Video card upgrade -- budget/gaming

[glitzyglamgirl]

Hi all

I had some fab help here when I built my PC back in 2008, it has run like a charm and been a fab machine

The graphics card has given up on me though so looking for a replacement. It is ATI Radeon 4670.

Here are my specs etc:

Asus P5Q Motherboard
Windows XP Home Edition (SP3)
3gb RAM
Intel Core Due E8400, core speed 2051.7mhz
Antec Neo HE 430 GB High Efficiency 430W PSU

The games we play are Dragon Age Series (me) and Sims 3 (teenage kids). I'm looking at spending no more than £80. I'm in the UK.

Hope I haven't missed anything, and thanks

 

[slh28]

Here's a card within your budget: XFX HD 6770 AMD Radeon Graphics Card - 1GB


If you want better performance for your budget you can try picking up a used Radeon 6850 or GTX 460 1GB (non-SE) on eBay.

 

[glitzyglamgirl]

Here's a card within your budget: XFX HD 6770 AMD Radeon Graphics Card - 1GB


If you want better performance for your budget you can try picking up a used Radeon 6850 or GTX 460 1GB (non-SE) on eBay.

Thats great thanks

 

[slh28]

Have a shop around though, I just picked one from a popular site. There's probably some sales/discounted ones somewhere.

Out of interest how come your E8400 only runs at 2Ghz instead of the default 3Ghz?

 

[cliffordcooley]

Out of interest how come your E8400 only runs at 2Ghz instead of the default 3Ghz?

Probably SpeedStep feature slowing the PC down to 2GHz at low CPU usage.

 

[glitzyglamgirl]

Probably SpeedStep feature slowing the PC down to 2GHz at low CPU usage.

I have EPU-6 engine if thats the kind of thing you mean? Otherwise I have no idea!

 

[glitzyglamgirl]

I've found a cheaper one here http://www.hardwareking.net/product...1GB-GDDR5--VGA--DVI--HDMI--HD-677X-ZNLC-.html

Does anyone have any experience with the retailer?

 

[slh28]

I've found a cheaper one here http://www.hardwareking.net/product...1GB-GDDR5--VGA--DVI--HDMI--HD-677X-ZNLC-.html

Does anyone have any experience with the retailer?

Erm they have no reviews on Google and their site doesn't exactly look like they're an established retailer. Also they're selling the card for £50 when everywhere else is at least £70-80. Usually if something is too good to be true it usually is!

 

[glitzyglamgirl]

Erm they have no reviews on Google and their site doesn't exactly look like they're an established retailer. Also they're selling the card for £50 when everywhere else is at least £70-80. Usually if something is too good to be true it usually is!

Yes thats what I thought too.....i'll skip that then lol

 

[ViPeRMiMiS]

In my opinion you should get a nVidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti or AMD Radeon HD 6770 for your budget. Good luck ;-)

 

[herpaderp]

The HD 6770 slh28 linked is pretty much the best thing you can get new in your budget. A GTX 550 Ti will slightly outperform the 6770, but also costs ~£20-30 more. The 6770 is a better overall value as it's pretty close in performance, but costs less, and consumes less power.

 

[ViPeRMiMiS]

The HD 6770 slh28 linked is pretty much the best thing you can get new in your budget. A GTX 550 Ti will slightly outperform the 6770, but also costs ~£20-30 more. The 6770 is a better overall value as it's pretty close in performance, but costs less, and consumes less power.

That's true, but 20-30€ is not very very very BIG difference. He can save them and buy the GTX 550Ti.

 

[herpaderp]

That's true, but 20-30€ is not very very very BIG difference. He can save them and buy the GTX 550Ti.

I only mentioned it because the op didn't specify if *her* budget was strict or relatively lax. Also something to take into consideration, AMD cards tend to perform quite well in the Dragon Age games, often matching their more expensive nV counterparts, and in the Techspot performance review the HD 5770 slightly overtook the GTX 460, which is quite a bit more powerful than a GTX 550Ti. An HD6770, being just slightly faster than a 5770, but cheaper than a GTX 550Ti, is clearly the better buy for her preferred games.

 

[ViPeRMiMiS]

I only mentioned it because the op didn't specify if *her* budget was strict or relatively lax. Also something to take into consideration, AMD cards tend to perform quite well in the Dragon Age games, often matching their more expensive nV counterparts, and in the Techspot performance review the HD 5770 slightly overtook the GTX 460, which is quite a bit more powerful than a GTX 550Ti. An HD6770, being just slightly faster than a 5770, but cheaper than a GTX 550Ti, is clearly the better buy for her preferred games.

True. But nVIDIA cards are better in other games too. But I think that yes a HD 5770/ HD 6770 is a better choice than a nVidia card because of Dragon Age games mostly as you said ;-)