Videocard or CPU?

Videocard or CPU?

  • Keep CPU, get a 4870 1GB or GTX260

    Votes: 8 19.0%

  • Keep the 4850 videocard, get a Phenom II

    Votes: 9 21.4%

  • Neither, this system is still fine for gaming

    Votes: 25 59.5%
  • Total voters
    42
J

JimmiG

2[H]4U
Joined
Apr 3, 2008
Messages
2,429
Current specs in sig. Now that the new Phenom-II is out, I'm tempted to pick up a PII-940 BE and try reach 3.5-ish GHz. I should be able to just drop one into my current mobo and keep the old cooler.

On the other hand, my GPU is only medicore by today's standards. Prices of higher-end cards like the 4870 1GB and GTX260 have also come down since I bought my 4850 last summer.

Can't afford both, at least not at the same time.
 
if you want to upgrade I would get the cpu, a 4850 is fine at your res. but really, what is it that you can't play?
 
You have a great setup for gaming. I wouldn't worry about upgrading unless you got a new monitor.
 
get the card. dont upgrade cpu till you have enough for a new mobo as well. then go intel. (i obviously prefer intel)

in all seriousness. it doesnt really look like you need an upgrade. but iff the money is just burning a hole in your wallet. go with the card. i would recomend (if you can swing it) at least a gtx280. neither cards are a huge step, bet you might feel more justified with the extra fps the 280 might give. upgrading your cpu from the one you have will gain you little if anything in games.... if thats what your looking for
 
honestly, why are you looking at upgrading? Your system should just about play everything but crysis at max setting with your resolution.
I concur with lloose, unless you have a higher resolution monitor, you don't need the extra power.
 
deltronik said:
honestly, why are you looking at upgrading? Your system should just about play everything but crysis at max setting with your resolution.
I concur with lloose, unless you have a higher resolution monitor, you don't need the extra power.
Click to expand...

This. Your system looks fine.
 
Well there's always FSX, which needs a monster of a CPU, but to be honest I don't play it that much these days. Oblivion with addons can get kind of sluggish, but I guess that's more due to the outdated engine? Fallout3 can be a bit slow in some cases with 4X FSAA, and the system doesn't allow me to max out the settings in GTA IV. Then there's Crysis, of course, but I don't think I would want to replay it at higher detail settings anyway. Not sure if it's a new GPU or CPU I need to make those games run silky smooth.
So there are plenty of cases where my current system doesn't provide fantastic levels of performance, but as long as I sacrifice some setting (2x AA instead of 4X or lower some setting one notch), it's fine.

I can always keep the money for now and put it towards an upgrade later this year. Maybe that's the best route after all...
 
at your res expect to get more frames and more aa as your 4850 should be able to nearly max out most titles already (max eye candy+16x aniso+ a little aa) with the exceptions of crysis and stalker cs. with your cpu though, if you spend $250 on either of those cards, you'll get $235 worth of performance which is still pretty good.
 
JimmiG said:
Well there's always FSX, which needs a monster of a CPU, but to be honest I don't play it that much these days. Oblivion with addons can get kind of sluggish, but I guess that's more due to the outdated engine? Fallout3 can be a bit slow in some cases with 4X FSAA, and the system doesn't allow me to max out the settings in GTA IV. Then there's Crysis, of course, but I don't think I would want to replay it at higher detail settings anyway. Not sure if it's a new GPU or CPU I need to make those games run silky smooth.
So there are plenty of cases where my current system doesn't provide fantastic levels of performance, but as long as I sacrifice some setting (2x AA instead of 4X or lower some setting one notch), it's fine.

I can always keep the money for now and put it towards an upgrade later this year. Maybe that's the best route after all...
Click to expand...
There's nothing you can get that's going to make Crysis or GTA IV run "silky smooth" because they're poorly optimized garbage, esp GTA IV. Is it really worth $200+ to you to run Fallout 3 at 4X AA instead of 2X AA?
 
Since even the best cards out today suck (they cant max crysis) just get a PII and wait until GTX212 or RV870 come around.
 
Itchyeyes said:
There's nothing you can get that's going to make Crysis or GTA IV run "silky smooth" because they're poorly optimized garbage, esp GTA IV. Is it really worth $200+ to you to run Fallout 3 at 4X AA instead of 2X AA?
Click to expand...

Oh here we go again. Considering that Crysis still beats every other game in the looks department I wouldn't say its badly optimized. Also please define badly optimized, what does it not use quads enough or something? You do know you can manually set the amount of cores the game uses for physics, right?
 
Why has nobody suggested adding another 4850? The board supports it, you need the crossfire connector that came with the motherboard due to the added length from blue to blue slot.
 
I'd say your system is pretty good right now, there's really no point in upgrading one or the other except just for the sake of upgrading. If you wait, prices will only come down more.

If you just have to upgrade something, move up to 8Gb of ram. It's a great time to buy ddr2 right now.
 
RADEoN said:
Why has nobody suggested adding another 4850? The board supports it, you need the crossfire connector that came with the motherboard due to the added length from blue to blue slot.
Click to expand...

because crossfire at 1680 by 1050 is kind of a waste unless your playing crysis or something. if he is looking to make everything sure, but a 4850 at that res will handle about anything. if he is weak in one area its the cpu. but then again I don't know that its worth 300 to upgrade it.
 
use the money to buy a larger display. the 4850 512 is still good enough in most games to make the transition to 1900 resolutions worthwhile. i have a 4850 512 in my htpc paired with a q9300@2.5ghz. it should be equivalent to the op's phenom. in vista 64 i can run most games at 1080p maxed out but sometimes without anti aliasing.
 
most ppl uprgade to next gen cards, not same gen cards lol.
and you have a quad core cpu which i think is fast enough.
 
Itchyeyes said:
There's nothing you can get that's going to make Crysis or GTA IV run "silky smooth" because they're poorly optimized garbage, esp GTA IV. Is it really worth $200+ to you to run Fallout 3 at 4X AA instead of 2X AA?
Click to expand...

crysis looks awesome on alot of high end pc's.
gtx295 can do it 1080p with AA and maxed settings according to alot of reviews.
its not poorly coded, it genuinely requires alot of processing power.
 
HEY GAIZ BILLY MAYS HERE.
I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE. CRYSIS RUNS REALLY BAD NOT BECAUSE MANY TIMES ITS SO RELIASTIC YOU CAN FOOL YOUR RELATIVES INTO THINKING ITS A MOVIE. NO CRYSIS IS ACTUALLY THE WORST UNOPTIMIZED POS GAME EVER MADE. YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE IM THE LEVEL 99 OVERLORD OF THE INTERNETS AND MY EPEEN IS BIGGER THEN YOURS AND I HAVE 72 IMAGINARY VIRGIN GIRLFRIENDS AND BECAUSE I SAID SO.
 
DeadSkull said:
HEY GAIZ BILLY MAYS HERE.
I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE. CRYSIS RUNS REALLY BAD NOT BECAUSE MANY TIMES ITS SO RELIASTIC YOU CAN FOOL YOUR RELATIVES INTO THINKING ITS A MOVIE. NO CRYSIS IS ACTUALLY THE WORST UNOPTIMIZED POS GAME EVER MADE. YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE IM THE LEVEL 99 OVERLORD OF THE INTERNETS AND MY EPEEN IS BIGGER THEN YOURS AND I HAVE 72 IMAGINARY VIRGIN GIRLFRIENDS AND BECAUSE I SAID SO.
Click to expand...

Good Stuff! LOL
 
most ppl uprgade to next gen cards, not same gen cards lol.
Click to expand...

True, but the 4850 has more in common with the Geforce 8 series than the GTX200 series and 4870 / X2.

because crossfire at 1680 by 1050 is kind of a waste unless your playing crysis or something. if he is looking to make everything sure, but a 4850 at that res will handle about anything. if he is weak in one area its the cpu. but then again I don't know that its worth 300 to upgrade it.
Click to expand...

Also Crossfire doesn't scale in all games, and I'd probably need a new PSU.

You're probably right in that the Phenom II is a bit expensive right now. Maybe I should reconsider when prices have dropped by about $100.
 
DeadSkull said:
HEY GAIZ BILLY MAYS HERE.
I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE. CRYSIS RUNS REALLY BAD NOT BECAUSE MANY TIMES ITS SO RELIASTIC YOU CAN FOOL YOUR RELATIVES INTO THINKING ITS A MOVIE. NO CRYSIS IS ACTUALLY THE WORST UNOPTIMIZED POS GAME EVER MADE. YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE IM THE LEVEL 99 OVERLORD OF THE INTERNETS AND MY EPEEN IS BIGGER THEN YOURS AND I HAVE 72 IMAGINARY VIRGIN GIRLFRIENDS AND BECAUSE I SAID SO.
Click to expand...

Excellent flamebait. I applaud you.


OP: Your current system is fine at that resolution, but, if anything...i would get a GTX 260 Core 216.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top