Been out of PC Gaming for a long time, New PC, Need Video Card advice.

AdvOfJet

AdvOfJet

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As the titles states, my previous computer was extremely old and could not do anything decently as far as gaming. It finally went out and my new PC came in over the weekend.

Windows 7 Home Premium
Intel Core i7 860 2.80 GHz
6GB Ram
750Gb HDD
ATI Radeon HD 4650

So I know the 4650 is a budget card. I would like to upgrade the card to something decent. But I guess the first question would be if the other hardware is enough for a decent gaming machine.

The main gaming focus would actually be for my wife since I am mostly a console gamer. She would like to be able to play the Sims 3 and Aeon/LOTR Online/World of Warcraft type games with fairly high graphics settings.

Looking for advice on what the best card in the $200 - $300 range would be. There are so many cards on the market now I'm not sure which ones to look in to in order to even begin comparing.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
[quote name='Oktoberfest']this should help
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-310-5970,2491.html

i would go as far as saying you went overkill with the specs[/QUOTE]

That seems like a great place to get started ... thank a ton for the link!

The high processor is for some software that I need to run for work since I work from home. I was just looking to also be able for me and my wife to do some gaming on it on the side if it was good enough.
 
I use an ATI 4550 and I haven't had any problems running the current games.
I set shadows to low and disable some of the fancy lighting options, I also set my resolution to 1280 x 1024. Most of my games are on Steam but I can run Crysis, Bioshock, Far Cry 2, Left4Dead, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare with only slight lag in heavy fighting.

I don't know which version of the 4650 you have but the price range is from $50 to $80 so I recommend using that card with a few games and see how it works out.
 
I agree with OldSchool77. Stick with the HD4650 and see how it is. If you want to upgrade, I would look at something like a HD4850/9800GT. Anything lower won't make much of difference compared to a HD4650.
 
I agree with the 9800. I got the gtx+ version some time ago and it has worked just fine. It should be around 100 now a days. Just make sure your power supply has the connectors and capacity needed.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']I was actually thinking about the Radeon HD 5850. Anyone have any experience with that card ?[/QUOTE]

I personally don't have experience with a HD5850. But I hear that it's one hell of a card. You didn't list your psu, so I didn't know how high you could go. So ya, if your system can support a HD5850, go for it!
 
yeah the system only has a 300w supply in it right now but I just assumed I would bump it up to a 750w or so whenever I got around to getting a new card. Not sure how much higher than the minimum listed on the card I should go though. The specs on the HD5850 says that it requires a minimum 500w supply. Not sure if I should go for that or for something higher.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']yeah the system only has a 300w supply in it right now but I just assumed I would bump it up to a 750w or so whenever I got around to getting a new card. Not sure how much higher than the minimum listed on the card I should go though. The specs on the HD5850 says that it requires a minimum 500w supply. Not sure if I should go for that or for something higher.[/QUOTE]
If you're going to upgrade the psu anyway, you might as well go bigger. That way you can upgrade the card to the next super model if you ever need to. ;)
 
[quote name='mogamer']If you're going to upgrade the psu anyway, you might as well go bigger. That way you can upgrade the card to the next super model if you ever need to. ;)[/QUOTE]

yeah, why settle for a 500W, get something higher, 700W plus. you might as well get it just in case. and its not like theres a significant price difference between the 2.
 
Thanks guys. I appreciate all the advice and feedback.

I'm actually getting fairly excited now. Even though my wife will probably play more games than me on the PC, I love RTS games and such. Console ones just don't have the same feel so I am looking forward to trying some out.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']yeah the system only has a 300w supply in it right now but I just assumed I would bump it up to a 750w or so whenever I got around to getting a new card. Not sure how much higher than the minimum listed on the card I should go though. The specs on the HD5850 says that it requires a minimum 500w supply. Not sure if I should go for that or for something higher.[/QUOTE]

again, for the games you want to play, a hd5850 is probably overkill, lol
 
The link to the VGA charts on Tom's hardware is a good resource.

There is comparable performance between ATI and Nvidia cards in any price point. There are, however, some games with additional features based on the card type.. Extra anti aliasing or water effects... If there are certain games that you or your wife play a lot that utilize those features, getting that brand of card may be best.

That said, I have an ATI Hd4850 and I love it.. except half the games I play use Nvidia tech that my card can't use :whistle2:/
 
[quote name='Oktoberfest']again, for the games you want to play, a hd5850 is probably overkill, lol[/QUOTE]

A few of the newer RTS's need something hefty, like World in Conflict for example.
 
I had no idea it was going to be this hard to purchase a high end graphics card. Not a single B&M store in the area carries it and even Amazon.com and Fry.com are sold out of every high end graphics card, not just the one that I wanted.

:hot::bomb::hot::bomb:

Here locally I tried Best Buy, Comp USA, Brandsmart ... nothing ... anywhere.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']I had no idea it was going to be this hard to purchase a high end graphics card. Not a single B&M store in the area carries it and even Amazon.com and Fry.com are sold out of every high end graphics card, not just the one that I wanted.

:hot::bomb::hot::bomb:

Here locally I tried Best Buy, Comp USA, Brandsmart ... nothing ... anywhere.[/QUOTE]

I had no idea people still went to brick and mortar stores for computer parts when 9 times out of 10 they are cheaper online.
 
CompUSA actuallly usually has better prices than everyone else. After the restructure they are basically just tigerdirect.com. I went there after checking all the normal online places. Even NewEgg was sold out.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']CompUSA actuallly usually has better prices than everyone else. After the restructure they are basically just tigerdirect.com. I went there after checking all the normal online places. Even NewEgg was sold out.[/QUOTE]

www.pricewatch.com
 
[quote name='Megazell']www.pricewatch.com[/QUOTE]

Thats a nice site, but even on their list, each vendor I pulled up showed out of stock.

I am thinking about just going ahead and getting an HD 4890 since they are less than $200. Later on I can just sell it off and pick up another card or so.

If I am reading the specs right the 4890 should still be a jump over the 4650 I already have right >
 
I currently have a 4890 and it is great. I found it pretty cheap on newegg (180) I am able to run everything I have on high with power to spare. You will most need a new psu, but it sounds like that will be necessary regardless. You can go with a higher quality card, but the difference in price and quality with games that are out NOW are going to be minimal at best. I would only go with the 5000 series Radeon cards if you really care about DX11, and are willing to spend double the price. If so, do that, but for bang for your buck I think that the 4890 is pretty much perfect.

Also, I read you can pretty easily sli 2 4890. I haven't done it, but that way you can keep the card relevant if you wish to stay on the cutting edge.
 
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Yeah one of my problems is that I bought the PC from HP which means its a stock motherboard and not SLI or Crossfire compatible. That is the reason that I was initially looking at higher priced single card options.

I still think I am just going to go with the 4890 and be done with it. It should last me for a little while at least.
 
If you were ACTUALLY thinking about getting the hd5850, I would try to discourage you from it.

The sweet spot for price versus performance is between $200 and $250 - you honestly don't get that much more out of a $500 card than you do a $200 one. I've got a HD4850 (I paid $220 for it) and I can run everything at max settings; Why spend $500 to get something that's severe amounts of overkill for everything that is out NOW when, in a year or two, I can upgrade to a card better than (or at least comparable to) that $500 card for $150?
 
The 5850 is only $300 not $500. It's about $100 more than I can get the 4890 for.

Ok so this is my last spot check before I actually decide and make my purchase. I played the Risen demo last night on my 4650 and while it looked great I couldn't get everything maxed out with a decent frame rate. Would I be able to max all settings (aside from possible AA which I don't think is an option in that game) with the 4890?

Again everyone I appreciate the patience and all the help and advice. Was a bit overwhelmed at first trying to decide what to get.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']The 5850 is only $300 not $500. It's about $100 more than I can get the 4890 for.

Ok so this is my last spot check before I actually decide and make my purchase. I played the Risen demo last night on my 4650 and while it looked great I couldn't get everything maxed out with a decent frame rate. Would I be able to max all settings (aside from possible AA which I don't think is an option in that game) with the 4890?

Again everyone I appreciate the patience and all the help and advice. Was a bit overwhelmed at first trying to decide what to get.[/QUOTE]

Hmm,

That's hard to do unless someone has the same spec as you.

I use 3dsmax to gauge my systems. I use their ratings to help make my systems. Though I never go over $400 for an entire PC. They are great to get indicators of gaming performances.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']The 5850 is only $300 not $500. It's about $100 more than I can get the 4890 for.

Ok so this is my last spot check before I actually decide and make my purchase. I played the Risen demo last night on my 4650 and while it looked great I couldn't get everything maxed out with a decent frame rate. Would I be able to max all settings (aside from possible AA which I don't think is an option in that game) with the 4890?

Again everyone I appreciate the patience and all the help and advice. Was a bit overwhelmed at first trying to decide what to get.[/QUOTE]

Check out this site. They've benchmarked several video cards, including the 4890 and 5850, running Risen at various resolution. Their system is running the i7 920 (overclocked to 3.5GHz though) which is very similar to your i7 860.

The 5850 is definitely a good buy IF you have the money, patience (because they're constantly out of stock *everywhere*) and game at 1920x1200 or higher resolution. Risen seems to be a very taxing game, but rest assure that the 4890 is more than capable of handling most other games at high resolution and high details (maybe have to turn down AA).

By the way, Asus 5850 is in stock at Newegg for a hiked up price of $310 due to demand (original MSRP is $260). While the XFX 4890 is $170 after $20 rebate.

Also I'd recommend at least a 550W power supply. If you can go higher in wattage I would do it. 650W will be the sweet spot based on your system with the 5850. Something like Corsair 650W or Antec TP 650W are good buys.
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']Check out this site. They've benchmarked several video cards, including the 4890 and 5850, running Risen at various resolution. Their system is running the i7 920 (overclocked to 3.5GHz though) which is very similar to your i7 860.

The 5850 is definitely a good buy IF you have the money, patience (because they're constantly out of stock *everywhere*) and game at 1920x1200 or higher resolution. Risen seems to be a very taxing game, but rest assure that the 4890 is more than capable of handling most other games at high resolution and high details (maybe have to turn down AA).

By the way, Asus 5850 is in stock at Newegg for a hiked up price of $310 due to demand (original MSRP is $260). While the XFX 4890 is $170 after $20 rebate.

Also I'd recommend at least a 550W power supply. If you can go higher in wattage I would do it. 650W will be the sweet spot based on your system with the 5850. Something like Corsair 650W or Antec TP 650W are good buys.[/QUOTE]

Damn you for showing me this lol. After seeing the test results on Risen and seeing the card in stock on NewEgg I am back to thinking about that one. How reliable are Asus cards compared to Sapphire and such? Only thing I have ever used by ASUS is an old Pocket PC.
 
They also have other brands of 5850 for various prices. I think Sapphire and Diamond are both $315 if you're more comfortable with them. I think Asus, Diamond, Sapphire, HIS are all in the same level in terms of reliability and warranty (2 years). Gigabyte is slightly better due to their 3 year warranty, and XFX is good as well because of their double shelf lifetime warranty.
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']They also have other brands of 5850 for various prices. I think Sapphire and Diamond are both $315 if you're more comfortable with them. I think Asus, Diamond, Sapphire, HIS are all in the same level in terms of reliability and warranty (2 years). Gigabyte is slightly better due to their 3 year warranty, and XFX is good as well because of their double shelf lifetime warranty.[/QUOTE]

The Sapphire branded card at Directron is $300 but I didn't check on shipping costs, I have used them in the past and haven't had any problems. Aside from the warranty how is Gigabyte's reliability compared to ASUS branded graphics cards? I've been using Asus for about 10-15 years now and haven't had any fail me yet.
 
Thanks again for pointing out the cards on NewEgg. I swear when I looked at the site just a few hours ago every one of the 5850 cards had a Notify Me button next to it instead of an Add to Cart.

I must be going crazy ...
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']I think they're all about the same since they all use the same reference design from AMD on the 5850 and 5870.[/QUOTE]

That's good to know, thanks.
My current card came with a free game and some bonus software from NewEgg so I was happy to stick with ASUS but I did consider the Sapphire branded card since it had slightly better reviews.
 
Had a $20 coupon at New Egg so I went ahead and bit on the ASUS model of the 5850 for $290. We'll see now if it pans out and is worth it.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']Had a $20 coupon at New Egg so I went ahead and bit on the ASUS model of the 5850 for $290. We'll see now if it pans out and is worth it.[/QUOTE]

Good deal, let us know how awesome it is :lol:.
 
Huh.. i wonder what I actually was searching for when I was looking up prices yesterday... I was way off on the price point; I had to have been looking for the 5870 or 5890. All the prices were between $440 and $500 :whistle2:/.

At $300, you made a wise choice - I hope the card works out well for you!
 
Make sure you've got the space for that card in your case. I've got a 4890 (with an i7 920) and while it can run everything I throw at it at highest settings, it's a long card. I think the 5850 is even longer.
 
[quote name='Megazell']I had no idea people still went to brick and mortar stores for computer parts when 9 times out of 10 they are cheaper online.[/QUOTE]

Sometimes, you could justify the cost because of the convenience.

Or, if you're like my brother, you do some pretty insane coupon-pricematch-gift card abuse, and get a ATI 4670 for nearly half-off.
 
[quote name='rumarudrathas']Sometimes, you could justify the cost because of the convenience.

Or, if you're like my brother, you do some pretty insane coupon-pricematch-gift card abuse, and get a ATI 4670 for nearly half-off.[/QUOTE]

Yeah I can do that at times...The most recent was then a chain of NYC stores went out of business and I picked up 500 Gb HDs for $10 each.

I recently picked up a vid card on the cheap from best buy online and they honored all coupons...so I can see that but on the average they are more expensive.
 
Ok question for you guys that do your own installs and such. How hard is it to install a new power supply? The local place here is saying a 4 day turn around time.

About all I have ever done on my own is installing a video card and extra memory. Haven't actually done anything with a power supply before. If its fairly straightforward I think I will give a a go myself.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']Ok question for you guys that do your own installs and such. How hard is it to install a new power supply? The local place here is saying a 4 day turn around time.

About all I have ever done on my own is installing a video card and extra memory. Haven't actually done anything with a power supply before. If its fairly straightforward I think I will give a a go myself.[/QUOTE]
It's easy enough. The hardest thing is making sure that you are able to route all the cables effectively around the box to prevent airflow obstructions. It's pretty straight forward since they've dummy proofed the way they design the connectors.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']Ok question for you guys that do your own installs and such. How hard is it to install a new power supply? The local place here is saying a 4 day turn around time.

About all I have ever done on my own is installing a video card and extra memory. Haven't actually done anything with a power supply before. If its fairly straightforward I think I will give a a go myself.[/QUOTE]

I think the hardest part in replacing the power supply is actually disconnecting all of the connectors from the hardware they're plugged into. Some of them may require a bit of force to pull out (such as those on IDE CD-ROM and IDE hard drive). Just wiggle them until they're loose. The motherboard connector has a small plastic 'clip' you have to press to unlock as you pull. Plugging them all back in is very easy. I would suggest taking a picture of your inside before you disconnect anything, in case you need to go back and refer to how your old power supply and other hardware are connected.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']Ok question for you guys that do your own installs and such. How hard is it to install a new power supply? The local place here is saying a 4 day turn around time.

About all I have ever done on my own is installing a video card and extra memory. Haven't actually done anything with a power supply before. If its fairly straightforward I think I will give a a go myself.[/QUOTE]
Replacing the power supply is easy. Most of the connectors are very straight forward. But if you have a "stock" HP motherboard, you will want to make sure they don't require some ghetto proprietary connectors, like Dell does (or used to do anyway). Some OEMs will do that so you have to go to them for replacement parts.
 
I picked up a 750W power supply from CompUSA today for $49 on sale. Got home and got it installed along with the 5850. It was a pain in the ass getting the power supply's cords to all fit in the case without blocking the fan on the card, the fan on the CPU, or the main fan. No problems fitting the card in at all even though it was huge.

Loaded up the Risen demo and cranked everything up to maximum and it runs extremely smooth with not a stutter to be seen. Far and away better than the choppy attempt I had when trying to run it with the 4650. Very happy so far with the purchase. Now I just need to try out some more games and see how everything looks.

Just wanted to thank everyone again for all the help and advice.
 
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