[HELP] Choosing a new graphic card!

[iggy1eco]

Hello there,

 

goin right to business:

 

My rig

AMD Phenom II X4 840 Preccessor 3.20GHz

8GB RAM

Windows 7 64bits

 

Power Supply: 420W

Graphic Card: ATI Randeon HD 5450 DDR2 1GB (Multimedia card mostly and not gaming, came with computer)

 

I have knowledge, if it's true or not I've got you to confirm even with my suspicions that Skyrim uses the CPU for most Shadows and the ENB's work better with Nvidia cards.

 

Right now, with this card Skyrim runs well with 1280x720 resolution with a mix of High and Medium settings with every AA and FXAA turned off. FPS it's good, but not as smooth if I ran at a mix of low/medium settings or even simply medium. I prefer High and Medium and it's actually extremely acceptable in terms of gameplay. Recently tried an ENB and it still works well, even if it has a slight drop of FPS, but I use a non SSAO version so I actually get a good drop of the full quality of the ENB or any other I try.

 

What I want is to be able to play Skyrim on a higher resolution and actually be able to try new ENB's without losing the smoothness. I know that no matter the rig, there is always a drop, no matter how minimum, but at a 1280x720 resolution some games aren't as aestetically pleasing. I could even play any Assassin's creed with it with high-textures, but the resolution would break the immersion, since I own a 190x1080 monitor and having huge black bars (even if you're not paying attention at it) I eventually realize that actually I'm losing quite something keeping playing like this no matter the fun I'm having. It runs Shogun 2 two, but at 1280x720 doesn't work very smooth, and at 800x??? it just breaks the quality and aestetic views of the game.

 

I can pay to 300€ MAXIMUM for a new graphic card.

I "know" that Nvidia GTX580 are high end, 570 mid-range and 560 low range and Skyrim accept them all but I would also like to know if what I'm paying for the new card, I'm really paying for a good or huge improvement comparing to what I have now. I'm not looking to play everything on Ultra also because I doubt it would be possible in a 300€ range, but still I want to be able to tweak a Ultra there, a high in many parts and a medium just for the slight touch for example + play in a higher resolution + test ENB's + be able to enjoy these new games that already came out a year or two but wasn't able to play like the Witcher, Shogun 2, etc. Not looking to play these on Ultra killer settings, but I want to also make sure that the resolution I'll have to use or graphics don't make the game blurry, therefore, losing what makes it immersive (aesthetically speaking). The fact I was able to play AC games still surprise me though...so I guess my CPU is alright, but the graphic card is lowcost/end.

 

The other motive I'm asking for suggestions, is that I want to make sure that these GTX I mentioned are compatible with my CPU. Hardware it's not my area sorry.

 

Thanks for reading and I'll be awaiting reply,

 

Sorry for english, not my native language =)

 

Cheers!

Edited July 5, 2012 by iggy1eco

[tetradite]

I'm not gonna advise on specific cards, others know WAY more than me, just going to say check out for your power supply - if it's a shop-bought PC it MAY not have a good enough power supply for an awesome card (especially an nVidia if it was assembled for an AMD, as AMD's tend to use less power than nVidia from what I understand.

[iggy1eco]

I'm not gonna advise on specific cards, others know WAY more than me, just going to say check out for your power supply - if it's a shop-bought PC it MAY not have a good enough power supply for an awesome card (especially an nVidia if it was assembled for an AMD, as AMD's tend to use less power than nVidia from what I understand.

 

 

Edited the post. Has 420W

[iggy1eco]

Moderator, you may lock this thread :)

 

Thanks