Upgrade suggestions

[KaOSoFt]

Hello there.

I currently own the components cited in my signature, and while I can say I've most certainly used them well (folding, playing, 3D rendering, video encoding), I want to upgrade.

I know nowadays there are new platforms and architectures, but what I really want is to upgrade my GPU. I've recently seen myself limited by it, and while it's served me well, I think it's time to upgrade it, preferably without upgrading anything else (budget constraints). All this based from a video-gamer point of view.

Therefore I kindly ask you for suggestions on what I could buy. Given PSUs lose power capacity over time, I inform you that I've had this system running for one year and a half now, so take that into consideration. I attached a PSU wattage calculation of my current system, using the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator (http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp).

I thank you for your support on this matter.

PS: Oh, and by the way, I don't think I'll be playing at more than 1280x1024, since a monitor's not on my buy list.

[Spork!]

Plenty of scope for upgrade on the GPU.
You could get a 5870 card and be Dx11 ready, but tehy are pricey, and some may hesitate to buy a "1st gen" card. You could get a 4870 or 4890 pretty cheap, as they are now "old" tech (by some ppl's standards), you could wait for the GT300's, or you could go for a GTX2** for a good boost over your 8800
The Nvidia's are best folders, the ATI's best gamers, generally. Confusing...

[Jamesrt2004]

Plenty of scope for upgrade on the GPU.
You could get a 5870 card and be Dx11 ready, but tehy are pricey, and some may hesitate to buy a "1st gen" card. You could get a 4870 or 4890 pretty cheap, as they are now "old" tech (by some ppl's standards), you could wait for the GT300's, or you could go for a GTX2** for a good boost over your 8800
The Nvidia's are best folders, the ATI's best gamers, generally. Confusing...

look at the res he is playing at...

honestly i would get 5770 when its out or maybe 5850 although thats kinda taking the biscuit at that res tbh youll have to wait a long time for nvidia's mid range parts, there high end might be out in time for x-mas but will be WAY more power then you will need :)

imo

gt300 of the 8800gt? no idea what it will be called tbh with you as i dont get the new naming scheme gt360 probably though? (when its out)

5850 or 5770(when its out)

whatevers cheaper out of those 3

[KaOSoFt]

look at the res he is playing at...

honestly i would get 5770 when its out or maybe 5850 although thats kinda taking the biscuit at that res tbh youll have to wait a long time for nvidia's mid range parts, there high end might be out in time for x-mas but will be WAY more power then you will need :)

imo

gt300 of the 8800gt? no idea what it will be called tbh with you as i dont get the new naming scheme gt360 probably though? (when its out)

5850 or 5770(when its out)

whatevers cheaper out of those 3
I didn't know about the GT300... it sounds great, and besides, it works wonders for folding (thanks, CUDA), unlike the ATI counterparts. In any case, we'll have to see how it'll perform, since it says it was made from scratch, and it is not based on the GT200. :confused:

And in fact, if I wait that long, I could end up upgrading other components as well, like the PSU and RAM.

Any further recommendations are welcome. Thank you!

[zanzabar]

...
imo

gt300 of the 8800gt? no idea what it will be called tbh with you as i dont get the new naming scheme gt360 probably though? (when its out)

5850 or 5770(when its out)

whatevers cheaper out of those 3

NV will not have any midrange that isnt a downpriced g200 till atleast next summer if not longer out.

5770 looks like it should be the best pick, they should be out in nov or early dec, or the 5850 depending on the price difference

[KaOSoFt]

NV will not have any midrange that isnt a downpriced g200 till atleast next summer if not longer out.

5770 looks like it should be the best pick, they should be out in nov or early dec, or the 5850 depending on the price difference
With all the reviews I've seen online, the HD 5870 sure sounds like a good excuse to go back to ATI, after being a nVidia user for many years.

I always have had a fear of ATI video cards because of their buggy drivers, but it looks like finally they are getting stable and optimized.

Let's see what the future holds for us!

[shazza]

I wouldn't rule out doing an upgrade now using one of the current, or even older nVidia cards. I imagine you could find a good price on a used GTX 280. The 260 is a nice card as well - especially at the res you are playing at. Just a thought.

[Jamesrt2004]

With all the reviews I've seen online, the HD 5870 sure sounds like a good excuse to go back to ATI, after being a nVidia user for many years.

I always have had a fear of ATI video cards because of their buggy drivers, but it looks like finally they are getting stable and optimized.

Let's see what the future holds for us!

imo 5870 is mass overkill, tbh its still overkill for 1680x1050 :/ .. .so at 1280x1024 its just like no point :/

[Otis11]

Well with a 5870 there's no way you'd be GPU limited!

If you're a folder I would strongly recommend getting a refurbished 260 core 216.

Cheap ($130 ish - if you wait and shop around, sometime cheaper)
Does great on GPUGrid (I'm getting ~16K PPD) but I think 275 is better for F@H, please correct me if i'm wrong.
Will run on your existing PSU.
Don't think you'll have any troubles with what you're looking to do

Downside, probably more expensive than a comparable ATI card for same gaming experience (I'm a NVIDIA guy... so please don't shoot me for saying this)

If you're into folding/crunching, stay strong and stick with NVIDIA, otherwise there are a lot more people who know a lot more about ATI cards than I that will point you in the right direction.

[KaOSoFt]

Well with a 5870 there's no way you'd be GPU limited!

If you're a folder I would strongly recommend getting a refurbished 260 core 216.

Cheap ($130 ish - if you wait and shop around, sometime cheaper)
Does great on GPUGrid (I'm getting ~16K PPD) but I think 275 is better for F@H, please correct me if i'm wrong.
Will run on your existing PSU.
Don't think you'll have any troubles with what you're looking to do

Downside, probably more expensive than a comparable ATI card for same gaming experience (I'm a NVIDIA guy... so please don't shoot me for saying this)

If you're into folding/crunching, stay strong and stick with NVIDIA, otherwise there are a lot more people who know a lot more about ATI cards than I that will point you in the right direction.
Let's say I get a Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP, would the HD 5870 still give me the performance I'd need? I'm thinking of waiting for a 2 GB version...

[Jamesrt2004]

Well with a 5870 there's no way you'd be GPU limited!

If you're a folder I would strongly recommend getting a refurbished 260 core 216.

Cheap ($130 ish - if you wait and shop around, sometime cheaper)
Does great on GPUGrid (I'm getting ~16K PPD) but I think 275 is better for F@H, please correct me if i'm wrong.
Will run on your existing PSU.
Don't think you'll have any troubles with what you're looking to do

Downside, probably more expensive than a comparable ATI card for same gaming experience (I'm a NVIDIA guy... so please don't shoot me for saying this)

If you're into folding/crunching, stay strong and stick with NVIDIA, otherwise there are a lot more people who know a lot more about ATI cards than I that will point you in the right direction.

I agree completley

if you want to fold on the card no point bothering on ATI as well.. nvidia just are so much better at it


Let's say I get a Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP, would the HD 5870 still give me the performance I'd need? I'm thinking of waiting for a 2 GB version...

yeah thats perfect res for one, imo thats what im doing, getting a 24" + 5870 2gb (just for future high res texture mods on certain games etc..)

at full HD or 1900x1200 these cards shine, but imo honestly unless you know your going to upgrade your monitor then I wouldnt waste the moneys :)


imo though if you fold, hold out for gt300 series although some people say they wont even come to the summer.. but then thinking about it theres no big blockbuster games coming out then that will stress your system too much

(hell upgrade to 4gb ram will give you a nice little boost if you need one to tie you over :)..)

[KaOSoFt]

I agree completley

if you want to fold on the card no point bothering on ATI as well.. nvidia just are so much better at it



yeah thats perfect res for one, imo thats what im doing, getting a 24" + 5870 2gb (just for future high res texture mods on certain games etc..)

at full HD or 1900x1200 these cards shine, but imo honestly unless you know your going to upgrade your monitor then I wouldnt waste the moneys :)


imo though if you fold, hold out for gt300 series although some people say they wont even come to the summer.. but then thinking about it theres no big blockbuster games coming out then that will stress your system too much

(hell upgrade to 4gb ram will give you a nice little boost if you need one to tie you over :)..)
This system... I don't think I need to upgrade anything else: just RAM and video, and with video, I also include the monitor.

I guess I should be saving a little extra for the monitor, since it's the most expensive of all.

Thank you!