Help with my new gtx 550 ti!!!!!

[nsahawks7]

Well, I just finished selecting all my parts for my gaming rig:

Phenom IIx4 840 @ 3.2Ghz
2X2GB DDR3 Corsair Ram
550W Led Light Coolmax PSU
MidTower Gaming Case
500GB 7200 RPM HDD
Motherboard I don't know but its Socket AM3

My real question is with my GPU. Will Gtx 550 Ti 1Gig run Crysis smooth on atleast medium at standard resoultion? Also, will Battlefield 3 run smooth on atleast medium? Please answer all my questions. If I get atleast 25 Fps on both on medium, then I am going to stick w/the 550 ti. If not, Ill switch to the radeon 6850.


Both Crysis 1 + 2. And Bf3 beta, not the real bf3

 

[vigilante212]

I looked up a comparison of the two cards you mentioned looks like the AMD beats out the 550 ti

http://www.hwcompare.com/9711/geforce-gtx-550-ti-vs-radeon-hd-6850/

 

[inzone]

Are you refering to Crysis 1 or 2 and BF3 isn't out yet only a beta release.

 

[thesnappyfingers]

here is the benches for a msi gtx 550 ti cyclone
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GeForce_GTX_550_Ti_Cyclone_II/12.html

The test were done on the highest settings so you should be able to play crysis at medium with the 550ti. Your card meets and exceeds the the minimum system requirements for bf3, so medium may be possible, it is dependent on resolution

here are some questions to better answer your question:
What is your budget or how much are you spending on the 550?
Do you have the specific card model, or a link to the card?
What resolution are you playing at?

 

[nsahawks7]

I am playing at standard res. And I don't have a link but it is on newegg. Search gtx 550 ti that go for the cheapest one. It has I think 3 reviews...

 

[thesnappyfingers]

standard resolution is 1024X768? 1600:900? 1336X768? 1920X1080? I don't know what the definition of "standard" is.

Honestly I don't know if there is one.

If you are playing on 1024, then that card would be fine at likely high settings for the majority of current games

I would go with the 6850, its a much better card.

 

[Onus]

Hard to say. The Chokemax PSU you've selected may smoke and croak under the load of a decent GPU.
A quality PSU has full range active PFC (no little voltage switch) and some level of 80+ certification for efficiency. Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XFX, and Enermax/LEPA are among the better brands. For either of those cards, 450W-500W is easily enough.

 

[inzone]

The key thing you want to achieve with your video card is to get 30 to 40 fps at medium to high settings to have a playable smooth gameplay. There are multiple components the factor into this and not just your video card. The cpu,ram,hdd and psu along with your video card are what determines your end result. To be honest I think a 650w psu would be better and if your OS is 64bit I would go with 8gb ram. The other thing is your MB , you want to look at the pci-e slots and make sure you have 2 x16 slots that will run at least at x8 speed , that is for just in case you want to later run two video cards in sli. Which brings me to another solution if you went with the 550ti and weren't quite happy with the fps and playability you could pick up another 550ti and run the two in sli.

 

[thesnappyfingers]

you don't want to start sli-ing if you don't have to. two gtx 550 tis at least the ones you are buying would cost you 250.00 to 200.00, not to mention the additional PSU requirements which would be an additional 50.00 to 80.00 rough less the cost of your current psu cost.

For 200-250 you should just consider buying a gtx 560 ti or a hd 6950.

It seems to me that you are on a budget, so the 550 ti or 6850 might be your best bet, 6850 being about 10 fps better for an additional 20.00 more.

 

[nsahawks7]

Hard to say. The Chokemax PSU you've selected may smoke and croak under the load of a decent GPU.
A quality PSU has full range active PFC (no little voltage switch) and some level of 80+ certification for efficiency. Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XFX, and Enermax/LEPA are among the better brands. For either of those cards, 450W-500W is easily enough.

It is The Corsair brand, I checked. I am buying it for about $60

 

[nsahawks7]

you don't want to start sli-ing if you don't have to. two gtx 550 tis at least the ones you are buying would cost you 250.00 to 200.00, not to mention the additional PSU requirements which would be an additional 50.00 to 80.00 rough less the cost of your current psu cost.

For 200-250 you should just consider buying a gtx 560 ti or a hd 6950.

It seems to me that you are on a budget, so the 550 ti or 6850 might be your best bet, 6850 being about 10 fps better for an additional 20.00 more.

Do you have to pay to SLI? Because I would much rather do that? Can you show me how?

 

[nsahawks7]

Well, I can run Crysis 1 and 2 on maximum settings smoothly with my GTS 250. I can also run Battlefield 3 Beta smoothly on medium-high graphics. Your GTX is a lot better than my GTS 250 so I think you can run those games fine

Can I have your specs please? Thanks

 

[thesnappyfingers]

you have to pay for sli in that you need to buy 2 cards. You also need a motherboard that is sli compatible. Your system will also generate more heat. Your system will also typically need more power.

You will also need a sli bridge, this may be included with your card, but i dont really know for certain.

In most cases, especially if your only running one monitor, it is better to simply buy a better card, than 2 inferior ones.

You still need to give us your resolution. Standards change.

If you are playing at 1024X768 the 550 ti will be adequate as indicated by my previous post with the benches, however the 6850 performs fairly better and only cost 20.00 more.

Here are benches for the gts 250,
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Galaxy/GeForce_GTS_250_1_GB/9.html

As you can see decent FPS is only possible on 1024X768, with max settings.

 

[Onus]

Corsair is fine. Your original post says "Coolmax" which is why I was concerned.
A 550W Corsair should be sufficient even for a pair of GTX550Ti GPUs. Before you let someone convince you that you need a monster PSU, go to the sizing calculator here: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
If you're going to build an AMD rig, make sure to get a socket AM3+ mobo, which will support Bulldozer.
The recommended spec for BF3 is a GTX560 (non-Ti). The GTX550Ti is a little weaker, but it would certainly work on slightly lowered settings. The preview screenshots I've seen look quite good even in Medium, but if you want better settings, try to fit a GTX560 or HD6870 into your budget.

Edit: Crossfire bridges are included with most (but not all) ATi cards that support Crossfire. SLI bridges are usually included with mobos that support SLI, not with nVidia cards. Both may of course be purchased separately.

 

[nsahawks7]

Ok, based on all the replies and a little research, I have decided to get the radeon 6850 hd 1g...now can I play crysis 1 and 2 and bf3 beta w/o lag on high?

 

[inzone]

I guess you will find out.

 

[Onus]

Well, you never mentioned your resolution, but I think you'll be able to play on "decent" settings.

 

[nsahawks7]

My res is 1024x768

 

[Mousemonkey]

you have to pay for sli in that you need to buy 2 cards. You also need a motherboard that is sli compatible. Your system will also generate more heat. Your system will also typically need more power.

You will also need a sli bridge, this may be included with your card, but i dont really know for certain.

In most cases, especially if your only running one monitor, it is better to simply buy a better card, than 2 inferior ones.

You still need to give us your resolution. Standards change.

If you are playing at 1024X768 the 550 ti will be adequate as indicated by my previous post with the benches, however the 6850 performs fairly better and only cost 20.00 more.

Here are benches for the gts 250,
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Galaxy/GeForce_GTS_250_1_GB/9.html

As you can see decent FPS is only possible on 1024X768, with max settings.

The SLi bridge or bridges will be included with an SLi capable motherboard, I've never known of one being included with the card.

 

[Onus]

At that resolution, you should be able to play on high or better.

 

[thesnappyfingers]

+1 to jtt283

 

[nsahawks7]

How about at 1920x1080 res...can I still play bf3 beta and crysis 1+2 w/o lag on medium with my rig?

 

[Onus]

On medium? I would think so.

 

[nsahawks7]

Thank You to everyone who contributed, it really meant a lot. I do not know a lot about computers you guys really helped. I've decided to get the Radeon hd 6850, and hopefully I can max at some of my games and play them w/o lag. Thanks again!!!

 

[nsahawks7]

Best answer selected by nsahawks7.