videocard advice

[HammerJoe]

I need an opinion from the experts:

I have a rig with an Intel Q660 at 2.4ghz (I know its old) with 8gigs Ram and a Geforce 8800gt and would like to upgrade the videocard.

Would this card be overkill?
http://www.vuugo.com/en/Nvidia/Spark...01024D5MH.aspx

I would like to purchase something below $150.00 as I dont plan on updgrading this rig anymore and dont want to spend alot of money on the card and when time comes will get a new rig with newer stuff.

So what should I do?
Thanks

[insync44]

The Q6600 is still OK for gaming. the GTX 560 would not be a bottleneck and would be a pleasant improvement over the 8800GT.

[HammerJoe]

Thanks for the reply.
I know that the Gtx 560 would not be the bottleneck.
The CPU is.

Because of the CPU being the limit factor is there a cheaper option to the GTX 560 that would give me the same experience because I know that the Q6600 is not going to maximize the performance of the GTX 560 so perhaps I dont need to spend $200.00 to get that card?

The world of videocards is a very confusing world to me.

[insync44]

Sorry, I meant the CPU would not be a bottleneck to the Video Card.

Apologise for the misunderstanding. You would also a see an improvement in your FPS.

[DavidY]

IMO, graphic card selection depends on your monitor's rez. For example, at 1920x1080, HD 6870 or GTX 560 provide great performance for most games.

I would use the following links as guidelines:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ew,3107-4.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ew,3107-3.html

Here are cheaper options:

GTX 560: $150 http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/pny-...d-vcggtx560xpb

HD 6870: $155 after MIR (was as low as $140 recently) http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/part/xfx-...ard-hd687azhfc

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/best-.../#post14918887

Personally, I would use the preferred fps at a specific rez (see other post for BF3) as a guide for choosing which graphics card....assuming power supply is not an issue. If your PS is only 300 watts, then you are severely limited to a lower graphics card like the GT 440 DDR5 or HD 6670 DDR3. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ew,3107-2.html

Dave

[HammerJoe]

Thanks for the advice. I will look into it.

You are right I forgot to include the resolution.
My monitor can only do 1600X1024 (or something like that).
No 1900X resolution for me.

[thinfilms]

I noticed you said your running at 2.4 GHz. You can easily overclock it to ~3.2 GHz on stock cooling for an additional boost.

[Amourek]

I noticed you said your running at 2.4 GHz. You can easily overclock it to ~3.2 GHz on stock cooling for an additional boost.

This. 3.0ghz at least should be no problem.

[HammerJoe]

Actually I can't get it over 2.8 on stock cooling. I'm not too concerned about cpu speed but rather the eye candy that the 8800 can't provide.

[xXxTehxXx]

Managed to push 3.8 on water but the temps were hot as hell, 3.5 is steady for me. I picked up a 550ti for $80 and saw a huge performance increase. Runs Skyrim on ultra no problem

[DavidY]

Thanks for the advice. I will look into it.

You are right I forgot to include the resolution.
My monitor can only do 1600X1024 (or something like that).
No 1900X resolution for me.

What is your PS? If you have no plans to upgrade to a higher rez monitor, you probably could save $$$ by going with a lesser graphics card...$100-$120? How long do you plan to keep this current rig?

Dave

[HammerJoe]

The PS is 750w. No plans to upgrade the monitor with this rig.
As for how long I don't know. So far its working good for me.
I would like to get a card under $150 .

[DKcounty007]

Are there any prefernces in the games you play? Any special features like PhysX or SLI?

If your budget is under $150, you should get Gigabyte Radeon HD6850 which comes w/ Manufacturer OC
http://www.vuugo.com/en/ATI/Gigabyte...685OC-1GD.aspx

I heard the Radeon HD7770 is a pretty good budget card too
http://www.vuugo.com/en/PCI-Express-...01-02-20G.aspx

[HammerJoe]

I end up getting a Gigabyte HD 6850 from Amazon.ca for $137.00 with free shipping and $15.00 MIR.

I think its a good deal. what do you think?

[divx]

I end up getting a Gigabyte HD 6850 from Amazon.ca for $137.00 with free shipping and $15.00 MIR.

I think its a good deal. what do you think?

wasn't the 6850 for $99 weeks ago?