Video cards, motherboards, PCI-E 2.0? OH MY! HALP!

[Kalskid]

Hey there!

I had a computer built for me back in Dec of 2008, which came with two ATI RADEON 4850s (512 mb). The rest of my system is fairly good, but I'm having some performance issues which I believe is coming from the video cards I'm using, since my current game of choice (Darkfall) doesn't support Crossfire. I'm looking to order a single card to replace them, but I think I may have have a motherboard issue. I'm looking at a ATI card, and was thinking about a RADEON 5870 (1 gb) to use.

I downloaded and ran CPU-Z to find out the exact model of motherboard I have. It is a MICRO-STAR INTERNATION MS-7376 1.0, with a Chipset of AMD 790FX (rev. 00), Southbridge ATI SB600, and LPCIO Fintek F71882F. Under Graphics Interface, it shows PCI-Express, with a Link Width and Max. Supported of x16 for both. I did a few google searches, and some of them said that most PCI-E 2.0 cards can work with a 1.0 Motherboard, while others said the video card would be capped out by the motherboard beyond a certain point of performance.

Should I purchase that card on the hopes it will work? Do PCI-E 2.0 cards work well with 1.0 motherboards? Is the motherboard I have a 1.0 or greater? Failing that, could anyone recommend a better single card that would play well with my motherboard?

Thanks in advance!

[Silvgearx]

If that PCIE 1.0 runs at X16 no problem for single card. Crossfire 5870 on PCIE 1.0 would be a problem.

[Zero82z]

Your motherboard uses the 790FX chipset, and therefore supports PCI-E 2.0.

[JD]

And depending on your resolution, the HD5850 may suffice, and save you some money.

I'd definitely want to ensure you have a good, solid PSU if you're going with a HD5850/70 as well.

Also your CPU may be a bottleneck as well, so maybe if you give us a full rundown of your system, we could give you some advice on the best way to spend your money.

[Kalskid]

Originally Posted by jdrom17

And depending on your resolution, the HD5850 may suffice, and save you some money.

I'd definitely want to ensure you have a good, solid PSU if you're going with a HD5850/70 as well.

Also your CPU may be a bottleneck as well, so maybe if you give us a full rundown of your system, we could give you some advice on the best way to spend your money.

5ILVgeARX and Zero82z, thanks for the confirmation, that's a huge relief I won't have to basically start from the ground up =)

jdrom17, my system specs are as follows:

MOTHERBOARD: MICRO-STAR INTERNATION MS-7376 1.0
PROCESSOR: AMD Phenom X4 9850, 2.5 gHz Quad-Core
RAM: 8 gb of DDR2 (PC2-6400 400 MHz)
VIDEO CARDS: 2x ATI RADEON 4850 (512 mb) x2, Crossfire
PSU: 950 wat, unsure of brand (the old 650 PSU I had burnt out trying to run both RADEON 4850s, so when I had it replaced I made sure the PSU would be able to handle it--so far, so good).

I am currently running two 22" LG Flattron W2242TQ Monitors, which have a max resolution of 1650x1050. At some point this year, I am planning on upgrading at least one of them to 24".

I think I am going with a 5870 for the most power possible, as recently I've been putting my cards through some fairly intense situations (online battles with 500+ players all throwing different coloured particles everywhere :(), so I'm thinking that I may as well go with the best I can afford.

I also read that the 5870 runs fairly cool, which will be great after losing several 4850s to overheating.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[JD]

I'd really consider buying a Phenom II X4. That CPU is rather slow, and will most likely hold back the HD5870.

Also, I'd keep your dual 22s as you'll be able to run EyeFinity, and scale your games across both of them. However that won't work if the monitors are different resolutions.

[Fudd Rucker]

I have to agree with jdrom.That chip is going to hold back the true potential of that card. Hell I thought a phenom 955 @ 3.9ghz was still holding it back.

[Bond007]

another option: consider a 5850 (to save a few $) and grab an x4 955 (check the MSI website to see if your motherboard supports phenom II processors).

Or you could always just grab the 5850/70 and try it out. If you are getting acceptable fps leave the CPU as is.

[JD]

His board seems to support any AM2/AM2+/AM3 CPU, probably needs a BIOS update though.

[Silvgearx]

So that board is a MSI K9A2 Platinum. Thats a pretty solid setup you got, so instead of buy a new gpu, why not try to get the CPU to clock at 2.8ghz-3.0ghz?

Darkfall doesn't seem to be that graphic hungry, even for a single 4850.