Graphics upgrade.

[smithmr8]

Was going to perform a complete system overhaul, but the money isn't available right now. Now I just want to upgrade my graphics card to something that can perform most games on decent settings.

Don't want to spend a massive amount. Looking at around £150 max. What card can you recommend ?

Would like to be able to play games like: Dead Island, Crysis 2, etc. on high settings.

Not quite sure what to go for..

Thanks.

[smithmr8]

Something like this perhaps ?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-x...-dvi-hdmi-mdp-

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If you are on a budget get this XFX HD6870 instead:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-x...x-mini-display

If you want a better warranty I would get one of these MSI HD6870 graphics cards instead:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-m...yport-2x-dvi-p

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-m...ssors-dvi-hdmi

[smithmr8]

Are the HD6870's going to be able to handle games like Crysis, Dead Island, COD, Battlefield (2/3) on high settings ?

How about the one I listed before, http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-x...-dvi-hdmi-mdp-

Has a 60 month warranty, 24month RTB. Also specs seem to be slightly higher.

[smithmr8]

Anyone ?

[xtal191]

You should be fine with most of those games. You might have to turn down some settings for Battlefield 3 but its hard to say since its not out yet.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You can get a GTX560TI or HD6950 1GB for around £168.

Also,the £124 XFX HD6870 1GB is the same card as the £146 one. The £146 one has a 40MHZ overclock you could easily apply yourself and TBH the performance difference between the two cards is minimal.

Regarding the warranty XFX customer service is meant to be patchy and MSI somewhat better. However,YMMV!

[smithmr8]

What would be better value for money ?

Can you recommend (link to) a 560ti or a HD6950 that should be good ? Not brilliant when it comes to picking out graphics cards.

Something like this? http://www.crescentelectronics.co.uk/node/286122

[kalniel]

We went for a 560 (non-ti) recently - fantastic value for money at £138 at the time. I haven't seen it struggle in any games on the highest settings so far - cards in general are far more powerful than they need to be these days. Apparently they overclock to 560ti matching performance quite easily, but we've not felt any need to.

[smithmr8]

Ah, interesting. What type of games do you play ?

I'm looking to play some visually "rich" games, so want a card thats capable of playing them at high settings to get the most out of the games.

[kalniel]

Ah, interesting. What type of games do you play ?

I'm looking to play some visually "rich" games, so want a card thats capable of playing them at high settings to get the most out of the games.

Oblivion, Fallout3, F1 2010, The Witcher 2 etc. The performance in the former suggest it should cope with Skyrim very well. Crysis 2 we've not tried, but apart from tessellation oddities it's meant to be fairly easy on cards. Don't know anything about dead island, sorry.

[smithmr8]

So even the 560 is capable of playing some decent games. No worries. They recommend a 9600GT 1GB, if I remember rightly.

What do you think about something like this: http://www.ebuyer.com/254483-kfa2-gt...s-56ngh6hs4ixz

Seems quite good value for money.

[MSIC]

I think that I may have lower expectations than alot of people on the forum, however I have remained extremely impressed with my 6850.
Battlefield BC2 plays beautifully on it at full settings, 1920x1080. Battlefield 3 may possibly require a setting taken down here and there, but i dont anticipate many problems.
Therefore a 6870, 560, or anything above i'm sure will be perfect for your needs.

[smithmr8]

Yeah, true. Might just get that 560ti. Seems quite decent. I've been playing Crysis 2 on an 8600GT, so I'm sure most things will be a big jump up.

If I was looking at the £200 mark, what sort of card would you recommend, out of interest. Is it going to offer much more than a 560Ti, for example.