# Buying a new Graphics Card



## Sam123456 (Jan 5, 2011)

Hello forum members,
I will be buying a New GFX card in a few weeks. I basically want this as an upgrade to my Geforce 8500GT. I want something that will not be bottlenecked by my configuration and be future proof for atleast 2-3yrs. My PC is basically used for playing the odd game and mostly for my project work and surfing the net. 
My configuration is as follows-
Processor - Intel Core2Duo E7300 2 cores at 2.66 GHz
Motherboard- Intel DG31PR
RAM- 3GB DDR2
HDD- Seagate 160GB 
Graphics Card- Nvidia Geforce 8500GT    
PSU- some crappy company 300W 
monitor - samsung 15inch 
Cabinet- Crappy IBall 

I understand that I would have 2 change my PSU so i'll keep around 4k for that ( im thinking Corsair VX450W)
And im keeping around 10k for the Graphics card.
I might even have 2 change my cabby so 1-2k for that.


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## abirthedevil (Jan 6, 2011)

gaming on 15" monitor? HD5670 512mb is more than enough price should be 5.5k max
i know your budget is 10k for gpu but anything more would be overkill for your system, specially monitor


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## ssb1551 (Jan 7, 2011)

If you are planning to upgrade the monitor down the line then get HD6850 for 10-11k.But if you aint planning to change the monitor then go with *abithedevil*'s suggestion or if you want more horsepower then look at 5770.


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## Sam123456789 (Jan 9, 2011)

Im sorry guys for replying so late
Its sam 12345 here but i forgot the password of my account so made a new one.
anyway i'm thinking of buying a HD5670 as suggested by abirthedevil but will i have to change my PSU?? and also since ssb1551 suggested a HD5770 im thinking i might go for that or a HD5750 if they are not overkill for my system.


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## Cilus (Jan 9, 2011)

You need to get a good PSU first. Hd 5670 is just fine for your current 15" display but my suggestion is going for HD 5750/GTS 450 or HD 5770 for better future proof solution f you are gonna opt for a new LCD display in near future.

My suggestion will be
Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 1GB @ 6.8K
Corsair CX400 @ 2.5K or Tagan Stonerock 80+ 600W @ 3K


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## Piyush (Jan 9, 2011)

5670 suits u best
but if u have to upgrade ur monitor too
then u ahve to fish for some bigger cards like 5770 and above


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## sam1234567890 (Jan 13, 2011)

Its sam123456 here 4got my password again! Anyway i have decided 2 buy an HD 5670 since i'm not changing my moniter anytime soon. Now can u guys please tell me which brand shud i buy and price estimates


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## monkey (Jan 13, 2011)

Sapphire is good brand for AMD cards. HD5670 512MB should be for 4.5k and 1GB version for about 5.2k


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## coderunknown (Jan 13, 2011)

Sapphire (mainly cause of the Arctic cooler. runs really silent & below 50C) HD5670 512Mb is the best when it comes to priceerformance ratio.


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## Sam123456789 (Jan 14, 2011)

ok so i think ill go for an HD5670 512MB from sapphire ( as recommended by almost everyone!) and the Corsair CX-400W (as recommended by cilus).
Any idea at what settings will I be able to play Assassin's Creed 2 with the new GFX since I'm playing it currently at 800*600 at med effects.


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## coderunknown (Jan 14, 2011)

1600X900 with everything set to high. or Full HD @ mid details.


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## vickybat (Jan 15, 2011)

imo go for msi gts 450 @ 6.8k if you want to game at 1600x900 with all settings high.

If you want to upgrade your monitor to full hd down the line , then opt for a sapphire 6850 @ 10k along with corsair vx450 @ 3.5k


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## Cilus (Jan 15, 2011)

The chocie of the graphics card depends so much on what you can spend.
For current using HD 5670 is the best. But when TFT monitors are getting mainstream and their prices are getting reduced day by day, I think if you can spend 7k, HD 5750 or GTS 450 is the best solution. If you can get HD 5770 within 8.3K then it is also a good deal. And within 10K range HD 6870 is the best and most future proof buy. Right now games are getting very demanding and LCD displays are getting more mainstream. So right now you are thinking you are not going for a CRT to TFT update buyt within a couple of month due to the reduced price of TFT you might opt for one.
So better opr for a future proof solution like hd 5770


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## Sam123456789 (Jan 15, 2011)

Cilus said:


> The chocie of the graphics card depends so much on what you can spend.
> For current using HD 5670 is the best. But when TFT monitors are getting mainstream and their prices are getting reduced day by day, I think if you can spend 7k, HD 5750 or GTS 450 is the best solution. If you can get HD 5770 within 8.3K then it is also a good deal. And within 10K range HD 6870 is the best and most future proof buy. Right now games are getting very demanding and LCD displays are getting more mainstream. So right now you are thinking you are not going for a CRT to TFT update buyt within a couple of month due to the reduced price of TFT you might opt for one.
> So better opr for a future proof solution like hd 5770



Now guys I am sorry i didn't mention it at first  but mine is a Samsung 15inch LCD monitor its not a CRT.  Its this one:-
Techtree.com India > Reviews > Basics > Monitors > Samsung SyncMaster 510N
*reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/samsung-syncmaster-510-n/1707-3174_7-30920709.html
*www.superwarehouse.com/Samsung_SyncMaster_510N_Black_15_LCD_Monitor/510N-BLACK/ps/407446

Anyway I was reading your suggestions and now I'm thinking of going for a HD5750 or a GTS450 since my father is allowing me to spend only lesser than or equal to 8k on the Graphics Card.


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## coderunknown (Jan 15, 2011)

Cilus said:


> And within 10K range HD *6870* is the best and most future proof buy. Right now games are getting very demanding and LCD displays are getting more mainstream. So right now you are thinking you are not going for a CRT to TFT update buyt within a couple of month due to the reduced price of TFT you might opt for one.
> So better opr for a future proof solution like hd 5770



i think thats a typo. HD6850.

yes better get the fastest possible card cause in future games will get more demanding. i doubt if 2yrs down the line HD68** can run *any *game in Full HD.


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## Sam123456789 (Jan 15, 2011)

^^ Even I understood that it was a typo but 6850 is out of my budget ( I know it was 10k but it got reduced after Dad saw my Sanskrit test marks!).


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## rajan1311 (Jan 15, 2011)

how can anyone mess up Sanskrit ?? 

Since you are not changing our monitor *anytime soon*(your words) - HD 5670 is all you need. You can play 90% of the games at high(est) settings, just a few games like metro might be a problem, but that aint gonna be a big deal.

You will need a new PSU, if you can find,get a Corsair CX400 or Seasonic 380W PSU (dont remember model number) for around 2.6k odd. Else get an FSP Saga II 350W PSU if you dont find the other two.


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## Sam123456789 (Jan 15, 2011)

ok but don't you think i might go for a more future proof solution like GTS450 or HD5750 just to be safe because if 1 yr down the line if I decide to change my monitor? or if it goes bad, the monitor is pretty old.


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## rajan1311 (Jan 15, 2011)

But then if you get a 22" monitor(full HD), none of these cards will be sufficient for gaming at 1080p. They are outside your budget anyways...so you decide how much you can spend. A HD 5770+Seasonic 380W ~ 10k is what I would suggest in that case.


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## Sam123456789 (Jan 15, 2011)

^^ Ok then I'll convince my father to return to our old budget of 10k for the GFX card, but it will take a little time (1-2 weeks or so). Do you guys think the price of HD6850 will fall buy then?


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## coderunknown (Jan 15, 2011)

for now HD5670 is good for HD but in less than a yr, it'll in the league of entry level cards (HD66** will thrash it & so do Llano APU graphics).


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## rajan1311 (Jan 15, 2011)

Not really...Llano APUs will max have a 400 shaders on them, so it will not thrash the 5670...


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## vickybat (Jan 16, 2011)

Yes* rajan1311* is absolutely correct. The recently released brazos apu's have *2 simd engines having a total of 80 shaders*. Their performance is a bit *slower than 5470*. LLano apu's *will be in the league with a 5570* and will perform a bit slower than it if the current trend continues. It might even have a lower backend but that is anyways a lot better than any current onboard solutions.


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## coderunknown (Jan 16, 2011)

yes. i mean to say was, 6650 (which should come up very soon) will take a huge lead over HD5670 & Llano's fastest APU will match HD5670 (HD gaming is seriously out of question) or will at least match HD5570.


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## vickybat (Jan 16, 2011)

^^What are the replacements for junniper i.e 5750 & 5770?


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## rajan1311 (Jan 16, 2011)

^the HD 6850/70 are meant to replace the 5770 and 5750 bro....prices will come down soon,but that what is it is.


5700 -> 6800
5800 -> 6900


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## vickybat (Jan 16, 2011)

I think there will be some 6750 and 6770. What do you say?


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## max_snyper (Jan 16, 2011)

bro u can really go with the ati/nvidia solution for ati hd6850 and nvidia 460gtx...assuming a good quality psu u will buy from corsair vx450-vx550,seasonic s12ii 520w,fsp 500w. there will be a little bottleneck in the games that are mindlessly ported from consoles to pc. but it will somewhat last more than a year and half for full hd resolutions gaming. choose your pick.


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## coderunknown (Jan 16, 2011)

vickybat said:


> ^^What are the replacements for junniper i.e 5750 & 5770?



HD5770 = HD6850
HD5750 = yet to be launched but HD6770 should be little faster than it (if we follow the way 6-series GPU are getting launched).



rajan1311 said:


> ^the HD 6850/70 are meant to replace the 5770 and 5750 bro....*prices will come down soon*,but that what is it is



*soon* nowadays have no meaning. AMD kept the prices of 5series 10k+ cards almost constant. the AIB partners cut the prices by a few dollars. GTX460 came & it'll soon get EOL, 5series (& now 6series) hardly show any shift in price.


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## Piyush (Jan 16, 2011)

Sam123456789 said:


> ^^ Ok then I'll convince my father to return to our old budget of 10k for the GFX card, but it will take a little time (1-2 weeks or so). Do you guys think the price of HD6850 will fall buy then?



if 10k is possible than 6850 is the best option for u
but i dunno what PSU u are having right now?

and if its below 8k
then u should go for 5770 without any second thoughts
although this card is quite old but its still beast in performance


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## rajan1311 (Jan 16, 2011)

The 5 Series prices did not come down as the fermin was very late and not up to the mark (too hot,too expensive) hence when had no price war, ATI pretty much dominated. 

This time, things are different, with cards like the GTX 570 and upcoming GTX 560, AMD will really think about price cuts. They are getting 1GB variants of the 6950 just to counter the GTX 560 threat, now if it is just $20 more than a 6870, the 6870 will make no sense. Hence I said there could be a price cut soon..


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## vickybat (Jan 17, 2011)

Yes amd saw it coming. Prospective buyers will definitely get sweet deals this time around.


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## coderunknown (Jan 17, 2011)

rajan1311 said:


> The 5 Series prices did not come down as the fermin was very late and not up to the mark (too hot,too expensive) hence when had no price war, ATI pretty much dominated.
> 
> This time, things are different, with cards like the GTX 570 and upcoming GTX 560, AMD will really think about price cuts. They are getting 1GB variants of the 6950 just to counter the GTX 560 threat, now if it is just $20 more than a 6870, the 6870 will make no sense. Hence I said there could be a price cut soon..



have to agree with you here. Nvidia's 5-series is as good as AMD's with all problem sorted out & they are back in the game & can demand a good price for their cards, finally.


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