Need a sub $120 upgrade

[Leyawiin]

That card is actually made by Asus.

Yeah, I saw that model number - personally it wouldn't scare me off only have a one year warranty, its not that expensive of a card to begin with. I've ordered stuff from Nerds too - they're fine.

6850

/thread

It isn't if he can't find one for 120 bucks or less. They're not that cheap anywhere right now (and I'm not talking about taking into account a MIR rebate card that won't come for two or three months). I'd rather have a 256 bit GTX 460 1GB anyway. Comparable performance, better features.

 

[Rambusted]

The 6850 only pulls <40 more watts than the 9600GSO he already has in there. There are probably ways he could shave 40w off of other aspects of the running system. Undervolt the CPU maybe.

http://www.hwcompare.com/5969/geforce-9600-gso-512mb-vs-radeon-hd-6850/

I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's not like trying to add a GTX 680 to a Dell with zero extra wattage headroom.

I would swap out the PSU for something beefier if there was an SLI/Crossfire rig in my future, though.

I would worry about it. The PSU probably had a lot of use considering the age of his other components and its weak 12v rating suggests it is probably a low end unit to begin with. Dropping 120$ and putting a more power hungry card in that rig seems like a bad idea to me. Is there a decent 550w PSU out there with only a 30 amp rating? In reality his power supply is probably more like a 300 watter.

 

[icanhascpu2]

If these numbers don't lie... 7750 should be an adequate upgrade for your buddy. It might not be the fastest card around but certainly, one of the most power efficient.

Here is how performance goes:

What did they do to the 460? Underclock it?

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+HD+7750
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce+GTX+460

http://www.hwcompare.com/11752/geforce-gtx-460-1gb-vs-radeon-hd-7750/

No way in hell the 7750 is in the same league as the 460 1GB. I call shens on your image. If they meant 6850 then I can see that being true.

 

[Gordon Freemen]

I agree +1

What did they do to the 460? Underclock it?

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+HD+7750
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce+GTX+460

http://www.hwcompare.com/11752/geforce-gtx-460-1gb-vs-radeon-hd-7750/

No way in hell the 7750 is in the same league as the 460 1GB. I call shens on your image.

 

[sm625]

A lot of games post similar scores. At any rate, a 7750 is roughly 4 times as fast as a 9600GSO. It would be a great upgrade.

 

[Vesku]

GCN does really well running Crysis line of games. Which is why it's not a good idea to base a purchase on only a few data points. 6850 is better than the 7770 let alone the 7750.

 

[Gordon Freemen]

GCN does really well running Crysis line of games. Which is why it's not a good idea to base a purchase on only a few data points. 6850 is better than the 7770 let alone the 7750.

7750 lags a bit even in COD Black Ops LOL

 

[RaistlinZ]

6850, easy choice.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Yes. A 6870 would be fine.

 

[icanhascpu2]

A lot of games post similar scores. At any rate, a 7750 is roughly 4 times as fast as a 9600GSO. It would be a great upgrade.

Actually its 3x, but yes it would be a huge upgrade and considering its very low power use a good investment. However we dont compare how fast it is to his current setup (they are all going to be 3-5x faster) we compare it to other CPUs in the same price range; 110$~. And in that category the 460GTX 1GB blows the 7750 away by 1.3-1.4x with updated drivers.

Now the 6850 is going to be roughly %15 faster but will cost you $40-$50 more (150-160$). Not a good tradeoff imo considering he wants a sub 120$ card in the first place. The difference between them is about 33watts. If you play 30 hours a week thats 1Kwh of about 10cents saved per week playing the 6850 over the 460 for $40+ more upfront. That would take you roughly 7.6 years to make up the cost.

Unless you can find a 6850 for around 130 on sale somewhere shipped I wouldent consider it. If you can then its going to be a hard choice!

460GTX is king under $120

 

[Dark Shroud]

TigerDirect has an MSI OC 7770 for $95 AR.

Ends 06/14/2012

 

[Phynaz]

It would be a great upgrade.

No, it wouldn't. It would be a very poor upgrade for the price.

 

[Gordon Freemen]

considering its very low power use a good investment. However we dont compare how fast it is to his current setup (they are all going to be 3-5x faster) we compare it to other CPUs in the same price range; 110$~. And in that category the 460GTX 1GB blows the 7750 away by 1.3-1.4x with updated drivers.

"Just how big of a difference does 100 watts make, financially? Well, that’s about 0.1 kWh per hour, which is less than 1 cent per hour (depending on where you live and the rates your power company charge you). For most desktop users with a single PC, the savings are negligible at best."
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-power-consumption,2950-12.html

 

[CKXP]

TigerDirect has an MSI OC 7770 for $95 AR.

Ends 06/14/2012

Very nice deal, I was going to post this as well...I purchased one last night