Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: GFX for a Ton

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    381
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked
    9 times in 8 posts
    • holy god of nil's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus p8h67
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500
      • Memory:
      • 16gb DDR3
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Samsung + 120GB Sandisk Extreme
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire 7850 OC
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX450
      • Case:
      • Silverstone SG03

    GFX for a Ton

    Doing some upgrading and got some bargain bits meaning I've about £100 to spend on an upgrade to my old 4870, I tend not to play terribly taxing games at 1680x1050 so don't need anything major but looking for a sweet spot of performance, power draw, noise + temps.
    I'm also using a small case so am slightly size limited, bonus points for smaller cards but I'm happy to look at lengths/clearances myself when I've narrowed down the field a bit.

    What would people recommend?

    (I'm perfectly happy to buy second hand etc if it means a particular bargain)

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    381
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked
    9 times in 8 posts
    • holy god of nil's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus p8h67
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500
      • Memory:
      • 16gb DDR3
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Samsung + 120GB Sandisk Extreme
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire 7850 OC
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX450
      • Case:
      • Silverstone SG03

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    I'm thinking 6850/6870, time to go measure my case
    Last edited by holy god of nil; 03-09-2012 at 02:01 PM.

  3. #3
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Highlands
    Posts
    22
    Thanks
    4
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts
    • UrbanMyth's system
      • CPU:
      • Core2Duo E8600
      • Memory:
      • 4GB
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Caviar Black, 128GB Vertex2
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte HD4850 1GB
      • PSU:
      • 450watt
      • Case:
      • Custom
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 home premium
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung 18.5"
      • Internet:
      • PlusNet ADSL

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    I'm looking to improve on my 4850 (blame it on Skyrim), but hope to spend a bit more - up to £160. Be interesting to hear how it goes for you!
    Hoping to go either 7770, or wait a while and try for 7850. I suspect the latter is the "right" decision, but not sure if I can wait that long.
    Sigh

  4. #4
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,231
    Thanked
    2,291 times in 1,874 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    You can get 7850s for £160 already if you shop around. If you don't like XFX (a lot of people don't) Scan have an MSI for £170. Aria have a variety of 7850s starting below £150...

    As to the OP, the 7770 isn't that far behind the 6850 and obviously is more modern technology, although the 6850 is cheaper and is probably the best bang for buck you can get at the moment. If you want a wildcard, though, Scan are currently doing a refurbed EVGA GTX480 for £110. Sure, it's hot and power-hungry, but it's also stupid fast for the money...
    Last edited by scaryjim; 03-09-2012 at 02:41 PM.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    381
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked
    9 times in 8 posts
    • holy god of nil's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus p8h67
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500
      • Memory:
      • 16gb DDR3
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Samsung + 120GB Sandisk Extreme
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire 7850 OC
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX450
      • Case:
      • Silverstone SG03

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    I've just seen a used 7850 2gb for £130, now THAT is tempting...

    Never heard of VTX, they any good?

    Cheers jim, that refurb is kind of tempting but I think I'd rather look for something better with regards to temps/power

    On the plus side most stock cards seem smaller than my 4870 these days so I shouldn't have many clearance problems.

  6. #6
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Highlands
    Posts
    22
    Thanks
    4
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts
    • UrbanMyth's system
      • CPU:
      • Core2Duo E8600
      • Memory:
      • 4GB
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Caviar Black, 128GB Vertex2
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte HD4850 1GB
      • PSU:
      • 450watt
      • Case:
      • Custom
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 home premium
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung 18.5"
      • Internet:
      • PlusNet ADSL

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    Quote Originally Posted by holy god of nil View Post
    <...>
    On the plus side most stock cards seem smaller than my 4870 these days so I shouldn't have many clearance problems.
    Not an issue for me - I've an ATX in a custom Full tower case. Space and heat distribution are the least of my worries

  7. #7
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,231
    Thanked
    2,291 times in 1,874 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    Quote Originally Posted by holy god of nil View Post
    Never heard of VTX, they any good?
    They're a sister company to PowerColor (i.e. they're both owned by the same parent company). I used a VTX 5770 for a friend a few years back and I've not heard of any problems he had. AFAICT they use custom PCB designs to lower the cost of the cards, so think of them as a decent but deliberately budget brand - i.e. they know how to make a cheaper graphics card without cutting the wrong corners I suspect that if you hammered their cards 24/7 for a long period you might find they failed slightly quicker than more expensive ones, but for standard loads they should be absolutely fine. No idea what their RMA process is like, but I've heard that Aria's has got quite good recently.

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Posts
    2,401
    Thanks
    87
    Thanked
    151 times in 145 posts
    • Willzzz's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte
      • CPU:
      • 4670K
      • PSU:
      • FD Newton R3 600W
      • Case:
      • Corsair 350D

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    I bought a VTX from Aria once, didn't work out of the box so had to RMA it.

    Bit of a hassle but not too bad, I guess I was just unlucky.

  9. #9
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    187
    Thanks
    5
    Thanked
    15 times in 14 posts
    • Samwood's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77-V
      • CPU:
      • 3770k @ 4.2Ghz
      • Memory:
      • 8GB Corsair Dominator @ 1800Mhz
      • Storage:
      • 128GB Samsung 830 + 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7,200.12
      • Graphics card(s):
      • XFX HD 6950
      • PSU:
      • XFX Pro 450W
      • Case:
      • Corsair Carbide 300R
      • Operating System:
      • Win 8
      • Monitor(s):
      • 23" Asus PA238Q + 22" LG Flatron

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    Quote Originally Posted by holy god of nil View Post
    I've just seen a used 7850 2gb for £130, now THAT is tempting...
    Thats a fantastic deal!!!

    I bought a 6950 2gb for £125 a few months back and I thought that was awesome for my budget.

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    381
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked
    9 times in 8 posts
    • holy god of nil's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus p8h67
      • CPU:
      • i5 2500
      • Memory:
      • 16gb DDR3
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Samsung + 120GB Sandisk Extreme
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire 7850 OC
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX450
      • Case:
      • Silverstone SG03

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    I think, having read some reviews etc that I'll probably wait a little and stretch my budget for a 7850 with a good cooler, something like this http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-m...oogle+shopping

    the kind of thing which I would hope will be hitting the 150 mark new soon enough

    By the sound of things it's fast, good value, low power, low temps and quiet, perfect!
    Last edited by holy god of nil; 03-09-2012 at 11:37 PM.

  11. #11
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Highlands
    Posts
    22
    Thanks
    4
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts
    • UrbanMyth's system
      • CPU:
      • Core2Duo E8600
      • Memory:
      • 4GB
      • Storage:
      • 1TB Caviar Black, 128GB Vertex2
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte HD4850 1GB
      • PSU:
      • 450watt
      • Case:
      • Custom
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 home premium
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung 18.5"
      • Internet:
      • PlusNet ADSL

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    Quote Originally Posted by holy god of nil View Post
    I think, having read some reviews etc that I'll probably wait a little and stretch my budget for a 7850 with a good cooler, something like this http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-m...oogle+shopping

    the kind of thing which I would hope will be hitting the 150 mark new soon enough

    By the sound of things it's fast, good value, low power, low temps and quiet, perfect!
    Hmm - I wonder how long I'd have to wait to get it at my budget?
    Tempted to wait... but prices used to hold steady from end Sept through January sales - and I can't wait that long!

  12. #12
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    39
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked
    4 times in 4 posts

    Re: GFX for a Ton

    Quote Originally Posted by holy god of nil View Post
    I've just seen a used 7850 2gb for £130, now THAT is tempting...

    Never heard of VTX, they any good?

    Cheers jim, that refurb is kind of tempting but I think I'd rather look for something better with regards to temps/power

    On the plus side most stock cards seem smaller than my 4870 these days so I shouldn't have many clearance problems.
    Get a new 6850, or HD7770. Also what is the rest of ur system specs?

    I usually purchase used equipment, so i can get better models for lesser bucks. Most of my deals have been fine (knock on wood)

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •