What Graphics Card?

[Sell224]

OK.. well here I go. I have been tweaking and messing with oblivion for the last week or so, but I still havent gotten the performance and graphics I have really been wanting.

My comp is an alienware aurora 7500:
AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor 3500+ (clocked at 2.41Ghz)
2 gigs ram
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Series GPU (I guess its the ultra?)
A8N-SLI DELUXE mobo


When I put everything up to what I want to.. with AF x4 and HDR on at 1200x1000 or whatever that highest setting is.. I am getting decent performance. In normal areas I can get up to maybe 25-30 fps outside, but in more densely forested areas I get down into the low teens. I would love to be able to play the game at 1600x1200.. with AFx16. BUT.. my graphcis card doesn't even support that resolution.


SO.. I'm thinking about selling my graphics card and buying a newer one. Perhaps the 7800? or 7900? I honestly dont know enough about graphics cards to choose. Could someone help me out and tell me perhaps what is the best graphics card for running obvliion and other games at the moment. I'm not aiming for a 900 dollar card.. something at the most maybe 400 (but could you tell me whats out there also).

Also, if I did buy a new graphics card, do you guys know what I coudl do with my old one? I dont have a box for it, so I think it might be a bit hard selling it on ebay (I bought the computer from aliewnare, they sent me everything prebuilt).

Also.. would you guys suggest two cards hooked up via SLI or one really **** good card?

Lastly, I have heard about "bottlenecking". I am pretty sure my processor is pretty good, but If I got a real high end vid card, would there be a problem with my processor being not good enough? I am running at 110 % of the standard 2.21Ghz for processor (using AI overclock), to be 2.42.


Any help is appreciated.. thanks!

 

[Timaphillips]

Where to start...."bottlenecking" is not an issue. Look around the forum here and there should be a post about how CPU has just about nothing to do with high frames per second so don't worry about that. plus, your CPU is great for gaming AMD makes a good gamer CPU compared to Intel.

If you're not happy with your 6800 card, sell it on ebay. You don't need the box or anything, just make sure to specify that it is slightly used and say what comes with it (cables, etc.). Somebody will buy it if it's priced right. If it's a first person shooter game, 25-30 fps isn't gonna cut it, so either turn down the AA/AF or the resolution. First person shooters run best at 60+ FPS. I would reccommend getting the ATI X1900XTX or the 7900 from NVidia (although you'll be hard pressed to find a 7900 right now). Don't get SLI or Crossfire, it's a waist of money for a VERY minimal increase in performance (we're talking as low as 5 extra FPS for the extra $600). I've found a bunch of different X1900 XT/XTX's for around $450. That's a great deal.

From my perspective, it's easier and cheaper to get the X1900XTX. The XT is cheaper and marginally slower and made for Crossfire mode (which I already said NOT to do). So that decision is up to you. But the XTX offers faster speeds and really isn't that much more $$ than the XT. Get the HIS brand or the Sapphire one.

 

[Sell224]

hmm alright thanks for that response.

How much do you think I could get for my 256 MB 6800 ultra video card on ebay.. 200 bucks? How much of a performance increase all together do you think I would see? I have been debating between the 7900 series and the x1900XTX.. you would suggest the x1900XTX? Thats interesting, thanks for that opinion.

 

[Timaphillips]

I lean towards the X1900 because 1) it's cheaper 2) it's much more available 3) It's VERY comparable to the 7900. It's mostly due to the whole supply/dermand thing right now. You could probably sell your 6800 for $100-$150. Check ebay for that to make sure.

Your performance gains will be HUGE moving up from a 6800 to the X1900. Check www.xbitlabs.com for a TON of charts of FPS rates on the cards.

 

[Timaphillips]

I should note that the XTX does really well at the high resolution you want to play at. That's where ATI shines with the new cards.