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Thread: Graphics Upgrade

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    Graphics Upgrade

    Ok, I'm currently toying with the idea of upgrading my graphics card at present, mostly because my current one (8800GT) is getting fairly noisy, even after being cleaned out with compressed air. I've not really followed the very latest hardware releases so I'm not 100% sure what represents an upgrade to my current card.

    One other thing to note is that my motherboard would support Crossfire, so perhaps an ATI card might be more favourable, as I could upgrade later down the line with a second unit (or even get 2 if a pair of cheap cards works out better)

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    If you're really concerned about noise then you can always get a passive card. I just bought a 9500GT for about £40, totally silent. Might not be the best bang for buck if you play a lot of games though.

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    8800 Gt is still a good card. Depending on how much your goign to spend you may be best waiting for the DX11 cards later this year.

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    What kind of budget do you have, and what size is your screen?

    ATI, look at HD4850/ HD4870/ HD4890. Custom cooled ones will be quierter.

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    Quote Originally Posted by Will404 View Post
    What kind of budget do you have, and what size is your screen?

    ATI, look at HD4850/ HD4870/ HD4890. Custom cooled ones will be quierter.
    Budget wise, not massively fussed, as I'll pay for what's needed here. Screen size is 20" wide screen, native resolution of 1680x1050

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    Quote Originally Posted by Lucio View Post
    Budget wise, not massively fussed, as I'll pay for what's needed here. Screen size is 20" wide screen, native resolution of 1680x1050

    A card with a 896MB/1GB frame buffer will do you nicely, so id say your looking at between £120-170 for the best pound: performance ratio - something like a GTX 260 or 4890, maybe even a 4850 X2.

    Edit: 4870 @ £113 seems a steal = Link
    Last edited by Terbinator; 20-07-2009 at 03:43 PM.

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    Bah I say the 8800gt is still fine for that res.
    nvidia first off renamed it as the 9800gt and where planning to rename it again as the gts240 but people kicked up so much fuss they didn't.
    What they did do was the 128core g92 chip, originally 8800gts 512mb then became the 9800gtx then the 9800gtx+ and is now the gts250

    what you could do is buy a cooler
    current fav's for a 8800gt would be Akasa vortex neo (assumeing you've got a standard layout card)
    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AKASA...e-BLUE-LED-fan
    or the Arctic cooling Accelero S1 v2 with a fan tied on
    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Arcti...atpipes-(4850)

    others would include the thermalright T-rad
    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Therm...ated-heatpipes
    and the Scythe Musashi
    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Scyth...as-9800GTXplus)

    if you are looking for a new graphics card then the Sapphire Vapor-X cards are suposed to be quite
    4870 1gb and a jump in perfromance over the 8800gt however depending on what you play you may not notice any change)
    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-S...DMI-D-Sub-HDCP
    4850 512mb (about the same as the 9800gtx+ so a smaller step up from your 8800gt)
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161309

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    I'd say it's a bit daft to buy anything less than a 4870 as an upgrade from an 8800GT, because it just isn't a big enough difference to warrant the cost. The 4890 might be a good buy, as that should run pretty much anything at 1680x1050. If you're after a truly quiet card though, aftermarket cooling is about the only way to do it.

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    If you're wating some raw power, I think you might want to track down a couple of 4850's or even wait a few weeks for the 4770s to arrive instock.

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...xDVI-HDTV-HDCP

    because, frankly, twin 4770's will blow your socks off

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    Twin 4770s are awesome, but so are twin 4850s, and they're in stock, and not an awful lot more expensive (though they use substantially more power)

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    Have you considered just getting an aftermarket cooler for your 8800GT, it might fix your noise woos, and allow you to wait a few months until the DX11 cards are out (or are you like me an impaitent? )
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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    To be honest I would not consider crossfire with your mobo as the benefits mainly seem to be fron using a x16/x16 setup.

    The the below article for an example:

    http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/14...nce/index.html

    Quote Originally Posted by nightkhaos View Post
    Have you considered just getting an aftermarket cooler for your 8800GT, it might fix your noise woos, and allow you to wait a few months until the DX11 cards are out (or are you like me an impaitent? )
    A few months back I was in the same position, but decided to silence my 8800GT and improve temps.

    I bought a Akasa Vortexx Neo (£12) and the Akasa memory heatsinks (£3) and a Akasa 3.5' fan controller (£10).

    For the £25 my temps have dropped from 73degC on load to 50degC, and this is with the fan slightly turned down (via fan controller) so that it is not auidable in my setup.

    I will be honest when I say that its a whole new card, as it used to get very hot (thus increasing my CPU temps).

    HOWEVER,

    I still find myself looking at getting a new card as I crave something new and shiny. I am hopefull that I can hold out untill the new ATI DX11 cards come out, however would not be surprised if I where to buy a 4890 or a 4870X2 before then....
    Last edited by djglenn; 21-07-2009 at 12:02 PM. Reason: typo

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    The vortexx coolers aren't too bad for relatively lightweight cards like the 8800GT (they only overheat in the first place because the cooler is pretty dire), but you should probably go for an Arctic, or preferably Thermalright cooler for anything more powerful. I'm as eager for the DX11 generation as you are, despite having the best DX10.1 has to offer. Trouble is, since the 40nm production as of yet is unchanged, I wouldn't be surprised if it's delayed into 2010.

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    In all honesty, I've not got the guts to upgrade my cooler, it was nerve wracking enough reseating my CPU cooler!

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    Quote Originally Posted by Lucio View Post
    In all honesty, I've not got the guts to upgrade my cooler, it was nerve wracking enough reseating my CPU cooler!
    If you can reseat your CPU then you can change the VGA cooler.

    I had to remove 6-8 screws, removed the heatsink (uncliped a wire). Stuck on the ram heatsinks, applied thermal paste to the chip and re-screwed on the new heatsink.

    If you where to go that route then I could probably do a proper step by step for you. However with the wealth of knowledge here at Hexus alot of people could assit you if you wanted to change it.

    I am not overly technical, and find reseating CPU's unhinging at times...however I found changing the VGA cooler relatively easy.

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    Re: Graphics Upgrade

    have you tried applying new Thermal past to your GPU core and using your existing fan?

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