upgrading new computer

[isiolia]

seeing as you mentioned Nvidia how would a Geforce GTX 550 Ti compare to the AMD 6770/6790? Have never used Nvidia on a desktop before. Had one in a laptop, 8800GTX but it fried after 3 years.

In general, the 6790 will tend to be a bit ahead.

Some games, the Ti 550 will be better than either AMD offering, but more often, it'll either trail both of them, or will fall between - in many cases depending on the settings. At least from benchmarks when the 6770/6790 were released, the AMD cards seem to scale better for higher resolutions.
That said, they're all the same general ballpark. I doubt you'd find a game/setting playable on a 6790 that wasn't on the other two.

Putting up the extra $40 or so to go to a 6870, however, probably would net you a performance increase large enough for that to be a possibility.

[Cronozilla]

Yeah, I think the 6870, in terms of performance, would be a better option ... but again if the thing doesn't physically fit you might not have a choice.

If it were my choice, I wouldn't shoot straight for the GTX 560 Ti, but those are $250 cards. The 550 Ti it has fast memory ... but the GTX 460, even the 768MB model was a faster and more capable card.

If you want high resolution and lower budget ... really, you have to go with AMD. Personally I like nvidia, but there's not really any arguing with this. If you want 1080P or higher gaming with nvidia on some of these lower end cards you have to SLI. Which isn't the case with AMD. It's really what separates them. Personally, I think the AMD cards should, actually, perform better than they do in other resolutions ... but their main strengths lie in 1080P and above for cost.

Really, the card you should aiming at is the 6870. The 550 Ti isn't worth it, at all and it's in the same price range. Even the 6850 outperforms the 550 Ti in most cases.

If space isn't really an issue (have you measured the case yet?) then you really REALLY should go with the 6870.

[ATARI800XLfan]

have not measured the interior of the case yet but after looking at other cases I noticed on mine that the area for optical drives and hard drives does not go from top to bottom like most cases. The bottom of the holding area is not even lower then the bottom of the cpu fan. so really the video card could technically be almost 16 inches long. There is a spot for the front fan of course(2,500 rpm 90 on front, 2,500 rpm 80 on back). Not sure how good the airflow would be though if I stuck a 15 inch card in the case though. Not sure on card until I get the money.

not sure if this wold help but I have found a video where someone shows the inside, more near the end of the video.

[ATARI800XLfan]

I am now down to two cards, either a gigabyte HD 6850 or a GTX 560(not the TI model).

[Stark]

Less issues with an nVidia, I find.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I am now down to two cards, either a gigabyte HD 6850 or a GTX 560(not the TI model).

I'd take the 6850, which is what I'm using. A fantastic mid-range card that's good at pushing high resolutions.

[ATARI800XLfan]

I am now down to two cards, either a gigabyte HD 6850 or a GTX 560(not the TI model).

I'd take the 6850, which is what I'm using. A fantastic mid-range card that's good at pushing high resolutions.

Thanks that's what I was leaning towards. Screen only goes to 1600X900 so resolution will not be that high, how warm does the card run. Case only has 2-3 90mm fans, front one gets 75 air flow. Will be using a seasonic 620 watt power supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125353

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151095

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835132021

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Thanks that's what I was leaning towards. Screen only goes to 1600X900 so resolution will not be that high, how warm does the card run. Case only has 2-3 90mm fans, front one gets 75 air flow. Will be using a seasonic 620 watt power supply

Depends. I had a PowerColor one and it ran extremely hot. 91-95c with fans at 100%. I sent it back and ended up getting the HIS version.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161384

It runs extremely cool, maxing out at about 72c. I have two of these SilverStone fans running at about 40% speed in an Apevia X-Dreamer 3 case which has relatively poor cooling, with a small slit on the bottom for the forward fan and my CPU LC radiator sitting on the rear fan. Since the GPU has it's own exhaust vent it's not much of a problem (plus the fact my fans are extremely good).

TLDR You should be fine, the majority of 6850s run nice and cool. Avoid the PowerColor and other budget ones. Your PSU, combined with your other components, should handle the 6850 just fine.

[ATARI800XLfan]

Thanks that's what I was leaning towards. Screen only goes to 1600X900 so resolution will not be that high, how warm does the card run. Case only has 2-3 90mm fans, front one gets 75 air flow. Will be using a seasonic 620 watt power supply

Depends. I had a PowerColor one and it ran extremely hot. 91-95c with fans at 100%. I sent it back and ended up getting the HIS version.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161384

It runs extremely cool, maxing out at about 72c. I have two of these SilverStone fans running at about 40% speed in an Apevia X-Dreamer 3 case which has relatively poor cooling, with a small slit on the bottom for the forward fan and my CPU LC radiator sitting on the rear fan. Since the GPU has it's own exhaust vent it's not much of a problem (plus the fact my fans are extremely good).

TLDR You should be fine, the majority of 6850s run nice and cool. Avoid the PowerColor and other budget ones. Your PSU, combined with your other components, should handle the 6850 just fine.

Thanks for answering all my questions. Never been big into computer gaming before and my Last rebuild did not go so well, stuck a AMD 3870 OC into a dell dimension case, last about 2 years then fried. What do you think about Gigabyte? Still have to drill some holes into the front of my case first though. the front is sealed. And a mechanical keyboard. Maybe a cheap IBM-M. the keyboard it came with sucks.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

[
Thanks for answering all my questions. Never been big into computer gaming before and my Last rebuild did not go so well, stuck a AMD 3870 OC into a dell dimension case, last about 2 years then fried. What do you think about Gigabyte? Still have to drill some holes into the front of my case first though. the front is sealed. And a mechanical keyboard. Maybe a cheap IBM-M. the keyboard it came with sucks.

Gigabyte is good. My GeForce 9600 was a Gigabyte and my current mobo is Gigabyte as well. I have tons of friends that swear by their stuff.

Looking at the card you listed (and it's two giant fans), I doubt it would have heating problems.

If you wan't a new keyboard, I use an Adesso 135b. It's one of the cheaper mechanical keyboards on the market and I love it. The only worry I really have with it is the letters are printed directly on the keys and will probably fade pretty quickly. I've had mine for 3 months and I'm starting to see some slight fade, but I also have hyperhidrosis in my hands which doesn't help I'm sure. I had an aluminum mouse that pitted after like 6 months because of it.