Time to upgrade the......7900GS :)

M

mechoption

New Member
Well, it's been a long time coming, but it's time to replace the 7900GS! I was doing grad studies and refused to buy a new card until I graduated to reduce the gaming temptation. My budget is $300 tops, and I'm specifically looking for gaming (Dirt 3, Crysis (been waiting ages to play - reminds me of this http://xkcd.com/606/), BF3/MW3,....).

Here's what I have to plug it into:
Gigabyte P67A-UD3-B3 MoBo
Intel Core i3 2100T (after the video card this will be next to upgrade, then SSD drive)
4 GB Ram (2x2Gb, PC3-10700, DDR3-1333, Win 7
850W OCZ PSU
SATA2 Harddrives

I'm not fixed on Nvidia vs AMD, would prefer a single card system, and I'm not into Over clocking or upgrading cooling or things along those lines.

I've been poking around reviews, but there's so many choices and nuances that are hard to figure out - any thoughts?
 
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Agreed on the 560ti 448. That would be the top-of-the-line for your budget. There are some different cards that are cheaper with a rebate:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127615
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121480

And this gigabyte has a free BF3 game, which could easily be sold on craiglist for a good $50 or so:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125406

Could even go 570, if you factor in the rebates, once again:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130613
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125384
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134125
 
A regular 560 would destroy any game at 1024x768. I would play on the 1280x1024 and wait for a new monitor. Computers and TVs don't play well together. I've always had resolution issues with a number of TVs. And anything over 27" at 1080 will look grainy.
 
Yeah 1280x1024, the 6870 would be the best option as it's cheap and would not even work hard at all.

Claptonman- Yeah but the classified ultra is a lot sexier :P
 
87dtna said:
Yeah 1280x1024, the 6870 would be the best option as it's cheap and would not even work hard at all.P
Click to expand...

How would it handle 1920x1080 on the TV? (TV is new and bought with gaming in mind - Far Cry played pretty awesome on the TV with my old card) - I was hoping to play split screen Dirt 3 on the TV using my new card
 
Well both dirt 3 and crysis seem to favor Nvidia cards. I would just go for Nvidia honestly, the 448 core 560 Ti.
 
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I would wait a month or so. Nvidia and AMD are releasing (released) some new cards making the old Fermi stuff cheaper. I would hold out for a new GTX570 which will drop to 300 fairly soon I think.
 
There's not much difference in the 448 core 560 Ti and the 570. Saying to wait would never end....once kepler is released 580's will drop to 300 bucks. If you want to buy now, buy now.
 
i game on my tv with a 7970. my previous card 5970 did perfectly fine @ 1080p. If you are serios about gaming then dont game on a tv. You will do better on a normal monitor. also its difficult to find a chair/table setup if you are gaming on a large tv like me. I had to build a little table for my Kboard+mouse. And if you sit too close, you're eyes will be screaming blood murder on you lol. I can't game for more than 2 or 3 hours at a time.

check out my avatar for my setup :) granted your friends will think its cool as **** to watch bf3 on your tv lol
 
mechoption said:
Well, it's been a long time coming, but it's time to replace the 7900GS! I was doing grad studies and refused to buy a new card until I graduated to reduce the gaming temptation. My budget is $300 tops, and I'm specifically looking for gaming (Dirt 3, Crysis (been waiting ages to play - reminds me of this http://xkcd.com/606/), BF3/MW3,....).

Here's what I have to plug it into:
Gigabyte P67A-UD3-B3 MoBo
Intel Core i3 2100T (after the video card this will be next to upgrade, then SSD drive)
4 GB Ram (2x2Gb, PC3-10700, DDR3-1333, Win 7
850W OCZ PSU
SATA2 Harddrives

I'm not fixed on Nvidia vs AMD, would prefer a single card system, and I'm not into Over clocking or upgrading cooling or things along those lines.

I've been poking around reviews, but there's so many choices and nuances that are hard to figure out - any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Agree on the 448. I have the exact same card as you listed, and it plays every game I own on max/ultra setting without breaking a sweat, fan never goes above 60% in game. But when I stress test it @ 100% load with Furmark, she does get HOT, and LOUD, @ 100% fan speed, its like a jet taking off!

Edit: With the 6 Phase PWM, this card can be pushed pretty far, with little effort.
 
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dtiao7eb said:
i game on my tv with a 7970. my previous card 5970 did perfectly fine @ 1080p. If you are serios about gaming then dont game on a tv. You will do better on a normal monitor. also its difficult to find a chair/table setup if you are gaming on a large tv like me. I had to build a little table for my Kboard+mouse. And if you sit too close, you're eyes will be screaming blood murder on you lol. I can't game for more than 2 or 3 hours at a time.

check out my avatar for my setup :) granted your friends will think its cool as **** to watch bf3 on your tv lol
Click to expand...

Not true. I game on my 42'' LCD/HD TV. I simply bought a office/computer desk chair, with a deluxe laptop cart for my keyboard and mouse, and it works wonderfuly.

chair- http://www.walmart.com/ip/Comfort-P...nd-Mesh-Chair-Black/17201426?findingMethod=rr

laptop cart- http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Deluxe-Laptop-Cart-Black/17479996
 
Update: 448 Core 560 Ti installed :) but when I booted up my on-board LAN had failed :(

I was incredibly careful and there were definitely no static discharges so I don't know what happened. LAN lights are still on, bios lets me enable and disable it, but Win 7 no longer thinks it is there. A google search on my P67A-UD3-B3 mobo finds a few missing Lan's on this board - possibly in some kind of retarded sleep mode.

Good job all my games are on Steam, so I can't play any with the new card.

Trying to fix the LAN, but may end up looking for a cheap network card - wtf
 
haha aww man that sucks lol. It happens.

Yup cheap network cards at the local PC shop FTW


You can always RMA the board, but then you'll really be out for a long time with no gaming.
 
A new LAN driver came out for your board yesterday. Download it and reinstall it.

Also, download and install this and restart your computer.

Make sure also that you don't install the nvidia sound (HDMI) drivers or 3d stuff unless you need it. I have seen it bugger up stuff too, so if the above fails, uninstall that stuff.
 
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