Going from HD3870 to HD6850

[timma]

buy 6850 OC for upgrade is good~

 

[toyota]

toyota, never said I was. I was seeing lots of slowdowns in GB, so I figured it was my GPU - never thought it has that much physics.

yeah I was just saying that its your cpu that will kill you in that game no matter what card you upgrade to. its one of the most cpu intensive games out there because of all the physics being done.

 

[Spike]

Personally I would get all the GPU you can afford right now and not worry about being bottlenecked. Yes, the CPU would techincally hold you back but your gaming performance would jump through the roof. You can always upgrade the CPU later and realize even more performance increases.

Basically if your spending $170+ go with the 6850, $130 - $170 get the GTX 460 768, and less than $130 get the 5770 to get the most bang for your buck. I'm still of the mindset to get the best card you can afford but it's your choice.

 

[Raduque]

I generally try to spend less than $200, but more than $150 on a GPU. I bought my HD3870 for $177. It looks like the 6850 is what I'll be getting.

Any suggestions on brand? The HIS is $175, but almost every other brand (Sapphire, Powercolor, Asus, XFX) are $180.

 

[MentalIlness]

Or this, if you dont like rebates. An extra 6% off via promo code. $169

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102908

It also only has one 6 pin connector.

 

[deimos3428]

I generally try to spend less than $200, but more than $150 on a GPU. I bought my HD3870 for $177. It looks like the 6850 is what I'll be getting.

Any suggestions on brand? The HIS is $175, but almost every other brand (Sapphire, Powercolor, Asus, XFX) are $180.

I quite like the Gigabyte 6850 w/ Windforce 2X cooler. It performs well and is very quiet. The MSI versions look pretty good too, but I haven't seen them in person.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Or this, if you dont like rebates. An extra 6% off via promo code. $169

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102908

It also only has one 6 pin connector.

^Awesome card :awe:

 

[ShreddedWheat]

I'd say get the 6850 as your current setup seems to be fine. Check out this article by Tomshardware that is showing a nvidia 460 (768 meg) card with different setups. The 6850 is slightly faster but the overall message is the same. Your dual core is plenty at 2.8.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/game-performance-bottleneck,2738.html

Enjoy your new card!

 

[toyota]

I'd say get the 6850 as your current setup seems to be fine. Check out this article by Tomshardware that is showing a nvidia 460 (768 meg) card with different setups. The 6850 is slightly faster but the overall message is the same. Your dual core is plenty at 2.8.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/game-performance-bottleneck,2738.html

Enjoy your new card!

did you even pay any attention to that article? that is an i5 running at 3.0 or 4.0 with different core counts. his 5 year old E6300 oced to 2.8 is not remotely close to the same power as an i5 with two cores disabled running at 3.0. his cpu would be about like my E8500 lowered to 2.2 or so which will be a massive bottleneck for a 6850 in cpu intensive games.

 

[Raduque]

Or this, if you dont like rebates. An extra 6% off via promo code. $169

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102908

It also only has one 6 pin connector.

That's the one I was actually thinking about getting.

And for ShreddedWheat, I have an overclocked E6300. Core i5 2.8 >>>> C2D 2.8.

 

[RussianSensation]

I would grab a GTX460 768mb for $110. The 6850 is only 2% faster at 1680x1050 4AA. On top of that GTX460 will actually beat a 6850 once overclocked since it has much higher overclocking room. 850-900mhz should be a walk in the park. In any case, with your CPU, I'd rather pocket any extra savings towards your next platform upgrade. Besides you also get Just Cause 2 and Mafia 2 coupons with this purchase!! The 460 actually has lower idle power consumption, almost identical load power consumption, but is even quieter than the 6850.

Really, NO BRAINER! So it makes absolutely no sense to spend $150 on the 6850.

 

[toyota]

yeah I would probably go with that gtx460 for that much cheaper. I certainly would not oc it to 850 to 900 though as that would take a lot of voltage and power consumption would go through the roof. plus at 1680 with that 5 year Core 2 duo he will never be able to reap the benefits anyway.

 

[dakU7]

HIS 6850s are being sold on ebay brand new for 140$. Comes with a newegg shipping box.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

HIS 6850s are being sold on ebay brand new for 140$. Comes with a newegg shipping box.

And you know those come with no warranty, right? If you buy it there you aren't the original purchaser.

 

[Raduque]

You sure do like exclamation points, RussianSensation.

I'm open to nVidia, I've had their cards in the past. If an nVidia card is the best "bang for the buck" I'll get one of them.

We'll have to see what prices look like next week(I'll be ordering after the 2nd).

Also, I already have Mafia II.

Edit: Oh yeah, forgot to mention - I won't be overclocking my GPU.

 

[Spike]

You sure do like exclamation points, RussianSensation.

I'm open to nVidia, I've had their cards in the past. If an nVidia card is the best "bang for the buck" I'll get one of them.

We'll have to see what prices look like next week(I'll be ordering after the 2nd).

Also, I already have Mafia II.

Edit: Oh yeah, forgot to mention - I won't be overclocking my GPU.

No OC and your willing to spend up to $200... I'd say 6850 hands down. Yes, your CPU will hold you back but you can always upgrade the core system later and keep the 6850. If you want the most performance then the 6850 is better (and it it's more like 5-10% faster on the anandtech articles so YMMV).

On the other hand overclocking a GPU is easy so the 460 768 oc'ed just a little would be a great choice as well.

 

[toyota]

he should get the cheaper card because with his cpu he will never see the 5-10% difference anyway. then if he does happen to upgrade his system later he can then do a modest oc on the 460.

 

[badb0y]

Without any immediate plans to upgrade the monitor the GTX 460 768 MB is the best deal for you.

 

[Termie]

At the risk of starting a flame war, I'd note that I've had no driver troubles with my GTX460-768, but several with my HD5850.

I think the GTX460-768 is a great match for the OP's system, especially if he gets one for $125 or less.

 

[RavenSEAL]

I would grab a GTX460 768mb for $110. The 6850 is only 2% faster at 1680x1050 4AA. On top of that GTX460 will actually beat a 6850 once overclocked since it has much higher overclocking room. 850-900mhz should be a walk in the park. In any case, with your CPU, I'd rather pocket any extra savings towards your next platform upgrade. Besides you also get Just Cause 2 and Mafia 2 coupons with this purchase!! The 460 actually has lower idle power consumption, almost identical load power consumption, but is even quieter than the 6850.

Really, NO BRAINER! So it makes absolutely no sense to spend $150 on the 6850.

Because the 6850 can't be overclocked to 5870 levels...right?

Seems like the GTX460 is the only card around here that seems to be able to overclock nowadays....

 

[Mistwalker]

I think the GTX460-768 is a great match for the OP's system, especially if he gets one for $125 or less.

Agreed.

Honestly the 6850 is a great value for its performance and overclockability, but the same can be said for the 460. Given the OP's situation (budget, no overclocking, display resolution, CPU limited) if you can get a 460 for $110 you shouldn't hesitate. Frankly it's as much power as you need for less money.

 

[Raduque]

I guess it'll come down to whether or not the HD6850 is actually worth the $30 over the GTX460 card, for me.

I'll have to check the reviews, but I doubt I can find one with a CPU similar to mine.

I'll probably end up with the GTX460 if that Galaxy card is still $150 by next thursday.

 

[Blitz KriegeR]

Just don't forget if you are looking at GTX460s, a GTX460 1GB is much better than a 768mb. If they are in the same price range get the 1GB one. The 1GBs go to 850Mhz with factory OCs. Something about a slightly different core? I can't recall the details.

 

[Termie]

Just don't forget if you are looking at GTX460s, a GTX460 1GB is much better than a 768mb. If they are in the same price range get the 1GB one. The 1GBs go to 850Mhz with factory OCs. Something about a slightly different core? I can't recall the details.

Yes, the GTX460 1GB is better (however, at 6-10%, I'm not sure that's much better), but it's not in the same price range. It's in the price range of the HD6850, which is faster. Our advice to the OP has been to consider saving some money because his system will prevent any of these cards from reaching their potential.

 

[Blitz KriegeR]

considering the 1gb is stock core 625? 675? and goes up to 850-900 factory level thats probably worth $15-20