Buying a new graphics card

**Radiso-FIN** · February 11, 2011, 12:38 PM

Hello folks, my old Nvidia 9800 GTX is starting to show it's age and I have been planning to buy a new graphics card sometime soon. I thought I could ask some advice here first before buying anything.

Anyways, here is my current rig:

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium 64bit
Mother board: Asus P5Q-E
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9450 @ 2.66GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
Memory: 4094MB RAM
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX
Power supply: 700 W
Computer case: Antec Sonata III

I have always preferred Nvidia gfx cards, because I have always had less compatibility issues with them compared to ATI cards.
Therefore I have been thinking about new Nvidia cards,GTX 570 or 580. At the moment money isn't any issue for me so I could afford buying GTX 580, but is it really worth 500 € and would it be too powerful for my relatively old rig?
I have been thinking about overclocking my CPU to get more power out of it so I wouldn't have to a new CPU.
After upgrading my gfx card I hope my computer would to be able to run Shogun2 on high settings with good fps, and in the near future games like RO2 and Skyrim.

So, should I go for GTX 570 or 580, or something else?

Thanks in advance!

**Cougman21** · February 11, 2011, 01:40 PM

I have the 580 and its a great card, although I'm not sure if you want to spend 500€

. If you want to save 100-200€ I'd go with the 570. Also your cpu should be fine but overclocking may help quite a bit for Shogun2.

Both the 570/580 will be able to run it on high. I really only play Bad Company 2 anymore but I rarely ever drop below 60fps and I have everything max with 1920x1080 reso.

**Ishan** · February 11, 2011, 01:40 PM

Get a GTX470, it's better power consumption and heat wise. 480 is a over kill.
btw your PSU which one is it? as in the manufacturer if it's a branded one then no need to upgrade the PSU.

**Radiso-FIN** · February 11, 2011, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by Ishan

Get a GTX470, it's better power consumption and heat wise. 480 is a over kill.
btw your PSU which one is it? as in the manufacturer if it's a branded one then no need to upgrade the PSU.

It is Chieftec Atx, and it is 700w not 750w

My mistake, I remembered it wrong

**Freddie** · February 11, 2011, 03:04 PM

A CPU at that clock rate is going to hold you back so anything more then a 560 TI is going to be wasted. I would look at overclocking your cpu first and see what stable clockrate you can get from it, anywhere between 3.2 and 3.6 is decent enough for a cpu on the core design.

**Radiso-FIN** · February 13, 2011, 02:49 AM

Originally Posted by Freddie

A CPU at that clock rate is going to hold you back so anything more then a 560 TI is going to be wasted. I would look at overclocking your cpu first and see what stable clockrate you can get from it, anywhere between 3.2 and 3.6 is decent enough for a cpu on the core design.

Yes my intention is to overclock the cpu to 3,4 GHz. I searched the net and found clear instructions and BIOS settings which will help me to get it stable. First I need to buy a new cooler though...

Sorry for doubleposting, but are there any news about Nvidia releasing or announcing new gfx cards this Spring? Or will we have for Autumn?

**mrcrusty** · February 13, 2011, 04:37 AM

Originally Posted by Radiso-FIN

Sorry for doubleposting, but are there any news about Nvidia releasing or announcing new gfx cards this Spring? Or will we have for Autumn?

They will probably release their dual monster card, along with AMD.

There's a new graphics card out every few months and both AMD and Nvidia have new series every year, so it's a good bet they'll be releasing something soon.

**Radiso-FIN** · February 13, 2011, 05:52 AM

Originally Posted by mrcrusty

They will probably release their dual monster card, along with AMD.

There's a new graphics card out every few months and both AMD and Nvidia have new series every year, so it's a good bet they'll be releasing something soon.

Yeah, I thought so as well, but most probably it will take some time until they are available for consumers, and much longer time until they are available in Finland...