graphics card upgrade

[lodore]

Hello,
I have plenty of ram (6gb) and a decent processer Q6600 but im thinking about a graphics card upgrade.

I currently have an nvidia 8800gt and a 22inch hd monitor resolution 1920 x 1080

Me and my mate have just started playing wow again and if i put the graphics settings to good i got around 17fps and my gpu load (according to gpuz) is around 98%

I currently only have the classic wow. I dont know if the expansions are even more demanding on GPU.
I havent really kept up to date with graphics cards since im normally a console gamer.
im not 100% sure on budget but i dont want to spend a fortune.
Thanks in advance

[shaithis]

WoW becomes more and more intensive through the expansions, the latest even added DX11.

Still, it is far from the most demanding and runs great on both nVidia and AMD.

I would have thought that a 6790 or Ti550 would probably handle all the new eye candy at that resolution.

[dfour]

If your happy second hand a 460gtx 1 gig model or a hd5850 can be had for £100 ish

[neonplanet40]

Aria are selling the 5850 brand new for £95 or so atm on special offer

[Bagnaj97]

WoW becomes more and more intensive through the expansions, the latest even added DX11.

Still, it is far from the most demanding and runs great on both nVidia and AMD.

I would have thought that a 6790 or Ti550 would probably handle all the new eye candy at that resolution.

Actually in the latest expansion they revamped all the old areas so performance is much the same across the board.

As for a graphics card upgrade I'd definitely get something capable of DX11 as the game runs better with it as well as giving ever so slightly better looking water effects. I stopped playing recently but my setup was similar to yours (q9300, 9800gt) and when I upgraded to a 5850 I was able to max everything out with DX11 enabled. Framerates would sometimes drop a little in heavily populated areas but raiding etc was fine.

[AndyG]

You definitely want DirectX 11 support, WoW performs better in this mode than in DX9 mode and looks nicer. From X-bit labs testing at (sorry, can't post URLs yet on this forum) www xbitlabs com/articles/graphics/display/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11_5.html#sect1 it looks like a GeForce GTX 560 Ti or above will allow you to turn on all the shiny at 1920x1080 and stay above your monitor's 60Hz limit. The GTX 550 Ti did not keep up, with an average framerate of only 35.

[AndyG]

Should add that my GTX 470 can't max out everything at 1920x1080 without occasional but noticeable FPS drops.

[lodore]

Hello,
thanks to everyone who provided some advice.
I think the xfx 5850 from aria for £99.95 seems to be ideal.