Advice please

Hi all,

I'm rather behind the curve on tech at the moment. Having had two children over the last 6 years, my funds have been diverted elsewhere (with the exception of the odd SSD now and again).

I may be able to get a new component shortly, and I'm thinking GPU.

At the moment, I have an Abit IP35 Pro XE with an Intel Q8200 in it. I've moderately OC'd it. It runs things well, and I'm fairly happy with that: it's quite zippy.

My GPU is a BFG 8800GT OC 512 mb, and my PSU is a Corsair Modular 620W. I have a 19 inch monitor, but my wife's getting me a 21 inch widescreen display for xmas.

Say I was about to spend £100 - £140 on a GPU: with most of the offerings out there at the moment, woudl I notice much difference, and would my PSU cope?

and would it be worthwhile, or would anything less than an I3 be a bottleneck anyway?

THanks

Rob

Edit: Oh, you're going to ask about usage, aren't you? Arkham city, Crysis (original), I'm thinking of getting Dishonored, Dawn Of War 2 (Not terribly demanding, I know), UT3, Bioshock 2, etc.

Check this thread...

http://forums.hexus.net/graphics-car...-310-61-a.html


8800GT
IDLE - 172W
LOAD - 248W
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/178

7850 (arguably the best card for ~ your budget)
IDLE - 112W
LOAD 224W
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549

Your PSU will be fine :)

I would try to get this screen:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-IPS224V-i.../dp/B008F7GVZS

It uses a 6 bit AH-IPS panel AFAIK. I might consider waiting a bit longer,until the HD7850 2GB drops to under £140. I think your CPU probably be OK TBH,and I would also consider the FX6300 too,as I can see that being not a bad choice for more multi-threaded games.

For the cost difference I would look at upgrading to a cheap 22-24" screen, but yes, the psu should be sufficient, providing it has the right number of connections. I would also consider the 7850 (2gb version) as this is apparently the best bang for your buck card.

yes you will almost certainly see an improvement. I'm currently looking at upgrading my gpu as well, which is roughly the same age!

I was wrong about the screen. It, oddly, IS an LG IPS as Cat5 said, and it's 22 inch. Just arrived. Hurrah.