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Building a Gaming Rig - New GFX suggestions please!

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ChronoCabal

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Location
Gloucestershire, UK
Hello all! What a good-looking forum you have here! :)

I'm after some friendly advice on possible options for a new graphics card - I've been building up my rig over the last 6 months or so as and when funds allow. I'm a n00b and this has been my first computer build, so be gentle! :)

This is what it looks like currently:

CPU = AMD Phenom II 955 X4 Black Edition 3.2Ghz AM3
Motherboard = ASUS M4N82 Deluxe (PCI-E, Tri-SLi)
RAM = 2GB Corsair 800MHz PC2-6400 DHX
PSU = Avenge Power 850w
Current Video Card = 2x XFX Fatal1ty 7600GT 256MB in SLi.
Chassis = Raidmax Sagitta
OS = Windows 7 64Bit
HDD = 750GB SATA
Monitor = Samsung P2370HD in 1920*1080.

IMG_1458.jpg

IMG_1459.jpg

IMG_1460.jpg

IMG_1457.jpg

Budget-wise, I want to spend around £100-150 ($160-240), and haven't ruled out buying second hand. I was looking out something around the Nvidia GTX280 - would this be a good choice?

I want to play the likes of Crysis, Red Alert 3, Command and Conquer 4 on 1080i and max graphics if possible - so 2008-2009-era games.

Thanks for any suggestions fellas! :)

ChC
 
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PS - it's air-cooled, except for the Domino ALX providing water-cooling for the processor - I can add an extra fan or two if suggested...and I'd love to be able to run Starcraft 2 well - but I guess that's pushing it?

Thanks! :)

Lee
 
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:welcome: to OCForums!

With that budget I would go with a GTX460 1GB or the HD6870. The HD6870 will max out your budget, but the GTX460 1GB can be had for around $190-200. You won't be able to max out Crysis @ 1080 with a $240 GPU, but you'll be able to have it look good and have decent FPS though.

I don't know much about AMD, but I know the CPU is good. I'm not sure about the mobo :shrug:

You may want to look into getting more RAM. I know Crysis can use over 1GB, then take into account how much Windows uses. You might be cutting it close.

I haven't heard of Avenge Power, so I can't comment on the quality of their PSUs. I'm hoping they're decent.
 
I'd say a I'd say grab 2gb ram, and the 460 .. would be maxing out your budget, but overall it would be best I'd think.
 
Thanks for the quick reply!

Yeah more RAM is also on the cards - do you think I'd get away with adding more of the same, or should I be looking at something more meaty, like the Corsair Dominator series?

Lee
 
I wouldn't replace the RAM, just add more. Those corsair will be fine until you want to upgrade to DDR3, which would require a mobo and all that.
 
Right, I've just ordered another 4GB of the same Corsair DHX- I'm guessing 6GB should be enough for the time being! :p So even with that spec and a GTX460 I won't be running Crysis at full pelt? I'm not "too" worried about the AA to be honest. Any ideas on performance with Starcraft 2?

Lee
 
Starcraft should be easily maxed out. AA starts to get pointless when you play at high resolutions, at 1920x1200 I don't really notice a difference after 4x, even at 0x I don't notice the "jaggies" unless I'm still which isn't very often in Crysis.

Even the $500 GTX480 only gets in the mid 50s FPS-wise in Crysis at 1920x1200, DX10, 2xAA and "Gamer" quality mode. The GTX460 gets in the mid 30s at the same settings.
 
For Crysis/Crysis Warhead, use the gamer-max config on this page: http://shadowdane.shackspace.com/Crysis/index.html

You will get very playable fps with a gtx460 and it will have very little to no visual difference in comparison to the in-game 'max' settings. The lighting actually looks better with this config because it's tweaked for the scenery. Try to compare them and see which you like best.

With the gamer-max and an OC'd gtx260 I got ~50 fps at 1680x1050 0x AA. On my 5850 OC'd I get ~55 fps with the same settings and 4x AA, so at 1080p with a gtx460 I'm guessing you'd get similar fps with 2x AA, more if you OC it (and gtx460's OC very well).
 
Right, a 460 is looking like the best bet then. Is there still a big difference between chipset makers on this range of cards? Any ideas which to go for or avoid?
 
eVGA has lifetime warranty on their -AR models. If you plan on replacing them within 3 years, then Gigabyte and MSI both have 3 year warranties.

MSI Hawk should be the best clocking due to it's triple overvoltage core/mem/pll.

Best stock cooling looks like Gigabyte/MSI Hawk.
 
I love it when goodies arrive in the post! :) :)

a0dd5cfd.jpg

I'm struggling to find MSI Hawk here in the UK, so it looks like Gigabyte is the option for me! Looks like it'll SLi nicely as well- good for future reference! :)

Thanks for all your help guys! Are those cool brushed-ally style Overclockers stickers I've seen elsewhere on the forum still available, and could they find their way over to the UK?

Lee
 
Hi guys!

Bit of an update - I went for the Gainward GTX460 2GB Golden Sample in the end - it's a £200 ($323) plus shipping here in the UK - I mananged to pick one up for £150 (240) including shipping.

gainward_gtx460_golden_sample.jpg


It was a bit of a spur of the moment purchase - so I'm hoping it isn't a bad choice? I've read that it OCs well also - I was think of using MSI Afterburner as it was being used in one of the video reviews for the card - is it a straight-forward process for an OCing n00b such as myself?

Lee
 
Yes, GPU OC'ing is mostly straightforward. Most people will probably tell you to go up with increments of 5 or 10 mhz first. I generally just skip that and go straight to whatever the average maximum (on stock cooling) OC speed is for my card, if it's unstable, I increase voltage, etc.

First find the max stable speed of your GPU core without touching the memory.
 
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