Is it worth upgrading?

[smurfik]

Hello guys,

I am considering buying a new graphic card so I am able to play Battlefield 3 and Skyrim. My computer is Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 Ghz, 4 GB DDR2 ram, Nvidia GF 8800 GTS 512 (g92). Is it worth for me to buy GF GTX 560 card (cost around 220 euros), or should I buy a whole new PC? The thing is if I get OK performance with only a new card there is no reason to buy a new PC for a lot more money.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Tomas

 

[kilo_17]

Hmmm, a C2D would most likely bottleneck a GTX 560, if you want to play games like that I recommend you just buy a new system (you'd be best off with a quad-core or better).

 

[inzone]

Hello guys,

I am considering buying a new graphic card so I am able to play Battlefield 3 and Skyrim. My computer is Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 Ghz, 4 GB DDR2 ram, Nvidia GF 8800 GTS 512 (g92). Is it worth for me to buy GF GTX 560 card (cost around 220 euros), or should I buy a whole new PC? The thing is if I get OK performance with only a new card there is no reason to buy a new PC for a lot more money.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Tomas

What is your power supply ? If you can swing it I would try to go with a GTX 560 Ti but if not a 560 is a good upgrade from the 8800 , which you could keep and use for physix accereration. You may want to overclock your cpu a little so as to not bottle neck the new card.

 

[smurfik]

What is your power supply ? If you can swing it I would try to go with a GTX 560 Ti but if not a 560 is a good upgrade from the 8800 , which you could keep and use for physix accereration. You may want to overclock your cpu a little so as to not bottle neck the new card.

Well my power supply burned a while ago and a friend of mine who runs a pc shop gave me one for free (doesnt know what type it is, but I guess its OK). But if it is necessary, I will buy power supply as well - should be around 50-70 euros, right?

So, which one to pick then?

http://datacomp.sk/vga-asus-geforce-gtx560-dcii-oc-2di-1gb-ddr5-pcie-_d102438.html

http://datacomp.sk/vga-asus-geforce-gtx560-ti-dcii-1gb-ddr5-pcie-_d96835.html

 

[kilo_17]

Idk man, if you went with a 560ti your C2D would definitely hold it back, that's why I say you should get a new system.

 

[smurfik]

Idk man, if you went with a 560ti your C2D would definitely hold it back, that's why I say you should get a new system.

So not worth buying a new card then, right?

 

[Onus]

Just because a CPU would bottleneck a GPU doesn't meant it isn't worthwhile.
Get the new GPU; make sure the PSU is up to the task. Whether or not it is bottlenecked, you'll still see at least some improvement. If it isn't enough, then you can spend the extra money on a new CPU/Mobo/RAM; you will not have wasted what you spent on the GPU.

 

[Liuqyn]

you could go with the new card, and then later, if needed, upgrade the rest of your system.

 

[kilo_17]

I agree, a new GPU would definitely spruce up almost any system, I just think your C2D would hold it back a little bit, but like Liuqyn said, you could by a new video card and upgrade the rest later. So, IMO, it would still be worth buying a new card, even if it's held back a little by your CPU.

 

[inzone]

I would go with the 560ti just make sure about the psu and if you find the the cpu is hloding it back you can always upgrade at a later time and between now and then save what you can to accomplish that. You are at some point going to want to upgrade that cpu, mb and ram any way so this will be a start.

 

[swifty_morgan]

The 560 would be a large improvement over the 8800. However, the dual core processor will retard that game in your system. Most of my gaming is done on a q9550/775 @19x12. I have no problems with any games. Prior to that I used a dual core 6850. The 6850 processor sits. Recommendation, buy the card if it's the best card you can get and plan an upgrade........ ( do not buy a 775 quad for your system ) You'll have to replace the entire system again in the next couple of years anyways.

 

[smurfik]

Cool, thanks guys! Btw about power supply - which one is enough? 500?

 

[Onus]

A quality 500W PSU is fine for just about any GPU, as the charts here show: http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=264
Look for a PSU with 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.