Graphics card upgrade to ati 5770

[fjmfreitas]

I am thinking of upgrading my computer with a better video card, but i need to know if my specs are sufficient (mainly my power suply) for it

here is my current spec:

Core 2 Quad 9550 (2.83ghz no OC)

4gb DDR3 OCZ 1333mhz (dont know the timings)

ECS P45T-AD3 (V1.0A) crossfireX capable (16x or 8x/8x)

2x 160gb HD in raid 0

2x dvd-rw drives

ECS 8600gt 512mb ddr3 (passive cooler)

450W (not generic) power suply

AOC 17" 1440x900 monitor (but want to use a full HD tv using the hdmi port)

running win 7 x64


i would like to upgrade it to a 5770 1gb card, but in its specs it says the min power suply is 450W, my power suply while not generic, its not from a very known brand, and i dont know if it has a dedicated 6-pin connector

would it be safe (or possible) to upgrade it without doing the same with the power suply?

would doing crossfire with two 5770 be worthless because the PCIeX 8x/8x limit? what powersuply to use in this setting?

is there any obvious bottlenecks in my system? (besides the graphics)

I would apreciate any help in this matter

 

[Rustyy117]

The card requires a 500W PSU, But you might get away with a 450W, if its a very good quality PSU.

What make and model is it?

 

[fjmfreitas]

is something i dont know for sure, i cant open to look cause of the build warranty, but i might find something about it in the fiscal ticket(?) (dont know how to say this in english, it has the spec of all the parts of your pc) i chose the coponents myself, but back then the power suply wasn't a major concern (for me at least), but the power suply was changed per request of the store I bought it (the generic 300W would not be able to handle all that safely)


suposing its an acceptable brand do you think its enough (barely)?

 

[Rustyy117]

I can't say for sure... Even if its a quality brand it might not be up to the task.

Its up to you, You'll have to take the side panel off anyways to install the card, Unless your getting the people who built it in the first place to install your new card.

Personally, I'd save up for a quality 550-600W PSU

 

[fjmfreitas]

hum... i see, then if i have to change it i would buy one that could handle at least 2 5770 in crossfire to keep my options open, what suply would i need for it? and what are the best brands? (I dont live in the US and here there are few brands easily available) the only ones i know for sure is corsair, antec and artic cooling

 

[Rustyy117]

I'd recommend a Quality 400-450W PSU for a single 4670, If you intend to crossfire in the future then go for a quality 600W PSU

I take it you live in the UK (like myself) as you specified £

Corsair, PC power and cooling, OCZ, Coolermaster, Antec, Thermaltake, Zalman Are all good brands.
OCZ being the cheapest, whilst still being good quality.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-031-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1098

 

[fjmfreitas]

Thanks for the great help omgitzfatal, and no I dont live in the UK, i live in Brasil =), i will now start looking for the PSU before the 5770, there is a corsair 650W for R$479, which is about $250 (dollars), who knows, by the time i have the money to buy the graphics card, Nvidia might release her 4xx series (drools over the keyboard) and the prices might go down on both ATI and Nvidia cards.



PS: How i would like to have cheap PSU like the one you showed me 60 (euros) would be R$180, less than half then what i would find here =), but then the $160 5770 i can only find at around $350, damn taxes...

"War is not about who is right, but about who is left"

 

[JDFan]

The card requires a 500W PSU, But you might get away with a 450W, if its a very good quality PSU.

What make and model is it?

Actually the Spec calls for a 450W or better PSU - the 5770 is actually a very low power consumption card (108W max power usage) - so your 450W supply should be fine !!

 

[Rustyy117]

yeah I hope there will be a price war too, I want a 2nd 5850! for cheap lol

Good luck with the Powersupply and 5770

Ooops I got confused with another thread when I was talking about a 4670, You'll want a quality 500W PSU for a 5770 and 600W for crossfire 5770's

 

[Rustyy117]

Actually the Spec calls for a 450W or better PSU - the 5770 is actually a very low power consumption card (108W max power usage) - so your 450W supply should be fine !!

I think its best to leave some room in terms of wattage

 

[JDFan]

I think its best to leave some room in terms of wattage

Yes but ATI already does that when they specify the Spec - the 5770 uses less than 20W at idle and a max of 108W under full load - my system right now while surfing the Web is using 99 Watts and while playing Oblivion it barely passes 200 Watts (according to the digital readout on my PSU) for the entire system so even a 450 Watt unit leaves quite a bit of headroom !!

 

[Rustyy117]

ok point taken : ) +1

 

[liquidsnake718]

Your system still can be utilized and upgraded to last for 2-4more years max. I would get a PSU with a minimum of 550 or 600Watts 80plus. This is just to make sure you can use ANY kind of single GPU card no matter what the benchmarks.

You will be limited to a single GPU configuration unless you are planning to use weaker GPUs in SLI or Crossfire.
You need a PSU with at least 2 6pin connectors and 1 8pin connector(some older Nvidia cards). YOur current PSU is ok for the GPU you currently have but when you upgrade it will be cutting it too close considering you want a 5770 AND have 2 HDDs, c2q4 gig ddr3, 2 drives.

As for your GPU requirements, a 5770 is not bad as it is basically(benchmark) a DX11 and eyefinity version of the 4890. This is still a great card and can run most games(not sure if the 2d problem persists) for emulated games or older side scrollers... but this should be fixed soon via driver updates. If you can save a bit, I'd advise you to get a 5850 and this will max out your PC for the long haul as you wouldn’t need to get a core i5 just to "keep up" with the times as I find the c2quads and a max setup better than a basic core i5 system for similar price points.

I wouldn’t even think of crossfiring anymore and just max out your single pcie2.0 16X lane. The 5850 will do that AND run 2-3monitors well. But by all means you need to get a new PSU and a GPU as you will immediately see the difference from an 8600gt as I also had that card 3years ago for apps.

 

[fjmfreitas]

hum... i see, but the 5850 is getting out of my buying range, after some research i found R$1.259, which is something like $700 (dollars), thats way more expensive than what i was thinking, maybe when the 5830 (4890 performace) comes, it will be more reasonable.

the budget i wanted to spend is $500, and while in the USA i could have up to a 5870 with this money (hell with $20 more a GTX295), here is way more expansive, but probably i'll have to wait because of the PSU (which will get me broke for some time), and by then the nividia will have launched her new series, and ECS builds some nvidia graphics card, its one of the few makers we can easily find around here (the other is HIS).

The eyefinity thing is not something i really want (dont have 3 monitors lying around), but DX11 and HDMI are things i want and would really use.

Yes it would be very different feeling once i get a new GPU, while my 8600gt can play anything i like on my max res (1440x900) all games since Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion, needs to have details turned down (dont even ask about AA and AF the only game running with it is Live for Speed =P), Crysis is very much playable with medium settings, and Mass Effect 2 did run quite well.

About the core 2 quad, im quite happy with it, and some times it could even outperform the core i7 920 due to its 12mb cache (against 8mb of the i7), i do believe it will work quite well for some 5 years whitout needing to be upgraded (or overclocked the *** out of it).

But like almost all gamers the only thing stopping me from building a monster gamming pc is money, so until i win the lottery or graduate and find a good job, i will have to make do with my little quad and (hopefully) a 5770 or 5830.

 

[liquidsnake718]

Wow, where do you live? A 5850 for $700?!?! Thats crazy you can probably buy the new Nvidia card for that price easily and you can get the 5970 here for that amount of money.

I guess the 5770 will be a god buy for you since the prices of GPUs are severely jacked where you are from. I wouldalso suggest a GTS250 since it is considerably better than the 8600gt. That way you can play most games on high settings for at least a year of two from now.

 

[fjmfreitas]

i live in Brasil agree completly with you thats crazy, but the store is selling at the most reasonable prices, the problem is the taxes it pays for it to be imported =)

the gts 250, hum... is this the rebadged 9800gt? found it for R$639, $350 USD
it is quite an interesting option

I was looking for ATI because of the dx11 (and because crossfire, but was discouraged to do it), until nvidia launches its dx11 cards im stuck with it =), and i wanted something capable of running games at max setting on full hd (without AA and AF, or with if its capable)

 

[fjmfreitas]

Best answer selected by fjmfreitas.