GTS 450: BF3 and Beyond, Time To Upgrade?

[kigrax]

Looking for bare minimum stable 60 fps at low-medium graphics. If it is time..

Budget: ~$150

approx. purchase date Within the next few weeks

I'd be running a AMD Phenom II X4 945 Quad Core @ ~3.0ghz, OCZ Fatal1ty 550w PSU, 4GB DDR3 1600 G.SKILL, 1TB 7200rpm SATA 6GB/s Seagate, SATA 6GB/s AM3+ (?) Gigabyte, 1680x1050

Possibility of overclocking, I am a novice though. Would the default 22cm fan on an IN WIN Griffin mid case be sufficient?

Side question; do I need an AM3+ mobo to run that cpu? It ran at like 800mhz on my micro atx and I was told I need an AM3+ to supply the 125w. They said it was unrelated to my PSU.

Thanks!

 

[iam2thecrowe]

you need an am3 board. am3+ boards are only for the FX processors. Are you saying you have a gts450? or your looking at getting one? if you want BARE MINIMUM 60fps, im not sure your cpu can provide that regardless of gfx card. You should still get good fps, over 35fps though. Add a gtx460 or 6850 and you will be good to go at medium settings at that res with very good average FPS. Not sure that a gts450 would cut it though for your desired FPS.

 

[kigrax]

you need an am3 board. am3+ boards are only for the FX processors. Are you saying you have a gts450? or your looking at getting one? if you want BARE MINIMUM 60fps, im not sure your cpu can provide that regardless of gfx card. You should still get good fps, over 35fps though. Add a gtx460 or 6850 and you will be good to go at medium settings at that res with very good average FPS. Not sure that a gts450 would cut it though for your desired FPS.

I have a GTS450. I'm willing to play it at the absolute lowest settings. I thought most games, excluding those running on the source engine, were way more GPU dependent than CPU dependent. I'd have thought a 3.0ghz quad core wouldn't bottleneck a GTS 450. Anyway, I'd be willing to overclock the 450 if I have enough cooling.

 

[king smp]

depending on your budget
go with a AM3+ now though it is not needed
just for the upgrade path being there
also consider getting a SLI mobo


and with a 150 budget then a GTX 460
like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127518

is a great single solution at your resolution as iam2thecrowe pointed
out

and then possibly can SLI the 460 later (though they will be harder to get
later on) which two 460s will be viable for 1680x1050 res or higher
for awhile (at least a year or maybe even two)

 

[Dyjon54]

time to upgrade my friend get a 6850

 

[kigrax]

After googling "6850 vs gtx 460" I can see there's a huge controversy.. but if some of that might be outdated, which one is the better card?

I'd probably be willing to go up to $200 or a bit higher really, but I'm more than likely not going to be shelling out for 2 cards to sli any time in the next few years.

I also have another thread if anyone can help me out, nobody seems to visit the Opinions section: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/23098-10-wishlist-wait-thanksgiving-sales

 

[king smp]

should consider either the HD 6950 or GTX 560Ti with a 200+ plus budget
both are good cards

also try to OC that 945 a little
I am not strong in AMD but if it is not a BE it is harder to OC but I think you can still
push it a little higher
but I would want an AMD expert to check that

 

[kigrax]

Best answer selected by kigrax.

 

[king smp]

Thank you for selecting me as Best Answer
Please dont be a stranger