Gaming Graphics Card Help...

[Splych]

okay, so now that i finally got some money, i want to buy a graphics card.

on PC, i am interested in getting a graphics card that can handle CoD4 with high/max settings. Resolution, preferably a widescreen one. Minimum FPS i expect to get is 70FPS .

as for the graphics card itself, i just want it to have x2 DVI ports and has Crossfire support. that's all there is to it. my budget... i'd say $150 w/o taxes for a single graphics card. for two, then i'd say my max. budget is $300. i honestly, don't want a big blob of money being spent on the settings. if i can play CoD4 on max settings for less than $160, then recommend me a graphics card. i am not an enthusiast, but just enjoy playing PC games still. maybe in the near future, i am interested in playing BC2, CoD: Black Ops and CS:S in probably high/max settings as well with a min. of 70FPS.

DX11 i don't really care much right now... i don't see many games going there, so that's why not much of my thoughts are being put into the ATI 5xxx series . oh and my case is a Cooler Master Elite 334 Nvidia Edition. if i have to , i might invest into a new case as well. my CPU, an AMD Phenom II X2 550BE and my mobo is a Biostar TA790GX 128M. my PSU is an OCZ GameXStream 700W.

i was looking into the:
- Gigabyte Radeon HD 4850 (512MB) $105
- XFX Radeon HD 4770 (512MB) $120
- Asus Radeon HD 4850 (1GB) $125
- Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 (1GB) $150

NewEgg is the only place i can find those 4xxx Series cards. my local computer store doesn't have them anymore. i was wondering the differences for GDDR3 and GDDR5. The Gigabyte one has GDDR3, is a higher model number but is cheaper. The XFX one has GDDR5, is a lower model but is more expensive. why is that?

anyway, the best, cheapest solution to what i need is what i am looking for. my dad doesn't really like eBay or transaction with another person (ie. trading forums). iunno, he just doesn't prefer/like it. so yeah, please help ^^.

 

[tk_saturn]

I hope you realise to make use of anything over 60FPS, you also need a monitor which is over 60HZ.

In an ideal world, you want the FPS and HZ to be the same which results in no tearing (v-sync)

 

[Splych]

never knew that before...
my current monitor supports 60Hz max. my old one supported 75Hz. i might switch back if necessary or buy a new one.

what's tearing...? first time hearing that term and same thing goes for V-Sync.

 

[GreatCrippler]

Should be able to get a 5770 for very little more than the 5750... trust me. Spend the few extra bucks.

 

[Splych]

but will it fit in my case?
the main concern i have is if it will fit in my case...

 

[tk_saturn]

Have a read of http://www.tweakguides.com/Graphics_9.html

 

[Cermage]

I hope you realise to make use of anything over 60FPS, you also need a monitor which is over 60HZ.

In an ideal world, you want the FPS and HZ to be the same which results in no tearing (v-sync)

talk about useless information. he just wants to play the games to the best he can with what he can buy.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?...1-317-_-Product

there's a 5770, that costs $147 after rebate. before shipping and taxes.

otherwise go one of the 4850's.

 

[Rydian]

It's not useless information if it can help him save money. Why buy a card that gets 120FPS on the games you want to play when you can get one that does 70-80 fine (accounting for dips)?

He might have been thinking of upgrading his PSU for a more powerful card as well, which would have been more money. More powerful cards tend to use more electricity and create more waste heat, in addition to the higher initial price.

There have been plenty of times when I wished I had known something sooner, it's always good to spread knowledge.

 

[Westside]

It's not useless information if it can help him save money. Why buy a card that gets 120FPS on the games you want to play when you can get one that does 70-80 fine (accounting for dips)?

He might have been thinking of upgrading his PSU for a more powerful card as well, which would have been more money. More powerful cards tend to use more electricity and create more waste heat, in addition to the higher initial price.

There have been plenty of times when I wished I had known something sooner, it's always good to spread knowledge.

Future proof. If he buys a really good card now, in the future when a certain good game comes out and he likes it, he can run it at 40 in stead of 20 fps making it playable.

 

[Cermage]

5770 uses less power and produces less heat than the 4850 bro. while performing better. 5770 is the best card for its price right now.

 

[Splych]

woah interesting. i never knew that before, but i haven't experienced tearing before. i played CoD4 and FPS would be above the Monitor's Refresh Rate. but i have experienced something that might be similar:
- smoke grenade stills (i don't really know how to say it but, it just stays there. a smoke grenade that looks like it got thrown into an invisible box.)

the 5770... the one you sent didn't have x2 DVI

.
i am gonna go dual screen after i get a new graphics card .

another thing:
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 (1GB) $160
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 (1GB) $170

^ wtf? what's the difference other than the cooling? which one would be better?

 

[tk_saturn]

If i'm remembering correctly, the egg one runs a little quieter but needs a case with better airflow. The enclosed one vents the hot air out of the back, i'd go for that one.

 

[Cermage]

nothing other than the design. manufacturers always release the reference design first and then release it again with their own coolers on. doesn't really matter, i'd go the cheaper. the change in design is mostly aesthetics.

 

[Potticus]

My 9600 gt which is a "power saver" model runs cod4 just fine, on ultra I believe with 60 fgs or so.
I snagged it for about $90 I think.

Tigerdirect is an alternate to Newegg, both are good, good luck man.

 

[Splych]

oo, so i guess i should go with the non-egg one. the egg one won't work that great then for me since my case's ventilation isn't the greatest of all.

i think i might get a 5770. for future preparations and for those other games that i might wanna try (ie. BC2 seems to have higher reqs. then CoD4). i will crossfire another day, when i regain this money again. i checked out how much shipping and stuff are, it gave me $190 with shipping and taxes put together.

my dad said he would let me get it, which is awesome

the only thing... i will have to work again over summer to gain some money for crossfire... but who knows, if this performs well enough, i won't crossfire.

 

[exangel]

my recommendation:

try to get 256-bit memory, GDDR5 if possible, and definitely at least 1GB
sticking to all 3 of those, you might be stuck with a previous generation card based on your budget
if you have to give up any of those stats, give up GDDR5 for GDDR3, or 256-bit for 128-bit, but do not go under 1GB. giving up one of two ideal memory stats will probably put a current generation card in your budget.

anyway, learn a little more about performance components in graphics cards and make the decision based on what you want and what your dad is willing to pay for.

by the way, there is really no need for you to run a crossfire setup for what you want at the moment

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/07/24/gra...ners/index.html

 

[Cermage]

note: if it is possible, i'd recommend getting a phenomII x4 am2+ before you can't find am2+ processors anymore, in order to get the most out of what you have before you replace your motherboard. this may not increase your performance in games yet, but it will help ensure that you don't have to do a much more expensive multi-part rebuild in the future if you're (or your money supply's) not willing to buy parts on eBay.

he's got a x2 550, if he needs to, he should be able to unlock the other cores of his processor, he's already got a motherboard that is capable of doing that. depending on resolution he plays it should suffice as is, though BC2 might stretch the system.

 

[exangel]

interesting. i didn't know that model had two locked cores.

 

[Lee79]

I have a 5770 and I love it I can run 2 screens one with a DVB-T tuner playing Television and Can play COD 4 on the other screen easily on MAX settings 90-110fps get one you wont regret it.

 

[Originality]

I have a 4870 and it can do just about everything the 5770 can. Not surprising, since they have the same clock speeds, number of "cores" (stream processors) and the same vRAM.

Unless you're an enthusiast, forget about CrossFire or SLI. It may give a small performance boost, but it is also known for creating stuttery outputs.