Purchasing new graphics card for up to 300. Help.

[banjo]

Hey folks,

ok, so I want to significantly upgrade from my current 9500 GT. To be honest, I have a pretty basic understanding of computers in general, so your feedback is very much appreciated. Please feel free to correct any misconceptions I may have.

Here are my specs
AMD Phenom x4 Quad 9550 2.2ghz
4GB DDR2 800
ASUS m2n-sli motherboard (2 PCIe 2.0, so I can crossfire if I have to)

What would be optimal, considering my processing speed? I'm considering a 5850 or possibly two 4870s in crossfire. From what I understand, my processor will bottleneck any really high end cards. So I'm thinking I should get one with a powerful GPU to take some of the load off my CPU. But is a 5850 too much for what I've got?

Also, I have no preference for either ati or nvidia, I like to play at the highest res I can get away with and the only games I'm really looking to play in the near future are Dragon Age, Assassin's Creed 2, Mass Effect 2 and Empire Total War.

Thanks for your help

[Perineum]

It all depends on what games you play and at what resolution...

Crossfire and SLI are for monitors in the 24 inch and up category for the most part.

I would say (based off limited information) pick up a used 4870 off someone here in the forums and see if it does the trick....

[Arinoth]

Unless my understanding of that board is off, i don't think it will support cross-fire, unless a bios update changes that

[Soultribunal]

Hi There and welcome to the forums.

Usually with us the more info the merrier.
What would really help me at least in deciding what is good for you as well is knowing what kind of PSU you have in your computer.

If your supply is sufficent, I would vote for something like a 4870, or GTX260 Core 216 from EVGA. Good Cards , and should create too much of a bottleneck.

Enjoy your time here,

ST

[banjo]

ahhh, yes. that's what the "SLI" means in m2n-sli. That makes sense... Thank you for pointing that out.

[Perineum]

Forgot to mention what size monitor you're using.

Also, if you wanted to stick with Nvidia due to your motherboard support maybe look at picking up one of the used/new GTX280s for sale on these forums. However, FPS to FPS I don't think you'll beat the price on a used 4870 still..

[Squeetard]

at $300 the new 5850 is the best option right now.

[Perineum]

but would his CPU be a bottleneck for that card?

[banjo]

Right... so my board definitely won't support crossfire. That is a very very good point. I'm glad I joined this forum.

Can't remember the make of the PSU, but it's 550W. Is that enough for the gtx260 216? Or possibly two in sli at some point?

Thanks a lot, this is helpful

[banjo]

22" monitor
Flatron w2242TQ