Need a new GPU for gaming

RobertHamilton · 02-17-2009, 11:23 PM

Basically the title says it but here are the details.

my box at the moment:
Mobo: Asus P5Q Deluxe
CPU: Intel Q6600 Kentsfield FSB = 1066 MHz w/ clock speed of 2.4Ghz (quad)
RAM: OCZ DDR2 4 gig kit
HDD: WD 640Gb
Case: Lian-Li PC-B25
GPU: Asus EAH3450 512 (ATI HD 3450) !to be replaced with a new one!.
PSU: Coolermaster Real Power Pro 850W

Okay, so I built this computer exacty 4 months ago. It's pretty high end excepts for the gpu ofcourse but that's because I sort of ran out of money and didn't need a great GPU at the time. Things have changed. I think I may have burnt out my cheap(40 dollar) GPU a bit from overclocking it; Evidently because after I OC'd my system froze up, the screen went all funny colours and my machine rebooted. Ever since then gameplay has become increasingly poor.. every game i play has to be on the lowest graphical settings and it still lags.
tl;dr

To cut to the chase, i want to buy a new GPU. I want a decent one to play games in high detail such as: COD4, COD5, FO3, oblivion etc.. excepts i don't want to spend too much - say.. $300AUD is my budget.

I will probably buy from MSY (http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf) or Umart (http://www.umart.com.au/).

Please help me choose a suitable GPU because i'm not very knowledgable in this area. I think i like ATI but tell me i'm wrong if you have to. Thanks. :]

**koala** · 02-18-2009, 06:50 AM

Hi Robert, welcome to TSF

ATI Radeon HD4850 - 512mb GDDR3 - $228 internet, $234 in-store
(best value for money, capable of playing all the games you mention at high settings)

ATI Radeon HD4850 - 1gb GDDR3 - $295 internet, $305 in-store
(same as above, but with double the memory - only needed if you play at extremely high resolutions on a 24"+ monitor)

ATI Radeon HD4870 - 512mb GDDR5 - $359 internet, $369 in-store
(best card in your price range, highly recommended)

The closest nvidia equivalent to these ATI cards available at this store is the GeForce 9800GTX 1gb for $305. Not as good as any of the ATI cards above.

Your 850W Coolermaster PSU will be able to handle any of these cards.

RobertHamilton · 02-18-2009, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koala

Hi Robert, welcome to TSF

ATI Radeon HD4850 - 512mb GDDR3 - $228 internet, $234 in-store
(best value for money, capable of playing all the games you mention at high settings)

ATI Radeon HD4850 - 1gb GDDR3 - $295 internet, $305 in-store
(same as above, but with double the memory - only needed if you play at extremely high resolutions on a 24"+ monitor)

ATI Radeon HD4870 - 512mb GDDR5 - $359 internet, $369 in-store
(best card in your price range, highly recommended)

The closest nvidia equivalent to these ATI cards available at this store is the GeForce 9800GTX 1gb for $305. Not as good as any of the ATI cards above.

Your 850W Coolermaster PSU will be able to handle any of these cards.

Thanks very much for your help. Just one question.. i have a 22" monitor so should i still be looking at getting a 1gb card? or is 512 enough? =\

RobertHamilton · 02-18-2009, 02:46 PM

btw i can get the 1GB 4850 but it's Gigabyte for $279? would that be better than the 4870 w/ 512?

**koala** · 02-18-2009, 09:44 PM

As you've got a large monitor, it probably has a high native resolution, so go for the 1gb 4850. It's not quite as fast as the 4870, but much cheaper and very capable of playing all modern games at high settings.

Gigabyte Radeon HD4850 1gb review from http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigaby...5oc1gi-review/

Quote:

If you take a regular run of the mill Radeon HD 4850 you already have a lot of value in your hands, really. And props to Gigabyte for sure, they just really improved the product.

So in retrospective, at 199 USD / 170 EUR any Radeon HD 4850 with 1GB just offers astounding, seriously let me say that again, astounding performance for the money. You really can't go wrong with that product, no matter what brand you purchase.

Gigabyte has a very nice product at hand here, completely customized and very tweakable.

So generally this product is performing faster than the reference Radeon HD 4850, and then you have some extra reserves play around with. What's not to like about it? Short and simple -- Highly recommended.

02-17-2009, 11:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
RobertHamilton Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: xp SP3	Need a new GPU for gaming Basically the title says it but here are the details. my box at the moment: Mobo: Asus P5Q Deluxe CPU: Intel Q6600 Kentsfield FSB = 1066 MHz w/ clock speed of 2.4Ghz (quad) RAM: OCZ DDR2 4 gig kit HDD: WD 640Gb Case: Lian-Li PC-B25 GPU: Asus EAH3450 512 (ATI HD 3450) !to be replaced with a new one!. PSU: Coolermaster Real Power Pro 850W Okay, so I built this computer exacty 4 months ago. It's pretty high end excepts for the gpu ofcourse but that's because I sort of ran out of money and didn't need a great GPU at the time. Things have changed. I think I may have burnt out my cheap(40 dollar) GPU a bit from overclocking it; Evidently because after I OC'd my system froze up, the screen went all funny colours and my machine rebooted. Ever since then gameplay has become increasingly poor.. every game i play has to be on the lowest graphical settings and it still lags. tl;dr To cut to the chase, i want to buy a new GPU. I want a decent one to play games in high detail such as: COD4, COD5, FO3, oblivion etc.. excepts i don't want to spend too much - say.. $300AUD is my budget. I will probably buy from MSY (http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf) or Umart (http://www.umart.com.au/). Please help me choose a suitable GPU because i'm not very knowledgable in this area. I think i like ATI but tell me i'm wrong if you have to. Thanks. :]

02-18-2009, 06:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,396 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: Need a new GPU for gaming Hi Robert, welcome to TSF ATI Radeon HD4850 - 512mb GDDR3 - $228 internet, $234 in-store (best value for money, capable of playing all the games you mention at high settings) ATI Radeon HD4850 - 1gb GDDR3 - $295 internet, $305 in-store (same as above, but with double the memory - only needed if you play at extremely high resolutions on a 24"+ monitor) ATI Radeon HD4870 - 512mb GDDR5 - $359 internet, $369 in-store (best card in your price range, highly recommended) The closest nvidia equivalent to these ATI cards available at this store is the GeForce 9800GTX 1gb for $305. Not as good as any of the ATI cards above. Your 850W Coolermaster PSU will be able to handle any of these cards. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here Last edited by koala; 02-18-2009 at 06:55 AM. Reason: typo

02-18-2009, 02:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
RobertHamilton Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 5 OS: xp SP3	Re: Need a new GPU for gaming btw i can get the 1GB 4850 but it's Gigabyte for $279? would that be better than the 4870 w/ 512?