Gaming at 1680 x 1050 - What to get?

R

ryankenn

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 22, 2004
Messages
177
I'm stuck in the old days, and being that I don't game a ton anymore, I'm sticking with my monitor which is native 1680x1050.

I just started playing Civ5 and my 8800GTX is having some issues. In DX9 its fine ( but gameplay is worse, go figure ) but in DX10/11 it plays for a while then crashes. It repeats this with more frequency the more I push the card.

My local retailer ( ++++ ) has 768MB 460's for $175CAD, but also the EVGA Superclocked 450 1GB for $115CAD.

Would the 450 push DX11 at that resolution with all the candy, or am I better getting the 460? Don't know. All the reviews start at 1900 now so its hard to gauge what I could get away with.

Thanks,
Ryan
 
460. ++++ and MemoryExpress have them for less.

ROFLame. N-C-I-X is blocked, what tools.
 
Here is the [H] review of the 6800 series http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/10/21/amd_radeon_hd_6870_6850_video_card_review/3. The 6850 and GTX 460 seem to get taxed pretty hard by even the 1920x1200 resolution. I would probably grab one of those two cards for your resolution, since it would allow for smooth framerates at high setting. I do not think the GTS 450 will be enough and that 768MB version may get hit by a VRAM bottleneck too.

What CPU do you have? From what I know about Civ 5 it takes advantage of a quad core to a large extent. If you are on a C2D or something that is probably an issue as well.
 
My GTX460 easily handles that for Final Fantasy XIV, as long as your CPU is decent it should be fine.
 
ryankenn said:
I'm stuck in the old days, and being that I don't game a ton anymore, I'm sticking with my monitor which is native 1680x1050.

I just started playing Civ5 and my 8800GTX is having some issues. In DX9 its fine ( but gameplay is worse, go figure ) but in DX10/11 it plays for a while then crashes. It repeats this with more frequency the more I push the card.

My local retailer ( ++++ ) has 768MB 460's for $175CAD, but also the EVGA Superclocked 450 1GB for $115CAD.

Would the 450 push DX11 at that resolution with all the candy, or am I better getting the 460? Don't know. All the reviews start at 1900 now so its hard to gauge what I could get away with.

Thanks,
Ryan
Click to expand...

can you find another retailer? because that is the one game that the 460GTX seems to do better then the 6850. http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/10/21/amd_radeon_hd_6870_6850_video_card_review/3
so look into a 460GTX but you should be able to get one pretty cheap, esp with 768mb
 
Thanks. Didn't realize that reseller was banned, sorry about that. The only advantage is they are local to me, and I can pick the card up in store. They have a Price Match feature now with other online resellers, so this may be a good chance for me to try it out.

EDIT ** Checked out Memoryexpress, all their prices were higher?? Newegg looks good on that link, but are the prices on Newegg.ca shown in USD and is the USD rebate valid in Canada?
 
xBanzai89 said:
Here is the [H] review of the 6800 series http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/10/21/amd_radeon_hd_6870_6850_video_card_review/3. The 6850 and GTX 460 seem to get taxed pretty hard by even the 1920x1200 resolution. I would probably grab one of those two cards for your resolution, since it would allow for smooth framerates at high setting. I do not think the GTS 450 will be enough and that 768MB version may get hit by a VRAM bottleneck too.

What CPU do you have? From what I know about Civ 5 it takes advantage of a quad core to a large extent. If you are on a C2D or something that is probably an issue as well.
Click to expand...

Q9300 @ a very conservative 2.8GHZ. I also have 8GB ram. I did notice the game was CPU heavy so when it was crashing in DX11 I went to stock CPU speeds to see if that was the issue but it persisted until I reverted back to DX9. The 8800 has been good to me, I suppose I've gotten my money's worth out of it!
 
GTX 460 768 MB or Radeon 6850 1GB should be enough for that resolution.
 
At least a GTX460 1GB, something faster if you can - GTX470 or Radeon 6870.

Don't skimp on the memory and don't get something slower like a 450GTS or 5770. 16x10 might be a *low* resolution, but many effects and techniques used in modern games are GPU hogs regardless of what resolution you use.
 
I'm playing at 1680x1050 too - on a ASUS 4850 TOP (OC'd) card thats got a fan assembly thats been going for a while and doesn't like to warm reboot sometimes.

I've been considering snagging a 6850 or a 6870, and i'm not sure if the 6870 is worth the price change.

I'm running
e6850 @ 3.4Ghz
4GB G.Skill memory
Vista
610w silencer PS

Any suggestions? Thanks!
 
Their new ASPM is garbage too. I sent them the Newegg.ca link for the card at $154.99 plus the $15 rebate and they just denied it, and said the best they could do was $161.49 after rebates. When I asked why, did it not meet the criteria of the program, they said no it was fine ( Canadian pricing, in stock ) they just can't meet the price.

What? They are a local company and I like to support them but that's garbage.

I looked at that X2 deal, I just can't bring myself to buy a card that is already two gens old, and only 1 gen newer than my 8800. Plus looking at the reviews its a power hog. We'll see, I never considered it so I'll do some digging first.
 
that res isn't all that high, I game at 1600x1200 on a 4850 and never have an issue.

I think the 450 would be fine for that res. Though I haven't really read any reviews of it.
 
lowteckh said:
460. ++++ and MemoryExpress have them for less.

ROFLame. N-C-I-X is blocked, what tools.
Click to expand...

What's up with that?


Anyway, the 460 or one of the new 68?0 cards is what to get for 1680x1050. Just my two cents of agreement with the people who have already pointed this out. The cards are also very future-proof, being able to drive full HDTV resolution displays which will be around a very, very long time.
 
The best value is the HD6850. It only requires 1x 6pin PCI-e connector and it can be overclocked to 900Mhz core with stock voltages. It is faster than most of the pre-overclocked GTX460s while costing less and consuming less power. This Asus HD6850 for $179.99 comes slightly pre-overclocked and it has one of the better cooling solutions while costing the same as the other HD 6850s
 
Don't go higher than a 460gtx 768mb man. No reason to pay more for a 6850 to increase your performance in 1680x1050 by a few %

edit: I', getting a 1gb gtx460 myself, but only because I still play alot and my 5year old monitor will be replaced by a 1080p one if it dies on me
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the advice - the other question I had, is am I CPU bound (generally?) - IE, am I going to see a greater increase in speed going from an overclocked e6750 to say a Q9550 or by going HD 4850 to HD 6850? (assuming i'm not willing to redo the mobo/memory/cpu to go to an i7)
 
There are several games that are benefited by having a quad core, but generally speaking, it is almost always better to upgrade the video card.
 
ryankenn said:
Their new ASPM is garbage too. I sent them the Newegg.ca link for the card at $154.99 plus the $15 rebate and they just denied it, and said the best they could do was $161.49 after rebates. When I asked why, did it not meet the criteria of the program, they said no it was fine ( Canadian pricing, in stock ) they just can't meet the price.

What? They are a local company and I like to support them but that's garbage.

I looked at that X2 deal, I just can't bring myself to buy a card that is already two gens old, and only 1 gen newer than my 8800. Plus looking at the reviews its a power hog. We'll see, I never considered it so I'll do some digging first.
Click to expand...
My 4870x2 out benched my cousin's OC'd 460 (880/1760/2040, Core/Shader/Memory), the only thing "wrong" with it is it does consume power but a decent 600W.

There's no dx11... I don't care since there's still alot of older dx10/dx10.1 games I have to play, not all new games are dx11 also.

You're paying $145 flat for about 470 performance maybe more.


Mokkat said:
Don't go higher than a 460gtx 768mb man. No reason to pay more for a 6850 to increase your performance in 1680x1050 by a few %

edit: I', getting a 1gb gtx460 myself, but only because I still play alot and my 5year old monitor will be replaced by a 1080p one if it dies on me
Click to expand...
Don't go "higher" than a 4870x2 :p
 
iviyth0s said:
My 4870x2 out benched my cousin's OC'd 460 (880/1760/2040, Core/Shader/Memory), the only thing "wrong" with it is it does consume power but a decent 600W.

There's no dx11... I don't care since there's still alot of older dx10/dx10.1 games I have to play, not all new games are dx11 also.

You're paying $145 flat for about 470 performance maybe more.



Don't go "higher" than a 4870x2 :p
Click to expand...

All I'm playing is Civ5 really and it is DX11 capable, so I'd want that option. For me the deal breaker is the draw, that is alot of power.
 
@ 1680x1050, with your requirements, I'd recommend this GTX 460 768mb http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6491183&CatId=3670. $139.99 after MIR

I think the 6850 would be a little overkill

If going above 1680x1050 to say 1920x1080, it's a hard fought battle between 460 1gb and 6850, either are great and I'd lean toward the one that offers the best price at the time with a $10 more being acceptable for the 6850. However if you can find a GTX 460 1GB for even $20 cheaper than I'd lean toward that. AMD 6000 are great cards and we have yet to see the real world gaming advantages of Morpho Anti aliasing which could add to it's already great value
 
Last edited:
Civ 5 is the first game built on dx11, then made backwards compatible with dx9/10. So it will run up to 30% faster in dx11, with tesselation
 
Mokkat said:
Civ 5 is the first game built on dx11, then made backwards compatible with dx9/10. So it will run up to 30% faster in dx11, with tesselation
Click to expand...

That explains alot, even though my 8800 craps out after about 1 hour now in DX10/DX11 the game overall runs much better in this mode than DX9 even with the settings turned down.
 
You would not go wrong with either a HD6850 or a GTX 460... either for $175 is straight off the hook!

If Civ5 is the game of your choice, then the Nvidia card is probably better, at least according to Anandtech's review using it as the benchmark: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/...enewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/13

But your CPU is definitely holding you back... even a couple of ticks to 3.0 ghz would be quite noticeable.
 
ryankenn said:
All I'm playing is Civ5 really and it is DX11 capable, so I'd want that option. For me the deal breaker is the draw, that is alot of power.
Click to expand...
Finally a good answer, I agree with the others than.

6850 or a 460 1GB, whichever is cheaper.
 
IMO get the GTX460 1 gb.As games become more complex you will already have a little more to run at higher settings longer.
 
since u r in canada, i'd say get a 6850. If u were from the US then i'd say get a 460 1gb since the prices r soo much better for them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top