Recommend a (NVIDIA) Graphics Card

[cobaltage]

Hello,

I'm gaming on a self-built 3-year old system, but the installed graphics card (a fanless XFX Geforce 7950 GT) has a dead video-out port, so I was thinking of upgrading it. I'm used to keep up with this stuff, but I skipped over the past 3 years, DX10, Vista, everything. I don't remember exactly what I put in there, but here are some relevant details:

Antec Solo case
ASUS P5B Deluxe mobo
Intel C2D 6400 @ 2.13 GHz
2GB RAM (can't recall the details)
Dell 24" monitor at 1920x1200 (2405FPW)
OS: Windows XP MCE

It's a pretty quiet build, with the fanless GPU and a Ninja Scythe CPU cooler.

Anyway, I had the following constraints:
1) NVIDIA again, because I used to have problems switching between NVIDIA and ATI cards on the same system.
2) Reasonably quiet.
3) Best bang for buck.

No particular price range, but I don't want the best possible GPU out there, just something that will give me the feeling of a worthwhile upgrade. I play some TF2, Total War series, etc.

If you could give me some orientation here I would appreciate it.

Thanks!

[mjke]

GTX 275
like this one

MSI built with non stock cooling, pretty sweet
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127443

or this (cheaper)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127429

or this (cheaper still)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127426

[steja_02]

Just to kinda add my 2 cents i recently made the switch from nvidia to ati. And for the same reason i stopped doing it in the past. Actually the new card I have now was giving me problems after i made the switch. However, I simply reformatted my pc and installed drivers from the manufacterer instead of ati.com and now everything is running flawless :) I also found out that my card had probs using the cpl mouse fix... but i worked around that so i just dont use the mouse fix anymore.

I had a very specific situation.. I have an older PC. can only go AGP or PCI. so i just needed a cheap agp card for CS 1.6. i decided to go with the x1650PRO 512MB over a geforce 6200 series. I was basing my decision off of price/specs on the card. Its only a $32 card and to be honest after a few days of playing with it, it definitley out performs my geforce 7600gs. Now, maybe the drivers on my old card had something to do with it idk but this card is maintaining 100fps through 2-3 smokes and begins to drop to the 70-80s after 3. my 7600 would start getting major drops on smoke #2.

just figured id share my story lol, basically my point is just reformat and the whole switching from one company to another wont even be a factor!

[Baron_Fel]

or this (cheaper)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127429

or this (cheaper still)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127426

One of these would be best. Get the 275 if possible, you need all the graphics power you can get at that res.

[mjke]

oh ho. whilst I twas reading the comments on the cards, it said that the ones I suggested, were pretty loud during startup, then settled down after. would this be a problem?

[Baron_Fel]

oh ho. whilst I twas reading the comments on the cards, it said that the ones I suggested, were pretty loud during startup, then settled down after. would this be a problem?

The cooler on those cards should allow for lower volume than a stock cooler in actual use, so even if it does rev up during startup I wouldnt see that as a major prob.

[cobaltage]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I can stand some noise at startup. I'm worried something like the 275 would not fit in the case, though.

[Elusid]

I <3 my GTX 285, have it water cooled in my desktop right now but my PSU is dead so... it's just sitting there. What case do you have? We could help you find a card based on size limits

[HL2-4-Life]

Can you furnish the specs to your PSU? I'm concern that it may not be up to the challenge...

[renegadeafk]

I just switched from nvidia to ati with no problems at all (win 7 64 bit) its really easy. I've also switched from ati to nvidia before, again no problems. If you had 'problems' you were just unlucky or did something wrong.

Uninstall driver.
Restart.
shut down.
put in new card.
install drivers.

Anyway I'd recommend the GTX260 or GTX 275. (ati equivalents = 4870 and 4890)

As others said what are your psu specs? these cards are quite power hungry.


EDIT: just looked at reviews of your case on newegg saying they had to cut their hdd bays to fit GT 260's, 275's and 285's, but I did see two reviewers saying they were using a 4850 and a 4870 (but they didn't say if they had to do similar things to make them fit)

Cons: My EVGA Geforce GTX 260 is to long to fit into the case without some alterations. I had to cut about 3/8" out of the hard drive cage to make it fit. This essentially makes two out of the four drive trays unusable. I only plan to use two drives anyway so no big deal I guess. The case only comes with one fan in the rear, it would be nice to have an intake fan at the front (there are two spots for 90mm fans in fron of the hard drive cage).


It seems some 4870s can fit though
The Asus EAH4870 fits by the way, with 0.5 to 1 inch to space. For fans I have a 120x120x38mm slow speed Delta at the rear, and one 92x92x38mm in the front - both plugged into the motherboard to be controlled by the board's temperature sensor. Great case, buy it then slowly pull out all the parts and study what goes where and whether you need them or not. I pulled out the lower 5.25" bay so I could store some PSU excess cables in there. A great quality simple case.

You could get something like a 9800GTX+ because people said those fit. Would still be a big upgrade over your current card.

[mjke]

I've got a pretty small, mid-tower case, and my GTX 275 fit fine. Just saying

edit: except now looking at your case, it does look rather small...

[steveroger]

Why not just get a new case?

[Hobo Joe]

A GTX 275 will be a huge bottleneck with that CPU.

[DarkWasp]

I did an ATI switch from Nvidia recently. Went smoothly, aside from me having to remove registry entrys pointing to files that didnt exist on Nvidia's side. I used DriverSweeper in safemode.

[SkullCracker]

A GTX 275 will be a huge bottleneck with that CPU.


Hobo Joe is correct and is one thing people tend to over look when upgrading. You better have a very fast CPU if your going for the latest and greatest video cards. I run a i7 940 with 1 GTX 285 OC. If I were to try to run that card in SLI even my i7 would bottleneck. Does not make sense but that's how it is. That's why you learn to OC and go liquid on everything so you can get the most out of what you have. Even right now I'm sitting on a mild OC on the i7 940. Why well because I wanted to see what it could do and also because I'm getting another GTX 285 OC.


So think about upgrading your CPU first then work on a card that won't bottleneck it.

Good luck.

[renegadeafk]

he is at a really high res (1920x1200) though, so it wouldn't be a massive bottlneck. And his cpu is alright for most games.

[Baron_Fel]

A GTX 275 will be a huge bottleneck with that CPU.


So think about upgrading your CPU first then work on a card that won't bottleneck it.


Wrong. A GTX 275 will be pushed to its limits @ 1920x1200 max settings in any intensive game.

A better CPU would help in CPU intensive games, and ensure a smoother overall experience (higher min fps), but it is in NO WAY a serious bottleneck here.

[Combat Medic]

Why just a Nvidia GPU? ATI clearly makes a better GPU price/performance. I would suggest a 4870 or 4850.

[HL2-4-Life]

Hobo Joe is correct and is one thing people tend to over look when upgrading. You better have a very fast CPU if your going for the latest and greatest video cards. I run a i7 940 with 1 GTX 285 OC. If I were to try to run that card in SLI even my i7 would bottleneck. Does not make sense but that's how it is. That's why you learn to OC and go liquid on everything so you can get the most out of what you have. Even right now I'm sitting on a mild OC on the i7 940. Why well because I wanted to see what it could do and also because I'm getting another GTX 285 OC.


So think about upgrading your CPU first then work on a card that won't bottleneck it.

Good luck.Honestly speaking, I'd rather live with a CPU bottleneck rather than a GPU bottleneck as long as the CPU manages to pump out playable FR (doing AI and physics work). Then the GPU(s) would be able to still be pushed further by upping res, maxing out ingame setting. That's kind of the situation I'm in right now, my QX9650 @3.86ghz is bottlenecking the hell out of my 2x HD5870 in CFX mode.....but, FR is more than playable and I can max out every game out now @1920x1200. Even Crysis DX10, max setting + 8xAA is doable....in this case, the GPU may still be the bottleneck as Crysis is very hard on vid cards. Sure, I'd see FR improvement/increase IF I were to move to an i7 920 + eVGA X58 Classified mobo + 6GB KHX3 2000 + 2x HD5870, but when the diff is moving from 130fps to 200fps, it becomez moot.

[renegadeafk]

Wrong. A GTX 275 will be pushed to its limits @ 1920x1200 max settings in any intensive game.

A better CPU would help in CPU intensive games, and ensure a smoother overall experience (higher min fps), but it is in NO WAY a serious bottleneck here.

See, Baron knows whats up :) That cpu should push out perfectly playable fps in most games except games like gta4 and he could always oc it.

[Buff]

Honestly speaking, I'd rather live with a CPU bottleneck rather than a GPU bottleneck as long as the CPU manages to pump out playable FR (doing AI and physics work). Then the GPU(s) would be able to still be pushed further by upping res, maxing out ingame setting. That's kind of the situation I'm in right now, my QX9650 @3.86ghz is bottlenecking the hell out of my 2x HD5870 in CFX mode.....but, FR is more than playable and I can max out every game out now @1920x1200. Even Crysis DX10, max setting + 8xAA is doable....in this case, the GPU may still be the bottleneck as Crysis is very hard on vid cards. Sure, I'd see FR improvement/increase IF I were to move to an i7 920 + eVGA X58 Classified mobo + 6GB KHX3 2000 + 2x HD5870, but when the diff is moving from 130fps to 200fps, it becomez moot.

You what. Crossfire HD5870 gets bottlenecked by a Quodcore 3.86gHz? Bull♥♥♥♥. O_o

[cobaltage]

Wow, this has turned into a pretty good discussion.

In answer to some questions:

1- The case is an Antec Solo. It's probably large enough (it's not an especially small case), but I just want to be sure.

2- I'm using an Antec Neo650HE (650W) PSU.

3- The only reason I would prefer NVIDIA is that I had a bad experience switching to ATI from NVIDIA years ago. Maybe a decade ago. And it was said at the time that that was often the case, that the drivers didn't cooperate if they were on the same system, and that one needed to reformat the system, etc. Since then I've used only NVIDIA GPUs. Sometimes NVIDIA has the better cost/performance, sometimes ATI (it depends on who's down in the marketplace), but I've been prone to sticking with NVIDIA. It's not a good reason or anything, but I don't feel like reformatting the computer if things don't work out. That said, maybe it's not a big deal anymore.

4- I'm already running the games I play at 1920x1200, and they work all right. I obviously don't play the most graphics-intensive games, like Fear 2 or Crysis. Although maybe I would if I could get them to run properly. I've mostly been playing TF2, L4D, and Total War. (*edit: actually, a few games are probably running at a lower res.)

5- I'll probably never go to an SLI set-up. I would rather wait for a single graphics card that beats the performance of an older SLI set-up but is itself beat out by another SLI set-up. Maybe that's a little close-minded of me.


The problem with this build is that I had intended to eventually retire it as a main gaming rig to an HTPC upon building a new system. That's why it has a fanless GPU and Windows XP-MCE. It was basically intended to be a good quiet system that would output 1080p video to a TV. But I'm not in a position to build a new gaming PC, and the whole MCE thing is kind of a bust as far as I'm concerned. In other words, I'll eventually upgrade the CPU, but right now I'm just looking for a reasonable GPU upgrade. (The only reason I can justify doing this is because my current graphics card has only one working DVI port, so I can't run a second monitor. Otherwise it would be a non-issue right now.)

The 275 looks pretty reasonable to me. I'll have to do some checking into the ATI cards, since a number of people say that they didn't have a problem switching over.

[renegadeafk]

Wow, this has turned into a pretty good discussion.

In answer to some questions:

1- The case is an Antec Solo. It's probably large enough (it's not an especially small case), but I just want to be sure.
Yeah I read reviews on your case and there was conflicting reviews about whether cards would fit or not. I'd imagine if your hard drive bays arent filled up it will fit.

2- I'm using an Antec Neo650HE (650W) PSU.
Good, your psu is fine :)

3- The only reason I would prefer NVIDIA is that I had a bad experience switching to ATI from NVIDIA years ago. Maybe a decade ago.
Time to let go of the past bro.

4- I'm already running the games I play at 1920x1200, and they work all right. I obviously don't play the most graphics-intensive games, like Fear 2 or Crysis. Although maybe I would if I could get them to run properly. I've mostly been playing TF2, L4D, and Total War.
Crysis is an awesome game :)

5- I'll probably never go to an SLI set-up. I would rather wait for a single graphics card that beats the performance of an older SLI set-up but is itself beat out by another SLI set-up. Maybe that's a little close-minded of me.
I agree I hate SLI and crossfire

The problem with this build is that I had intended to eventually retire it as a main gaming rig to an HTPC upon building a new system. That's why it has a fanless GPU and Windows XP-MCE. It was basically intended to be a good quiet system that would output 1080p video to a TV. But I'm not in a position to build a new gaming PC, and the whole MCE thing is kind of a bust as far as I'm concerned. In other words, I'll eventually upgrade the CPU, but right now I'm just looking for a reasonable GPU upgrade. (The only reason I can justify doing this is because my current graphics card has only one working DVI port, so I can't run a second monitor. Otherwise it would be a non-issue right now.)

The 275 looks pretty reasonable to me. I'll have to do some checking into the ATI cards, since a number of people say that they didn't have a problem switching over.
The specs on that pc are still good enough to be a great gaming pc with a gpu upgrade and maybe a processor upgrade.

Yeah just get the card with the best price/performance. Reviews seem to put the GTX 275 and the 4890 neck and neck. The 4890 ~$20 dollars cheaper on newegg.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/944/15/


EDIT: I googled around and apparently if the card is shorter than 10.5 inches it will fit. the 4890 is 9.5 inches afiak and the GTX 275 is 10.5 inches so it may or may not fit.

This guy had trouble getting a GTX 260 to fit
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?p=2103231

So it looks like a 48xx is a better choice if you are worried about it fitting in your case.

[HL2-4-Life]

You what. Crossfire HD5870 gets bottlenecked by a Quodcore 3.86gHz? Bull♥♥♥♥. O_oBefore you start accusing others of BS, go over to guru3d where Hilbert (the Admin of guru3d) reviewed CFX'ed HD5870, even his top end i7 965 @3.6-3.7ghz CPU bottlenecked the cards' performance.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5870-crossfirex-test-review/

This is a quote from Hilbert in his Conclusion of the review -
"GPU scaling; as this article has proven performance is downright banging... we have so much horsepower underneath that PC hood that games will start to become bottlenecked by an overclocked Core i7 processor, which is weird yet... sexy somehow. A CPU bottleneck is not necessarily a bad thing really, as games progress and develop to a more advance state, it will balance out evenly again. The one title that I hoped would scale a little better was Crysis Warhead, but still, the performance was really good regardless of that remark."

If that godly i7 bottlenecks a pair of HD5870, needless to say my QX9650 is a major bottleneck (even @3.85ghz)....

Edit - For example, my Vantage score is barely better than one guy with an OC'ed i7 and a single HD5870....yes, Vantage isn't a game, but I take it to be a good yardstick when measuring the performance of the GPU and CPU in a gaming system.

[DarkWasp]

3- The only reason I would prefer NVIDIA is that I had a bad experience switching to ATI from NVIDIA years ago. Maybe a decade ago. And it was said at the time that that was often the case, that the drivers didn't cooperate if they were on the same system, and that one needed to reformat the system, etc. Since then I've used only NVIDIA GPUs. Sometimes NVIDIA has the better cost/performance, sometimes ATI (it depends on who's down in the marketplace), but I've been prone to sticking with NVIDIA. It's not a good reason or anything, but I don't feel like reformatting the computer if things don't work out. That said, maybe it's not a big deal anymore.


I don't mind you getting an Nvidia, but I can almost guarantee you won't need to format the hard drive if you switch. The reason I say "almost" is because you are on XP, however XP and Vista are mostly the same and the driver cleaning tools usually support both. I've been on Vista for a while now.

The process is still the same, boot into safemode before removing the drivers. Run driversweeper after the uninstall just to be sure. If anything doesnt want to be deleted, it's probably a registry entry which you can delete yourself.

[renegadeafk]

I've never had to delete registry entries or use drivercleaner switching from ati to nvidia and vise versa. I didn't even use safe mode and had no problems. This was in vista and windows 7 though.

I have also done it a couple times on my xp computers. Just a couple weeks ago I took out an old x300 and replaced it with my 9600gt (since I got a 4870) and it also worked perfectly. Also on my brothers computer (which has integrated ati graphics) I put a 7600gt in with no problems.

I don't know why people had to remove registry entries and such. Just because they are there doesn't mean they will cause problems. I usually just run ccleaner after...

[DarkWasp]

I've never had to delete registry entries or use drivercleaner switching from ati to nvidia and vise versa. I didn't even use safe mode and had no problems. This was in vista and windows 7 though.

I have also done it a couple times on my xp computers. Just a couple weeks ago I took out an old x300 and replaced it with my 9600gt (since I got a 4870) and it also worked perfectly. Also on my brothers computer (which has integrated ati graphics) I put a 7600gt in with no problems.

I don't know why people had to remove registry entries and such. Just because they are there doesn't mean they will cause problems. I usually just run ccleaner after...

Because I kept getting pop-ups on startup saying the files were missing. In my case the uninstall wasn't alowed to touch those registry entries. Even in safe mode.

From my experiance, unistalling ATI's drivers is easier and I don't get these issues.

[Baron_Fel]

This is a quote from Hilbert in his Conclusion of the review -
"GPU scaling; as this article has proven performance is downright banging... we have so much horsepower underneath that PC hood that games will start to become bottlenecked by an overclocked Core i7 processor, which is weird yet... sexy somehow. A CPU bottleneck is not necessarily a bad thing really, as games progress and develop to a more advance state, it will balance out evenly again. The one title that I hoped would scale a little better was Crysis Warhead, but still, the performance was really good regardless of that remark."


I dont see why he would say that, given that only two games in the review exhibited a real CPU bottleneck, and in both of them that CPU limitation disappeared at 2560x1600.

That review had two of the more CPU intensive titles out, Far Cry 2 and Anno 1404. Even in those games there is a clear GPU limitation at the resolutions youd be playing at with a card like this (1920 and 2560). And then you look at a GPU intensive game like Crysis, where the GPU is the limitation even at nowhere near max settings.

OP, I put a 6600 in a PC that used to have a 9800pro, everything worked fine even with old stuff like that.

[HL2-4-Life]

I dont see why he would say that, given that only two games in the review exhibited a real CPU bottleneck, and in both of them that CPU limitation disappeared at 2560x1600.

That review had two of the more CPU intensive titles out, Far Cry 2 and Anno 1404. Even in those games there is a clear GPU limitation at the resolutions youd be playing at with a card like this (1920 and 2560). And then you look at a GPU intensive game like Crysis, where the GPU is the limitation even at nowhere near max settings.
Certain less GPU intensive games may be limited by the CPU, these cards in CFX mode are pretty damn powerful, I can attest to that. As I'd said, I use 3DMark Vantage as one of the yardstick to measure a system's gaming performance, I'm nearly beaten by an i7 920 + single HD5870, my CPU score @3.85ghz gets only about 3/5 of a moderately OC'ed 920.

To the OP, I've swapped nV to ATi, and vice versa, and I've not encountered any bad install and such...;)

[Baron_Fel]

The 5870 isn't available until September 28th.


Some have been sold already, so its not implausable.

Certain less GPU intensive games may be limited by the CPU, these cards in CFX mode are pretty damn powerful, I can attest to that. As I'd said, I use 3DMark Vantage as one of the yardstick to measure a system's gaming performance, I'm nearly beaten by an i7 920 + single HD5870, my CPU score @3.85ghz gets only about 3/5 of a moderately OC'ed 920.


..like you said though, 3DMark isnt a game. If you look at the benches, you see that you can never have enough GPU power. And if you do (have enough GPU power), you need a new monitor :D

[HL2-4-Life]

Well, what I am wondering how you turned your HD3870 X2 into a 2x HD5870?


The 5870 isn't available until September 28th.

I am doubting that you even have a 5870 let alone two of them. After all on you posted that you were were "due for a vid upgrade anywayz" and today you boast that your 2X5870 were bottlenecking.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=973050I do not know why you'd think I'd lie about this, I did get two HD5870's, one's a PowerColor -
As you can see, I'd placed the PC HD5870 together with my HD3870 X2 and HD3870
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/mikeysg/P1000314.jpg
The 2nd card I'd gotten is a Sapphire version -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/mikeysg/P1000318.jpg

Now, these two cards are playing nicely in my rig -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/mikeysg/P1000321.jpg

I'm not so petty as to lie about this, I do not know what gave you the impression that I would. Have I been proven to have lied about something here?:confused: If you want to verify this, just go to the STEAM member computer database thread (by Rafiq Kassam) and see my post there about updating my system. BTW, I ain't some teenager, or someone with a chip on his shoulder, I have nothing to prove by lying or bragging, I certainly would NOT bother to brag about something like this. That I'm doing relatively well in life and earning a decent living is all the 'bragging rights' I'd need.:)

Here, I'm providing you with my post at the Steam Members'Comp Database thread, please note the date that I'd posted -
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11378317&postcount=670

[renegadeafk]

5870s have been on newegg for a while now...

[steveroger]

I had written that I didn't believe HL2-4-Life had a 5870 let alone two of them, but I deleted that post. Sorry, I couldn't find one any where, so I thought it was a bit fishy. However, even before you posted your response I had deleted my posted and just posted that I just want to know how to get one.

They are listed on Newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=5870&x=0&y=0) but I can't buy one.

[HL2-4-Life]

I had written that I didn't believe HL2-4-Life had a 5870 let alone two of them, but I deleted that post. I just want to know how to get one.I'm in Asia, and the HD5870 - namely XFX, Sapphire, PowerColor, HIS - are readily available here. I'd scored mine over a two day period but paid a premium for them. As I understand it, newegg should have them in quantity, if not now, soon. Also heard ZZF has them as well, though I ain't too sure about this...

[renegadeafk]

I had written that I didn't believe HL2-4-Life had a 5870 let alone two of them, but I deleted that post. Sorry, I couldn't find one any where, so I thought it was a bit fishy. However, even before you posted your response I had deleted my posted and just posted that I just want to know how to get one.

They are listed on Newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=5870&x=0&y=0) but I can't buy one.

A couple of days ago you could though, they are just out of stock...

[steveroger]

I'm in Asia, and the HD5870 - namely XFX, Sapphire, PowerColor, HIS - are readily available here. I'd scored mine over a two day period but paid a premium for them. As I understand it, newegg should have them in quantity, if not now, soon. Also heard ZZF has them as well, though I ain't too sure about this...

They are out of stock at ZZF as well. I must have missed the window, because I didn't pre-order. Sorry to have wrongly accused you. I was too hasty and I regret it. I was really suspicious about the 5870X2, but I realized that you may just have crossfired two of them. So I deleted. Anyway, I am really interested in getting one. Are they worth it?

[HL2-4-Life]

They are out of stock at ZZF as well. I must have missed the window, because I didn't pre-order. Sorry to have wrongly accused you. I was too hasty and I regret it. Anyway, I am really interested in getting one. Are they worth it?No problem, I don't get offended easily (especially over the net) nor do I hold a grudge *holds baseball bat at back* No sirree, I don't hold grudges.:p:D

IMHO, with the right setup, a fast C2 dualie/quad or i7 and its various iterations, these cards would run all games at max setting + AA. With my CFX HD5870, I can finally run Crysis @1920x1200, Very High Spec (DX10), 8xAA, 64bit and get FR between 35fps to >60fps. If it can do Crysis at this setting, most other games would not be a problem. Certainly a single HD5870 should be able to max out Crysis at 1680x1050 or 1440x900. I've been running a few game benchmarks and these cards are simply amazing. Even with this RC driver, CFX is enabled and hasn't given me any problem....not exactly true, did get the 'VPU has recovered..' error message when I tried to benchmark Crysis WH at DX10, max setting + 8xAA. Will try again later....btw, Batman AA runs like a dream, so does RE5. Cryostasis, which used to run almost like a slideshow on my HD3870 X2 + 3870 setup, is actually playable with these cards, at even higher ingame setting at that!

[steveroger]

No problem, I don't get offended easily (especially over the net) nor do I hold a grudge *holds baseball bat at back* No sirree, I don't hold grudges.:p:D

IMHO, with the right setup, a fast C2 dualie/quad or i7 and its various iterations, these cards would run all games at max setting + AA. With my CFX HD5870, I can finally run Crysis @1920x1200, Very High Spec (DX10), 8xAA, 64bit and get FR between 35fps to >60fps. If it can do Crysis at this setting, most other games would not be a problem. Certainly a single HD5870 should be able to max out Crysis at 1680x1050 or 1440x900. I've been running a few game benchmarks and these cards are simply amazing. Even with this RC driver, CFX is enabled and hasn't given me any problem....not exactly true, did get the 'VPU has recovered..' error message when I tried to benchmark Crysis WH at DX10, max setting + 8xAA. Will try again later....btw, Batman AA runs like a dream, so does RE5. Cryostasis, which used to run almost like a slideshow on my HD3870 X2 + 3870 setup, is actually playable with these cards, at even higher ingame setting at that!

I am into Crysis performance achievement as well. I have a Q6600 how will that hold up with the 5870 @1680X1050? These cards are bad ♥♥♥.

[HL2-4-Life]

I am into Crysis performance achievement as well. I have a Q6600 how will that hold up with the 5870 @1680X1050? These cards are bad ♥♥♥.To me, Crysis is the acid test by which I judge a card's performance, I'm glad to say I'm most pleased with these cards. Anyway, I searched newegg and found this -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=HD5870

How do you know it's out of stock? I don't see it.....or, am I going blind?:eek:

Edit - I'm glad that I'd waited and clung on to my obsolete 3870's while everyone zipped by me with their shiny new GTX2xx and HD4xxx series. I'd wanted to skip a generation as the HD4xxx were DX10.1 capable, same as my HD3xxx series. I was aiming for next gen.....DX11, my patience has finally borne fruit!:)

[steveroger]

To me, Crysis is the acid test by which I judge a card's performance, I'm glad to say I'm most pleased with these cards. Anyway, I searched newegg and found this -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=HD5870

How do you know it's out of stock? I don't see it.....or, am I going blind?:eek:

When I link to the page I can only add it to my wish list or ask for auto-notification. No "add to cart" option.

[HL2-4-Life]

When I link to the page I can only add it to my wish list or ask for auto-notification. No "add to cart" option.Oops, silly me, didn't bother with that Add to Wishlist thingy, but yeah, I see that ALL are out of stock. The same can't be said about my neck of the wood, I see them everywhere, albeit in those shops that sell higher end vid cards. Well, I wish you luck with your hunt, and I certainly do hope you'll snag one soon. Go to the AMD webby for the latest RC driver, I didn't bother with the driver on the CD that came with my cards.

[steveroger]

Oops, silly me, didn't bother with that Add to Wishlist thingy, but yeah, I see that ALL are out of stock. The same can't be said about my neck of the wood, I see them everywhere, albeit in those shops that sell higher end vid cards. Well, I wish you luck with your hunt, and I certainly do hope you'll snag one soon. Go to the AMD webby for the latest RC driver, I didn't bother with the driver on the CD that came with my cards.

Thanks, and sorry again, I feel like a moron.:rolleyes:

[HL2-4-Life]

Thanks, and sorry again, I feel like a moron.:rolleyes:Let's just fuhgeddaboutit, OK? :) Anyway, it waaaaay past my bedtime, signing off now.

[cobaltage]

I think I might put off getting a new GPU and saving up until I can build a brand new computer using this case:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/exclusive_thermaltakes_jawdropping_level_10_chassi s_unboxed

[steveroger]

It costs $700.:eek:

[Bad_Motha]

I've heard people complain all the time about switching from NVIDIA to ATI (or vice-versa) in the same system. It's not a problem if you make the switch properly. I run ATI video card on an NVIDIA NForce-based motherboard without issue. Let's say you have an NVIDIA video card now and you upgrade to an ATI-based card. Before you remove the older card (NVIDIA), always uninstall anything related to that video card, i.e. Drivers/Software, etc. When the uninstall is complete and you're asked to reboot, click NO. Now go to ATI and download the latest driver for your new ATI card (based on OS and card model). You do this because the ones on the CD that came with the card are out of date already. Download the driver-pack to the desktop, to make it easy for you after the reboot. Once you have drivers/software for your new card, shutdown your machine. Now turn off the power (remove power cord) and proceed to change over to the new card. Now with your new card installed and appropriate cables attached, boot up your system. Once in Windows, when "Found New Hardware" screen pops up, click cancel. Before you install your new card, run Driver Cleaner (http://public.planetmirror.com/pub/majorgeeks/drivertools/dcprosetup_15.zip) program and wipe out any old files remaining for your old NVIDIA card. After this it's good idea to run something like CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/) to wipe out any temp files and also clean up the registry. After this reboot. Once in Windows, cancel the found new hardware screen once more. Now install your new ATI driver pack. After that is done, run the DirectX updater (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2DA43D38-DB71-4C1B-BC6A-9B6652CD92A3&displaylang=en), which should be done after any new drivers install that is associated with any major component like Motherboard/Video/Sound. This should complete your upgrade. Now run a program like 3D-Mark (http://www.futuremark.com/download/) to give you're new card a good break-in process and allow it to be pushed to it's limits for at least 1 hour.

[steveroger]

I have never had a trouble switching as long as I identified the correct drivers before I installed them.