at High settings in Fallout 3, which is what I'm playing most right now. Crysis averages 25-30 fps with no AA/AF, but does spike down to teens sometimes. All the games you mentioned ran great at this resolution on my old card, which was an 8800GTS 640MB, so they should be even better with a GTS250. $100 is a pretty good price for it I think, and it's a good efficient and cool-running card, being a tweaked revision of older tech.
 
Thats the one I am looking at, $109 after rebate is pretty nice.

It is the 512 version, but it seems stupid to go for the 1gb version (which is around the price of a GTX 260 anyways).
 
At 'lower' resolutions (anything under 1600x1050, lol), it's golden. <--based off of my friend's account. His previous card was a X700, so a gts250 was over-the-top powerful. Crysis and stuff like that.

However, future games may push that.

Good luck! (and enjoy the warranty).
 
My last 2 personal cards were from BFG and both were fantastic in build quality and performed much better than any of the other cards in their same class (6800 OC and 7900GS OC). My 6800 OC also overclocked like a beast even past what the factory OC was and what most others were getting with the 6800 cards.

That is why I am kinda partial to them ;)
 
Don't worry. I have a partiality to XFX and BFG (well, my friend does, I just go XFX because it's the best ATi vender all-round. Locked me into the nVidia XFX cards, too).

BFG makes really solid cards.

Of all card makers:
eVGA (however, more and more of their cards do not have the warranty anymore...)
XFX (double lifetime, of course)
BFG (lifetime, and FAST RMA!)

are the only three I would ever recommend (unless if ASUS steps up to lifetime, then they're next), just based on personal and friends' experiences. No particular order.

Have fun, Grentz!
 
Sometime next week retailers should have 5750 512MB. SRP is $109
 
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Next what? Week, month? Do you know an approx. price? I might be interested.


jeremyshaw said:
eVGA (however, more and more of their cards do not have the warranty anymore...)
Click to expand...

Ya, my main issue with eVGA is that their dropping of the lifetime warranty on many of their cards just shows their lack of confidence in them.

I still never make absolute solid rules as far as brands go, I stay open to what is best for the situation ;)
 
I play TF2, HL2, and used to play WoW with a 7900GS at 1920x1200 just fine. Sure, very little of the pretty is turned on, but the higher resolution is still very nice.
 
Ok, thanks for the input. Then I would assume the GTS250 would be plenty as it smacks the 7900GS around.
 
The [H] review of the 5750 was very impressive IMO. Look into one of those when they become available in the next week or so. Similar performance to the GTS 250, but it uses a lot less power and has DX11 for the future. Should be retailing for right around the $100-129 price point.
 
Looks like the 5750s are already on a few sites like newegg. They seem very comparable to the GTS 250 from the [H] Review but most on newegg are up in the $140 range.
 
Well now I am leaning towards the XFX 5750 or comparable...just trying to find a decent deal on one and it does not look like there are any right now.
 
Heh... DX11 is more futureproof...

Wait for the 512mb version to come out (anytime, now).
 
I liked the idea of the OCed 5750 was about on par with the GTX 260. Plus cooler running ;)
 
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