Just got my new Corsair 600w PSU!! This thing is a dream over my old knock off 400w one. Finally having enough power has allowed me to add 2 80mm fans to the side of the case and an extra 6 pin power to my vid card! In game this has netted me an improvement of.........................drumroll.....................................3FPS Guess I'm saving up for a new vid card anyway. Any recommendations? DXDIAG in the spoiler..and yes lol many parts need upgrading but my pay needs upgrading first!! Spoiler ------------------ System Information ------------------ Time of this report: 11/20/2012, 15:52:52 Machine name: EBIL Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Basic (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.120824-0336) Language: English (Regional Setting: English) System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. System Model: GA-MA78GM-S2H BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5400+ (2 CPUs), ~2.8GHz Memory: 4092MB RAM Page File: 4235MB used, 4179MB available Windows Dir: C:\Windows DirectX Version: DirectX 11 DX Setup Parameters: Not found DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode ------------ DxDiag Notes ------------ Display Tab 1: No problems found. Sound Tab 1: No problems found. Sound Tab 2: No problems found. Input Tab: No problems found. -------------------- DirectX Debug Levels -------------------- Direct3D: 0/4 (retail) DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail) DirectInput: 0/5 (retail) DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail) DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail) DirectSound: 0/5 (retail) DirectShow: 0/6 (retail) --------------- Display Devices --------------- Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS Manufacturer: NVIDIA Chip type: GeForce 8600 GTS DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0400&SUBSYS_09501462&REV_A1 Display Memory: 2030 MB Dedicated Memory: 239 MB Shared Memory: 1790 MB Current Mode: 1440 x 900 (32 bit) (75Hz) Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2um,nvwgf2um Driver Version: 9.18.0013.0697 (English) DDI Version: 10 BGRA Supported: Yes Driver Attributes: Final Retail Driver Date/Size: 10/10/2012 21:23:48, 18252136 bytes WHQL Logo'd: n/a WHQL Date Stamp: n/a Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-4740-11CF-6B75-5D291CC2C435} Vendor ID: 0x10DE Device ID: 0x0400 SubSys ID: 0x09501462 Revision ID: 0x00A1 Revision ID: 0x00A1 Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeVC1_C ModeWMV9_C
For a good midrange budget gpu, the HD 6850 is awesome. It's what I've got right now and it's running MWO on high settings around 40fps. You can find one on newegg for $140.
I have a 7850, and it runs everything great. If you can grab one for $160, it's a great deal. For comparison, in most games the 7850 provides performance barely lagging behind the 6950 and a noticeable step up from the 6870 which was the performance per dollar king of the last generation of cards. A 600w psu should be plenty to run it off of, I have a 700w and should be able to squeeze in another and crossfire them without having to upgrade the psu. In fact, the 7850 has turned into a popular choice for people using small form factor cases, because it's comparatively short and doesn't need that much power or cooling. For instance, you can put one into a Alienware X51, which only has a 330w psu.
Yea there are two models, 1 gig and 2 gig, I think the 1 gig was floating around $160, lowest I saw for 2 gig was maybe $180-190
I forgot about the 1gb v. 2gb thing. I have a Gigbyte OC 2gb version, and it runs everything except for the Witcher2 in very high or ultra at 1920x1080. I'm not sure how the 1gb version stacks up to other cards. The benchmarks I was looking at were all for OC'd 2gb cards. $180 would still be worth it, in my opinion.
I'm not a card expert, Tom's Hardware had the 7850 listed as the best card in the $150-200 range, don't doubt though that the nvidia is good also.
Actually, hold that thought. It seems that the 7850 benchmarks better than the 650ti. http://www.anandtech.com/show/6359/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-650-ti-review/22 There are bench marks for specific games on the earlier pages in the review. Also keep in mind, those are OC'd cards going up against a stock 7850. You can find overclocked editions which will stomp the 650ti. I'm running this (which was $160 after rebate, but they sold out): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125419
Similar deal, not sold out. I wish it had been this cheap when I bought in Aug (I paid 219, but it was definitely worth it): 1gb version: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202004 2gb version: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131472
And as a last note, here's a review for that 2gb model: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_7850_PCS_Plus/14.html Note that these are Crysis 2 benchmarks, but it's the same game engine as MWO, and beats the crap out of the 6970 which was the top of the line AMD card in the last generation.
I know my HD 6870 has no problem whatsoever with MWO at 30-40 fps so anything above that will just be gravy for next-gen game engines.
Thanks for all the suggestions! Now to try to scrape together the bread. Am leaning towards the Radeon 6850 at the moment (Bang for the buck being my biggest deciding factor at the moment.) After that I will begin looking at a CPU upgrade, then a MOBO, and then memory.
