Ultra-mode video card shopping guide


5th_Player

 

Posted

So what would be the real world benefit of buying the GeForce GTX480 superclocked edition as opposed to the regular edition? Is it really that much faster? And I always thought overclocking was supposed to be a bad things in terms of the life of your graphics card.

I'd be putting it in my 2.85Ghz Quad Core system with 8GB of Ram, 64-bit Windows Vista Ultimate, and a 1000w power supply. Would I benefit from the overclocking?

Thanks!!


My Mission Architect arcs:

Attack of the Toymenator - Arc # 207874

Attack of the Monsters of Legend - Arc # 82060

Visit Cerulean Shadow's Myspace page!

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cerulean_Shadow View Post
So what would be the real world benefit of buying the GeForce GTX480 superclocked edition as opposed to the regular edition? Is it really that much faster? And I always thought overclocking was supposed to be a bad things in terms of the life of your graphics card.

I'd be putting it in my 2.85Ghz Quad Core system with 8GB of Ram, 64-bit Windows Vista Ultimate, and a 1000w power supply. Would I benefit from the overclocking?

Thanks!!
Truthfully, most of today's high end cards see absolutely no benefit from overclocking when they're new because they can generally run most of today's games at the highest settings well above 60 frames per second. Overclocking a GPU can bring some gains in heavily demanding games like Metro 2033 or Crysis, but generally that gain will only work out to be an average of 7 to 12 frames per second: that can be significant in a game like Crysis, but you do have to overclock the GPU much higher than a factory overclocked card ever is. Older cards can see significant improvements with overclocking, making them far more able to keep up with today's more demanding games; so a GPU's ability to overclock isn't usually a real factor when they first hit the market, except for in benchmark scoring, it does indicate their ability to keep up once they're a couple years old. But unless you're finding the card on sale for a price equal to or less than a GTX 480 at standard speeds (not bloody likely for the next four or five months), the factory overclocked version isn't really worth the extra money, unless you're also looking for marginally higher scores in benchmarking suites like 3DMark Vantage.

So a GTX 480 will see much greater benefits in your system from overclocking the CPU, rather than the GPU. Since many of today's games are ported over from consoles, they rely heavily on the CPU for most functions: the faster the CPU runs, the faster the GPU receives it's instructions from the drivers and the higher the frame rates you will get. GTA 4 is a perfect example of this: a Core i7 920/GTX 285 will get about 45 to 50 FPS at 1920x1200 on stock clock speed of 2.66GHz on maximum settings; with the CPU's speed set to 3.4GHz, the FPS can leap up over 60 (since non-3D monitors cap out at 60 FPS, there's not much point in measuring beyond 60, although with the vsync off, a ~70 FPS average at that clock speed is possible). Most of today's MMORPGs like fast CPUs, so getting your CPU's clock speed up will definitely benefit your overall performance in CoH/V as well as pretty much any other game on the market today.


 

Posted

As it stand now, with a nVidia 9800GTX card and all the options turned up to the highest possible settings, I regularly get 50-60 FPS on CoX. I can do ultra mode on all the highest settings, but the FPS is lower and it looks a little choppy.


My Mission Architect arcs:

Attack of the Toymenator - Arc # 207874

Attack of the Monsters of Legend - Arc # 82060

Visit Cerulean Shadow's Myspace page!

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cerulean_Shadow View Post
As it stand now, with a nVidia 9800GTX card and all the options turned up to the highest possible settings, I regularly get 50-60 FPS on CoX. I can do ultra mode on all the highest settings, but the FPS is lower and it looks a little choppy.
Given the sorts of results you're seeing for UM with the 9800GTX, which is now considered mid-level mainstream card, it really does prove my theory that the demands of UM will not be anywhere near as great as many in the thread have feared. If the only game that you play, and are planning on playing for the next couple years, is CoH/V, the you probably don't need to shell out the $500 or so on a GTX 480, as its unlikely that this game will ever require that much graphics power, unless it lives on long enough to see yet another ultra mode upgrade. In all likelihood, all that anyone will need to run UM on high settings at a good frame rate will be a card along the lines of a GTX 260 or a Radeon 5770.


 

Posted

Well according to Notebookcheck the 9600M GT has 32 streaming processors clocked at 1250 MHz while the GT 330M has 48 streaming processors clocked at 1265 MHz.

Also the 9600M GT clocked in at 9592 in 3DMark05 while the GT 330M clocks in at 12579.

So I'm guessing 25% faster but we'll have to wait and see what the benchmarks say.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by steveb View Post
The GT 330M is a tough one to nail down, as it and the 325M are what Nvidia has aimed at being the most attractive to buyers, so there are few variants available that will affect performance. It'll probably be able to handle it fairly well at mid-range settings, depending on screen resolution. Don't expect to max out the settings, as the 330M is a mid-level card, but it does depend on the version being used. The 330M has both a GDDR2 and GDDR3 version, and the GDDR2 version can be significantly slower than the GDDR3 version. .....
Thanks for the info steveb.

I checked Apple's web site, http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs-17inch.html, and found that the 17" MacBook Pro has a "NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory" so performance may not be too shabby, especially if I reduce the screen resolution a bit. If only I could afford the beast.

-Buxley



"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." -- Dr. Seuss

 

Posted

Hey Im wondering If anyone managed to get their hands on a GTX 470 or 480 and is trying them out in the test server. Im looking to make that my next upgrade and would love to get some details. (Scary enough my dual 9800GTX+'s are the weak link right now )


 

Posted

I was looking at this card: Visiontek 900297 Radeon HD5850 Video Card - 1GB, DDR5, PCIe, Dual DVI at tigerdirect.

Linky: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=V261-5850

I really don't want to spend that much, but I would like to run with the shadowmaps on and jack up my resolution a notch or 2. With shadwomaps off, everything else on ultra, running at 1128(?)x(?), I get between 22 and 30 fps outside, 60 inside. This is on my 8800gtx. Looking at my current setup, I don't think I would have a problem running the radeon card I listed earlier. The 8800 takes up 2 slots and I have a 700 watt PSU. I can't recall what the rail is listed to run at, but I'm thinking that should be fine. So, do you think the HD5850 would be enough to run all of UM and stay above 30-35 fps? Thanks.

Edit. Found this card.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=P450-5770

Opinions oh tech savvy ones?


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pure_Massacre View Post
I was looking at this card: Visiontek 900297 Radeon HD5850 Video Card - 1GB, DDR5, PCIe, Dual DVI at tigerdirect.

Linky: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=V261-5850

I really don't want to spend that much, but I would like to run with the shadowmaps on and jack up my resolution a notch or 2. With shadwomaps off, everything else on ultra, running at 1128(?)x(?), I get between 22 and 30 fps outside, 60 inside. This is on my 8800gtx. Looking at my current setup, I don't think I would have a problem running the radeon card I listed earlier. The 8800 takes up 2 slots and I have a 700 watt PSU. I can't recall what the rail is listed to run at, but I'm thinking that should be fine. So, do you think the HD5850 would be enough to run all of UM and stay above 30-35 fps? Thanks.

Edit. Found this card.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=P450-5770

Opinions oh tech savvy ones?
I have a 5850 and it does very well at UM. I don't know much about the brand you linked but I can suggest this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150477 It's made by XFX which is a very good brand and the maker of my card. Same price as what you listed. Mine is a Black Edition of that which just means it cost more for being a factory O/C but that one should do dandy.

A 5770 would also be a fine choice. Not quite as good as a 5850 obviously but should still do pretty well as I understand it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150447 There's the same one you linked but $10 cheaper at Newegg, BTW.


It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.

 

Posted

Thanks! I have been playing around with the settings quiet a bit. I can run Occlusion strong w/blur; high quality at 1024x768; no shadows; detail still turned all the way up. Average between 25-40 fps. Soooo.. I can't really see me dishing out 300 bucks for a card that gets me da shadowz, when I can get all the other shiny!! May wait until july or so and see what some of the prices are then.


 

Posted

...and now that OB is here, I can finally say...

My system is probably considered borderline, but I can run Ultra-Mode maxed out at 4-5fps, nearly maxed out at 15-20 fps, and using the options get up to 50+ fps and still have it look great! I am impressed that it is not chewing up more GPU than this...

System, all stock speeds:

OS: WinXP Home 32 bit SP3
CPU: AMD Athelon 64 4400+ X2 Dual 2.21 GHz (around 50% CPU utilization)
RAM: 2 Gb
VidCard: nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX, current drivers
Resolution: 1920x1200

FSAA doesn't seem to impact framerate much at all, nor does the anisotropic filtering. Going above 100% on world or character detail DOES impact framerate. Biggest effector seems to be the ambient occlusion, and in tricky areas this will slow things down quite a bit.

Still, overall I am very impressed at the frugality of the new Ultra Mode!


 

Posted

Ok folks.. One more question before I commit to a purchase. I have it narrowed down to 2 cards. (I think). The XFX Radeon 5830.

Linky: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=P450-5832

And the less expensive XFX Radeon 5770. (Linked in an earlier post).

The cheaper card has a faster core clock speed of 850 vs. 800. And the memory is clocked at 4800 vs 4000. BUT, the cheaper card uses a 128 bit memory interface, where as the 5830 uses a 256 bit interface. The price difference between the two is about $60.00. Is that difference in bus speed worth it?

I am currently running an 8800GTX.. it does ok, but I want a nice jump in performance. Thanks to you all for the information and assistance!


 

Posted

Well here's a couple reviews that might help you decide. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...5830,2564.html http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/...d_5830_review/


It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.

 

Posted

Thanks Blast. I am going to get the 5830. Thanks again for helping me out with the information!


 

Posted

Dumb question time... ("The only stupid question is the question you meant to ask but didn't" - Annoying Uni lecturer)

Since I basically have to shop at Aus PC Market*... apart from being marginally smaller physically, is there any difference difference between the Asus 5750 card and the HIS HD 5750 card?

Particularly with a view to running Ultra Mode.

Shader

*due to location and having a store credit.



"Just as I knew all of life's answers they changed all the questions!" - Unknown (seen on a poster)
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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Father Xmas View Post
Performance wise no. But the fan shroud on the Asus is just plain silly (look at the 360 view).
It's designed like an F1 car =P nice. And that is one hench fan O_O

Btw is the training room known to be more laggy than the servers, because if so my current card shouldn't have too much trouble with ultra mode


 

Posted

Okay, I need to upgrade from my two SLI nVidia 9800GTX cards. I've posted before, and want to get whatever will let me play CoH in ultra mode with everything set to the highest setting. I have the (not-yet-released-but-available-for-pre-order) EVGA GeForce GTX480 in my Amazon cart. But is that overkill? Some comments I've read lead me to believe that it may well be. I don't play any other PC games. Just CoX.

I've read a lot of good things about the (also available for pre-order) Radeon 5850, which is about $200 cheaper. Would this card allow my 2.85 GHz quad core PC w/ 8 GB RAM to play CoX in ultra mode on all the highest settings with excellent frame rates?

Is there a card out there that's actually available now that would meet all the UM criteria w/ highest settings and 60+ FPS?

Thanks!


My Mission Architect arcs:

Attack of the Toymenator - Arc # 207874

Attack of the Monsters of Legend - Arc # 82060

Visit Cerulean Shadow's Myspace page!

 

Posted

The 480 is overkill most likely. The 5850 will do fine. I have one and run UM with all the bells except the ambient occlusion right now since it doesn't play nice with FSAA. Once they fix that, I expect to turn it on too and be ok. I get good FPS everywhere I've tried so far. And the 5850 is a released card. Been out for a bit actually. Why you're showing preorder is beyond me though there have been some supply issues keeping up with demand I think.


It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.

 

Posted

Firstly, I want to say a big thanks to those of you who are more video card savvy for helping the rest of us!

Secondly, I've noticed the Radeon 5870 comes in 1GB and 2GB flavors. Is the extra 1GB of RAM worth the $100 bump in price? What benefit will I see?

Thanks!


My Mission Architect arcs:

Attack of the Toymenator - Arc # 207874

Attack of the Monsters of Legend - Arc # 82060

Visit Cerulean Shadow's Myspace page!

 

Posted

The 2GB 5870 should be the new Eyefinity version that's designed for a six-screen setup. Unless you seriously plan to try and run CoH on that kind of scale, I'd doubt you will have any need for it. Also, I'm not sure you *could* get CoH to do that. But if you have deep enough pockets to try, let us know how it works out.


It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Back_Blast View Post
The 2GB 5870 should be the new Eyefinity version that's designed for a six-screen setup. Unless you seriously plan to try and run CoH on that kind of scale, I'd doubt you will have any need for it. Also, I'm not sure you *could* get CoH to do that. But if you have deep enough pockets to try, let us know how it works out.
Just so...and (I'm sure X or Saist will correct any error here) the memory of the card itself really is the last line consideration. It's not going to matter that much until every other limitation has come into play. People just like bigger numbers.


Oh...by the way...Imma buy a 5970 >.>


 

Posted

I managed to figure that out myself (about the six screen setup) after I posted that, so maybe there's hope for me yet!

Okay, I've decided, I'm ordering the 5870 1GB card. As far as I can tell, that should be a good card for CoX and just about anything else I decide to play in the near future. Newegg has a variety of them for around $400, which was kind of my self-imposed ceiling, so now all I have to do is figure out which brand. (Diamond, XFX, Sapphire, PowerColor, Gigabyte...)

In the listing of the stats, there doesn't seem to be much if any difference, which makes sense since it's essentially the same card. That said, the Effective Memory Clock seems to vary quite a bit, anywhere from 1200MHz to 4800MHz. What's that about?


My Mission Architect arcs:

Attack of the Toymenator - Arc # 207874

Attack of the Monsters of Legend - Arc # 82060

Visit Cerulean Shadow's Myspace page!

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cade Lawson View Post
Just so...and (I'm sure X or Saist will correct any error here) the memory of the card itself really is the last line consideration. It's not going to matter that much until every other limitation has come into play. People just like bigger numbers.


Oh...by the way...Imma buy a 5970 >.>
Buy me one too?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cerulean_Shadow View Post
I managed to figure that out myself (about the six screen setup) after I posted that, so maybe there's hope for me yet!

Okay, I've decided, I'm ordering the 5870 1GB card. As far as I can tell, that should be a good card for CoX and just about anything else I decide to play in the near future. Newegg has a variety of them for around $400, which was kind of my self-imposed ceiling, so now all I have to do is figure out which brand. (Diamond, XFX, Sapphire, PowerColor, Gigabyte...)

In the listing of the stats, there doesn't seem to be much if any difference, which makes sense since it's essentially the same card. That said, the Effective Memory Clock seems to vary quite a bit, anywhere from 1200MHz to 4800MHz. What's that about?
Basically, the 1200 number is a single one-way data transfer speed. The 4800 is the cumulative speed number. It's technical and I can't come up with a simple way to explain it right off. Perhaps someone else can but essentially 1200 = 4800. It's just two ways to say the same thing. The number to actually pay attention to is the core clock. Anything above 850MHz means it's a factory overclock model. Otherwise, yes they are all essentially the same card. The real differences come in brands, their quality, extras in the box, warranties, etc. I like XFX, some like Sapphire, Gigabyte should be good, not too certain beyond that.


It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.

 

Posted

One last question -

Is there any benefit to getting this card as opposed to the one that's $10 cheaper?

First card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150443

second card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150476

The first one support the eyefinity thing, which I don't care about since I only have one monitor. (Though I guess it wouldn't hurt to have it if the card has any other benefits.) The first one also talks about the double lifetime guarantee, but I thought all XFX cards had that?


My Mission Architect arcs:

Attack of the Toymenator - Arc # 207874

Attack of the Monsters of Legend - Arc # 82060

Visit Cerulean Shadow's Myspace page!