Computer Purchasing Question.

CCIP · 05-14-11, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I'd say you want at least a 5770 if ATI is the way you want to go.

A million times this! I've had a whole range of cards and I learned the hard way that for gaming there's nothing you need in your system more than a solid workhorse video card, usually in the mid-range rather than the budget range. The 5770 that Steve brings up, which is what I've been running for 1.5 years now, is a card that is more than worth the money and is more than capable of running any game you'll throw at it now. I've owned other PCs before and if there's one thing that ever made or broke my purchase, it was the choice of video card. These days, it's really the video card rather than RAM or processor, that is really at the heart of building a gaming PC. Rather than aiming at specific RAM or processor specs, I'd begin my decision process with the video card and match/compromise other specs around it. Otherwise you will often end up with the video card being your main bottleneck in game performance.

Arclight · 05-14-11, 03:09 AM

One nice side-effect of getting things right is that every thing else works rather well too. Gaming is demanding, so PCs aimed at that purpose need to be powerfull.

I remember my brother buying a desktop PC because his laptop couldn't really handle gaming. He bought some cheap thing and ended up with a machine that was just as inept as his latop. Think that says about enough.

Could have been better if he had just got a proper videocard... apart from the fact his hard-drive died(!), so I replaced that for him. Then he started reporting constant crashes and freezes: replaced his PSU and it started working again. Think he still uses it, iirc GeForce 7600 in there now(upgrade from the integrated chip... he buys a desktop as an upgrade from his laptop and ends up with another integrated chip... seriously). Not brilliant, but he only plays CoD and that it can handle... kinda.

frau kaleun · 05-14-11, 11:40 AM

I'm contemplating a video card upgrade myself, wondering about the HD5770 now.

I have an HEC Raptor R500 (500W) PSU, for gfx I'm still using the HD4650 that came with this rig. How much of boost would the new card give me? Most of my games are at least 2-3 years old, in fact SH4 is probably the newest one I have and I haven't even installed it yet.

Lol, here's a question, what's the most hard-core card I could go with, without upgrading anything else? Considering that I'm not going to be playing any of the latest and greatest games any time soon, of course. And then I'll work my way down from there to a more reasonably priced selection.

Rest of the specs:

AMD Athlon II X2 240 2.8 GHz AM3 processor
Asus M3A78-EM motherboard
Win7 64-bit
8 GB RAM

And it will need to be one PCIe 2.0 x 16 card since that's the only slot I'd have open for it. There's an empty slot below it so there's plenty of room there though.

HunterICX · 05-14-11, 12:59 PM

@Frau: a HD5870 1Gb GDDR5

according to sapphire the system requirement is a 500 watt PSU (the same goes for the HD5770)

as for the HD5770 compared to your current card the HD5770 should in theory be about twice as fast then your HD4650.

HunterICX

frau kaleun · 05-14-11, 01:12 PM

Thanks.!

Wow... after a casual comparison there appears to be quite a price difference between the 5770 and 5870. The former is more in my price range.

Any particular recommendations on brand name?

HunterICX · 05-14-11, 01:25 PM

Well if you pick ATI you can't go wrong with Sapphire they are the largest supplier of AMD/ATI based cards ( I've got a Sapphire HD5850)
just make sure the HD5770 you're going to purchase is the 1Gb version and not the 512mb

HunterICX

frau kaleun · 05-14-11, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HunterICX

Well if you pick ATI you can't go wrong with Sapphire they are the largest supplier of AMD/ATI based cards ( I've got a Sapphire HD5850)

That's good, because they seemed to be priced better.

Quote:

just make sure the HD5770 you're going to purchase is the 1Gb version and not the 512mb

Hey, I didn't fall off the truck yesterday. It was, like, last week or something. Monday at the very latest.

Edit: Okay, looking now at Amazon... what is the difference between

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeo...5397828&sr=1-1

and this

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Vapor...5397828&sr=1-2

and this

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeo...5398647&sr=1-6

?

Other than the price, and the fact that one appears to have some kind of cover over the whole underside.

05-14-11, 03:09 AM	#2
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	One nice side-effect of getting things right is that every thing else works rather well too. Gaming is demanding, so PCs aimed at that purpose need to be powerfull. I remember my brother buying a desktop PC because his laptop couldn't really handle gaming. He bought some cheap thing and ended up with a machine that was just as inept as his latop. Think that says about enough. Could have been better if he had just got a proper videocard... apart from the fact his hard-drive died(!), so I replaced that for him. Then he started reporting constant crashes and freezes: replaced his PSU and it started working again. Think he still uses it, iirc GeForce 7600 in there now(upgrade from the integrated chip... he buys a desktop as an upgrade from his laptop and ends up with another integrated chip... seriously). Not brilliant, but he only plays CoD and that it can handle... kinda. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

05-14-11, 11:40 AM	#3
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	I'm contemplating a video card upgrade myself, wondering about the HD5770 now. I have an HEC Raptor R500 (500W) PSU, for gfx I'm still using the HD4650 that came with this rig. How much of boost would the new card give me? Most of my games are at least 2-3 years old, in fact SH4 is probably the newest one I have and I haven't even installed it yet. Lol, here's a question, what's the most hard-core card I could go with, without upgrading anything else? Considering that I'm not going to be playing any of the latest and greatest games any time soon, of course. And then I'll work my way down from there to a more reasonably priced selection. Rest of the specs: AMD Athlon II X2 240 2.8 GHz AM3 processor Asus M3A78-EM motherboard Win7 64-bit 8 GB RAM And it will need to be one PCIe 2.0 x 16 card since that's the only slot I'd have open for it. There's an empty slot below it so there's plenty of room there though. Last edited by frau kaleun; 05-14-11 at 11:53 AM.

05-14-11, 12:59 PM	#4
HunterICX Rear Admiral Join Date: May 2006 Location: Malaga, España Posts: 10,750 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	@Frau: a HD5870 1Gb GDDR5 according to sapphire the system requirement is a 500 watt PSU (the same goes for the HD5770) as for the HD5770 compared to your current card the HD5770 should in theory be about twice as fast then your HD4650. HunterICX __________________

05-14-11, 01:25 PM	#6
HunterICX Rear Admiral Join Date: May 2006 Location: Malaga, España Posts: 10,750 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	Well if you pick ATI you can't go wrong with Sapphire they are the largest supplier of AMD/ATI based cards ( I've got a Sapphire HD5850) just make sure the HD5770 you're going to purchase is the 1Gb version and not the 512mb HunterICX __________________

05-14-11, 01:12 PM	#5
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	Thanks.! Wow... after a casual comparison there appears to be quite a price difference between the 5770 and 5870. The former is more in my price range. Any particular recommendations on brand name?