New Graphics Card
Discussion
So, the time has come to replace my ageing 7950 GT as it can't hack newest games these days.
Budget is around £100 inc VAT + any P&P. The obvious choice seems to be to find a Radeon 4870 1GB at that price point, but i put it to the techies of PH, are there any decent alternatives or compelling reasons to put it off a bit?
I'm also motivated by an imminent upgrade to Windows 7.
Budget is around £100 inc VAT + any P&P. The obvious choice seems to be to find a Radeon 4870 1GB at that price point, but i put it to the techies of PH, are there any decent alternatives or compelling reasons to put it off a bit?
I'm also motivated by an imminent upgrade to Windows 7.
Simbu said:
So, the time has come to replace my ageing 7950 GT as it can't hack newest games these days.
Budget is around £100 inc VAT + any P&P. The obvious choice seems to be to find a Radeon 4870 1GB at that price point, but i put it to the techies of PH, are there any decent alternatives or compelling reasons to put it off a bit?
I'm also motivated by an imminent upgrade to Windows 7.
I bought that graphics card last week. It's brilliant, runs Crysis in DX10 mode at a good resolution, couldn't ask for any more at that price!Budget is around £100 inc VAT + any P&P. The obvious choice seems to be to find a Radeon 4870 1GB at that price point, but i put it to the techies of PH, are there any decent alternatives or compelling reasons to put it off a bit?
I'm also motivated by an imminent upgrade to Windows 7.
I'm wondering if when nVidia release their next gen cards it'll have an impact on the price of the ATI cards.
I'm planning on doing a big upgrade soon, and I'm budgeting a similar amount as you - but I'll probably be doing this after nVidia release their new cards. Not specifically because I'm waiting for them mind - more because I've spent far too much money recently.
Mind keeping the thread updated with how you get on?
I'm planning on doing a big upgrade soon, and I'm budgeting a similar amount as you - but I'll probably be doing this after nVidia release their new cards. Not specifically because I'm waiting for them mind - more because I've spent far too much money recently.
Mind keeping the thread updated with how you get on?
Simbu said:
So, the time has come to replace my ageing 7950 GT as it can't hack newest games these days.
Budget is around £100 inc VAT + any P&P. The obvious choice seems to be to find a Radeon 4870 1GB at that price point, but i put it to the techies of PH, are there any decent alternatives or compelling reasons to put it off a bit?
I'm also motivated by an imminent upgrade to Windows 7.
What you going to do with that 7950? Budget is around £100 inc VAT + any P&P. The obvious choice seems to be to find a Radeon 4870 1GB at that price point, but i put it to the techies of PH, are there any decent alternatives or compelling reasons to put it off a bit?
I'm also motivated by an imminent upgrade to Windows 7.
Merry said:
What you going to do with that 7950?
No specific plans for it yet. It's passively cooled 
so i'm thinking media centre PC eventually.tenohfive said:
Mind keeping the thread updated with how you get on?
I will do; financial constraints mean purchasing will be waiting until the end of the month so hopefully the 5770's will be a bit cheaper. They're already comparable to the 4870 for price. I just like to do my research in advance 
Swinging towards the 5770 for reasons stated above, plus availability of the 4870 seems to be getting limited. Performance diffrences at my 1440x900 resolution will be rather academic for the near-medium future!
Incidentally, anyone know where i can get a (legit) copy of Windows 7 that won't fiscally rape me?
Oh how i wish i was still a student sometimes...Holy thread resurrection, Batman!
Anyway, since a update was requested here it is. Getting hold of my 5770 took far more effort than it should have after a monumental f
k-up by the supplier i ordered from. Won't be shaming them as they are usually pretty good (and we have rules here ). Anyway, after a 2 week delay after ordering and subsequent refund i went to Ebuyer. I got my card 16 hours after ordering (on their free delivery option too 
) and ended up with this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191864
I also used this as an excuse to upgrade my OS and since i had a spare Vista license i'm now on Vista SP2.
First impressions are good. Its obviously much faster than my 7950GT. Despite having a fan its also inaudiable to me and runs very cool. It also draws less power than a comparable NVidia card. From what i've read the memory is rather clockable too since the modules they stuck on are rated quicker than the 5770's reference clocks. Won't be trying that just yet though
The only downside is that unsurprisingly with a new generation of cards there are a few driver issues to be ironed out; I have experienced a couple of 'Gray Screen of Deaths' but from what i've read a fix is on the way.
In conclusion, i'm well chuffed!
Anyway, since a update was requested here it is. Getting hold of my 5770 took far more effort than it should have after a monumental f
k-up by the supplier i ordered from. Won't be shaming them as they are usually pretty good (and we have rules here ). Anyway, after a 2 week delay after ordering and subsequent refund i went to Ebuyer. I got my card 16 hours after ordering (on their free delivery option too ) and ended up with this:http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191864
I also used this as an excuse to upgrade my OS and since i had a spare Vista license i'm now on Vista SP2.
First impressions are good. Its obviously much faster than my 7950GT. Despite having a fan its also inaudiable to me and runs very cool. It also draws less power than a comparable NVidia card. From what i've read the memory is rather clockable too since the modules they stuck on are rated quicker than the 5770's reference clocks. Won't be trying that just yet though
The only downside is that unsurprisingly with a new generation of cards there are a few driver issues to be ironed out; I have experienced a couple of 'Gray Screen of Deaths' but from what i've read a fix is on the way.
In conclusion, i'm well chuffed!
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