# First gaming rig - what GPU to buy?



## Istanbul_Lfc (Oct 5, 2007)

Hi Guys,

It's been years since I've posted on these forums, I hope you're all still saints and help me out on this issue.

Well, it's my first gaming rig and it's going to cost me a fair amount of money so I want to get it right. I have the motherboard, CPU, PSU and RAM I want to use but I am a bit unsure on the graphics card. I will playing games like MW2, Oblivion, Fallout, Footy Manager and Crysis along with running apps like Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

For reference here is the Motherboard, RAM, PSU and CPU I will be using.

Motherboard - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169532

RAM - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169240

PSU - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124927

CPU - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/186428

Would you say that would be a sufficient setup? I'm a bit unsure on the PSU and Mobo.

Anyway, onto the GPU... I have seen these two:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/189741
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191864

Is there any difference between the two? I am also open to suggestions regarding Nvidea if anyone wants to recommend one. I have a budget of up to £150. One more thing, is SLI/Crossfire worth the money?

I know this is a lot to digest so I am very grateful to anyone who takes out their time to help me.

Cheers.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

Re SLI/Crossfire:
The real benefits of SLI/Crossfire is only seen when using multiple monitors at high (1600 >) resolutions. You will get some performance boost at lower resolutions but the gain is far outweighed by the added costs involved.
In most cases, a single, high end card will outperform and be less expensive than two (or more) lower end cards. Also note, multiple graphics cards require you to have a high end power supply and usually added cooling for the computer.

PS: If you have not already purchased that power supply you linked, you should look for something else. The power supply is the one thing you do not want to cheap out on.
Also, if you decide you will be going the SLI/Crossfire route, you should choose a motherboard which will give you X8/X8 (or better) on the PCIe slots.


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## Istanbul_Lfc (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks for your reply.

After browsing the forum today I noticed that the Corsair 650 is highly recommended so I have opted for that one. It's a bit pricey and it's main selling is the SLI capability. However, due to your advice I will be going with one GPU so will the Corsair 650 be necessary?

What GPU would you recommend for my budget (£150) that would go well with my motherboard?


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

Either of those 5770's will be fine. A Corsair 550VX should run your system fine, but you will probably find that the difference in cost between it and the 650TX is minimal.


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## Istanbul_Lfc (Oct 5, 2007)

Your right about the pricing difference being minimal. For the sake of an extra £5 I may aswell get the 650.

I have just found another GPU that looks good.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/195442

Any difference between the 5770?

Thanks for the replies so far.


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

You should be looking at the fastest single card solution that your budget will allow. When trying to decide between items that are close in price, goto a site like newegg.com and check the user reviews.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

I like this monthly column from Tom's Hardware for comparing price/performance of graphics cards. Check out the Hierarchy Chart on the last page.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Definitely go with the 650W for a 5770. Sapphire and HIS are both good quality.


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## Istanbul_Lfc (Oct 5, 2007)

Just took a quick U turn and I have decided upon the Nvidea GTX 460 after a few of my friends highly recommended it.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/227181

Although it says it has 768MB of memory compared to the 5770's 1GB, it seems like the GTX is better some how. Can anyone explain this?

Sorry for my incompetence.


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## hhnq04 (Mar 19, 2008)

If you're going with the 460, I would opt for the 1 GB version, not the 768MB. It's usually a small price jump, but WELL WORTH IT.

EVGA is the best brand for nVidia GPU's.

EVGA GTX 460 £178.59 inc VAT


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

It won't be tremendously better. The GTX460 768MB matches the HD 5830 in most tests. The 5830 performs on par with the 4890, which beats the 4870 by a slim margin and the 5770 is comparable to the 4870 (but with higher clocks).

PS: Yes the GTX 460 1GB beats out the HD 5770 1GB, no question.
Also, note, the NVidia 4XX's are much more power hungry than the ATI 5XXX's; I'ld rec. a 750 watt (or better) psu with a 460.


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## Istanbul_Lfc (Oct 5, 2007)

hhnq04 said:


> If you're going with the 460, I would opt for the 1 GB version, not the 768MB. It's usually a small price jump, but WELL WORTH IT.
> 
> EVGA is the best brand for nVidia GPU's.
> 
> EVGA GTX 460 £178.59 inc VAT


That's a little over my budget I'm afraid. However, I may think about it once I price everything else up. I may have to sacrifice a hard drive.

Cheers for the advice.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

The Mobo you selected uses AMD chipsets. Nvidia GPU chips sometimes don't play well with
AMD Mobo chips. The 5770 would be the better option to avoid issues.


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## Istanbul_Lfc (Oct 5, 2007)

When you say issues, what type of issues occur? I really like the GTX 460 1GB but if it isn't worth the hassle i'll go to ATI.


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## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

Issues like BSODs generally. Not fun to get that while in a frag fest.


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## Istanbul_Lfc (Oct 5, 2007)

Hmmm, is there a website where you can check for these sort of problems between hardware? I want the GTX due to the good driver support for Linux compared to ATI but then again I want to avoid the BSODs.

Thanks for all of the replies so far.


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## hhnq04 (Mar 19, 2008)

If you choose a mobo with no onboard video you will avoid those problems.

A few options:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/171664
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190979
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/206152
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172846


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## Istanbul_Lfc (Oct 5, 2007)

Thank you very much hhnq04 and everyone else for your help. I'll be getting a GTX 460 with a mobo with no onboard graphics.


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## KublaKhan (Sep 16, 2010)

You might be interested to know that AMD will be releasing the 6xxx series of cards next month. This should drive the prices of the 5xxx series down. 

This is always the dilemma of builders.. upgrade now or wait. You can't go wrong with the 1GB 460 its a great card the *only* negatives, that I've found read are that it's very power hungry and needs a quality PSU and it puts out a ton of heat. Those aren't huge (IMO at least) negatives, because you need proper cooling for today's systems anyway and you should always, always get a quality PSU.

Good luck!


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## Istanbul_Lfc (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks for the heads up Kubla.

Once the 6 series come out, will they be the same price as what the 5 series are now?

For example a HD5770 1GB is £130. Will the HD6xxx be £130 when it comes out? I just did some research and they won't be out till mid November. I don't really want to wait that long.

Thanks.


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## KublaKhan (Sep 16, 2010)

Istanbul_Lfc said:


> Thanks for the heads up Kubla.
> 
> Once the 6 series come out, will they be the same price as what the 5 series are now?
> 
> ...


I really don't have any clue, but I doubt they would be marketed at the same price point. AMD doesn't advertise as well as they should (IMO, at least).. everything is speculation at the moment.

From [H]ardOCP: 
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1547183

I'm just trying to muddy the waters for you, make it a tougher decision than it has to be..


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