Upgrading from Crossfired HD 4850's
 

Hey all,

My poor little 512MB HD 4850's are dying, and as such the wife has told me that I should purchase a new video card... and actually buy a good one. Yay!

Currently I am running:

Asus Rampage Formula X48 mobo
Q9450 @ 3.2 Ghz
8GB DDR2 800 Mhz
WD 6400AAKS 640GB HD
22" LG L227WTG Monitor (1680x1050)

I've felt like my 4850's have always kind of underperformed and have been the bottle neck of my computer. I've been patiently waiting until they started to die so that I can buy a new card. One of them now runs at load at around 95 C, and I can't really turn up AA or shadows in games anymore. D:

I am thinking of picking up a HD 6950 as a replacement. I would look at nVidia, but having a X48 mobo, if I wanted to run dual cards in the future, which I probably will, it would be a waste.

Everything I have seen on the 6950 has been pretty positive, and the price is within my budget, so that is what I'm leaning towards.

What are your thoughts?

Cheers.

howdy and welcome. the 6950 will do fine, but will kind of be wasted at your resolution, better plan a bigger upgrade in one shot,

like 24" lcd and such, at which resolution the 2gb buffer will feel more at home :)

Agreed. I am planning on upgrading my monitor in the summer to a 24", so the 6950 should do nicely.

Thanks a lot for the feedback. I appreciate it.

cool, but if you dont get your monitor now, dont get the 6950 either. by the summer there will be new thing.

i say snatch a deal on a sammy or such lcd, hell look up dell.ca deals those ae nice panels, and then worry about gpu :)

The only problem with that is that my cards are dying.. and I don't think they will last much longer. That's why I'm purchasing a new card. I figure a 6950 now and then another one in the summer to go along with a 24" monitor is the way to go.

not goo. the 6950 will be wasted on your rez. by the time you pick up the 24 or better, 6950=100 bucks cheaper ;)

Dan, his cards are dying now. Are you saying "oh just don't play on your computer until things are cheaper?" Perhaps giving reasonable advice would be more appropriate, and actually reading the situation at hand.

OP - The 6950 really looks like a solid card at its price point, and I would suggest grabbing one now if your cards are dying. That way, when you do have your new LCD you don't have to worry about what your card is capable of doing.

ST

i got that, except they're are running hot, which may be solved by cleaning the sinks? all im saying is the 6950 be a waste on his resolution, thats all. by the time he puts it to good use itll be way cheaper and buyer remorse kicks in....you know the drill.

always put myself i dudes shoes, you worry too much man.:)

One HD6950 is more than enough for a single 1080 display with all settings on highest.

Thanks for the feedback. Exactly what I was thinking.

Also, in response to Dan, I have cleaned the cards thoroughly. That is not the issue. Cards are running too hot, fans dying, and cards can't handle games that they used to be able to rip through. There's no point in waiting for 6950's to drop by 50-100 dollars. That $100 isn't going to make or break me. They are great bang for the buck, even if my res currently won't really push the card. That's ok with me. I'd rather have more power under the hood than I currently need than just enough to get by. :)