OT: Graphics Card Ponderages...

[MikeDixonUK 5]

You lot are clever when it comes to tech stuff I must say, so perhaps you can help me!

 

Birthday again soon, been pondering some graphics card upgrades (need more graphics card memory aparantly, as I'm running at high resolution (1920 x 1200) - also Cliffs of Dover needs a good 2gb odd it seems, narrowed it down to three but they all have their issues.

 

The Safe Option

 

Gainward GeForce GTX 560Ti 2048 MB GDDR5Dual

 

This is the safe option as it's not exactly top tier, apparently uses 20w less power (the basic 1gb version at least) than my current card (ASUS ATI HD 4890 1024mb) and is the cheapest, however the stats don't seem to be massively better than my current card (a basic ATI HD 4890 vs a basic 1gb 560Ti anyway) but I don't really know how much better the Gainward 2GB one is and is it worth £250 compared to what I've got? Although seemingly the 560 was only released a few months ago, where as the ATI 4890 is about two years old, so it seems a bit odd if the 560 is only a little better, unless I've go the stats wrong.

 

(The main advantages over my current card seem to be that it has 2gb ram compared to 1gb and is DirectX 11 compatible, where as my current is DirectX 10 I think.)

 

The Hard Option

 

Asus HD 6970 2GB GDDR5

 

This one is a lot better than my current card and is only about £30 more than the first option, however it uses 60w more than my current card, so I might have to buy a new PSU (not sure what my current one is, I'll have to open it up and look - 500w I think) and also my Motherboard (ASUS P5N-e SLI) has issues running ATI 6XXX series cards and requires a BIOS update (or else it takes about 40 seconds for it to start up) which I'm not to keen about as I hear they can stuff up the Motherboard.

 

The Silly Expensive Option

 

Palit GTX 580 3GB GDDR5

 

This one is similar to the second one I think, and has about the same power consumption - but has 3gb memory and I won't have to update my BIOS.

 

Of course the question is, with this PC:

 

Intel Core 2 Duo 3.33Ghz

ASUS P5N-e SLI

4GB DDR2 Ram

Windows XP SP3 (Thinking about getting Windows 7.)

 

Would the other components in the PC be holding back the better two cards so much that there's not much point in me getting them, compared to the first card?

Edited April 13, 2011 by MikeDixonUK

[Von Paulus 8]

I too have a 4890. So far I haven't particularly felt the need to exchange for another.

I'm playing everything with medium settings, and so far its enough. Maybe DirectX 11 can be an argument of changing.

The 2Gb memory are usually useful only for higher resolutions than 1920x1200.

I would save the money and begin to think in changing the rig, for the new i5 or i7 processors (if you still want to go with Intel).

You current graphic card is balanced for your rig. If you think in all the new games that support multi-core (it seems not be the case of CoD) than your processor might be the bottleneck of your system. That's my opinion.

[Morris 2]

ASUS 6970 is a great card.

 

or get Tri-Fire Setup

 

1 x Asus 6990 + 1 x Asus 6970 and run them in crossfireX (TrifireX)... then I will pop into you house and steel your PC

and it only cost $1000 in total.

 

m

[MikeDixonUK 5]

Having slept on it I think I'm going to go with the GTX 560 Ti 2GB, as it gives me DirectX 11 and 2GB of VRam - which are the two main components I'm after, and is also the cheapest.

 

Also, having opened up my PC to find out what PSU I have (Enermax 485w) I've seen that my current graphics card is about 9.5 inches long, and has 1 inch clearance behind it, the GTX 560 is only 9 inches long (but quite tall) so will fit, but the ATI 6970 is 10.75 inches and the GTX 580 is 10.5 inches - which are both pushing it if they can even manage to fit into the case!

 

This is probably going to be my last upgrade on this PC before I look to getting a newer one, but hopefully it should last me a bit longer with DirectX 11 once I get Windows 7, and the extra VRam.

 

Also my Brother will be getting my ATI 4890 for his PC, so that should keep him happy for a while.

Edited April 14, 2011 by MikeDixonUK

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Good choice Mike

[Parky 8]

Good choice Mike

 

 

Naahhh......this was a good choice!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just replaced a Sapphire 5970 with it, and I'm very, very, very pleased with the upgrade. This is what tax refunds are for after all......although I'm still trying to convince the wife of that

 

 

Cheers,

 

Parky

[almccoyjr 7]

Shame on you Parky for subjecting that awesome GTX 590 to that "rat's nest" of wiring. The X-Fi I can understand. You need to take your "mechanic" out back and give them a good dressing down.

 

plug_nickel

[Parky 8]

Thanks Al,

 

I AM the mechanic....lol. Not much that can be done with the X-Fi, as you've hinted. It's the 5 hard-drives that make it impossible to get it any tidier.......

 

 

Cheers,

 

Parky

[almccoyjr 7]

Just poke'n at you Parky. Looking at your wiring, I surmised that you had at least 4 hd's. Cleaning up the wiring would entail a major drive cage mod.

 

plug_nickel

[carrick58 23]

Naahhh......this was a good choice!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just replaced a Sapphire 5970 with it, and I'm very, very, very pleased with the upgrade. This is what tax refunds are for after all......although I'm still trying to convince the wife of that

 

 

Cheers,

 

Parky

 

U get a tax refund ?

[carrick58 23]

I don't know if the Direct X 10 and above would have any effect on a single core game. Anyone Know?

[Parky 8]

 

Just poke'n at you Parky.

 

plug_nickel

 

 

I knew that.......ya' bastard.......

 

 

Cheers Mate,

 

Parky

[Parky 8]

U get a tax refund ?

 

"Got".....as in past tense. You don't get one with the purchase of the card, if that's what you mean. I did get a really good deal on it though. It pays to be in good with the boyz at Canada Computers. I throw them a lot of business, and as is often the case, one hand washes the other it would seem....

 

 

I don't know if the Direct X 10 and above would have any effect on a single core game. Anyone Know?

 

I assume what you're asking is if there's any benefit to having a graphics accelerator that's capable of DX11 when you're running a game that was written to run in DX9 and on a single CPU core?? Nope.....no benefit at all. I bought this latest card strictly for bragging rights, and to piss the ol' lady off a bit (or maybe a whole lot). Seriously though....I run a handful of very recent games that can take full advantage of all the bells and whistles this card comes with. For me, it's a worthwhile investment. I wouldn't run out and buy one just to play OFF, but I have to admit, the brief testing I've done with OFF and this card have yielded very impressive results. Which brings me to this: One card you didn't mention as a possible choice earlier was the GTX 570. Don't overlook it. It's excellent bang for your buck and will provide you with a very good gaming experience.....regardless of the limitations the rest of your system may bring to the table. A friend of mine picked an EVGA up from NewEgg recently....the model he got has a lifetime warranty. Can't sneeze at the peace of mind that offers. Just a thought of course. I'm not suggesting you spend more money than you need to...

 

Cheers,

 

Parky

[Von Paulus 8]

Some porno:

 

 

I hate to do cable management. This was the best I could do without loosing my mind. :)

[Parky 8]

You should take some wire cutters and get rid of that cable that runs to the fan on the side panel.........

[Von Paulus 8]

No way, Parky. Not that fan... not after all the trouble I had in cutting the bloody mesh from the side panel.

I'd rather cut any other cable.

Edited April 15, 2011 by Von Paulus

[Olham 164]

(Water-) cool, Parky!

 

When my mobo is back and built in, I may also send a picture.

 

Got almost the same water cooling as you, but with only one fan.

 

 

[Von Paulus 8]

Yes , please Olham, I want to see your porno.

[MikeDixonUK 5]

I decided to go for the Gainward GTX 560 Ti 2GB, it arrived this morning and seems to work ok with my 485w PSU (although since installing it I keep getting these big slow-downs when I'm browsing websites and the like, which bring my PC to a stand still (the mouse still works and the start bar icons and read-outs and the like still move, but everything else freezes and ctrl + alt + delete doesn't work) so I might get a 650w PSU or what not, unless someone thinks it might not be a PSU issue?

 

As for if it was worth the upgrade from an ATI 4890 1GB to a GTX 560 Ti 2GB, let me think about it...

 

 

I'm going to say yes!

[Olham 164]

Does this video mean, you can only fly "Cliffs of Dover" without enemy aircraft around???

 

Or were you just carried away by the joys of flying a Spit?

 

 

[MikeDixonUK 5]

Just the joys of a summer morning, sat in a Spitfire Mk I enjoying the countryside of home.

 

I'll have a look at making something more violent for you.

[Lewie 7]

Does your MB software have some sort of voltage and temperature monitor program? You can monitor the voltage in real time if and when when these slowdowns happen.

[MikeDixonUK 5]

Not sure about Motherboard voltage and temperature readings, but I have speed fan which tells me the temperatures and they all seem ok - I'll look for some stuff about the voltages, thanks for the tip, Lewie.

 

Here's a more action based video for you, Olham:

 

 

[Parky 8]

Very nice little clips there, Mike.

 

I particularly like your choice of music from The Battle of Britain...

 

Now on to your "slowdown" issues. Here's something I'd like you to try...

 

Scroll back up to your Youtube vid, right-click in the middle of the video screen and then select "Settings". There's an option there to either enable or disable hardware acceleration. Whatever your's is set to....change it, then go browse the web a bit, watch some flash-based vids and see if your problem still exists. I'm working on a hunch here, but I have seen this setting cause weird issues on a couple of machines, so it may be worth a try.

 

Cheers,

 

Parky

[Olham 164]

A fine action clip there, Mike!

 

I didn't necessarily need more violence - I had only asked for more action, cause everybody else

 

seems to have extreme stutters with "Cliffs of Dover". You don't seem to have them.

 

So it may be as Oleg said years ago: the systems to play it on must be far advanced?

 

What are your system's components (CPU, memory)?

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2011 by Olham