Vid card under $200 @ Q6600 & Q9550 ?

TroyTalksNoMore

Supreme [H]ardness
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Jun 10, 2004
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I have 2 "almost" equal systems w / similar Gigabyte mobo's, 8 GB ram, 7200 HD's.
Q6600 @ 3.2ghz, Radeon 4870-512mb (Corsair HX 620w)
Q9550 @ 3.2ghz, Radeon 6870-1gb (Rosewill RBR1000M)

{Antec 300 Illusion, Rosewill 1,000W PSU, GA-P45T-ES3G, Q9550 @ 3.2ghz, Xigmatek Dark Knight 120mm, G.SKILL 8gb DDR3 1333, Radeon 6870-1gb, (2) Samsung 1TB HD's, 47" Philips LCD TV (1920x1080), Yamaha 2.1 x 80watt, MS 2000 KB, Logitech Moose, Playseat Race Chair, G27 Wheel & Pedals, WIN7-64}

I want a better vid card & was considering this (quiet = good, but not a deal breaker):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JIJUC2A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't plan to change anything else...

EDIT 10/25/2014 = RESULTS:

$160 video card upgrade for Q6600 system.
~ R9-280-3gb

Tomb Raider 2014 benchmark:

Before:
Q6600 + 8gb RAM + HD-4870-512mb
@ Normal = 46 fps
@ High = 31 fps
@ Custom = 31 fps

After:
Q6600 + 8gb RAM + R9-280-3gb
@ Normal = 160 fps
@ High = 117 fps
@ Ultra = 84 fps
@ Ultimate = 56 fps (playing this)
@ Custom = 29 fps

Screenshots:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Din1kE11JVSR29FdIkH60jgw4TMGXJnOE67HihTYGfc/pub

:eek:

Totally worth it!

:p
 
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you really should change that cpu; why even waste money on upgrading anything for it?
 
I have 2 "almost" equal systems w / similar Gigabyte mobo's, 8 GB ram, 7200 HD's.
Q6600 @ 3.2ghz, Radeon 4870-512mb (Corsair HX 620w)
Q9550 @ 3.2ghz, Radeon 6870-1gb (Rosewill RBR1000M)

I want a better vid card & was considering this (quite = good, but not a deal breaker):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JIJUC2A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't plan to change anything else...

What exactly where you planning on doing with it that the Radeon HD-6870 doesn't do? The 4870 I can see wanting to upgrade, especially with that small amount of VRAM, but I'm a little miffed about the Radeon HD-6870. I think that anything above a GTX-750 class will be overkill for the CPU in question though.
 
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you really should change that cpu; why even waste money on upgrading anything for it?

Because that is WAY more than $200.

All of my upgrades roll "forward' or you might say - they roll downhill.
I have an old home office PC, the family PC + 2 kids I send my old parts to...

I only care about updating the lowest of the low - for now...
 
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What exactly where you planning on doing with it that the Radeon HD-6870 doesn't do? The 4870 I can see wanting to upgrade, especially with that small amount of VRAM, but I'm a little miffed about the Radeon HD-6870. I think that anything above a GTX-750 class will be overkill for the CPU in question though.

I want to get the Q6600 to equal the Q9550 w/ 6870 minimum w/ out building a new box.

PS: We get stutters & crappy lightning w/ my Q9550, 8GB ram & 6870-1GB playing this stuff @ 1080p:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/videogameracing/games/

Max settings = 40's~60-ish FPS @ HIGH w/ v-sync OFF & shadows turned down...

We can't go anywhere near ULTRA or any better settings...

:(
 
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I recently put an EVGA 750Ti in my son's machine that runs a Q6600, upgrading from a 4850x2, and it has made a humongous difference. I've been pleasantly surprised with how well the Q6600 has held up.
 
I recently put an EVGA 750Ti in my son's machine that runs a Q6600, upgrading from a 4850x2, and it has made a humongous difference. I've been pleasantly surprised with how well the Q6600 has held up.

YES!!! Glad to hear it. Thanks for an actual factual reply...
 
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I also had a 8600 duel core overclocked to 4.2 with a 7970 that did well. It suprised me just how long i made that cpu last. Course it was under water but a good heatsink will do lots. Time to teach the kids the finer points that the [H] was founded on. It could be some fun too. Personally I would post a ad asking for old overclocking gear for cheep!.. I'm sure guys have lots in their closets that could help you out ;)
 
After doing a lot of research for a $150 video card, I would recommend you spending less. Get a 750 Ti GPU for your upgrade and save the rest for a CPU/MB/RAM upgrade in the future since anything above a 750 will be severely limited by your CPU anyway. I even think a 750 Ti might be limited a good bit by the Q6600 these days, but it's $50 less than you have to spend and $50 that can go towards a CPU/MB/RAM upgrade.
 
Yes, thanks for an actual factual reply...

Yeah, unfortunately you're going to get a lot of "upgrade your system!" responses with older CPU's and newer graphics cards around here. For what it's worth, my younger brother-in-law has a computer with a Pentium Dual Core (Core 2 Duo based), and he was using a GeForce 6600 I found, as it was better than integrated. Well, it's crapping out. So I'm recommending him buy a Radeon R7 250 from XFX for like $75. Would he be served better with just a brand-new system? Sure. But for the games he plays, it makes no sense.

I second the GTX-750Ti. But honestly, it sounds like your PSU can swing a "bigger" gpu. Radeon R7 260 or the like. Your choice. I have a GTX-560, and I play Far Cry 3 at all Ultra settings, except for Shadows (down to Medium) and no special AA filtering. At 1920x1080, it's pretty smooth and playable. At 1600x1200, even better. GTX-750Ti is definetly more powerful than the 560, so I think you'd be served with this GPU as well. Also look at the competing Radeons because I think they offer a better price/performance ratio (to be fair, GTX-750Ti has better performance/watt ratio - your choice). And like someone else mentioned, Used FS/FT is a good way to go too. But I wouldn't get too big a GPU (Radeon 7950 or higher) for your setup unless you plan on dropping a new CPU + Mobo in there anytime soon.
 
I have 2 "almost" equal systems w / similar Gigabyte mobo's, 8 GB ram, 7200 HD's.
Q6600 @ 3.2ghz, Radeon 4870-512mb (Corsair HX 620w)
Q9550 @ 3.2ghz, Radeon 6870-1gb (Rosewill RBR1000M)

I want a better vid card & was considering this (quiet = good, but not a deal breaker):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JIJUC2A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't plan to change anything else...

..and there ya go :D Something along those lines is fine.
Your CPU and platform will cost you some framerates, though.
Even a erm..Yorkfield running ddr3 1600 chokes on heavy games.
Loss of about 12-15 FPS versus Same GPU on a SB or newer chip.
Q6600 doesn't have the IPC of a Yorkfield, even.
 
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I still run a q6600 @ 3ghz as my "steambox" in the living room. It has a 6950 in it. I will say that I run into cpu limitations in some games. BF3 for instance will never be very playable in multiplayer with a q6600. I have a 6950 in my main desktop (with a 2600k cpu) and the difference is quite apparent depending on your application. For some things it's fine, for others it chokes a bit. Other games that I have noticed choking a bit include Arma 2, Borderlands 2, and Saints Row 4. It also is cpu limited in Dolphin emulator depending on your settings.
 
GTX 750ti is about all the GPU I'd throw at a Q6600 anymore. The Q9550 will end up being about 10-15% faster then the Q6600, so you might have a touch more overhead on it.

I used to run a Q9450 with my GTX480, and I'd run into the occasional bottleneck. The 750ti has pretty similar performance to my 480.
 
From my upgrade experiences I think you're upgrade will be good for a visual improvement only. Your lowest and average FPS will stay the same but you'll be able to add much higher detail to the games. If you want more FPS and better visuals, it will take a new CPU to feed that new card.
 
I had a gtx570 and a [email protected] for a while. Moved up from sli 8800gts640mb and thought it ran pretty good with the Q6600. It might be worth it if you can find a dirt cheap 570 for around $125.
 
From my upgrade experiences I think you're upgrade will be good for a visual improvement only. Your lowest and average FPS will stay the same but you'll be able to add much higher detail to the games. If you want more FPS and better visuals, it will take a new CPU to feed that new card.

That has been my experience with various updates over the last 10 years.

That's all I am really looking for = cranking up the visuals.
I would love to get 60fps all the time too, but yeah, new cpu eventually.

I ordered this on sale @ $180 + $20 rebate = $160
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ilpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=hardfocom-20

It's a little overkill for the Q6600, but it will eventually go into a new box w/ new mobo, cpu, ram, SSD, etc.
In time, it will go to some other box around here too.
 
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LOL. I feel your pain. Running 3 rigs and trying to keep them even with one another for similar reasons. (One of mine was a q6600. Great cpu, but I sold it and went i4770k.)

You've gotten a lot of good advice.

You're going to be facing obsolescence with those rigs in a year or 2 which no add-in cards will help. Getting some forward-compatible video cards won't be the worst thing. You may want to spec out new CPU/mobo combo's and think about which gpu will work with those, and then get that style gpu.

Or, just limit your loss: buy the cheapest gpu suggested upstream and recognize that a total new build will be needed.

Good luck and let us know what you do.

Ken

Edited: LOL, crosspost.
 
I still run a q6600 @ 3ghz as my "steambox" in the living room. It has a 6950 in it. I will say that I run into cpu limitations in some games. BF3 for instance will never be very playable in multiplayer with a q6600. I have a 6950 in my main desktop (with a 2600k cpu) and the difference is quite apparent depending on your application. For some things it's fine, for others it chokes a bit. Other games that I have noticed choking a bit include Arma 2, Borderlands 2, and Saints Row 4. It also is cpu limited in Dolphin emulator depending on your settings.

I also run a Q6600 @ 3.2 with a 6950 running the 6970 bios. The CPU is my limiting factor also. However I upgraded to a x5650 but the reason wasn't for gaming. I upgraded because the Q6600 doesn't support Hyper-V on Windows 8 since the Q6600 doesn't support SLAT.
 
Don't upgrade your video card.

I'm running a Q9650 @ 3.6ghz and it can't keep up with BF4 on most 64 player maps. I dip down into the 30's often during hectic firefights, even though my GPU is barely breaking a sweat. And this is after I put Effects on high instead of ultra to reduce CPU load.

And you know it only gets worse from there. Future games will have even more complex effects and physics that tax the CPU. So forget about this system and start planning for the next one.
 
I already bought the card as noted in post #21...

I am thinking about moving the 6870-1GB into the Q6600 box.
If so, I would install the new R9-280-3GB into the Q9550 box.

Either way, I thought about benchmarking all the combo's "for the record" here.
A lot of us still run these two Q-CPU's & others will ask this question eventually.

I thought about using my favorite recent game with a benchmark feature: Tomb Raider
However, I played TR on my Q9550 & don't want to DL a 12 GB benchmark on the Q6600 box.

Any suggestions on the most common / useful benchmark tool?

PS: Tomb Raider is on sale for another 16 hours @ only $4
Highly recommended = http://store.steampowered.com/app/203160/
 
That's a good deal you got on that card. I just got a 2 month old 280x for 160 shipped on ebay. I was gonna offer to sell you my 7850 to upgrade your 4870 machine, but I guess that's not necessary now. :)
 
That's a good deal you got on that card. I just got a 2 month old 280x for 160 shipped on ebay. I was gonna offer to sell you my 7850 to upgrade your 4870 machine, but I guess that's not necessary now. :)

What is that 7850 worth?

I believe everybody is nuts over 3DMark Firestrike.

That's a $25 app! I'm gonna' use Far Cry 3... it is on both PC's with 7200 RPM HD's
~ the Q9550 is dual boot to old OS on spinner / new OS on SSD
 
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I'll take 85 shipped for the 7850. It's a H.I.S. standard 2 GB version, but I know that it will OC to 1ghz on the core if you choose. I didn't run it at that all the time, but it will at least complete benchmarks at 1ghz.

Full retail package, box and everything.

*edit* looks like a standard 7850 ain't worth as much as I thought. 70 with free shipping is the lowest I'll go.
 
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I recently put an EVGA 750Ti in my son's machine that runs a Q6600, upgrading from a 4850x2, and it has made a humongous difference. I've been pleasantly surprised with how well the Q6600 has held up.

I know you've already bought a card, but you did mention that you had four total boxes in your house, so in case you decide to do similar in the future, I wanted to throw in my $0.02 and agree with Mavrocket here. I too have a Q6600 and a Q9550, and I put the 750ti in my daughter's 9550 - It runs Batman Arkham City & TES4 Oblivion (my daughter's current favorite Steam games) at 1080p on high setting with no problem. Although it did give up a few frames vs testing the same card in my i7-950 rig, it wasn't enough to affect the gameplay at all - so I wouldn't worry too much about the upgrade crowd here if I were you!

And FWIW, I have a 680 in the q6600 that is mainly used for science/F@H/BOINC, bu in the few instances I game on it, it was a HUGE upgrade from the 4850 that it replaced! :D
 
$160 video card upgrade for Q6600 system...
~ R9-280-3gb

Tomb Raider 2014 benchmark is used here...
~ Far Cry 3 does not have a built in tool.

Here's a quick comparison of existing conditions:
~ I did not get all formal with driver versions, etc.

Q6600 + 8gb RAM + HD-4870-512mb :eek:
@ Normal = 46 fps
@ High = 31 fps
@ Custom = 31 fps
~no other options were offered

Q9550 + 8gb RAM + HD-6870-1gb :)
@ Normal = 89 fps
@ High = 59 fps
@ Ultra = 39 fps
@ Ultimate = 25 fps
@ Custom = 14 fps

EDIT:

Here's my NEW condition: :eek: :D :p ;) :)

Q6600 + 8gb RAM + R9-280-3gb
@ Normal = 160 fps
@ High = 117 fps
@ Ultra = 84 fps
@ Ultimate = 56 fps
@ Custom = 29 fps


Screenshots:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Din1kE11JVSR29FdIkH60jgw4TMGXJnOE67HihTYGfc/pub

MMMMMMWWWUUUUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!!

:D :) :D :) :D :) :D :) :D :) :D :) :D :) :D :) :D :) :D :)
 
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I believe everybody is nuts over 3DMark Firestrike.

I'm not a benchmark racer - while I've heard of it, I've never run it, and it therefore has no influence on my decision making process.

What influences my decision making process on GPUs is - hardware compatibility, application software, operating systems compatibility (I run more than one OS; therefore, my hardware must be compatible with them all - no exceptions!) and budget. Normally, the budget would have the biggest impact - however, due to a recent series of Fortunate Events, I have been able to move somewhat NORTH of my usual GPU budget. (Normally, I would have an absolute ceiling of $200USD - because of the Fortunate Events, I have actually doubled the budget - to $400USD - which is still not the highest it's ever gone; that record was set with the All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro, which was a surprising $459 retail - however, that itself was a $40USD discount from MSRP. Hence the GTX970 - but not the GTX 980 - fitting the budget.)

The problem with the GTX970 (and a new one for me) is availability - not price. The ASUS STRIX GTX 970 is actually the second-to-least expensive GTX 970 out there in terms of retail, and is a better fit to my hardware than the least-expensive GTX 970 (MSI GTX 970 OC non-Gaming). Unfortunately for me, both are apparently made partly from Hard-To-Obtainium - stock situation is pitiful-to-awful. That is what got me looking at the ASUS ROG Striker Platinum GTX 760 - it's basically the baby boy of the ROG/STRIX lineup (below not only the STRIX Family, but also the younger brother of the now-dead ROG Striker GTX 780); amusingly, it is also $45USD less than the STRIX, in addition to being in stock locally (MC Fairfax AND Rockville both have it in stock). The niggling doubt is how much I take it in the neck performance wise going with the Striker as opposed to the STRIX.
 
Either the 750ti or a R9 -AMD, because they will move with you when you're ready for newer CPUs.

IMO
 
$160 video card upgrade for Q6600 system.
~ R9-280-3gb

Tomb Raider 2014 benchmark:

Before:

Q6600 + 8gb RAM + HD-4870-512mb
@ Normal = 46 fps
@ High = 31 fps
@ Custom = 31 fps

After:

Q6600 + 8gb RAM + R9-280-3gb
@ Normal = 160 fps
@ High = 117 fps
@ Ultra = 84 fps
@ Ultimate = 56 fps
@ Custom = 29 fps

Screenshots:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Din1kE11JVSR29FdIkH60jgw4TMGXJnOE67HihTYGfc/pub

:eek:

Totally worth it!

:p
 
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OMG, Far Cry 3 co-op has changed forever too!

I will be gaming my brains out this weekend! Whoo-hoo!!!!!!!
 
Great thread! I've got some similar older boxes kicking around with Core2-era parts in them. That link to the Xeon sockets was particularly neat, might do that. The Gigabyte EP45 is ripe for this kind of thing.
 
Just spent an hour falling in love with Lara all over again.

My 1st ever Lara run was @ Q9550 + 8gb RAM + HD-6870-1gb
@ Normal = 89 fps
@ High = 59 fps
@ Ultra = 39 fps
@ Ultimate = 25 fps
@ Custom = 14 fps


Today's Lara start was @ Q6600 + 8gb RAM + R9-280-3gb
@ Normal = 160 fps
@ High = 117 fps
@ Ultra = 84 fps

@ Ultimate = 56 fps

nWEHhMsMQi1hHhLHQlxJL3CcSgAJHTru0-X4A8iwfV7AQlStCFnRlko2eK7PTz9SjRtgL2gn5Y3oAybFqI8h8zxLsga6afc-UNsxfhFQMsQZMz0sLU12XPJIhmoiTLn-Sw


gdcrzGqi6y8jd_90UMY-fG6kYeOpcwmR3luFn5hofJvLZMbSPC69dwS-el5b7mmi9xhW1P2lFzq6PrYNyMb_M2EGKUCZIg6Tzrm31AcM4JQgqSNEIvPSAVtycwhHVcel4Q


:D

Versus my OTHER system run:
~ Q9550 + 8gb RAM + HD-6870-1gb

uL5s2-PRRSvPtlOdRSKNuviL_dRqVd2yMX-s7JDZUtqHLwOAMVGSMk7P_gTGVjS7V3d97-zzhkYLXcO5ey7vkIIMWDvFX5gnVdvnb8DQQtlTVb-TmvMeELEGqdah-vs0uw


dDVfqy6iZD1UPup7ZDgbouHk232DsEqx1p9yiUzZhX9tvXgET5hOS9wnKm5dfZ7J2T3SBToVhN6KDgqpbSRObwRYu3TmWLd3YQIEoUhWQwZkVp5A0lAdcQjDaFqgmiqgVw
 
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Probably the best way to look at this... same CPU + each vid card:

Q6600 + 8gb RAM + HD-4870-512mb
@ Normal = 46 fps
@ High = 31 fps
@ Custom = 31 fps
~no other options were offered

Q6600 + 8gb RAM + R9-280-3gb
@ Normal = 160 fps
@ High = 117 fps
@ Ultra = 84 fps
@ Ultimate = 56 fps
@ Custom = 29 fps
 
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