Replace 4670 with 5670? 6770?

[Lumiplaty]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Now/Soon

BUDGET RANGE: Max $120 before rebates

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Being able to browse the web/watch videos without crashing Oh and the best gaming performance for the buck.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: ATI Radeon HD 4670, Corsair 450 Watt This One

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3, AMD 2.6Ghz Dual Core (Athlon II 5050e), 4GB DDR2

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: Prefer AMD/ATI and NOT Sapphire Brand

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080 (Although I'm not too picky if I have to drop to 1280x720 for gaming)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Should be fairly quiet too


My card is dying (again) so I need a replacement. Mostly I'm concerned with the CPU being a bottleneck and the power supply. I'm debating cards between the Radeon 5670 to 6770. For 5670 I was leaning towards this:

XFX HD-567X-ZNL3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...150535&RandomID=93778671721394420110924154022

Although I'm wondering if the DDR3 is a problem, I'm assuming the 5670 recommended in the best graphics cards for September is a DDR5 version. Most of the DDR5 cards look to be within $10-$15 of a 6770. My only concern with the 6770s are that my power supply might not be enough and/or the CPU is a bottleneck. I'm not too familiar with connecting a card using the PCIe power connector. It says my power supply has "+12V@33A", which I guess is the important stat as to how much power it can supply the card? Is this all good for a 6770?

Thinking about the Gigabyte (even though I can't find a review) as I've been satisfied with my GB mobo.

GIGABYTE GV-R677D5-1GD Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
link

Also, unlike my current card, I'd prefer it didn't sound like a vacuum cleaner even when idle The quieter the better. Most of the 6770 look to have some beastly sized coolers so I'm not sure if that rules them out.

And help is appreciate.

 

[samuelspark]

go with a 68XX series graphics card. They'll give you more performance for ur buck.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150551 here's a 6850 that's 120 after rebates. Enjoy

 

[amirp]

your power supply will very easily power a 6770, don't get a card below this level because of power restrictions. 33amps on 12v line on a corsair power supply = you're good to go for most single cards except for the high end ones.

Your power supply will power the 6850 posted above as well easily. Your only problem lies in your weak CPU, if you can extend your budget I would upgrade that seeing as how amd cpus for your socket are fairly cheap these days. That in my opinion with a card like a 6770, or 6850 if you can afford would make your system much faster.


Also a big cooler does not mean it makes noise, smaller cards (with smaller fans) are actually louder for sure.

For example, my brothers old 8600 gt with a tiny fan sounds like it's going to take off, but my 6850 can't be heard.
Or even my old ati 4850 sounded like a jet engine (it had a tiny stock fan) but when I installed this huge fan : http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=accelero+twin+turbo+pro&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1399&bih=790&tbm=isch&tbnid=ledvLon6MylBGM:&imgrefurl=http://www.pcgameshardware.com/%26menu%3Dbrowser%26image_id%3D1140568%26article_id%3D686573%26page%3D1%26show%3Doriginal&docid=bnyMJ4kmRsAsvM&w=1000&h=750&ei=vWh-TtmqJs_C0AGrofnmDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=729&vpy=153&dur=226&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=174&ty=122&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=191&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0
it was inaudible.

 

[amirp]

If you're sticking with your current cpu I wouldn't buy anything faster than a 5770/6770 or gtx550ti /gts450/gtx 460 768mb. All of those cards offer very similar performance, with the gtx 460 768mb being the fastest and may be cheap to find.

Here is a gtx 460 768mb for $80 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162058

And all of those can be easily powered by your power supply.

 

[Lumiplaty]

If you're sticking with your current cpu I wouldn't buy anything faster than a 5770/6770 or gtx550ti /gts450/gtx 460 768mb. All of those cards offer very similar performance, with the gtx 460 768mb being the fastest and may be cheap to find.

Here is a gtx 460 768mb for $80 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162058

And all of those can be easily powered by your power supply.

Thanks for the input guys. That's a pretty crazy deal on that galaxy. Decisions, decisions...

 

[eyefinity]

Your cpu is weak and will hold back a 6770 or anything faster.

I'd concentrate on finding the best 6670, don't go with any DDR3 cards as they have series performance losses. In fact, you could probably afford a faster quad cpu soon if you don't spend too much on the graphics card now.

Note that big coolers dont necessarily mean they will be loud either - quite often its smaller "whiny" fans that are the most annoying for noise.

 

[eyefinity]

the above suggested cards are fine for his cpu.
a quad core would be better but the OP is asking for a gpu.

I know for a fact that anything above a 6770 will be bottlenecked on a dual core energy efficient athlon 2, so don't bother.

 

[amirp]

Although eyefinity is right, I would still get any of the cards I mentioned above, and then within a month or so when you have the money upgrade your cpu, as it's AM2+/ and AM3 compatible according to my googling skills. So you could easily get an athlon IIx4 or phenom II for around $100 for a nice boost in your system.

For example, an athlon II x3 455 @3.3ghz is $80 right now, and it is much faster than your current cpu, and it wouldnt hold back the gtx 460. If you do get a 6670 you would still be held back because that is a weak graphic card.

So OP it's up to you, if you think you might upgrade your cpu then get the cards I mentioned, if you think you aren't going to upgrade it then get a 6670/5670 because anything faster will be bottlenecked heavily

 

[eyefinity]

Although eyefinity is right, I would still get any of the cards I mentioned above, and then within a month or so when you have the money upgrade your cpu, as it's AM2+/ and AM3 compatible according to my googling skills. So you could easily get an athlon IIx4 or phenom II for around $100 for a nice boost in your system.

For example, an athlon II x3 455 @3.3ghz is $80 right now, and it is much faster than your current cpu, and it wouldnt hold back the gtx 460. If you do get a 6670 you would still be held back because that is a weak graphic card.

So OP it's up to you, if you think you might upgrade your cpu then get the cards I mentioned, if you think you aren't going to upgrade it then get a 6670/5670 because anything faster will be bottlenecked heavily

If the OP is going to upgrade his cpu in future I'd agree that any of the cards listed are good choices. I think I might upgrade the cpu first though...

 

[amirp]

yea if his current card hadn't fried then I would have upgraded the CPU first too for sure. but unfortunately he has no choice

 

[eyefinity]

"dont bother" who do you think you are talking to matey.
what you actually know and what i know are 2 different things.
the op may be able to oc his cpu then what you gonna say im wrong eh?

No OC will help a dual core cpu in most modern games now. The drawback is the 2 cores, not the clock speed.

Also (I know reading isn't your forte), but the OP clearly said overclocking was out.

 

[eyefinity]

yea if his current card hadn't fried then I would have upgraded the CPU first too for sure. but unfortunately he has no choice

Yes I suppose so. You are right, it depends on how long it will take for an upgrade on the cpu as well. Like you said, the weaker card if no upgrade in the near future, or a stronger card now and upgrade the cpu soonish, if possible.

He can't be far away from maybe a faster triple-core and a cheapish 5670 maybe though for $120? That would be a good mid-point.

 

[amirp]

OP how far can you extend your budget? $200 would net you a better cpu and a decently matched graphic card.

 

[eyefinity]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103911 - $80 cpu

The 3rd core is the important one, as the difference between 3 and 4 cores is very little in gaming.

Maybe another $25 or so would get a 6670...

 

[eyefinity]

eyefinity what you seem to not realise is that the op has asked for a gpu for his current setup.
so that would entail he may not be able to afford a cpu and gpu together.

currently your arrogance and the way you speak to people is very offensive.

I'm only offensive to idiots, thats why you are offended.

The OP is asking for advice, and sometimes better advice can be offered that what a poster had in mind. His dual core is a serious weakness in gaming, and with just a little bit of extra cash and thinking about what he can buy, he can end up with a far more balanced and better gaming system than simply by slapping a too-fast graphics card on to a weak cpu.

 

[amirp]

Okay lets stop posting unnecessarily, wait for the OP to respond and tell us his budget

 

[eyefinity]

The OP said $120 max so stretching to $200 is a bit far. Try to balance it with what the OP is likely to want to pay. $150 might get him a far better system overall (gpu and cpu), ok it might not be the best but it will be a good increase over what he has now.

 

[eyefinity]

how is my statement idiotic you fool?

i stayed with what the op was asking for.
yes a better cpu will help but so will a better gpu..
however the thread has moved on and now we are speaking of a higher budget if possible.

Your attitude towards people is ridiculous. sort it out or a moderator will sort it for you!

Once again you were the git who started throwing around insults, so bring the moderator on and we'll see. You didn't stay with what was asked, you offered an nvidia card when the OP said ATI preference, and you then talked about overclocking when the OP said no overclocking. L2READ.

 

[eyefinity]

$150 sounds better imo.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103872

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161365

You realise that's what I said 15 mins ago?

 

[eyefinity]

You claimed that the above posted gpu's were fine for his cpu. They aren't. Most of them (especially the one you linked) is too powerful for his cpu and would be a waste of cash.

 

[eyefinity]

get your facts right eyefinity you started the remarks:

I'm only offensive to idiots, thats why you are offended.

You called me arrogant before then.

 

[eyefinity]

Ok my bad, I thought you linked the 460 but it was amirp.

Still, the 550 Ti is an Nvidia card, and not particularly great value either...I don't see any reason to advise that card when the OP has suggested a preference for ATI.

 

[eyefinity]

Your links aren't working, just copy paste from the last one you did (you need to edit first).

 

[amirp]

lol ... I was the one who suggested new cpu, and there is nothing wrong with that 460 it is an excellent deal and is within his budget.

 

[amirp]

Yes I suppose so. You are right, it depends on how long it will take for an upgrade on the cpu as well. Like you said, the weaker card if no upgrade in the near future, or a stronger card now and upgrade the cpu soonish, if possible.

He can't be far away from maybe a faster triple-core and a cheapish 5670 maybe though for $120? That would be a good mid-point.

OP bottom line : this is our COLLECTIVE advice lol (read the post I am quoting)....

what is your final budget (how far can you extend it, at $120 there's no way to really have a good balanced system , $150 is good but you would need more to enjoy gaming at 1920 by 1200