New graphics card?

[Axel]

Hi all,

Current system specs:

Asus P5K Deluxe

Core 2 Duo E6600 @2.4GHz

4Gb PC2-6400 DDR2 Memory

Asus GeForce 8800 GTS 640mb

Crucial M4 128gb SSD

Monitor 1 - Dell U2711 @ 2560*1440

Monitor 2 - Dell 2005FPW @ 1680*1050

Now I don't do loads of gaming and when I do it's usually FPS. Mostly CSGO at the moment but I wouldn't mind being able to play the likes of BF3. My card at the moment will play CSGO max res but the quality isn't superb and it'd be nice to rack those up to top spec and perhaps get a decent level of quality in some more modern games.

Now I'm aware that my PC spec is pretty dated - but since adding an SSD it absolutely flies on a day to day use basis. I don't do things which are particularly CPU intensive. Day to day productivity on the workstation includes WebDev work, coding, and a bit of a photoshop. Nothing which puts heaps of demand on resources.

With the above in mind what would you guys recommend in terms of a GPU upgrade in order to play some modern games at max res? Let's bare in mind that something like the new GTX690 is too expensive and overkill pairing it on a machine like that. So let's be sensible. I don't want to spend an inordinate sum here.

Look forward to suggestions!

Cheers.

[TheLegendOfMart]

I think the CPU is really going to bottleneck any GPU you put in, at the very least I would recommend 650Ti if you are in camp nVidia, or 7850/7870 if you are camp AMD, personally I have 2GB 7850 and can run everything max res and high to max detail on a Core i5 2400. They are only ?140-160. The 650Ti is only ?110.

[Slammers]

Yeh get at least a 650 or 7850. Your CPU will bottleneck it in certain games (BF3 64player multi etc.) but it'll be a huge improvement.

What powersupply are you running make sure it's 500w or more and check brand is decent

edit: I would get the 7950 if you can afford it (or 660 ti especially because your playing BF3) - then when you see how great it runs and get a taste for more you can upgrade your mobo/cpu/ram for the same price and the gfx card will be decent for a year or two

[Axel]

Cheers guys. So I'm likely to struggle with a large multiplayer game in the likes of BF3 due to the CPU? Anyone got a similar spec and run Battlefield OK?

I was thinking about the likes of an nVidia GTX 660. Ideally nVidia because I'm had bad experiences with Radeons in the past.

[neoadorable]

your system is simply not sufficient for current gaming standards. you need min 1GB video memory for 1080p in decent settings, and that's with a proper DX11 card. That GTX 660 will be wasted on your system my friend. It really is time for a new build, or if you don't want that, wait for the new consoles and use this desktop for productivity and all non-gaming applications, sounds like it's served you well for...six seven years i'd say? :-P

[Blackhearted]

Yea, as said above that system isn't suitable for much of any gaming these days. Even if you add a better gpu, that gpu will be bottlenecked quite significantly not only due to the age of the cpu, but also due to the fact it's a dual core. You're best off upgrading the whole system if you want to play anything modern.