Recommend a video card?

[PM5K]

So I traded an HP Touchpad for the following system (among other things):

AMD Phenom II X4 920 (2.8 Ghz)
4GB DDR 2 1066
Radeon HD 5670 1GB GDDR5
Gigabyte Motherboard

Now I've been out of the desktop game for a while, I only have laptops in my home so I'm not up to date with everything.

I do know that there's always a bottle-neck and I'm trying to see how much more if any I can upgrade my graphics card or if the other components would be a bottle-neck. Right now it plays games decently, but if I can get a bit more out of the system I'd like to. I know I can OC the CPU and the GPU. The CPU doesn't seem to have a problem getting to 3.2 GHZ pretty easily without changing voltage.

I'm looking at ATI but it can get confusing because even though the 6000 series is the newest, sometimes the upper level 5000 series can be better than a low end 6000 series.

Any suggestions? TIA.

[ElNono]

The 5670 is a good card, IIRC.

[PM5K]

It's not a slouch, but if possible I'd rather upgrade it now rather than later, unless later is better, lol. But seriously I don't want to be opening it all the time, I'd like to do it now and be done with it.

It does seem to run the first Crysis decently. Vantage score is like P5800.

[IronMaxipad]

Go for a 6850.

If you can spend a little more get a GTX 560 ti or 6950.

[ElNono]

Sorry, I got it mixed up with the 5970. The 5970 is the one that can outperform the 6000 series sometimes and it's moderately priced. If you have bucks to spend, then best right now is probably a NVidia GTX 580.

[DMC]

Sorry, I got it mixed up with the 5970. The 5970 is the one that can outperform the 6000 series sometimes and it's moderately priced. If you have bucks to spend, then best right now is probably a NVidia GTX 580.

+1

I've got it and it's a great card.

[Jt.ONE]

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php

like iron maxi said, 6850/70 | 6950 would get you the most bang for your buck among the high tier gfx cards out atm

[xellos88330]

Do the fans on those cards come loose all the time and start buzzing like crazy? I cannot seem to find a card whose fan will not come loose and start making that annoying noise.

[DMC]

Mine has never had that problem.

[jman3000]

Great card for the price is the 6870. I recently picked one up to replace a 6850 that I was able to sell for price. nVidia 5xx series and ati 69xx are a bit too pricey for something that I'm not obsessed over. I run Deus Ex at max settings on my 6870 with no problem at all.

Paying big bucks for a multi GB GPU is a waste to be honest unless you're running multiple screens.

As far as I can tell ati offers the best bang for the buck and offers at least 2 free games with each purchase with my experience. Got Dirt 3 and Shogun TW 2 with my 6850 and Dirt 3 (sold code to friend) and Deus Ex with my 6870.

[DMC]

I run multiple screens and do video conferencing with some decent graphical presentations so it's good for that.

[PM5K]

I wound up using the link JT posted as a bit of a reference, along with searching Google for reviews and wound up getting an Nvidia card. I was leaning towards ATI because I figured they'd be cheaper, but I also figured if I wanted to get the best deal I should be open to getting either brand since I was looking on Craigslist.

If I was retail shopping ATI would probably be the best bang for the buck, but on Craigslist it just depends on what somebody wants to sell something for at any given time.

I wound up picking up a GTX 560 for 125.00. My Vantage scores are a tad bit more than double now.

[TDMVPDPOY]

check if the motherboard allows or supports a nvidia card, then get a 560 or 570

imo u need to overclock that cpu, to fully utilize the potential of the high end cards, cause atm with those kind of speeds would just bottleneck

ur current card is dx11, still good enough for todays new games

[Nathan Explosion]

Decided to bump this thread since I want to get a video card myself.

Here's what I'm looking for. First off, not a PC gamer, so I don't need a high end. Second, my computer is a bit older, and the motherboard I recently purchased has slots for a PCI card, not Express.

The stock video card has about 256 mb, so I want at least double that. Also, I'm looking for something under $100 since I'm also going to purchase more RAM while I'm at it.

So, considering what I'm looking for, what do you think is the best bet? I've had a look at some, but as I stated a while back on my "computer crashed" thread, when it comes to hardware, I'm very much a novice who's just looking to learn as much as he can, no matter how stupid the question is.

[Useruser666]

Decided to bump this thread since I want to get a video card myself.

Here's what I'm looking for. First off, not a PC gamer, so I don't need a high end. Second, my computer is a bit older, and the motherboard I recently purchased has slots for a PCI card, not Express.

The stock video card has about 256 mb, so I want at least double that. Also, I'm looking for something under $100 since I'm also going to purchase more RAM while I'm at it.

So, considering what I'm looking for, what do you think is the best bet? I've had a look at some, but as I stated a while back on my "computer crashed" thread, when it comes to hardware, I'm very much a novice who's just looking to learn as much as he can, no matter how stupid the question is.

$46 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133364

Not many reviews, but all positve and PNY has been ok for me in the past. Look up your card if you can and compare the performance between the two to see if it's really worth it. $46 is about 5% of a fairly solid new PC now a days, especially if you're not into gaming. On NewEgg you can search by slot type and other variables to help you find what you need.

You should check if your motherboard has an AGP slot as that would be much better than PCI. I wouldn't put more than this $46 in to it though, as it really would be better to get a new system.

[leemajors]

what he said. probably slim pickings, but should be cheap at least.

[Nathan Explosion]

Seems reasonable. Once I add 4 gigs of memory, my computer will be about on par with anything that costs $500 (tower only). The processor is a dual core, with Windows 7 64 bit running on it. I think just the video card and RAM will improve the performance quite a bit, not that's it's really lagging to begin with.

But I figure with the upgrades, I should be set for a few more years, or basically after I have my house and new beds for my kids.

If this computer can give me another 2 or 3 years, that would be great. It still runs well and is quick, so I don't see why it won't last.

[Heath Ledger]

I have the GTX 560 TI and Im very happy with it.

[blackfire12]

check if the motherboard allows or supports a nvidia card, then get a 560 or 570

imo u need to overclock that cpu, to fully utilize the potential of the high end cards, cause atm with those kind of speeds would just bottleneck

ur current card is dx11, still good enough for todays new games

Aside from just saying gigabyte, the board he has now will support an nvidia card. That only matters if he's going to want to do sli/crossfire and he never mentioned that. And no, don't overclock the card. The gains you get out of that aren't worth the risk/reward if you're looking to get more than an extra 10 - 15%.


That said, what it always comes down to when buying a new video card is budget. PM5K, while you're right in that some 5000 series cards will outperform the 6000 series that's mostly like high end 5000 vs low end 6000, but you probly knew that.

It sounds like you picked up the 560 and that's a solid choice. For sure oc the cpu some more and max that out before you even touch the card, even making small changes to the voltages wont harm it. Just make sure you have adequate cooling. :toast

[blackfire12]

Lol just looking at how old this thread is lmao smh

[jacobdrj]

I recently went from 2 4770's in CrossFire to 1 4870x2. The power requirements were ENORMOUS, made the 150 I paid for it not worth it, because I also had to get a new Power Supply, which also required me to get a case to house the new supply/video card... Just an absolute mess...

I agree: Get a 6950 if you can afford it, or a 560ti. Otherwise, a 6870 will do just fine and is a quite capable card...

[Wild Cobra]

Recommend a video card?
LOL...

Just last night, I was looking at benchmarks. Just a little over a year passed since I selected a nice one, that gets so blown away today, it's ridiculous. Hard to keep up with them. Good Luck.

[TDMVPDPOY]

LOL...

Just last night, I was looking at benchmarks. Just a little over a year passed since I selected a nice one, that gets so blown away today, it's ridiculous. Hard to keep up with them. Good Luck.

new ati cards hd7970 are out...:(

[jacobdrj]

new ati cards hd7970 are out...:(
I hope this drives down prices on the 6000 series...

[blackfire12]

new ati cards hd7970 are out...:(

I really hate technology when things like this happen :depressed

[Jt.ONE]

new ati cards hd7970 are out...:(


7950 aint a slouch but overpriced.
a lil more cash and your at a 7970

[TDMVPDPOY]

7950 aint a slouch but overpriced.
a lil more cash and your at a 7970

they already announce 8xxx series are already in the works and end of q4 is officially release....

i think the +7xxx are all new achitecture...