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In need of graphics card advice. (edit with update) Macharius Send a noteboard - 29/10/2010 04:01:37 PM
Much of this past week has been spent on newegg.com and tomshardware.com in search of a replacement for my now-ancient Radeon X1950XTX. In my price category of ~$100, I settled on the Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood). Being fortunate, I was able to purchase one last night for $101.change after tax in a local store.

The good news is that it will run WoW-Cataclysm on stock Ultra settings (I haven't even tried the DX11 beta features). The bad news is that it does so poorly. Performance is better on Good settings, but still not what I consider acceptable in open areas with terrain. I haven't tried StarCraft 2 yet, or Fallout 3... because let's face it, my primary game is WoW ;)

The advice I am seeking is:

-I know it's obvious, but I haven't updated the drivers yet (by then, it was getting late last night and I didn't want to mess with it anymore). How much performance gain could I expect to see when I do so later today?

-Should I use the included software utility to overclock the card's processor and memory? If so, by how much? I am tempted to ramp it up as long as the temperature remains under control, but I don't have any experience overclocking anything even if it's as simple as moving a slidebar and don't want to damage it and be forced to buy a whole new card in a few months.

And if nothing else helps much,

-I am extremely reluctant to spend any more money, but should I just return the 5670 and pony up an extra $100 for a newer/better card that will actually last me a year and a half to two years? It seems wrong to me to buy a nominally-new card for $100 and not be able to play recent titles at better than medium settings.



EDIT:

Last night I updated the drivers from the AMD site (not ASUS, the card manufacturer) and the there was some improvement but I was still unhappy with the performance in WoW. I turned it on this morning, and all of a sudden everything worked great. Settings are on Ultra, with my only concession being to put shadows on the second lowest setting - even with DX11 enabled. SC2 runs everything maxed on Ultra, though the frame rate may be lower than some people prefer but bumping it down one level doesn't show much loss in quality while running a teensy bit more smoothly.
This message last edited by Macharius on 30/10/2010 at 02:21:48 PM
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In need of graphics card advice. (edit with update) - 29/10/2010 04:01:37 PM 558 Views
That's the card in my new iMac. Well, according to Apple, at least... - 29/10/2010 04:45:19 PM 430 Views
A 9800GT is roughly equivalent to a 5670. *NM* - 29/10/2010 04:58:07 PM 211 Views
I've no problem deferring to someone more familiar w/ recent cards. - 29/10/2010 05:44:20 PM 335 Views
Each architecture is different and better at different things. - 29/10/2010 08:16:14 PM 292 Views
Your card isn't an ati hd5670, it is about 75% as fast as an 8800gt - 01/11/2010 01:34:47 AM 430 Views
Good to know. - 01/11/2010 01:45:15 PM 283 Views
One thing you didn't mention is what resolution you're trying to run at. - 29/10/2010 05:07:38 PM 301 Views
System specs: - 29/10/2010 05:39:19 PM 296 Views
Re: System specs: - 29/10/2010 08:22:38 PM 306 Views
Re: System specs: - 29/10/2010 09:30:24 PM 276 Views
I was looking at this card as well for a new system build - 29/10/2010 06:22:20 PM 360 Views
Re: I was looking at this card as well for a new system build - 29/10/2010 06:35:30 PM 359 Views
Thanks for the update! This makes my choice easy *NM* - 31/10/2010 02:56:38 AM 162 Views
You're welcome *NM* - 31/10/2010 01:12:00 PM 135 Views
The HD5670 is meant to be a casual gamer card - 31/10/2010 02:23:45 PM 361 Views
Nice to know that someone selling these actually knows what they're talking about. - 01/11/2010 01:42:31 PM 291 Views
Fry's Electronics *NM* - 01/11/2010 01:45:23 PM 144 Views
If you do return the card, these are the cards I would recommend (links inside to newegg) - 01/11/2010 02:32:23 AM 336 Views
Excellent post - 01/11/2010 05:06:10 PM 481 Views
The 460 is a better card than a 465 - 02/11/2010 03:11:10 AM 267 Views
And FPS per dollar isn't the only important stat - 02/11/2010 03:14:10 AM 281 Views
Re: And FPS per dollar isn't the only important stat - 02/11/2010 12:52:46 PM 318 Views
Don't get me wrong, I agree the HD5770 is an awesome card - 02/11/2010 06:14:16 PM 398 Views
Re: Don't get me wrong, I agree the HD5770 is an awesome card - 02/11/2010 08:01:21 PM 281 Views
Re: Don't get me wrong, I agree the HD5770 is an awesome card - 02/11/2010 09:19:44 PM 460 Views
Do you already have a computer or are you building a new one? If so what are the specs? And .... - 03/11/2010 10:49:35 AM 295 Views
Well - 03/11/2010 08:31:11 PM 467 Views
Sorry I remember now - 03/11/2010 11:41:14 PM 321 Views
Re: Sorry I remember now - 04/11/2010 05:45:22 PM 463 Views
If you are not going to overclock, you should really consider this computer - 04/11/2010 12:28:44 AM 417 Views
Re: If you are not going to overclock, you should really consider this computer - 04/11/2010 06:02:57 PM 295 Views
HP doesn't use homemade harddrives - 04/11/2010 07:41:35 PM 315 Views

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