Graphics Good upgrade from a GTS 250?

Hi guys.

I am debating buying a new pc, but I am curious as to whether I could fit a decent graphics card into my existing pc, and get a few more years out of it.

My current specs are:

System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: EP31-DS3L
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 3582MB RAM ( I am using vista 32 bit)
PSU: Corsair HX 520W
GPU: GeForce GTS 250

I got this computer nearly 4 years ago now. I had an Nvidia 8800 GTX card, but it overheated and I had it replaced via RMA with the GTS 250.

I am wanting to play Battlefield 3 on medium to high settings ideally, and the witcher 2 on medium to high. I would like to play at 1900x1200 resolution as well. I can run the witcher 2 on low settings and get around 30 FPS, but I don't want to play such a great game at such low graphics settings.

I heard good reviews about the Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB, but I'm not very clued up about power requirements for newer graphics cards.

Also the GTS 250 fits pretty snuggly in my case, so I don't imagine I would be able to fit a card that is much bigger than that in there.

I am weighing up spending under 1k on a new gaming build, and trying to put it together myself. Although if I could squeeze another 18 months out of my current pc with a new GFX card then I would rather do that.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

Still a good computer and would do better with a GTX 560 Ti. Looking around I believe this is a really good deal on Amazon...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-GeForc...R8DA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319015654&sr=8-1

At the time of writing that's £160 for an Asus 1GB GeForce GTX 560TI DirectCUII. Your PSU can handle this easily as the GTX 560 just needs a couple of 6 pin PCi-express power plugs which the HX520 should have. Also get a decent 775 CPU cooler and overclock that Q6600 and it'll give you decent performance for a couple of more years!

 

Overclock the q6600 to 3ghz would be a good idea too, the motherboard is a great clocker.

 

I think you could get a little while longer out of your system but my feeling is the 560ti is an amazing card although I would think about upgrading your PSU thou

 

why would you upgrade a 520w corsair ?

could run a i5/i7 rig quite happily on that lol

 

I got the same set up nearly, but I thought anything better than a gtx 460 would bottleneck?

 

Nope, any modern quad core at about 3.2Ghz should be fine.

Personally I'd get a 560ti.

 

Thanks a lot for your advice guys.

I'm glad to here I can get a few more years out of my computer if I upgrade the gfx card.

My only concern is whether the GTX 560 TI would fit in my computer. Is it a similar size to my GTS 250 card? Also would I be able to play Battlefield 3 and The Witcher 2 on medium-high settings at 1900x1200 with this card added to my pc?

In regards to overclocking, I am pretty clueless on how to do this. Also I don't know how great the cooling is inside my pc. How much should I overclock my Processor without it being too risky?

Also is my Power supply good enough to power a GTX560 TI? OR will I need to upgrade that too?

 

What if I left it at stock 2.4ghz, what card would you recommend?

 

The same card probably. But honestly, you only have to buy a £10 Arctic Cooler and push up the FSB and vCore.

 

I have brought the Asus 1GB GeForce GTX 560TI from amazon.

Now in regards to overclocking the processor. What is a safe speed to overclock the processor to?

Also what processor cooler should I go for?

I am a complete noob when it comes to overclocking! Do I do it through the BIOS?

I have a Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs) processor.

My motherboard is a Gigabyte EP31-DS3L.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as I have never attempted to overclock anything before.

 

If you are looking for an extra 18mths then it may be worth, doing a nice clean install of Windows 7 64bit, at the same time as the graphics card up-grade and CPU OC.

 

Do you have to do a bios update before overclocking?

 

No, you shouldn't have to, but depends on what board you have. Some new BIOSs might add OC features etc.

 

Most people say the Q6600 is easy to get to 3ghz, although I'm no expert, I saw a video where you change the FSB to 333 and it equals 3ghz, but I don't know what the voltage needs to be?

 

Generally speaking about as long as an ATX motherboard is wide. The GTX 560Ti shouldn't have problems with either game at that resolution. Just have a google and watch some videos of the video quality at that resolution with those two games under a GTX 560Ti.

Have a read...

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2007/07/25/overclocking_intel_core_2_quad_q6600/1

PSU should be good!

 

Cheers bloggins for the link

 

So I am going to attempt to overclock my 6600 to 3.ghz 2moro.

I do this through the BIOS right?

Also with the voltage, do I leave that on auto?

So what do I need to change in the BIOS to get my 6600 to overclock to 3.ghz? Do I just change the FSB speed?

And finally. I had a look at my old stock intel GPU cooler. I couldn't see any easy way of getting it off my motherboard. Do you twist the 4 plastic holding screws on the edge of the CPU cooler?

Thanks in advance for any replies. I am rather baffled by all this overclocking business.