Video card upgrade

Exploded_Monitor · 04-15-2006, 11:46 PM

Hello. Recently I have been planning on upgrading my video card. I just wanted to ask you guys to make sure doing this won't create any problems (bottlenecks, etc.) for my system.
*Current Setup*

Motherboard = MSI K8N Neo4
Processor = AMD (Skt 939) 3000+
Graphics Card= EVGA 6600 GT
PSU= Antec Truepower 2.0 430W (17 amps each on the 2 12v rails)
RAM= 1 GB ( The basic stuff)

I'm pretty sure the rest of the specs are irrelevant.

This is the card that I am planning on upgrading to. Quite a jump, eh? Will my processor/ psu be able to keep up with this? Any Info will be appreiciated. Thankyou
--Josh

34erd · 04-16-2006, 12:08 AM

There will be a bottleneck with the processor, but it souldnt be too bad. You have a nice PSU, I would be more comfortable with more watts but it should be fine.

Exploded_Monitor · 04-16-2006, 12:42 AM

Alright. I have another question, because I don't want to go out and buy another processor when AM2 is on the horizon:

If there is a small/ large bottleneck, will I still get decent frame rates in games?

If so, I'll go ahead and purchase this card and just hold out until AM2, and upon it's release, hopefully upgrade to AM2, eliminating the bottleneck.

Otherwise, I'll just deal with my 6600 GT - (the graphics power has lessened over the past year.. or so it seems.) - And see what the current "Amazing" video card is upon the release of AM2.
Thanks again,
--Josh

34erd · 04-16-2006, 12:52 AM

I just looked around looks like the minimum watt PSU for the 7900GTX is 450 watts, so I'm not sure how it would work out.

Exploded_Monitor · 04-16-2006, 01:01 AM

Ah, what a shame. I knew I should of spent the extra money and got the 500W PSU when I built this system.

Well, what of my question? Will the bottleneck severley cut my FPS?

--Josh

**ceewi1** · 04-16-2006, 01:43 AM

Quote:

I just looked around looks like the minimum watt PSU for the 7900GTX is 450 watts, so I'm not sure how it would work out

I doubt there'd be any troubles with a TPII. Besides, newegg is claiming 400W for at least some of the 7900GTXs.

Quote:

Well, what of my question? Will the bottleneck severley cut my FPS?

Well, it is unbalanced, but the framerates should still be good, except for some of the more CPU bound games.

nVidia's '8' series should be released around July, and will support DX10, if you were planning to wait with the upgrade anyway.

Exploded_Monitor · 04-16-2006, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceewi1

nVidia's '8' series should be released around July, and will support DX10, if you were planning to wait with the upgrade anyway.

Yeah.. I know, but from what I hear, those will be around 800 dollars - Plus a much needed CPU upgrade, Probably something big, like an FX-57, but that may change, depending on what AM2 has to offer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceewi1

Well, it is unbalanced, but the framerates should still be good, except for some of the more CPU bound games.

Like Oblivion? Roffle.

My conclusion is just to wait - and save money. I'm going to need it. Within the next few months, prices will drop, although the 8- series sounds real nice.

Any other thoughts?

--Josh

**DCIScouts** · 04-16-2006, 05:16 AM

Although I agree that you're going to have a bottleneck, I don't think that it will be severe enough to affect the performance for another year or so. You probably won't be able to play the latest and greatest at the highest settings, but they will still be playable. I currently have a 1.6GHz P4 and am playing BFME2, Battlefront 2 and AOE3 with a 6600GT without the power plugged in (I'm afraid of blowing the PSU, yes, I'm THAT broke...). Anyway, just wait a bit, and then hemmorrage the money all at once, provides you with a much better all around product.

Exploded_Monitor · 04-16-2006, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dciscouts

You probably won't be able to play the latest and greatest at the highest settings, but they will still be playable.

Playable?
Paying over 500 dollars for a video card this is unacceptable. (If what you say is true.) Yeah.. I'll wait.

TooMuchButtHair · 04-16-2006, 07:46 AM

To be honest, if you've got the money for a 7900GTX, I'd save that money and put it toward a new computer. In no time flat you should be able to buy a nice AMD CPU and the graphics card! A X2 3800 (just for the processor) is only $295! With that CPU/GPU combination, you'd be able to do some serious gaming!

04-15-2006, 11:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
Exploded_Monitor Bronze Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Age: 34 Posts: 86	Video card upgrade Hello. Recently I have been planning on upgrading my video card. I just wanted to ask you guys to make sure doing this won't create any problems (bottlenecks, etc.) for my system. Current Setup Motherboard = MSI K8N Neo4 Processor = AMD (Skt 939) 3000+ Graphics Card= EVGA 6600 GT PSU= Antec Truepower 2.0 430W (17 amps each on the 2 12v rails) RAM= 1 GB ( The basic stuff) I'm pretty sure the rest of the specs are irrelevant. This is the card that I am planning on upgrading to. Quite a jump, eh? Will my processor/ psu be able to keep up with this? Any Info will be appreiciated. Thankyou --Josh Last edited by Exploded_Monitor; 04-16-2006 at 12:01 AM.

04-16-2006, 12:08 AM	#2 (permalink)
34erd Diamond Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Age: 15 Posts: 2,842	There will be a bottleneck with the processor, but it souldnt be too bad. You have a nice PSU, I would be more comfortable with more watts but it should be fine. __________________ DFI Lanparty UT nF4 SLI DR Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1 Gig OCZ VX DDR500 DDR BFG GeForce 7800GT 160 Gig SATA HDD CD-RW DVD-ROM Antec NeoPower 480 Thermaltake Tsunami

04-16-2006, 12:52 AM	#4 (permalink)
34erd Diamond Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Age: 15 Posts: 2,842	I just looked around looks like the minimum watt PSU for the 7900GTX is 450 watts, so I'm not sure how it would work out. __________________ DFI Lanparty UT nF4 SLI DR Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1 Gig OCZ VX DDR500 DDR BFG GeForce 7800GT 160 Gig SATA HDD CD-RW DVD-ROM Antec NeoPower 480 Thermaltake Tsunami

04-16-2006, 05:16 AM	#8 (permalink)
DCIScouts Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Age: 25 Posts: 5,049	Although I agree that you're going to have a bottleneck, I don't think that it will be severe enough to affect the performance for another year or so. You probably won't be able to play the latest and greatest at the highest settings, but they will still be playable. I currently have a 1.6GHz P4 and am playing BFME2, Battlefront 2 and AOE3 with a 6600GT without the power plugged in (I'm afraid of blowing the PSU, yes, I'm THAT broke...). Anyway, just wait a bit, and then hemmorrage the money all at once, provides you with a much better all around product. __________________ In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. -Martin Luther King Jr. The most overlooked advantage to owning a computer is that if they foul up there's no law against wacking them around a little. -Joe Martin FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND :F@H Team 44358 Posting and you - CF Edition Cheers CF

04-16-2006, 07:46 AM	#10 (permalink)
TooMuchButtHair Silver Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Age: 22 Posts: 128	To be honest, if you've got the money for a 7900GTX, I'd save that money and put it toward a new computer. In no time flat you should be able to buy a nice AMD CPU and the graphics card! A X2 3800 (just for the processor) is only $295! With that CPU/GPU combination, you'd be able to do some serious gaming! __________________ Athlon 3800 X2 1GB System Memory 250GB hard drive 7800GT BFG Tech 500W PSU Conroe blows the doors off my system :(

04-16-2006, 12:42 AM	#3 (permalink)
Exploded_Monitor Bronze Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Age: 34 Posts: 86	Alright. I have another question, because I don't want to go out and buy another processor when AM2 is on the horizon: If there is a small/ large bottleneck, will I still get decent frame rates in games? If so, I'll go ahead and purchase this card and just hold out until AM2, and upon it's release, hopefully upgrade to AM2, eliminating the bottleneck. Otherwise, I'll just deal with my 6600 GT - (the graphics power has lessened over the past year.. or so it seems.) - And see what the current "Amazing" video card is upon the release of AM2. Thanks again, --Josh

04-16-2006, 01:01 AM	#5 (permalink)
Exploded_Monitor Bronze Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Age: 34 Posts: 86	Ah, what a shame. I knew I should of spent the extra money and got the 500W PSU when I built this system. Well, what of my question? Will the bottleneck severley cut my FPS? --Josh

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