Video card for 1440x900 (Dec 2011)

[deroman]

Hello,


As the subject suggests, I'm looking for a card to run on my 1440x900 Samsung monitor, which I'm happy to keep for now.

I've read the suggestions on this thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2196939

but wondered if things had changed over the past couple months, either in terms of pricing or new cards.

(It's been a long time since I bought parts so I'm a little overwhelmed.)

I'll be building a new system w/ a 2500k, 8mb ram and am trying to figure out which video card will work best. As far as new games to target for performance, I would like to be able to play Skyrim with pretty graphics.

The consensus of that previous thread seemed to be a GTX 560. Would that still be the best bet? It seems like a similarly priced option is a 6870 or (for a little less) a 6850.

I would be happy to have a little bit of "overkill" for that low resolution if that means a little more longevity to the card's usefulness down the road.

Any help sorting out the right card at this less-common resolution would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nurturedhate]

AMD paper launched their new series of cards yesterday, the 7xxx series. If you have yet to build your system the landscape is bound to change within the next 2-3 weeks as products hit the shelves. We may not be seeing a 7870/7850 in the coming weeks but the release of the high end should have a minor affect on pricing of the cards below it.

I know, the old adage that if I wait for something new I'll just keep waiting and waiting as something is always around the corner. Just happens this time the corner is literally a couple steps away.

As for your needs, a 560 or 6870 is a capable card for you resolution in most cases. A 560ti or a 6950 are also solid choices if you are looking for a little overkill. More so the question becomes what games do you play? Are we talking WoW where even a 6850 is more than enough or something like Battlefield 3 where trying to keep above 60fps during multiplayer is the goal? (my goal at least)

 

[deroman]

Thanks for the heads-up on the new releases -- having a sense of what's going on overall will help me watch prices and figure out how things are shaking out.

As far as games: I don't play multiplayer 1st person shooter games, which I gather are the toughest test for video setups.

Games I'm interested in now or in the near future: Skyrim, Civ 5, FIFA 12, Diablo III, GTA IV (and V I guess), possibly Star Wars:KOTOR, XCOM (if it's any good... otherwise I'll keep playing the original )

I hope that helps pin things down.

Also, as far as overkill in general, even if I were to get a new monitor sometime, it wouldn't be much bigger than the one I have now, so some room to move up resolutions would be good, but I'm not going to be putting a tv-size monitor in my office.

Thanks!

 

[bryanW1995]

GTX 560ti is overkill for 1440x900, especially with no FPS's. gtx 460 (1gb, NOT the se model) or 6850 would last you a long time. It would probably be best to hold off for a month or so, however, b/c you could very well get either a better deal on one of the 40nm cards I just mentioned or perhaps get a shiny new 28nm offering with similar performance but a miniscule power draw.

 

[Concillian]

I'd say 6850 should be good. 6870 / 560 if you want some extra horsepower down the road.

 

[Pacman4]

6850...I run Crysis1 at 1920x1200 4aa+16aa all ENTHUSIAST settings.....so at 1440x9 you'd get incredible FPS from a 6850 on just about any game.
I got the Sapphire 6850, this is a quiet card, won't break 80c even in 30c room temps, and has only a 6 pin connector.

 

[toyota]

6850...I run Crysis1 at 1920x1200 4aa+16aa all ENTHUSIAST settings.....so at 1440x9 you'd get incredible FPS from a 6850 on just about any game.
I got the Sapphire 6850, this is a quiet card, won't break 80c even in 30c room temps, and has only a 6 pin connector.

its called very high in Crysis 1. you may run it at those settings with 4x AA but I doubt your average and minimum framerate are very good. a gtx570 is 50% faster than your card and I drop in low 30s at times with those settings.

 

[fourdegrees11]

6850's all you really need right now, a 6870 if you want a little bit of future proofing.

 

[RussianSensation]

I would say HD6850 for $120 or HD6870 ~ $140 are the best values at that resolution. At these prices I'd spend another $20 for the 6870.

 

[Pacman4]

its called very high in Crysis 1. you may run it at those settings with 4x AA but I doubt your average and minimum framerate are very good. a gtx570 is 50% faster than your card and I drop in low 30s at times with those settings.

so, Crysis motion blurs, as such I never experienced any stutter.

 

[toyota]

so, Crysis motion blurs, as such I never experienced any stutter.

well personally I do not believe that. even with a gtx470 that I used it was noticeably slow in some places on those settings. plus even on much faster comps there is still usually an odd little stutter here and there on max settings.

even in Warhead which supposedly runs a tad better, a gtx470 only gets 27.5 fps on those settings. and a gtx470 is certainly quicker than a 6850. http://www.anandtech.com/show/5261/amd-radeon-hd-7970-review/16


EDIT: and here is more proof that you are exaggerating. I just ran a benchmark towards the beginning of Crysis. I only averaged 35 fps on those settings at 1920x1080 with dips in the 20s during heavy action or explosions. now my gtx570 is almost 50% faster than a 6850 so there is no way you run the game smoothly on those settings and at 1920x1200 to boot.

Frames, Time (ms), Min, Max, Avg
5644, 160229, 24, 51, 35.225

 

[Barfo]

The GTX 580 will run all games maxed out at that res, and will continue to do so for a very long time.

 

[Pacman4]

I only payed an hr or so, but in that time, I never experienced anything that made me feel I needed to reduce aa or af for example, so no exaggeration on my part, but by all means tell yourself you've saved the world.

 

[Pacman4]

The GTX 580 will run all games maxed out at that res, and will continue to do so for a very long time.

580=$550
6850=$165

He could also get a good 6950 for $260

all figures $$AUD

 

[toyota]

I only payed an hr or so, but in that time, I never experienced anything that made me feel I needed to reduce aa or af for example, so no exaggeration on my part, but by all means tell yourself you've saved the world.

you some how manage to play at settings that would clearly not be smooth and stutter free according to every source? well congratulations on your magical 6850 then. btw the game does not even have AF settings. it is just like earlier when you said enthusiast settings when Crysis 1 uses very high. you cant even get any of that stuff right when making your claims.

 

[Pacman4]

you some how manage to play at settings that would clearly not be smooth and stutter free according to every source? well congratulations on your magical 6850 then. btw the game does not even have AF settings. it is just like earlier when you said enthusiast settings when Crysis 1 uses very high. you cant even get any of that stuff right when making your claims.

I use CCC dopey


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[Pacman4]

you some how manage to play at settings that would clearly not be smooth and stutter free according to every source?

Yep, let's listen to the "official" sources and grab a pair of 7970's to ensure we get 60fps+

 

[toyota]

funny how my pc is right in line. again enjoy your magical 6850.

 

[skipsneeky2]

The GTX 580 will run all games maxed out at that res, and will continue to do so for a very long time.

LOL you always telling someone to get a gtx580.

Someone could be using a pentium d 820 and a 1280x768 monitor and you would tell them to get a gtx580

 

[toyota]

LOL you always telling someone to get a gtx580.

Someone could be using a pentium d 820 and a 1280x768 monitor and you would tell them to get a gtx580

lol, no kidding. at this point it is just spamming.

 

[Barfo]

LOL you always telling someone to get a gtx580.

Someone could be using a pentium d 820 and a 1280x768 monitor and you would tell them to get a gtx580

Well he asked for longevity and the GTX 580 would provide much more of that.

 

[NoSoup4You]

Buy a new monitor for starters. However if you're sticking with that Samsung then a GTX 460 is the sweet spot for 1440x900. If you want overkill then go for a GTX560. If money's burning a hole in your pocket and you want extreme overkill then a GTX570.

1440x900 has almost half as many pixels as 1920x1080, with that in mind GTX 460 1GB (not the SE model) is going to be blazing fast.

 

[daveybrat]

Buy a new monitor for starters. However if you're sticking with that Samsung then a GTX 460 is the sweet spot for 1440x900. If you want overkill then go for a GTX560. If money's burning a hole in your pocket and you want extreme overkill then a GTX570.

1440x900 has almost half as many pixels as 1920x1080, with that in mind GTX 460 1GB (not the SE model) is going to be blazing fast.

Yeah, check your local Best Buy stores. I just picked up a PNY GTX460 1GB card (non-se) for $124.99 on clearance.

That would be a great card for your resolution. (Which is funny, because i bought the 460 card for my brother who also games on a 1440x900 monitor)

 

[tweakboy]

8800 GT ,, but since you have a Sandy, that doesnt sound right, so just grab a

GTX 460 1GB , and I can promise you @ 1440res every single game in this world with 8xAA will be 60fps and never drop below 60fps. gl

 

[toyota]

8800 GT ,, but since you have a Sandy, that doesnt sound right, so just grab a

GTX 460 1GB , and I can promise you @ 1440res every single game in this world with 8xAA will be 60fps and never drop below 60fps. gl

sorry but that is not true for every single game in the world like you claim.