GPU to replace 8500GT

[bruno0920]

Hi everyone,

I'm just new here and I would like to get some advice from you. I already surveyed all the shops here in my area. I'm living in the Philippines and stocks are limited, so I'm going to list my PC specs and the available GPU in their shops w/ the cheapest price. I only have the model of the GPU, since it doesn't really matters who's the "2ndary" manufacturer.

I'm going to use this mainly for gaming and play games such as Crysis 2, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Starcraft 2, and later on Diablo 3. Preferably, play them in their max settings on a 1440 x 900 pixels (though resolution and settings doesn't count that much). Also to be used to view movies (not really as a home theater), and doing some video/photo editing. I already made some research and my choice would be HD 6850, but I'm not confident on my choice. My budget is only 8000Php (Philippines peso) roughly around $200, and can be stretch and cannot exceed more than 10,000Php ($250). I'm just going to add here the GPU that's not w/in my budget for comparison purposes.


PC specs:
Motherboard: P4V8X-MX
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E7200 @ 2.53GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 2048MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
OS: Microsoft XP SP3
PSU: 600W (a generic one)
Monitor: ViewSonic 21" 1440 x 900 native resolution


GPUs on competition: (I'm going to use Philippine Peso price here. For rough estimated converted price to $ [Php/40 = $])
9400GT -2,900
9500GT -2,250
GT210 -2,100
GT220 -2,650
GT240 -3,000
GT430 -3,300
GT520 -2,500
GTS250 -4,990
GTS450 -5,400
GTX460 -18,000 (2GB)
GTX550 -6,500
GTX560 -14,000 (N560GTX)
GTX570 -19,000
HD3650 -2,435
HD4350 -2,950
HD4650 -2,500
HD4670 -3,500
HD5450 -2,275
HD5570 -3,200
HD5670 -4,650
HD5770 -7,500
HD6770 -6,350
HD6850 -8,990



So w/c do you think is the best GPU should I buy w/ my PC spec. Note, I'm not planning to change any PC spec.

Thanks for the feedback

[David (PassMark)]

I think for that budget the HD6850 is an OK choice.

But I might be tempted to save a bit of money and upgrade the RAM to 3GB or 4GB.

[bruno0920]

Even w/ my current PC spec?

Thanks for the advice, but even my current PC spec, I would still be able to utilize that GPU on it's maximum ability? As far as I know, my other PC parts would just pull down the performance of the GPU

Oh btw, correction about my Motherboard, it's
P5GC-MX/1333
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_775/P5GCMX1333/#specifications

[David (PassMark)]

I think some newer games will run out of main RAM or virtual RAM, (given the 1GB on the video card and your 32bit system).

The HD6850 will support multiple monitors at 2560x1600 resolution, which is well beyond your current setup. It also supports DirectX11. Which is not supported in XP.

You also claimed to have 2 CPUs. But I am sure this is not true.
"CPU E7200 @ 2.53GHz (2 CPUs)"

For some new high end games you might find the CPU being more of a limit than the GPU.

So no, you will not use the HD6850 to its full ability with your current setup using XP with a low resolution monitor.

[David (PassMark)]

Just as one example, the recommended system for Crysis 2 is,
Vista / Win7 64bit, DirectX11 & 3GB RAM+

[bruno0920]

I think some newer games will run out of main RAM or virtual RAM, (given the 1GB on the video card and your 32bit system).

The HD6850 will support multiple monitors at 2560x1600 resolution, which is well beyond your current setup. It also supports DirectX11. Which is not supported in XP.

You also claimed to have 2 CPUs. But I am sure this is not true.
"CPU E7200 @ 2.53GHz (2 CPUs)"

For some new high end games you might find the CPU being more of a limit than the GPU.

So no, you will not use the HD6850 to its full ability with your current setup using XP with a low resolution monitor.

What I was trying to say is, won't my spec would bottleneck the 6850? If it would, wouldn't it be a waste of money and better if I settle for a lower GPU such as 6770?

About the CPU, it just means its a dual core.

[David (PassMark)]

Good 3D game frame rates are a combination of CPU and GPU (and having enough RAM to some extent).

Different games load the CPU / GPU differently, scale across multiple cores differently, and behave differently with different game settings. So there is no definitive answer. Except to say that in general a faster CPU will deliver better frames rates even if the video card doesn't change. But you will get diminishing returns if you upgrade just a single component.

If it was me I would try and save $30 on the video card and get an additional 1GB of RAM.

[bruno0920]

Thanks for the advice! Seems like 6850 is really a good choice then, but most reviews would say 5850 is much better (pricing and performance) than 6850. What's your input on that?

Regarding w/ the CPU, I think I'll just overclock it, but do you think my mobo and CPU allows it?
About the RAM, according to the specs, it recommends 3GB, but also indicates that both RAM on DIMM should be at the same size of memory. So do you suggest buying a 2GB or a 1GB RAM? Let's disregard cost on this matter.

[bruno0920]

Quick update!

I've already decided that I'll look for 5850/6850/6770.

But, would you mind taking a look at my PSU:
This is my PSU: Zeno Power
http://www.openpinoy.com/shop/step1.php?number=1725
Sticker: http://imageshack.us/g/30/20110722133554.jpg/
(Sorry for the pictures)

My friends recommends this:
Antec VP-450 450W


However it lacks a 6pin PCIe. What would be another best option would you think that cost about $40?