Dead video card, need help with upgrade!

[jechapk]

ok, so the short story is that my old 8800gtx finally took its last breath (well, i did the baking thing, and will test in the morning) but either way, i am looking to upgrade right now.

Money is sort of tight, and I can only purchase a video card right now.

I am looking to upgrade my entire machine in a few months when i get tax return money, so I would prefer if the card could just be moved over when the time comes.

I was looking at possibly a 5850 ati card, but am open to suggestions.

current pc is

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz Socket AM2
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI
OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
PC Power and Cooling S61EPS 610W
+EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready (mostly dead)


thanks for the help!!!

Josh

 

[computersplus]

What's Your Budget

What is your budget for the card?

 

[jechapk]

somewhere from $150-$300 or so.
looking for something good, or at least decent.
right now i am not sure if i want to do xfire later or not, so that may be a possibility as well.

all i know is i dont want to pay $600 again like i did for the 8800

 

[computersplus]

Warranty

Don't that EVGA card that you have carry a lifetime warranty?

 

[jechapk]

i think it is supposed to, but since i purchased it after some sort of cutoff date and i guess didnt ever register it, they would not honor any warranty.
i sent in my invoice and everything.

 

[computersplus]

A Pretty Nice Card

here is a lot of card for a good price


Newegg.com - Palit NE3X262SFHD94 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

 

[Frostmourne]

That processor will bottleneck a 5850 - it needs upgrading too.

 

[computersplus]

EVGA

Honestly though I would stay with EVGA get a new one and register it right away they do have a great warranty here is a one here in your budget.

Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

 

[jechapk]

i understand frostmourne, and i am going to be replacing the entire system in a few months, but this is to replace a dead card!!!

 

[Frostmourne]

For that buy a Sapphire 4350 and save for a proper new system.

 

[computersplus]

Do You Overclock

Do you overclock that CPU is good for about 3.4 GHz on that board pretty easy

 

[Frostmourne]

Do you overclock that CPU is good for about 3.4 GHz on that board pretty easy

If the OP is going to build a new system, I wouldn't recommend it unless there is plenty of cooling and stability is always a huge factor.

 

[jechapk]

i did overclock it when i first got it, but i ran into stability issues with anything more than like 3.2, plus i really had no reason to.

so, frostmourne, you would just recommend buying a cheap card? i had planned on moving the card with the new computer, and possibly even just going the crossfire route with 2x 5770 as to cut down on some of the cost now, but am always open to other opinions!

 

[computersplus]

AMD Overclock

If you know what your doing the X2 CPU's overclock very well just make sure to get a a good CPU cooler and you will be fine.

I have a 4200+ 2.2 GHz running at 3.01 Ghz on air with a Freezer 64 Pro

 

[computersplus]

What TDP

Is yours a 65 watt or 89 watt version

 

[Frostmourne]

i did overclock it when i first got it, but i ran into stability issues with anything more than like 3.2, plus i really had no reason to.

so, frostmourne, you would just recommend buying a cheap card? i had planned on moving the card with the new computer, and possibly even just going the crossfire route with 2x 5770 as to cut down on some of the cost now, but am always open to other opinions!

New cards are easy:

1) If you want a cheaper option without DirectX 11 get a 4890 - I chose this option.

2) If you want anything else a 5850 or higher.

Buy a cheap Sapphire 4350 and use the old system as a media server etc. If you do build a new gaming system I'd recommend using it only for gaming with nothing else installed except necessary applications.

 

[jechapk]

its the windsor core, 89W

 

[computersplus]

89 Watt

Where you using the stock cooler?

 

[jechapk]

nah, its this huge thing.

Newegg.com - ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

 

[computersplus]

Enough Cooler

Well that should have been enough cooler, the trick is to lower the Hyperthreading and use a memory divider then raise the front side buss maybe a slight bump in DDR and CPU voltage and they will usually fly!