Updating my gfx card ... need some advice ..

[DeepWaterz]

Alright guys,

I'm looking to upgrade my GFX card (currently a geForce 7300) to something a bit better. I'm looking to spend about £130 give or take. I have an older motherboard with PCIe 1. What should I go for? There are a lot of options out there but sifting through it all is giving me information overload therefore I would prefer to defer to your opinions and recommendations. I'd like to play the latest games (fallout 3, COD etc) with a decent framerate and the details set to a reasonable level. Can you recommend me a decent card in the price bracket that will do the trick for me?

PS: If you need any further info please ask and I'll provide.

[JohnMcClane]

Radeon 4870 is a fantastic card, I run everything maxed (including mat_picmip -10) out with 2/4x AntiAliasing, still get in excess of 100fps. Runs Far Cry 2 at 60fps constantly on full settings, it's also super quiet (although mine has a different cooler to the one pictured). Obvious choice imo.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... subcat=939

[MudShark]

May I recommend Toms hardware - every 3 months they do a "Best graphics card for your money" item. Here is Junes:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/radeon-ge ... 31602.html

The prices are in dollars so you have to look up what a card costs in the UK to make any sense but it's a good guide to what you can get for your money.

Finally there is the conclusion page which lists every card you ever heard of in order of power. You can use this to compare two cards and find out which has the more umph for your buck.

[DeepWaterz]

Very good advice. Another quickie, will the performance of a PCIe 2.0 card be adversely affected by running on a PCIe 1.0 slot. If so, by how much.

Also, there seems to be a lot of third parties (Inno3d, Gainward, ASUS etc.) flogging the same cards with the same chipsets at different prices. Is there any real difference in quality between the manufacturers? Should I simply pick the cheapest one with the chipset I want?

[Stueh]

they are all based on the same gpu i believe. I have the 4870 (1gb saphire edition) on a version 1 slot (asus p5b-v mobo), maxed out and get between 90 - 140 map dependant on css. Arma2 is generally ok, stuttery in places (that could be cpu though, got q6600 @ stock).

All that on windows 7 RC so it could be better on vista or xp (don't know what your running).

Good card if you can get it for the price. Future proof to some extent as well. Id personally recommend it

[Gavac220]

I also recommend the ATi 4870 - amazing card. The motherboard you have only supports PCi-e 1, but the performance difference will be hardly anything. The 'bandwidth' of information processing was increased in v.2.

If you go for a 4870, look at the reviews on cooling. I like McClane put a bit of time into getting one with an aftermarket cooler. These can make a huge difference to temperatures inside your box.

p.s. Make sure you have plenty room for the card. It is pretty big. Mine is this dual cooler version from Palit. Also has dual bios (Great for overclocking )

link to a seller for info Click here for Palit example <-------

[Mseries3]

Arma2 is generally ok, stuttery in places (that could be cpu though, got q6600 @ stock).

http://www.armaholic.com/forums.php?m=posts&q=6713

[DeepWaterz]

Okay, I've found a nice offer on at overclockers for the XFX ATI Radeon HD 4890 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card. It's coming in at £143. I just need to summon up the courage to press the buy button now. Hmmm perhaps another beer from the fridge will loosen up my fingers.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... -XF&tool=3

[MudShark]

Sounds good - XFX are a good brand and its got 1gig of GDDR5 memory. Nice!

[DeepWaterz]

Done ... My (soon to be ex-)missus is going to kill me

Got some extra ram and a portable hard-drive too ... Damn online shopping ... it should be banned!!!

[recruit]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161605

Nvidia FTW!

[Gavac220]

Wouldn'y worry about that ^^^ Nvidia for less performance!

[DeepWaterz]

Read it and weep Recruit ... http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd ... iew-test/1

[Stueh]

cheers mseries, ill try that after i eventually figure out MVC

Gav, as far as temps go, i have a small ass case (can hardly fit the card in) and my temps never ever go above 65/70. With fans on about 35%. If i crank them up to 100% i dont go above 55ish.

Good card imho!!!!

[Gavac220]

Wouldn't run the card that hot - I like lots of room for overclocking (Oc'd I like to be around 45-50deg, and thats on a card that ships with one of the highest pre-oc'd chipsets to start with. Fans never above 60%)

Kick ass card DeepWaterz. Nice choice.