5770 Size/Power v. 8800 GTS 320mb

[LordNoob]

Hi,

Longtime member, don't post a lot, but I was hoping someone could help ease my fears with upgrading to a 5770. I am thinking of buying a 5770 1GB to replace my 8800GTS 320mb as they will hopefully go on sale leading up to the release of new cards. However, I have some concerns- 1) that the card won't fit in my case and 2) that my PSU won't provide enough juice. FYI I don't plan to overclock the card and am planning to buy a stock card- SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB as this is currently the cheapest on newegg.

My current computer is a 4 year old Acer with a Q6600 into which I have managed to stuff an Nvidia 8800GTS 320mb and it has run it with no problems for 3+ years on the stock 350 watt PSU, but it is a very very tight fit. IIRC the power connecter on the card is at the back end which makes the space issue worse but it still barely fits. If I can fit the 8800GTS 320mb card spacewise and run it with my PSU, should I have any problems upgrading to the 5770?

Other random facts which are likely not relevant: I am running Windows 7 home premium 64 bit with 4 gigs of DDR 2 and a single hard drive.

The AT GPU bench program shows that an 8800 GT (the 512mb version I presume) uses slightly more power than a 5770 but the 8800GTS 320 which I have would presumably use slightly less power than the 8800 GT given the difference in RAM so I am not quite sure.

Cliff Notes: If my case/PSU can fit and power an 8800GTS 320mb, can it fit/run a 5770?

Any and all help is appreciated.

 

[RavenSEAL]

You'll need a new PSU for sure. 500W is enough, i suggest you go with Antec or alike brands.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0000058 600014020&IsNodeId=1&name=451W - 500W

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...CE&PageSize=20

As far as size goes, the Sapphire HD5770 is 6.5 x 2.5 x 10.5 inches. Measure your case and make sure you have a PCI-E 2.0 on your mobo.

 

[LordNoob]

I'd have to check the PCI-E thing when I get home, but it is a 4 year old mobo so it is probably not 2.0. Are PCI-E 2.0 cards never backwards compatible?

 

[RavenSEAL]

I'd have to check the PCI-E thing when I get home, but it is a 4 year old mobo so it is probably not 2.0. Are PCI-E 2.0 cards never backwards compatible?

They are, but you'll get decreased performance if its 1.0.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

My Vapor-X 5770 is shorter than my 8800GT. It's 8" long.

 

[RavenSEAL]

I just googled up acer machines with q6600s. Are either of these the one you have?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883103133

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883103085

 

[LordNoob]

Neither of those systems are what I have. I got it at Comp USA before they went out of business back in 2006 and it came with 2gb DDR and Windows Vista 32 bit. I have since upgraded the RAM to 4 gigs and upgraded to Windows 7. At the time I bought it for around $750 it was a steal considering it had the Q6600.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Yea. So it'll probably be PCI-E x16 1.0. You can expect a noticeable decrease in performance IF you compare it to a system with a PCIe 2.0 or 2.1 slot. But it is definatly an upgrade over the 8800GT. If you can drop about 50-70 dollars,you should buy an LGA775 with PCIe 2.0. It would really make a difference if you expect to game with high detail/ress and wouldn't require you to purchase any new parts such as ram or cpu.

If you give me some time, i can find you a good deal. I'll reply in about 15 minutes.

 

[RavenSEAL]

$50 right there. Perfect upgrade. Anything above a 5670 isn't worth it if you don't have a PCIe 2.0 mobo. It has like twice the bandwidth of PCIe 1.0 if i'm now wrong, can't find a chart atm.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-357-_-Product

http://us.test.giga-byte.com/Produc...board&ProductID=2888&ProductName=GA-G31M-ES2L

Your CPU is listed as supported and ram is the same, this one actually supports up to ddr2 1066.

 

[Phynaz]

They are, but you'll get decreased performance if its 1.0.

On a 5770, 1 or 2 fps.

 

[RavenSEAL]

On a 5770, 1 or 2 fps.

With half the bandwidth? Lol, its as good as a 5750 or even a 5670 on pcie 2.0. Either way, its worth dropping the 50 dollars on the new mobo. Considering manufacturer motherboards are horrible. I'm pretty sure that q6600 will perform better with the mobo above than the stock acer crap.

 

[RavenSEAL]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-004-_-Product

+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-873-_-Product

+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3332167&SID=


$245 dollars and you are set for good gaming for the next 3-4 years, worth the upgrade if you ask me. Not to mention the HD5770 is 25 dollars off +15 rebate and the PSU is 15 dollars off instant.

If this blows your budget, then just stick with getting the PSU+Vid card. Again, the 2.0 upgrade is worth it..PLUS, you get some OC potential. You can bring that q6600 to atleast 2.6ghz to 2.8ghz no problem unless its locked.

 

[Phynaz]

8800 GTS 512MB has a maximum board power of 150w. 5770 has a maximum board power of 108w. I'll leave the math up to you

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

With half the bandwidth? Lol, its as good as a 5750 or even a 5670 on pcie 2.0. Either way, its worth dropping the 50 dollars on the new mobo. Considering manufacturer motherboards are horrible. I'm pretty sure that q6600 will perform better with the mobo above than the stock acer crap.

Phynaz is absolutely correct. A 5770-class card simply doesn't saturate the bus.

 

[Phynaz]

With half the bandwidth? Lol, its as good as a 5750 or even a 5670 on pcie 2.0.

And just what is all that bandwidth going to be used for?

I think ABT did a test and showed basically no difference in speed in single card setups. Tom's did one a few years ago with 9800's that showed no difference.

Edit: Flipped beat me to it.

 

[RavenSEAL]

8800 GTS 512MB has a maximum board power of 150w. 5770 has a maximum board power of 108w. I'll leave the math up to you

As true as that might be, the capacitor is probably aged...4 years is a lot for a PSU.

 

[RavenSEAL]

And just what is all that bandwidth going to be used for?

I think ABT did a test and showed basically no difference in speed in single card setups. Tom's did one a few years ago with 9800's that showed no difference.

Edit: Flipped beat me to it.

$50 dollar is a good upgrade and its cheap. That is all i'm saying, even though it makes very small difference. I PERSONALLY, in his situation would just upgrade just because OC potential and PCIe 2.0, not to mention he can upgrade to faster RAM or even a higher end video card later on.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

$245 dollars and you are set for good gaming for the next 3-4 years, worth the upgrade if you ask me. Not to mention the HD5770 is 25 dollars off +15 rebate and the PSU is 15 dollars off instant.

If this blows your budget, then just stick with getting the PSU+Vid card. Again, the 2.0 upgrade is worth it..PLUS, you get some OC potential. You can bring that q6600 to atleast 2.6ghz to 2.8ghz no problem unless its locked.

That's a nice deal you put together there, but I think it's pushing it to say he'd be "set for good gaming for the next 3-4 years".

Consider the Nvidia 7600GT. 4 years ago it occupied the same slot that the Radeon 5770 does now. How's the 7600GT's performance in modern games?

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

I think ABT did a test and showed basically no difference in speed in single card setups.

Found the ABT article. You've got a good memory!

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=2249

 

[RavenSEAL]

That's a nice deal you put together there, but I think it's pushing it to say he'd be "set for good gaming for the next 3-4 years".

Consider the Nvidia 7600GT. 4 years ago it occupied the same slot that the Radeon 5770 does now. How's the 7600GT's performance in modern games?

When you consider the hardware has already caught up to the games, the HD5770 won't be "high end" in 3 years, but it'll be just as good as the 4890 is today. You are right though, 4 years might be a bit too far.

 

[MangoX]

I don't have any experience with OEM machines but aren't the OEM boards proprietary (DELL comes to mind) meaning that the new mobo you linked won't/might not even fit into his chassis? PCI-E 2.0 isn't going to make any difference as we have seen even a 8X PCI-E 2.0 slot (Lynnfield) doesn't hurt performance at all. We're talking about a low end 5770 here, not 5970.

 

[F1shF4t]

Here is another review showing pcie scaling with a 5870. Basically you could probably get away with running a 5770 off pcie 1.0 4x.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/amd/hd_5870_pci-express_scaling/25.html

As far as psu goes it would be a good idea to replace it, however if the 8800gts 320MB works on it, (older 90nm core, I have an old 8800gtx and it makes an Earthwatts 380 psu sound like a jet taking off, even a 4870 doesn't do it) the 5770 would have no trouble.

 

[thedosbox]

As true as that might be, the capacitor is probably aged...4 years is a lot for a PSU.

This is irrrelevant when his current card (the GTS 320) has the same/higher power draw than the new card (5770).

 

[Spike]

To sum up what everyone else said:
Yes, you can use the card and no, PCIe 2.0 vs 1.0 means nothing in your case. It will most likely fit physically (My 8800GTS 512 is a fair bit longer than the 5770 I installed in another pc) and your PSU will be fine. As it is a low end PSU it may be approaching the end of it's useful life but it will power that card without an issue.

Unless your going mini-ITX I would not even consider buying a new 775 mobo right now. Stick with what you have and throw the 5770 in there. Later down the road build a new core for a few hundred and transplant the 5770 and your done.

Good luck!

 

[Silverforce11]

Funny how such an aged CPU like the q6600 is still fine and actually is mid-range for games today, but the 8800gts is meh. New CPUs have almost been irrelevant in gaming since then.