Choosing GPU

[Mark.]

Yes.

Some time ago I asked here for advices for my bro's PC.
That's what we come out with:

Manufacturer:
MSI
Processor:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 650 @ 3.20GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.2GHz
Memory:
4096MB RAM
Hard Drive:
500 GB
Video Card:
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM v1.1)
Monitor: Samsung 19'' mine
Sound Card:
(Realtek High Definition Audio) mine, that's a 5.1 system
Speakers/Headphones:
Epoq Streamer totally mine :p
Keyboard:
Logitech G15 mine
Mouse:
Trust optical mouse mine, I know it's not good for some of you, but works fine for me
Mouse Surface: what's this? I don't even
Operating System:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_rtm.090713-1255)
Motherboard:
MSI
Computer Case:
Kraun

So now it's my turn. Got 750 euros for my birthday and I want to build a PC similar to his.

I tried this desktop when I bought it and it worked flawlessly, but still I'd like to change few things.
CPU: wanted to change it for an i5 750 (friend told me to do that)
HD: also got a 500gb HD yesterday from my cousin, so I think mine will be less than that (320gb or something like that. I don't need too much space, since I don't download movies, huge games or whatnot)
GPU: that's my biggest doubt. He's got a nVidia GTS250, but I wanted to change it to something slightly better, which won't cost me more than 150-160 euros. Was thinking about nVidia GTX260 or ATI 4870. But I'd like some better advices. :p

Thanks in advance.

[asusi]

Dude go for ATi
nVidia is crap atm, they just take 8800gtx new cover to the old chip> new name 280gtx and VOILÀ!! cashh!!! same shitt new name, if you want new gpu go for ati. is best atm

[poehalcho]

How about a ATI Radeon HD5770. That's what I've got.

Spoiler!

Type ATI Radeon HD5770
Speed 875 MHz
Stream Processors 800
Shader Model 5.0
Full Screen Anti Aliasing up to 16 x
DirectX Versie 11
OpenGL Versie 3.2
AMD Stream yes

Memory:
Capacity 1024 MB
Type GDDR5
speed 4900 MHz
Interface 128 bit

Resolution:
2560x1600x32Bit 60 Hz (Dual Link)

it does have active cooling, so it gets a bit noisy.

The card cost me 150 euro's.

[Shadow]

If I were to upgrade, I'd get ATI's 5800 series GPU.

Now I'm running on 4870 with upgraded cooling fan. No complaints at all (other than the stock cooling being toy-grade stuff).

[Pinoy_Archer]

how about AMD Phenoms II CPU? they're more bang for the buck amd some of them outperforms i7 cores of intel... if you take AMD, you can save for a better ATI card and possibly dont even bottleneck ... just a thought.

oh yeah i'm not an AMD nor ATI fan

[Gaigemasta]

man, not to flame, but damn bro, dont spend that much money on a pc, go spend it on ur girl if you have one, or something you can invest in cuz dude, i've upgraded my pc for the last time, and its gonna last me till im outa college since its gonna cost me basically 65k for a bach, degree -_- so yah save it up bro!

[Shadow]

man, not to flame, but damn bro, dont spend that much money on a pc, go spend it on ur girl if you have one, or something you can invest in cuz dude, i've upgraded my pc for the last time, and its gonna last me till im outa college since its gonna cost me basically 65k for a bach, degree -_- so yah save it up bro!

Sucks to be you. Free education till the terminal degree for the win.
Spending money on some teenager romance girlfriend is just total waste... And you make it sound like they're whores or something.

[Gaigemasta]

they are not whores but since post WWII, its been the common tradition in USA to take out a girl and spend money on her, It's prbly tradition else where too but I'm not going to say. but to go on-topic, if your gonna waste it on a GTS 250 just go for 8800 gts, almost same specs with less cost, or go for the gtx 470

[Mark.]

how about AMD Phenoms II CPU? they're more bang for the buck amd some of them outperforms i7 cores of intel... if you take AMD, you can save for a better ATI card and possibly dont even bottleneck ... just a thought.

oh yeah i'm not an AMD nor ATI fan

I've actually thought about getting a hexacore, but I do have a budget and it's pratically impossible to find one yet here. Also, that much power is some sort of waste atm, since almost no program uses all the six cores.

man, not to flame, but damn bro, dont spend that much money on a pc, go spend it on ur girl if you have one, or something you can invest in cuz dude, i've upgraded my pc for the last time, and its gonna last me till im outa college since its gonna cost me basically 65k for a bach, degree -_- so yah save it up bro!

I'm Italian, not American. Here is sorta different. University ain't gonna cost me that much money. If I'm going to a public univeristy (which is to be in two years), it's something like 2k euros till second bachelor (five or six years); if my mother is gonna send me to a private university, that's because I'll have a study degree, thus paying almost anything.

[woutR]

its gonna cost me basically 65k for a bach, degree -_- so yah save it up bro!

Go Europe, Go Europe!

[xzaz]

its gonna cost me basically 65k for a bach, degree -_- so yah save it up bro!

Go Europe, Go Europe!

Was thinking the same... 65k for a degree and not sure if you can find work -_-
But @ TS: You are choosing a Graphic card not realy a GPU. I'll should go for ATI this days.

[Love]

mother of god you guys are awful with pcs....

I'll try to bring salvation later to this thread.

[Mark.]

mother of god you guys are awful with pcs....

I'll try to bring salvation later to this thread.

Well, thank you!

If it might help I'll give you some tips:
- budget is 750 euros atm, but dad can add up some more money, if needed (I think 50-60 euros more);
- guy I'm going to buy PC from will most likely make me pay less than the actual price (he did it with my bro, making him pay 60 euros less)
- I mostly use PC for gaming (not extreme gaming, though), music, work (most is of it on MS Word), for watching movies when I feel like doing it and I multitask a lot (for which my current PC is being crappy);
- I don't have prejudices neither against Intel or AMD, nor nVidia or ATI;
- this one gotta last at least 5 years (maybe I can upgrade some parts, if needed).

[Love]

I'll work with your budget in usd using newegg and I am not aiming to use it all.

cpu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128425
HDD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820211409
power suppply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817341022
multi purpose drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827135204

for gpu you got 4 reasonable options:

4770
gts250
4870
5850

I would personally go for a 4870 myself but those aren't exactly the most available these days which leaves us with the gts 250 and the next reasonable performance upgrade being the 5850, so yeah do a gts 250 and wait 1-3 years for when today's 500 bucks performance becomes 150 yet again and you feel the need to upgrade.

ps. your budget was quite easy to work with and hmm I guess is up to you to do a 5850 or not, you certainly can but I personally wouldn't unless I was going for a very serious gaming build, gl !

[Mark.]

Wow, those look like some sweet choices. Without GPU all of that is worth 433 euros.
Also, I have the feeling that a 5850 here in Europe is worth a lot less than in the USA, hence making it my first choice.

Do you think that my actual 4:3 monitor should be changed as well?

[Love]

Getting anything higher than a gts250 without a monitor capable of doing 1600x1200 is nothing short of a waste of money, I hope you take that to heart as things just don't get more factual than that.

So yeah new monitor over 5850 upgrade any day as you will never benefit from that performance in your old monitor, also the opposite is true for your other option ( new monitor + gts250/4870 ).

[Amarisa]

i myself got the 9800 gtx+ cost me $130 with a $30 mail in rebate also came with a download for cryostasis. the 9800 gtx+ is basically a gts 250 but the gts 250 can get 1gb of gddr other then that i don't know much differences.

my build is

Spoiler!

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811146060
Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128397
GPU (got this with a rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130339
PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371016
CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103706
RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145260
HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148294
Extra fan (the orignal side fan the lights broke so i moved it to the top of the case and replaced the side with this)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835103060
CPU cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835103064
i have a dvd drive but it was a spare part.
this is about 530 euros (converted that is) so it fits your budget if you wanted to use some of it.

[Love]

that's a sweet looking case, I had forgotten all about it and nice build ( the one suggested is better for him based on his request and budget ).

[Amarisa]

that's a sweet looking case, I had forgotten all about it and nice build ( the one suggested is better for him based on his request and budget ).

ya its a very nice case with lots of cable management too! i like Modular power supplies too because i still have more then half of the cables in the box. best thing is that everything at idle is below 40C (gpu runs at 43C if i don't bump of the fan to 40% normal is 30). then with everything stressed iv never seen the CPU hit above 45C and the GPU 60C (at 30% fan speed).

i fell in love with the 620 when i first bought it i was on a very strict budget so i went with the cheapest and it has yet to fail me. i mainly built this over time so i started out with the basics and then slowly built up.

EDIT: did some more cable management and now the gpu runs lower then 40C at stock fan speed

[PettZon]

Go for a radeon 5770 (if you cant afford radeon 5850 or better).
Its around an 4890 in performance. Takes less power, less heat. DX11 and got great crossfire scaling if you want to upgrade later on.

[Amarisa]

Go for a radeon 5770 (if you cant afford radeon 5850 or better).
Its around a 4890 in performance. Takes less power, less heat. DX11 and 5770 Crossfire is pretty good if you want to upgrade later on.

wrong the 5770 is less then a 4870 the 5830 is around the 4890. 58XX > 57XX only get the 5770 IF you plan to crossfire other then that get a 58XX card or save your money buy something on the cheaper side then wait for dx11 to take off (if it does) and get a much better card. 5770 is over priced in my opinion.

[PettZon]

Go for a radeon 5770 (if you cant afford radeon 5850 or better).
Its around a 4890 in performance. Takes less power, less heat. DX11 and 5770 Crossfire is pretty good if you want to upgrade later on.

wrong the 5770 is less then a 4870 the 5830 is around the 4890. 58XX > 57XX only get the 5770 IF you plan to crossfire other then that get a 58XX card or save your money buy something on the cheaper side then wait for dx11 to take off (if it does) and get a much better card. 5770 is over priced in my opinion.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_5770/30.html

And as a note thats an old review. So i guess they optimized the drivers pretty well by now.

[Amarisa]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/rad ... 446-6.html

given with driver updates it will be close to the 4870 level but other then these benchmarks in the games in the review its less then a 4870.

[Love]

Go for a radeon 5770 (if you cant afford radeon 5850 or better).
Its around an 4890 in performance. Takes less power, less heat. DX11 and got great crossfire scaling if you want to upgrade later on.

plz I don't want to read the same marketing points I've read in review sites, fact is d11 means crap and the 4870 is cheaper and performs better, that's gg right there. Also what do you care if a card runs hot or not, noise levels is the one thing that could matter and with a proper cooler you won't have to worry about it.

so yeah dude leave it to the pros.

edit: actual reason why the 4870 gets the recommendation is bang for bucks.

[Amarisa]

plz I don't want to read the same marketing points I've read in review sites, fact is d11 means crap and the 4870 is cheaper and performs better, that's gg right there. Also what do you care if a card runs hot or not, noise levels is the one thing that could matter and with a proper cooler you won't have to worry about it.

so yeah dude leave it to the pros.

+1 to the dx11 but the heat thing is slightly important. the cooler the card runs the better it can perform. also if your into overclocking the heating will cause problems if it overheats. but thats just me i don't really care about the heat unless it has problems with overheating.

[PettZon]

Go for a radeon 5770 (if you cant afford radeon 5850 or better).
Its around an 4890 in performance. Takes less power, less heat. DX11 and got great crossfire scaling if you want to upgrade later on.

plz I don't want to read the same marketing points I've read in review sites, fact is d11 means crap and the 4870 is cheaper and performs better, that's gg right there. Also what do you care if a card runs hot or not, noise levels is the one thing that could matter and with a proper cooler you won't have to worry about it.

so yeah dude leave it to the pros.

edit: actual reason why the 4870 gets the recommendation is bang for bucks.

If you are looking down on me because of my low post count then you do a mistake already there.

Dx11 isnt crap in any way. Most of the few Dx11 supporting games today got better framerate than same card in Dx9/Dx10.

And you dont think it matters if it runs hot or cold ? Not does it only heat up every component in your computer unless you got a good airflow. But you'll also lose overclocking ability. A 5770 can go pretty far in overclocking without getting an proper cooler.

Besides the 4xxx series wont be sold for much long. So if he wants to sacrifice the later crossfire support. Well thats up to him.

[Love]

Perhaps someone should take a closer look at the mobo I suggested, maybe then "looking down" on you would be justified, idk.

[Amarisa]

Go for a radeon 5770 (if you cant afford radeon 5850 or better).
Its around an 4890 in performance. Takes less power, less heat. DX11 and got great crossfire scaling if you want to upgrade later on.

plz I don't want to read the same marketing points I've read in review sites, fact is d11 means crap and the 4870 is cheaper and performs better, that's gg right there. Also what do you care if a card runs hot or not, noise levels is the one thing that could matter and with a proper cooler you won't have to worry about it.

so yeah dude leave it to the pros.

edit: actual reason why the 4870 gets the recommendation is bang for bucks.

If you are looking down on me because of my low post count then you do a mistake already there.
post count matters? when did this happen?
Dx11 isnt crap in any way. Most of the few Dx11 supporting games today got better framerate than same card in Dx9/Dx10.
fact in the matter is WHEN it will take off if it even does. if its still far off why pay more and get lower performance for the games we do play? besides if you haven't noticed its a 7XX series its a low end card. there will be far better cards when dx11 finally comes into play and at a better price.
And you dont think it matters if it runs hot or cold ? Not does it only heat up every component in your computer unless you got a good airflow. But you'll also lose overclocking ability. A 5770 can go pretty far in overclocking without getting an proper cooler.
kinda what i said so no comment

Besides the 4xxx series wont be sold for much long. So if he wants to sacrifice the later crossfire support. Well thats up to him.
proof please.

[PettZon]

Im not going to argue with any of you. My suggestion was based on the origial post and his budget. Not by any other "suggestions". If you think a "previous gen" card will be sold for a lot longer, then thats up to you. Its already gone from the stores i buy from(europe). Have a nice day

[Amarisa]

Im not going to argue with any of you. My suggestion was based on the origial post and his budget. Not by any other "suggestions". If you think a "previous gen" card will be sold for a lot longer, then thats up to you. Its already gone from the stores i buy from(europe). Have a nice day

stores perhaps won't have last gen but online always will. why should a store carry 10 types of the same thing when they can force the new onto people and carry more of one thing? the point we are trying to make is (at least i am) is why should someone should spend more money on something that is not really worth it at this point of time and could easily be replaced by something better in the future?