Need help-opinion on deciding VGA. Please

[eszaqsc]

Hello, i need help,
i currently using an ASUS EAX1650Pro as my VGA
combine with :

- 3x S-ATA HDD (2x Seagate & 1x WD)
- 1x P-ATA DVD-Writer (BenQ)
- 5 cooling fan (standard)
- 2x TwinX 1Gb (512Mbx2) CL-5 Corsair Memory RAM
- Windows XP Pro
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
- MoBo ASUS M2NPV-VM (the one with a integratred nVidia GeForce 6150 video card)
- AcBel PSU 400W
- Monitor Samsung 17" (intend to replace it with an LCD monitor 17" as well)

i wanted to upgrade my VGA (only), so what should i get ?
(cheaper the better / budget-value PC)

i intend to play it on some games like terminator salvation, hawks, etc.... with high settings on 1280 x 1024 resolution.

should i go to Ati 4670 or 4850 or 4870? (kinda ATI addicted)

thanks for any opinion.


PS: how much speed will it decrease if i use VGA with PCI-ExpressX16 ver.2 on MoBo with PCI-ExpressX16 ver.1?

 

[TheViper]

At that resolution, the HD 4670 will be all you'll need. It's also very easy on PSU's.

You also will not perceive any difference in PCI-e 2.0 and 1.0. No graphics card uses the full bandwidth of the 1.0 slot anyway.

 

[eszaqsc]

so, i can play any kind of game at high/full settings and ati 4760 can handle 'em with ease? (even with games like far cry 2, stalker, fallout 3, saint row 2, etc)
then what size of memory should i get? DDR3 512mb or DDR3 1Gb?
why i shouldnt take on ati 4850 or 4870 instead? (if i may know why...)
thanks for your opinion anyway....

 

[TheViper]

Get the 512 MB card. 1 GB would be a waste of RAM (and money). Basically, at that resolution you'd never be able to use.

Your resolution isn't very demanding on a modern graphics card which gives it much more breathing room to work with.

If you plan to upgrade to a bigger monitor sometime in the next year, then I'd recommend a better card to match. The HD 5750 is a good HD 4850-esque card but with DX11 and lower power requirements.

 

[eszaqsc]

but, can i run the games with high settings even with only 512Mb? I need to ferify that first....
and as you guys can see, i only using WinXp, so HD5xxx series is still out (using DX11, i'm stuck with DX9 here)

 

[TheViper]

You can run high settings even with a 512 MB card at your resolution without any problems at all.

One of my systems has a lesser card than the HD 4670* yet still runs most games at high settings and 1680 x 1050 resolution with just 512 MB of video RAM.

* - card is an ATi X1950 XTX.

 

[eszaqsc]

Best answer selected by eszaqsc.