Where to from a 7800GTX 256mb...

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evilangelic

n00b
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
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Hi

I need some Video Card buying advice...

I'm currently running AM2 5600+ X2 64 with 2GB DDR2 800 all with slight OC

I'm stuck in a rut with an Abit NF-M2S which only has one PCI-E which runs at 8x :(

A couple'a years ago maybe, I got one of my mates XFX 7800GTX 256mb out of his SLI for about $24 of your dollars. Because he is nice.

My question to you lovely guys is... where do I go from here? With the least amount of spending.

To tell you the truth the CPU isn't half bad for what I paid for it however long ago.

My Win 7 RC1 64bit ratings are:
Processor: 6.1
Ram: 5.5
Graphics: 5.9
Gaming: 5.6
HDD: 5.9 (Samsung 1TB HD103UJ)

I can still play games like call of juarez quite playably really, and I did prototype on low settings super low res! lol.

The main problem for me with the current card
Is HD/hi bitrate video playback. The 7800GTX is lacking in new purevideo and hardware decoding jazzle that new cards have even at $50-60 range. But I don't want to waste money on a poor $60 card which will be trash at playing games - I could be using the money to save/spend more on good card for gaming instead.
But the issue is there with the rest of my system as described above - if I got a new GTS of somekind etc, would my system limit it with the budget mobo and 8x slot etc.

So should I be replacing my Motherboard? but then I'm stuck with a AM2(+) board with my current processor, which is a waste of money now that DDR3 is fully out there.

Should I just sell all of my components? and start a fresh? But where is the best place to start. Core i7 systems are much to expensive, and Core 2 feels a bit last year... should I wait for more Core i7 or cheaper new intels?

So this is my problem! In the mean time what should I do? Grab a graphics card? I need your help! Please reply. I can't figure it out.

I have a Corsair 750W TX PSU, and
I use a 1920x1200 DVI+HDMI screen btw.
 
With that screen size you better get yourself a GTX 260; but as 3991vhtes already suggested, you might also want a board that doesn't castrate your new card... ;)
 
Thanks for the ideas, I really appreciate it.

I've just realised if I go the new motherboard route then i'm effectively changing socket now anyway.

So should I save money and go for Core 2 Quad board and CPU and use my current good 2GB PC6400 and add 2GB more? Or is it not worth it now.../in a couple of months.

Or should I wait and save up for a DDR3 motherboard using i7 or AM3 or what ever at that time? Because that would mean more expenditure on RAM... and I don't have enough for Mobo+CPU+RAM+GFX at this time...

Thanks guys!
 
PCI-E 8x won't limit a single-GPU card. I'm not very familiar with your CPU, but you should do well enough with a mid-range video card. On newegg, look at either the eVGA GTS 250 vs the XFX 4850 in the $105-$110 range, or the BFG GTX 260 or the XFX 4870 1GB at the $145 pricepoint. You'll see a massive improvement in video card performance, and there's probably not really any reason to upgrade the rest of it.
 
evilsofa said:
PCI-E 8x won't limit a single-GPU card. I'm not very familiar with your CPU, but you should do well enough with a mid-range video card. On newegg, look at either the eVGA GTS 250 vs the XFX 4850 in the $105-$110 range, or the BFG GTX 260 or the XFX 4870 1GB at the $145 pricepoint. You'll see a massive improvement in video card performance, and there's probably not really any reason to upgrade the rest of it.
Click to expand...
I probably would not go beyond the gts250 or 4850 with his cpu. even at 1920 a gtx260 or 4870 would be noticeably held back in some games by that 5600 X2 compared to having a high end Core 2 or equivalent.
 
evilangelic said:
Thanks for the ideas, I really appreciate it.

I've just realised if I go the new motherboard route then i'm effectively changing socket now anyway.

So should I save money and go for Core 2 Quad board and CPU and use my current good 2GB PC6400 and add 2GB more? Or is it not worth it now.../in a couple of months.

Or should I wait and save up for a DDR3 motherboard using i7 or AM3 or what ever at that time? Because that would mean more expenditure on RAM... and I don't have enough for Mobo+CPU+RAM+GFX at this time...

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

Why not wait for an i5? Your win 7 numbers are otherwise acceptable across the board. An i5 750 supposedly can overclock to 4.5ghz. And the i5 motherboards should be much more affordable as well. Add some cheap dual channel ddr3 memory and you're good to go and your new video card, whatever you choose, likely 5000 series ATI, won't be bottlenecked by the cpu.
 
evilangelic said:
The main problem for me with the current card Is HD/hi bitrate video playback. The 7800GTX is lacking in new purevideo and hardware decoding jazzle that new cards have even at $50-60 range.
Click to expand...

What sort of problem are you having playing back 720p/1080p hi-bitrate content? With a multi-threaded H.264 decoder (coreavc, divx h264, ffmpeg-mt, cyberlink, arcsoft, etc.) your CPU can easily decode 1080p in software without breaking a sweat.

For example, even if I leave the system in my sig, which just turned 4 years old last month, at stock (2.4GHz, 400Mhz DDR), my CPU averages only 40-50% load when playing 1080p H.264 encodes and 50-60% load when playing Blu-rays. Hardware decoding should only be viewed as a bonus feature, not a requirement to play high resolution content on any modern dual-core.
 
Waiting for Core i5 might be a good idea, hopefully some nice DDR3 etc will be cheaper then.

I might get something like a 896MB XFX GTX 275 just to put in the current setup.
Even if it is bottlenecked now, it won't be when I upgrade to i5 in the future.


What do you think would be a better plan?

1) Getting a GTS 250 (or 260?) now. AND then later maybe an identical one to SLI in a Core i5?
2) Getting something more powerful i.e. GTX 275 AND then just use it alone in the core i5 in the future (wouldn't want to splash out on another!)

The question is, does anyone have any benchmarks, (or more opinions!) that would mean that it really is sensible just to get a GTS 250 now, instead of GTX 275 for a more fun time now whilst i'm waiting and saving for a Core i5 rig.

[The reason I'm leaning towards mid-rangey nVidia over ATI is the heat, noise, and power draw...]

Whatever I get, it's key that the card exhausts hot air through the PCI slot backplate as I would like to remove sources of warm air from that area of my case.

@ Cyberbeing - I'm not sure what the problem is with 1080P video... here is how it is:
- A 5Gb 720p h.264 encode will run smooth and easy.
- A 8-10Gb 1080p h.264 encode will just about run smooth if I clear all unneeded processes etc, but can go choppy in hi action sequences. (70-80% CPU)
- A 20Gb 1080p h.264 - Maxes out the CPU (100%) and chops and churns a couple of FPS it seems.
- A 40Gb Blu-Ray ISO Daemon mounted plays fine with all the trimmings! (60% CPU av.)

What could that mean?
I have all the drivers, and software & bios updates you could imagine.
It did the same on Win XP Pro as well as now Win 7 RC1 64bit.

Thank you so much guys, I've been pondering for too long!
 
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Well let's put it this way. I use to have a 9800GT which is basically just slightly slower than a GTS250 (They are all G92 parts anyways), I had excellent video playback and good performance in most games. So the GTS250 should be similar, just slightly faster.

What might make sense for you is to get a GPU with a 'step up' plan such as EVGA. So within the next 90 days, if a better GPU comes out, you can just trade in your old video card and pay the difference to step up.

EVGA also happens to have a gts250 for only $103 after bing cashback.

http://www.bing.com/shopping/eVGA-G...ck="1"]&wf=Commerce&scope=cashback&FORM=ENCA8
 
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