Best card for a intel q6600?

[Thundersteel]

hey all!! need help in finding a new graphics card for my Dell 720. Yeah, i know im limited because of the dell motherboard and upgrading to a new processor. I want to find the best and second best choice of maximum card without bottlenecking the processor as i dont want to waste money on a gpu that wont utilize my cpu. The mobo is capable of sli but id rather go the powerful single card route. Intel q6600, 3 gigs of ram, and 750 psu. any help would be great....i was looking at a 275 or oc 285 but just dont know...i want to maximize my cpu with the most powerful video card as my next powerful graphics card will roll with a new pc....thx for your help!!

 

[coozie7]

What is in it now?
What is the monitor resolution?
When is the new build planned and what, if any, parts from the current rig will you reuse?

 

[TheViper]

1. HD 5870
2. HD 5850
3. GTX275 or HD 4890

Your CPU will only be a bottleneck on the first card or two if you game at 1920 x 1080 or higher resolution. Even then it would be negligible.

 

[Thundersteel]

oops sorry....i have an 8800gt atm....a great card and has served me well!! but of course i noticed the new gen of games is taxing it....champions online to name one. I usually like to game at the the highest resolution i can, dell 24 inch so 1920x1200. My new build or pc will prolly be from scratch dells are the worst for upgrading cpus.

 

[coozie7]

As a minimum upgrade the HD4870/GTX260 are viable, they are fairly cheap and both will be better at that high resolution.
Spending more on a system you will replace (fairly shortly?) makes little financial sense, and the GTX285 is too expensive anyway, considering how closely the much cheaper GTX275/HD4890 follows it in benchmarks.
Or you could just blow a big wad on a HD5870 and carry it over to the new build😉

 

[Thundersteel]

ok! i was looking at the charts and noticed how well the hd4890 fares in high res modes and the price seems really nice....round 225 239? what 5000 series will be comparable to this card? price wise it is way cheaper than the 0c285 2gig i was looking at ...399? 4890 a good deal? the best short of a 4870x2 as far as single gpu and not counting 5000 series?? thx for your help

 

[redgarl]

Well, if you are planning to put around 230$ on a video card, I would suggest you to get a 5850 at 300$. It's a DX11 card.

 

[TheViper]

ATi has not yet released a 5000 series model to fill in that same price/performance range yet. We expect an HD5830 sometime to that will fill that spot but it's not been announced yet.

There is currently a pretty big price and performance gap between the HD 5770 and HD 5850. The HD 5850 at $259 is still an incredibly nice deal.

 

[coozie7]

@ Thundersteel: I had the HD5870 in mind: It's priced below most GTX295 and about the same as the GTX285 but almost matches the GTX295 and leaves the GTX285 coughing in its dust, while burning less juice than either. Its main downside is size: It's massive!
For the best bang per dollar, the HD4890 is going to be hard to beat but the GTX275 is close and I would recommend either equally.
For maker: XFX, EVGA and BFG have the best support and warranties.
So, Neo, do you take the red pill or the green?

 

[gaga93]

buy what you can afford 😉

 

[Thundersteel]

thx everyone for your help! man...wish the gpu game wasnt so confusing. I think im gonna go with a 275 if i can find it at nice price point or an 260 oc the 216 stream proc version. The 275 seems to outperform the 4890 still respectively. the 260 is close but slightly faster in some games and slower than the 4890 in others. If the 4890 is way cheaper ill just roll with that. If i get frustrated ill just wait to see what the 5000's bring hehe!!

 

[TheViper]

The HD 4890 goes for about $10 more than the 261 core GTX260 and bests the card in most benchmarks. The GTX275 goes for about $30-$40 more than the HD 4890.

 

[Thundersteel]

would you go for the 275 or 4890 then? worth the extra 30 or 40 bucks?

 

[coozie7]

@ Thundrsteel: They are worth the extra, particularly at that high resolution.