Help guide my GPU for SCII decision

[JJThomp]

Honestly if your budget is that strict pick up a 5770 you can get an OC'd version on sale for about $100

This one is the PCS+ version so it is better than a stock reference card.

NCIX.com - Buy Powercolor Radeon HD 5770 PCS+ 875MHZ 1GB 4.9GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI DP DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video Card - PowerColor - AX5770 1GBD5-PPGV2 (AX5770 1GBD5-PPG) - in Canada

120 x 1.15 = 138
138 - 20(MIR) = 118 + shipping

I know it's a little over before MIR but it's always fun to get $20 in the mail lol

If youc an;t do that I recommend this
Buy the HIS Radeon HD 5670 IceQ 1GB DDR5 PCIe w/EyeFinity at TigerDirect.ca

[MrDiaz]

I'd have to agree with the folks here and the 460! You can find it for like $100 on sale @ NCIX & other retailers, truly amazing price!

[Bond007]

Well...I don't really know why I asked the question in the first place, since everyone has answered exactly as I expected them to...and as I would answer it. Get the best you can for your budget. Basically as it stands now I will keep an eye on sales and used cards for a good deal on a 5770/ gts 450/ gtx 460 (hopefully this).

My add-on question is...do you think I would be satisfied with a 5670 if a good sale came around on one? As I said before, only SCII and at 1680x1050. I am sure its a huge jump from integrated, but would it be enough for decent smooth graphics in SCII? Yes I know the other cards mentioned are much more powerful, but I am really after smooth fps and decent (ultra not required) graphics. (I know everyone is going to want to say go for more graphics power, but I am still curious to see opinions).

[draemn]

Just as a side note, medium graphics on SC 2 look good, but jumping up from high to medium gives you all the extras! I would say getting a card to play medium well is the bare minimum, but I really enjoy the extras that you get from high (reflections, lights, foliage, etc).

Here are some benchmarks (do note, this is not a realistic benchmark of in game performance, and do not bottleneck with the CPU):

Phenom II X4 970
3.5 GHz, Quad-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache
Overclocked to 4.0 GHz


Processor: Intel Core i7 920(ES) @ 4.0Ghz (Turbo Mode Enabled)

[JD]

Originally Posted by Bond007

My add-on question is...do you think I would be satisfied with a 5670 if a good sale came around on one? As I said before, only SCII and at 1680x1050. I am sure its a huge jump from integrated, but would it be enough for decent smooth graphics in SCII? Yes I know the other cards mentioned are much more powerful, but I am really after smooth fps and decent (ultra not required) graphics. (I know everyone is going to want to say go for more graphics power, but I am still curious to see opinions).

Depends how you define smooth. Constant 30FPS+? Or are you fine with it dipping down to 10-15FPS during heavy scenes?

Are you fine with medium-low settings? No AA? No AF?

I think a HD5670 would be very borderline. But again, depends on what you're after. Most of us here want a solid 60FPS+ regardless of the scene and we pay for it

[Wurmer]

I don't know what they are going now for but I think that last generation card could do the trick as well, 4850-4870 are plenty powerful enough to get decent image quality at the resolution your playing. If you prefer Nvidea, I am sure you can find last generation cards at good price as well. I am playing SCII with a 460 GTX but previously I was playing with a 4850 on a 1080 x 1920 max settings without too much problem.

[Bond007]

Thanks for the opinions so far. Keep em coming. For SCII I don't think 60 fps is at all necessary (over 30 would suffice), but med detail is a definite requirement and high would be preferred. From the info so far I think I could probably accept a 5670, but the price would have to run pretty cheap (would prob only get med detail).

As for last gen cards I know they could do the job and at a cheaper price, but I am not sure I want the extra power consumption. Like I said before, my computer is sitting on all day as a web browser and only sees gaming in SCII. Not sure it would be worth it to run last gen cards...but I guess I am kind of wanting everything without paying the price....somethings gotta give.

[draemn]

I'd say the GT 240 and the 5670 are the minimum I'd recommended for SC 2. The only reason I'd suggest a GT 240 is because you can get it really cheap if you go for a mail in rebate. Otherwise, it's worth spending the money to get something a bit better.

[geokilla]

NCIX.com - Buy MSI GeForce GTX 460 Fermi Cyclone OC 725MHZ 768MB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card - MSI/MicroStar - N460GTX Cyclone768D5/OC - in Canada

$120AR

[Wurmer]

It's a pretty good price you got there if you don't mine the hassle of the mail in rebate.