Upgrade for 9500GT 1GB

[lindley010]

I bought a 9500GT 1GB Graphics card a year or two back. I will be purchasing a new monitor soon at 16:10, Which means the resolution will go from a 17 inch 1280x1024 to a 22inch 1680x1050 this ofcourse will result in a higher demand from the gfx card.

Ive been thinking of upgrading for a while as the 9500gt simply doesn't perform well enough. I need to replace this, however i need to replace it with another budget gfx card (something under £100, obviously the less the better but it must be notably better than the 9500gt) ive been looking at the 9800gt, the 220 and 240, However the 220 and 240 seem to have bad reviews, especially when compared to the 9800gt.

Id like some suggestions on this, as long as they are under £100 i don't mind, i prefer to stick with nvidia as that's what i know & love.

My sys specs are

Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
3 GB pc6400ram ( 800 mhz)
9500 GT 1GB
500Watt PSU(single rail)
Windows 7 Ultimate 32Bit.
(and as said above my monitor will be a 22inch 16:10 1680x1050 Screen)

[Nothing is overclocked as i prefer not to shorten the lifespan of stuff i rely on which i cannot afford to replace.]

P.S I obviously do play a lot of games, which the 9500gt can fun fine with medium Settings and a non-native resolution (1024x768) usually(on new games), Ive Recently played Alien vs Predator (very new out), Supreme commander 2 demo (the actual game isnt even out yet), ive also played Crysis etc as well, which all run fine with a sacrifice of graphics. Im hoping to stay at the Native resolution of the monitor whilst sticking at the medium settings area.

Thanks

 

[jyjjy]

If at all possible you should stretch your budget slightly for an HD5770. I should be great for 1680x1050, more like max settings than medium in most games. It's also DX11(AvsP is DX11) and very power efficient. Here is one for £113;
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-131-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1515
Second choice would be the HD5750. It's also DX11 and very power efficient. Here's one for £103'
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-217-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=708

These DX10 cards would also be pretty good for your resolution;
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173209
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-117-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1434
A GTS 250 would also be good but I wasn't seeing any in stock.

 

[lindley010]

If at all possible you should stretch your budget slightly for an HD5770. I should be great for 1680x1050, more like max settings than medium in most games. It's also DX11(AvsP is DX11) and very power efficient. Here is one for £113;
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-131-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1515
Second choice would be the HD5750. It's also DX11 and very power efficient. Here's one for £103'
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-217-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=708

These DX10 cards would also be pretty good for your resolution;
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173209
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-117-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1434
A GTS 250 would also be good but I wasn't seeing any in stock.

Hmm Interesting, might have to save for a bit since i really cant afford to buy a new monitor and gfx card.

Seems like ATI cards are always recommended over Nvidia.

Would anyone care to explain why ATI is better than nvidia Gfx cards (except they have full dx11 cards)


Oh another thing i forgot to mention

I will be using my current 1280x1024 monitor as a 2nd monitor so both the 17inch and the 22inch will be connected to the gfx. Which ofcourse will increase the strain even more.


P.S Is the 40 quid difference between the top graphics card you recommended and the bottom one worth it? How much improvement am i likely to see in FPS (i dont care much for benchmark tests n graphs)

 

[jyjjy]

It would've been different a few years ago but at the moment most Nvidia cards simply aren't a good value for the money compared to their ATI counterparts. Also the new line of ATI cards is DX11 compatible while Nvidia has yet to release their lineup of DX11 cards. Supposedly the should start releasing them in a month or so but those are will only be the high end card($500+)

 

[Mousemonkey]

It would've been different a few years ago

I'm not so sure about that. I've been poking about it the archives a bit lately and there are quite a few posts were the favouritism toward ATi are quite apparent even when it was known that the 8800GTX was top dog the 2900XT was being recommended because the drivers would mature and make it so much better or the price/performance card gets played but either way the end result is the same 'buy ATi they're better', even now the issues that people are still having despite the recent driver releases are being ignored, just google 'grey screen/vertical stripes' or look around this forum and you will see recent posts from 5770 users. So get a 5 series card by all means and if you do I hope it all goes well but if it doesn't...

 

[Mousemonkey]

if you wanna spend a lil bit more than 100 bucks I suggest http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143149&cm_re=9800gtx%2b-_-14-143-149-_-Product or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131331&cm_re=hd_5750-_-14-131-331-_-Product. If you still wanna spend 100 bucks but no more I suggest : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824&cm_re=hd_4850-_-14-102-824-_-Product or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133291&cm_re=8800gt-_-14-133-291-_-Product Good luck!

Newegg does not ship to the UK.

 

[lindley010]

Newegg does not ship to the UK.

Yeah was gonna say that. So you Saying i shouldn't buy a 5 series ATi card?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Yeah was gonna say that. So you Saying i shouldn't buy a 5 series ATi card?

No, I'm just saying that you should be made aware of possible issues that you may encounter.

 

[lindley010]

No, I'm just saying that you should be made aware of possible issues that you may encounter.

Hmm, Well according to the internet, As of very late the issue has been fixed by 10.2. Anyway by the time i actually get round to getting it in a month im sure any issues will be fixed.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Hmm, Well according to the internet, As of very late the issue has been fixed by 10.2. Anyway by the time i actually get round to getting it in a month im sure any issues will be fixed.

Well here is just one thread that goes against the grain but you could be right and it may be all fixed soon and any card you get will work perfectly straight out of the box, if it doesn't please post back and let us know.

 

[lindley010]

Well here is just one thread that goes against the grain but you could be right and it may be all fixed soon and any card you get will work perfectly straight out of the box, if it doesn't please post back and let us know.

Actually i have another concern. if i get the 5770 will my psu be enough?( i know i will have to purchase a 4 pin to 6 pin power converter)


Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
3 GB pc6400ram ( 800 mhz)
9500 GT 1GB (this will be replaced with the 5770)
500Watt PSU(single rail)
500GB 32mb cache Maxtor 7200rpm
1 TB Samsung F2 green drive 5400rpm

P.S looking at the problems with ATI im glad ive avoided them for all these years.

 

[Mousemonkey]

If it's a good branded PSU then you should be OK, if it's a no name generic unit then any card could have issues.

 

[lindley010]

If it's a good branded PSU then you should be OK, if it's a no name generic unit then any card could have issues.

Hmm dunno, ive had it at least a year.

Actually i just checked my Ebuyer order's, ive had it since mid 2008'ish

Heres the link, just some cheap budget psu.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/120675

 

[Mousemonkey]

That should be replaced with a quality unit, I like the Corsair PSU's myself, they are not the cheapest but you do get what you pay for and a five year warranty is not to be sniffed at.

 

[jyjjy]

If I had to guess that PSU should be ok. The card is quite low power really. If it was a quality brand even a 400w PSU would handle it without breaking a sweat. So the 500w is probably ok. That said you never know with an off brand PSU so if you want to be certain go for a new one.