Looking to upgrade my graphics to get me through a few more years of casual gaming

[seth928]

I built a PC 4-5 years ago to be a mid range gaming PC. Naturally, I'm starting to bump up against the time limits associated with advancing technology.

I'm thinking I can probably get a few more years by upping my graphics card and I figured since I have a Raedon HD 5870 1GB DDR5 which is crossfire enabled I thought I might be able to just get another one of those on the cheap and use crossfire to bump up my graphics experience. Turns out I was wrong.

So my question is: Do I go straight to a new graphics card as listed in http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html or is there a way I can still use the crossfire to up my experience? and/or can I still use the crossfire with one of the cards in the above review?

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Type x64-based PC
Processor AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 955 Processor, 3200 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 1456, 5/4/2010
SMBIOS Version 2.6
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 12.0 GB
Total Physical Memory 12.0 GB
Available Physical Memory 10.3 GB
Total Virtual Memory 24.0 GB
Available Virtual Memory 22.3 GB
Page File Space 12.0 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

MOBO M4A89GTD PRO/USB3

 

[sosofm]

Buy a new video card.

 

[coozie7]

It's not possible to Crossfire between different generations (except with certain 7xxx/R9 2xx combinations) so you're out of luck there.
The CPU is getting on a bit so don't expect miracles from a new card.
What power supply is installed?
What is your budget?
What is the display resolution?
Assuming a single 1080 display and a good quality PSU with at least 550Watts with 1x6 and 1x8 pin PCI-E leads I'd say you should be looking around the HD7950/GTX760 class, maybe the HD7870/GTX660Ti to cut the costs a little, anything less isn't really going to help enough to make the cost worthwhile.
I take it you've tried Craiglist as well as Ebay?

 

[seth928]

It's not possible to Crossfire between different generations (except with certain 7xxx/R9 2xx combinations) so you're out of luck there.
The CPU is getting on a bit so don't expect miracles from a new card.
What power supply is installed?
What is your budget?
What is the display resolution?
Assuming a single 1080 display and a good quality PSU with at least 550Watts with 1x6 and 1x8 pin PCI-E leads I'd say you should be looking around the HD7950/GTX760 class, maybe the HD7870/GTX660Ti to cut the costs a little, anything less isn't really going to help enough to make the cost worthwhile.
I take it you've tried Craiglist as well as Ebay?

going with a new card sounds about right for me, I'm looking to keep it under $300 and I'm not really expecting miracles. I'll take a look at the ones you recommended and probably end up with one or the other.

Planning on building a shiny new PC in a few years and retiring this one to a decent media PC. i'll spend my money then, I'm thinking a new graphics card will get me over the hump for now.

Thanks for the reply