Tech and Talk > Gaming > PC gaming Tech > Thinking of upgrading my graphics card, need guidance...

Thinking of upgrading my graphics card, need guidance...

The rest of your build is fine (but Vista??), so here's a card that will provide a considerable step up from the 285:

It is over-budget by $10, but the cheapest 570 I could find: »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···14127682

Three weeks ago I got a Zotac 570 for $200 (after $30 MIR) but it has been discontinued now that the GTX 600 series is out and established.

You also might want to think about doubling your ram to 12 GB when you get spare change (I assume you are 3x 2 GB 1600 DDR3?). Look at any of these (buy three single 2GB sticks for tri-channel) or two 2x 2GB kits and have one spare in case something goes bad. If you really want to go crazy, buy three kits of 2x 4GB and go for 24 GB (although the system will probably only recognize 16 or 20 GB). Trichannel kind of sucks to upgrade. You either have too much space or too many left over sticks.
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If we lose this freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment, those who had the most to lose, did the least to prevent its happening.

reply to Pollux7777
I still have my 285, it still runs most games out there. I can play Skyrim among others just fine. To really see a big jump in FPS, you will need to move to the 600 cards. I just got a 670 a few days ago. You will see a little boost with the 570. Anything less than that really is not worth it.

Still in shock how well that 285 has held up over the years!

If you do move into a 600 down the road, the 285 works well for a physx card. Been testing it now with batman.

On a side note, it also works great for a hand warmer.

reply to Krisnatharok
Thanks for the replies guys.

So the 600 series are a lot better than the 500's?

I probably wouldnt be getting anything until Christmas time... so maybe prices would drop even further by then.
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The GTX 570 ($230+) is still more powerful than the GTX 660 Ti ($300+) and the GTX 670 ($400+) won't fall to $200 in the next year (or until the GTX 700 series is out).

Get a GTX 570. They are being phased out and heavily discounted until they go out of stock. If you wait until Christmas, you will likely have to get a GTX 660 Ti.
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If we lose this freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment, those who had the most to lose, did the least to prevent its happening.

Well that stinks, and here I was thinking of getting a 2nd GTX570 to try out sli (if I can be sure the breaker won't trip)

What stinks? The 570 is the best bang/buck right now, IMO, especially if you find one like I did with a MIR that brings it down to $200 flat.

What stinks is that they're being phased out.

Well yeah, they've been replaced. Get 'em while you can, and while the manufacturers are still offering MIRs to move inventory.

I was thinking IF I do get a 2nd one it'd be around January, but if they're phasing them out I don't know might just save for a GTX685 and get ready to upgrade to a 2011 system.

Here's a Zotac 570 for $230--I can't tell if there is a MIR on it or not as Zotac requires you to register a product first then check for rebates. However, Newegg gave me a link directly to the PDF whereas Amazon does not.

»www.amazon.com/GeForce-Express-D···=GTX+570

Edit: Here's the link to rebate from Newegg-looks like it has to be purchased *from* Newegg only: »images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesf···ey39.pdf
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If we lose this freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment, those who had the most to lose, did the least to prevent its happening.

Its not about if its available now but if it is when I'm ready to buy it.

And I plan that if I do it it'll be the same make/model as my current one.

reply to Pollux7777
The 670 can be easy o/c to match the 680. and its $100 less.

But like years past, time will move on and new ones will come out. I would just keep eyes open and find the right deal. Newegg seems to always have that daily deal that really is a good deal. And around x-mas sure you will be able to get something good for a great price.

reply to DarkLogix

reply to Krisnatharok

because clockspeed is only part of the story (also why an i5 at 3.6 GHz is faster than a Pentium 4 at 4.0 GHz).

Quick answer is here: »www.hwcompare.com/9685/geforce-g···gtx-570/
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If we lose this freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment, those who had the most to lose, did the least to prevent its happening.

reply to El Quintron
The 570 has more cores enabled
and the 580 has even more.

reply to Krisnatharok

reply to primeomega