Hi guys, been thinking about this for a month or two now. It's not really a priority to get one A.S.A.P, but it would be a nice addition for upcoming games, particularly COD Modern Warfare 2.

Here are my current specs, and its been this way for nearly 2 years now.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ (AM2)
2GB RAM OCZ PC2-6400C4
8800GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E

I plan to get some more RAM to go up to 4GB, of the same type (can get it overclockers for 20 quid, but out of stock just now) as well just for bit of wee extras. But I'm currently browsing around for a new graphics card mainly. My budget for it is at least between 150 - 200 quid. I could always find another graphics card that can go SLi with my current one. Would that be more effective?

Any recommendations?

SLi is kinda useles, Crossfire is better. I'd say go for a 4890.

I'd say a 4890 too.

Scan do 4890s for around £140, which is an insanely good price when you look at how much they can be.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Index.aspx?NT=1-0-94-297-0

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ ... ;catid=56&subcat=1403

4890 for 135quid

I'd say stick with the 8800 as it is a good enough card.

Cool, I'll have a look at that graphics card

What is the difference between ATI and nVidia anyway, seeing that they are both different companies that provides graphics card, some say more performance than others, others say more graphic. I've been using nvidia the whole time, havent used ATI yet.

ATi is usualy best bang for your buck. I also like the Control Panel more then Nvidia's.

Quote from Bose321 :

ATi is usualy best bang for your buck. I also like the Control Panel more then Nvidia's.

Must agree with that.

Anyways, id suggest u to get 4890 too. Saves u alot for teh futurez. There actually a pretty big power difference between 8800gt and stuff.

Quote from BigDave2967 :

Cool, I'll have a look at that graphics card

What is the difference between ATI and nVidia anyway, seeing that they are both different companies that provides graphics card, some say more performance than others, others say more graphic. I've been using nvidia the whole time, havent used ATI yet.

nVidia has pretty much cornered the hardcore market, and seems to have much less compatability issues... This is just my unsound judgement from trying to keep at least semi-current on things.

There are quite a few games now (such as Trine, Cryostasis) that use the PhysX technology to let the GPU do some physics things as well. Those with an ATi card are stuck on the other side of the glass as far as that goes.

I can't see ever going back to an ATi card at this point... I've gone back & forth over the years though. Probably the bang per $ argument is the only thing you'll find in favour of ATi at the moment.

Plus... nVidia has a better logo, and is more fun to say.

Quote from Bose321 :

I also like the Control Panel more then Nvidia's.

I also like the NVidia Control Panel more then ATI's Control Center..

Quote from Ball Bearing Turbo :

nVidia has pretty much cornered the hardcore market, and seems to have much less compatability issues... This is just my unsound judgement from trying to keep at least semi-current on things.

There are quite a few games now (such as Trine, Cryostasis) that use the PhysX technology to let the GPU do some physics things as well. Those with an ATi card are stuck on the other side of the glass as far as that goes.

I can't see ever going back to an ATi card at this point... I've gone back & forth over the years though. Probably the bang per $ argument is the only thing you'll find in favour of ATi at the moment.

Plus... nVidia has a better logo, and is more fun to say.

Well, when talking about Trine ... PhysX ... Download AGEIA physx engine, should be software based but it must work. It didnt work on me, but for ATI cards, overally it should work.

And Shadowww, have u even seen the ATI Control Center? Much better stuff to play with, and the most coolest thing is that overclocking is realtime. U dont have to restart after every overclock. Well, later u sure do but yea.

Quote from hazaky :

and the most coolest thing is that overclocking is realtime. U dont have to restart after every overclock. Well, later u sure do but yea.

I can adjust mine 9800GT on-the-fly aswell, what am I doing wrong?

The CCC is horrible, you must read 10000 manuals to understand some shit out of it (unless you are PC nerd who spends 24 hours per day wanking to CCC).

Quote from hazaky :

And Shadowww, have u even seen the ATI Control Center? Much better stuff to play with, and the most coolest thing is that overclocking is realtime. U dont have to restart after every overclock. Well, later u sure do but yea.

Poppycock....

A) There really isn't much difference in terms of flexibility
B) nVidia's overclock is realtime as well of course; not sure where you got that load from

Quote from Ball Bearing Turbo :

A) There really isn't much difference in terms of flexibility

Yes there is, when you want to fine-tune your antialiasing or anti-isotropic filtering parameters.

I've made the switch back and forth between the two manufacturers a few times and to be honest, the only noticable difference is the interface, and that's never been enough to make anything other than cost/performance be the factor when I buy.

Quote from Shadowww :

I can adjust mine 9800GT on-the-fly aswell, what am I doing wrong?

The CCC is horrible, you must read 10000 manuals to understand some shit out of it (unless you are PC nerd who spends 24 hours per day wanking to CCC).

Sorry, you turned it arround, CCC is alot easier. And I don't care about psysx or whatever, And I think ATi logo and name are better. Plus, we have a hot girl.

Quote from Bose321 :

Sorry, you turned it arround, CCC is alot easier. And I don't care about psysx or whatever, And I think ATi logo and name are better. Plus, we have a hot girl.

You know, both control panels are pretty.... self explanatory. I have no idea how anyone could get confused by either one really.

PhysX is a major performance booster in applications that use it - it's definitely not useless. Emulating it on your CPU is a bit pointless since the whole idea is that the GPU can do it an order of magnitude faster (literally in most cases).

And what are these AA and AF "fine tunings"?

Kinda got me on the hot girl part, but using sex to sell video card packaging seems like grasping at straws out of desperation

If I stick a ATi girl on a nV card, and use the CCC interface, I'd buy a nv, lol.

i spent 100 euros on a 512MB 4850 when there was a discount.

there certainly are similar performance cards at that price point from nvidia, the market decides that.

but it's an arbitrary choice, between ati and nvidia, really.

it's not like intel vs amd where if you're a gamer you go amd because it's a better bang per buck deal.

Being a gamer has nothing to do with that really, this is all about how much you want to / or are comfortable shelling out for a hobby. I went with the i7 primarily for gaming and I'm rather glad I did

The GTX 275 is better than the 4890 and pretty much the same price

Quote from hazaky :

and the most coolest thing is that overclocking is realtime. U dont have to restart after every overclock.

I wish i could, if i try and do any overclocking, including the auto-overclock feature with my my hd2600 pro then all i get is an instant BSOD.

Quote from spacedskunk :

The GTX 275 is better than the 4890 and pretty much the same price

Depends what resolution you're gaming at. On a big monitor the lower memory of the 275 would put me off.

Quote from Crashgate3 :

Depends what resolution you're gaming at. On a big monitor the lower memory of the 275 would put me off.

That's what is putting me off at the moment, I would have got it, if it was 1024MB, which is why I was thinking of going for the 4890 series next month. But then again, this caught my eye, even though its a few series down.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ ... p;catid=56&subid=1402

Can anyone give me an opinion on this card please?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ ... odid=GX-202-AS&tool=3

Seeing its deal of the week, I wanted to see if its worth getting, considering the price and its reviews.

And this.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ ... &catid=56&subcat=