GFX card advice

[gingerjedi]

Alert!

I've finally taken the plunge and ordered a new desktop, the P4 2.0GHz days are numbered.

I gave up on PC games a while back as the Xbox was way more competent than my creaking PC.

New Spec:

Intel Core i5 2400 SB (not interested in OC as I want a cool quiet system hence why I didn't go for the 2500k)
H67 mobo
8Gb Ram
6 Gbps SATA
USB 3

If I wanted to play latest games would the HD2000 onboard be any good or would I need to buy a GFX card, if so what would I need to pay to see a significant performance improvement? I don't want to buy a £50 card and find there's no noticeable difference.

[Durbs]

If you buy a £50 card, you wont see a vast performance.

I'm flogging one of these: Asus ATI Radeon HD 6950 DirectCU II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [] (only bought it a couple of months back but since got another card cheap off a mate) and you will see a huge performance jump with that, it'll handle all the latest games on uber settings, the inbuilt gfx will come nowhere near.

PM me if you are interested, yours for 120, have overclocked it it a bit so it flies, handles Witcher 2 with all the bells and whistles switched on.

Shoulda gone for the 2600K though! With speedstep, it only uses the extra juice when needed, i've got an i7 2600K overclocked to 4.6GHz but it mostly sits at 1.6 with the fan spun down accordingly and only boosts when needed. Got quality case fans so noise isn't and issue when it does, and it still stays cool.

[PAH]

I'm sure I read a review of Sandy Bridge saying that the integrated HD graphics engine was as good as most budget (up to 50 quid/dollars IIRC) video cards for games and is capable of decent smooth HD/blu-ray playback.

May have been in one of these reviews:

AnandTech - The Sandy Bridge Review: Intel Core i7-2600K, i5-2500K and Core i3-2100 Tested

Intel


Myself, I went for the i5-2500k even though I'm more interested in a stable PC than overclocking it till it smokes. Mainly because I do a lot of video conversion/encoding to allow streaming from my NAS, and the Intel Quick Sync feature only currently available on the 2500k and 2600k was too tempting to resist.

Looks like the 2500k is only a tenner more than the 2400 you mention anyway, yet it has the better HD 3000 gfx engine.

I think the newer Z68 mobo also allows you to run the integrated alongside a discrete gfx card (for multi-monitor support) and also put the discrete gfx to sleep, falling back on using only the integrated, when its power isn't required. That may also be available on the H67 mobo's, not 100% sure.

[PAH]

Shoulda gone for the 2600K though!

I was tempted to step up from the 2500k to 2600k, but the only significant difference is the 2600k has hyperthreading, which according to reviews only gives at best a 30% improvement, and then only when all 8 threads are getting hammered.

So I saved the money with a view to getting an Ivy Bridge cpu next year if I find the 2500k not up to the job, seeing as Ivy Bridge is supposed to be compatible with the existing LGA1155 Sandy Bridge mobos.

[Durbs]

I was tempted to step up from the 2500k to 2600k, but the only significant difference is the 2600k has hyperthreading

Yeah, the gamers chip of choice at the moment is the 2500K as, in games, you wont see any difference at all between that and the 2600K as games simply dont use hyperthreading. Its much better bang/buck than the 2600.

[yasockie]

Going back to the GPU question you should really go for sth at ca >£100, I have a bit older GTX460, but if I were buying now I would have gone for GTX560Ti or higher if you can afford it (GTX570 or GTX580). Price wise GTX560 and 560Ti are the sweet spot but looking at roadmaps there's not breathtaking coming up in the nearest months that is very concrete or going to be much cheaper, so maybe get sth that will last you a while and enjoy the max settings?
TBH, one of the many advantages of gaming on a PC vs XBox is you can crank up the resolution and details to the max so it looks so much better - that's not going to happen with a mediocre card, with 560Ti most games will be playable at FullHD at full detail (Xbox renders at <720p usually) but the better the card the more you can squeeze and the more diminishing results of course.

[Normie]

Tomshardware generally do pretty good reviews/roundups:

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: July 2011 : Updates From June

[gingerjedi]

Thanks guys, I bought Durbs card which is highly recommended on that Toms Hardware list.

Now need to find some PC games that are playable with a 3 yo watching.

I was hoping for a new Roller Coaster Tycoon or similar, not much about these days.

[yasockie]

I recommend Mini Ninjas - that's something you can both enjoy.

[Durbs]

I recommend Mini Ninjas - that's something you can both enjoy.

+1 bought that recently for the PS3 and the kids love it.