Need to upgrade from 8800 gts 320mb

[teejay73]

Correct! I'm sure you know how it goes! A month or two from now the HD4890 might not be the best option or it could still be who knows.

Sure do! when i put my current rig together (the exception of the mobo and ram) some 2yrs ago i was quite sure the rig would do me for a while as at the time it cost about £700 and everything was quite high spec, now though i find myself looking at more or less a complete rethink as the tech advances even more quicker than it did before......but thats the fun part i think, looking for the best bang for buck.

 

[teejay73]

well after some research i seem to have hit a bit of a stumbling block in relation to my graphics card, i wanted to get a hd4770 and poss xfire them in the future but then with the tumbling prices of the 4870 and 4890 i decided to go that route as a future xfire with these cards would be the better option....then i hit another problem, my psu!

My hiper 530 type-r would be no good with any of these set-up`s except on a single 4770 and as i would want to upgrade my monitor ( my current is a 19 inch samsung 940bw @ 1440 x 900 res) to a 22inch with preference to 1080p, this coupled with my reluctance to spend more than £250 creates a problem as 1080p monitors are min £130 and even getting the cheapest 4870 1024mhz takes me just over £250 and thats with-out a good psu with enough amps and watts!!

So what do i do? shall i forsake my monitor upgrade and stick with just getting a 4870 and good psu and if i do how much of a bottle neck will my monitor be? will be replacing my monitor just dont know when funds will allow for this, also is my cpu (e5200@3.0ghz) a bottle neck if i were using a 4870/4890?

At the moment i have a 8800gts 320mb which although a great card in its day is no longer in the league and has done a newcastle utd! sorry geordie fans.

 

[limpkorn]

Well your monitor will not be a bottleneck of any type, but of course it won't be as nice as looking at a 1080p 22" either. You'll just get more FPS with the 1440X900 resolution obviously.

What I would do personally is pick up the HD4890 and a better PSU and save up for the monitor a bit down the line.

Another good option as well would be to pick up the monitor only and save up any extra cash for a PSU that will handle 2 cards on heavy load and see what ATI or Nvidia release at the end of the year that might be worth picking up a single card over running 4870 or 4890's in crossfire.

 

[teejay73]

Cheers once again for the advice limpkorn, iam swaying towards the 4890 and will look to tie it up with a pc power and cooling 750w psu with 60amps on a single 12v rail, that should do the trick for now but what about a future crossfire with another will it be enough for 2 hd4890`s?

I will, in about a years time switch over to the i7 and move onto an x58 set-up but for now and hopefully then, that psu should do me fine i hope!!

 

[zak4994]

Since this thread has been bumped some-what, I would also steer towards the 4890...

 

[limpkorn]

Cheers once again for the advice limpkorn, iam swaying towards the 4890 and will look to tie it up with a pc power and cooling 750w psu with 60amps on a single 12v rail, that should do the trick for now but what about a future crossfire with another will it be enough for 2 hd4890`s?

I will, in about a years time switch over to the i7 and move onto an x58 set-up but for now and hopefully then, that psu should do me fine i hope!!

60 amps will be plenty for two HD4890's and an i7 setup in crossfire. I like the fact you're going with a single 12v 60 amp rail that should deliver good power to the setup you're trying to get in to.

I would love to see your HD4890's in crossfire heck I would love to run a pair myself or even three.

 

[teejay73]

Cheers for the advice limpkorn, i have just put in a order for the hd4890 from pixmania for £160 (cheapeast i could find) and the corsair 650tx for £73, i went with the corsair as i have had a change of heart with crossfire at the moment but with 50amps on a single rail is still up for the job and the reveiws i read about this psu were excellent.

So i wait with anxious fingers for a few days until it arrives...a nice way to spend my weeks holiday i think!!

 

[limpkorn]

Sounds good! I'm sure you're anxious, I would be too.

You're going to have some fun with that card, it will give you a very noticeable boost over your older 8800GTS!

 

[teejay73]

Ok just a quick update, after many emails later i have finally got my hd4890 & psu (pixmania never again!!) and i am well happy so thanks to every-one who helped me decide!

the hd4890 (a ref design from sapphire) run`s like a dream compared to my old gts 320 and the only issue is the fan noise, so could any-one recomend a good after market cooler that can do the job?? also i run a trial of 3dmark06 and the score was about 13000, is this ok or is it low (my e5200 @ 3.0ghz might be a bottleneck here?) either way iam really happy with my purchases.