Upgrading from 4770 for a new rig

[Nine Iron]

Stop sniggering - yes, I still have a 4770. Having just gone over to 1155, and in the process of moving from Win XP to W7, I'm thinking about moving to a DX11-capable card (only getting DX9 on my current system, obviously).

Given my specs below - ignore the hardrives, they're giving way to SSD - what would be an appropriate card? I'm after something current-generation that won't choke the system, basically, and will give me a nice hike over the 4770. Single 6-pin power would be handy as well.

My current front runner is the 650Ti, especially since Palit and Zotac make short-PCB versions - would this be overkill for my intended rig?

(Sorry if this all sounds noobish - the last time I was really into graphics cards was when I bought my 9800Pro!)

 

[tinytomlogan]

Might want to give us an idea on budget mate.

But saying that the new Tahiti LE 7870's are fucking awesome for £180

Make sure you get the LE and not the normal one though.

If you get the newer ones they are almost as quick as a 7950.

 

[Nine Iron]

Might want to give us an idea on budget mate.

Ah - good shout.

Looking at no more than £150, and I'll be getting it second-hand if possible. The top-end ATI cards are a bit power-hungry for my tastes, as well. It's why I went for the 4770 in the first place all those moons ago: first 40 nm card.

 

[Nine Iron]

Been doing some checking, and it seems the 7850 comes out way ahead of the 650ti for similar price and power usage. Would the 7850 be under-utilized in my low-end system? After something that won't choke and won't be choked.

 

[Josh Weston]

I love my 7850, and the prices have come down a fair bit since I bought mine. It will play anything you chuck at it, especially if you're not afraid of a little overclocking.

 

[TheSoulCraft]

Depending on your budget the 6000 series is still a good choice. However, I would definetly go for a 7850 or 7870. Nvidia make great GFX cards, but you don't get as much power for money as you do with AMD.

 

[alxcsb]

For your budget a custom cooled 7850 (which is what most cards you can find these days come with) is the best option. Doubt you'll find too many as second-hand options though.

 

[dragoonk]

Yeah go with the AMD cards, they are a bit cheaper but as powerful as the nvidia.... even more powerful so... 7850... maybe 7870 if you can. Good Luck!

 

[Nine Iron]

I think I should also add that I'm currently limited to 1680 resolution, with no upgrade in sight for a while. Also, I'm currently playing what could be called "previous generation" FPSs - Far Cry 2, etc. I'm open to future-proofing, but I'd rather have a balanced system.

At the moment, I'm really keen on the GTX650 (non-Ti) - beats everything ATi for the same money, and uses far less power. Short PCB as well.

Whichever card I plump for, I assume 1GB of VRAM would be most suitable for my resolution?

 

[wereireland]

I think I should also add that I'm currently limited to 1680 resolution, with no upgrade in sight for a while. Also, I'm currently playing what could be called "previous generation" FPSs - Far Cry 2, etc. I'm open to future-proofing, but I'd rather have a balanced system.

At the moment, I'm really keen on the GTX650 (non-Ti) - beats everything ATi for the same money, and uses far less power. Short PCB as well.

Whichever card I plump for, I assume 1GB of VRAM would be most suitable for my resolution?

The 7850 is still your best bet. There is only about a £20 price difference between the cheapest makes of both cards, and the 7850 destroys the 650ti http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=680
There is only a small difference in power consumption and most 7850s use one six pin power connector. The i3 you have would rarely bottleneck you so the 7850 is best i think.

 

[Levent]

i had 7850 1GB (MSI) which did great on new games(like bf3 fc3 mp3) @ 1080p without AA rest in on ultra it was OK but there is only like 20£ of differance which i think will worth it if you upgrade your monitor someday u wont regret getting 2gb version

 

[wereireland]

I think I should also add that I'm currently limited to 1680 resolution, with no upgrade in sight for a while. Also, I'm currently playing what could be called "previous generation" FPSs - Far Cry 2, etc. I'm open to future-proofing, but I'd rather have a balanced system.

At the moment, I'm really keen on the GTX650 (non-Ti) - beats everything ATi for the same money, and uses far less power. Short PCB as well.

Whichever card I plump for, I assume 1GB of VRAM would be most suitable for my resolution?

About the third time i have replied to this post.... website is strugging with this giveaway

The 7850 is the best still. For the price nothing comes near to it. The i3 you have would rarely bottleneck you so i wouldn't worry about a balanced system. Most 7850s use a single six pin power connector and yes 1gb of vram would be fine for that resolution. An exception to this would maybe if you played a modded skyrim with something like the biggest version of 2k textures.