So, I'm looking to get a new video card. I have a budget of $500AU to spend, but I can save up a bit more if the expensive cards are worth it. I mainly play BF2, but I also want games like Crysis and STALKER to run well (both currently run at 30FPS on med and high respectively). I also want to get BF3, and if I play that half as much as I've played BF2, I'm going to want to have a good system for it and not have to replace the card after owning it for less then a year. These are the cards I'm looking at, along with the rough price of the cheapest models:
9600GT $200
HD3870 $250
8800GT $300
8800GTS $380
9800GTX $450
HD3870X2 $500
8800GTX $550
My motherboard is an Asus Commando, so SLIing the cheaper cards is out of the question. Furthermore, when crossfire is enabled, one of the slots is limited to only 4x so the benefits from CF minimal at best. Also, I have a 600W Tt toughpower PSU. My current rig runs fine on it (E6400, X1900XT, 6 HDDs) but I'm not sure if it will be able to handle one of the high end cards - so would I have to upgrade the PSU as well?
One other factor is resolution - I have a 19" widescreen with a native res of 1440x900 at the moment, so I'm going to want to use that when playing games that support it (are you listening, EA?). But say, 12 months down the track, I get a 24" with a res of 1920 x 1200. Which cards would be better for that? I don't to have to play a game with a stretched image because my card isn't good enough to play at a high res.
Of course, there is always the option of just waiting until BF3 comes out and getting a suitable card then - but it will mean I'll still be playing newer games (and the more intense BF2 battles) with shitty frame counts for some time to come.
So, BF2s, what do you recommend?
9600GT $200
HD3870 $250
8800GT $300
8800GTS $380
9800GTX $450
HD3870X2 $500
8800GTX $550
My motherboard is an Asus Commando, so SLIing the cheaper cards is out of the question. Furthermore, when crossfire is enabled, one of the slots is limited to only 4x so the benefits from CF minimal at best. Also, I have a 600W Tt toughpower PSU. My current rig runs fine on it (E6400, X1900XT, 6 HDDs) but I'm not sure if it will be able to handle one of the high end cards - so would I have to upgrade the PSU as well?
One other factor is resolution - I have a 19" widescreen with a native res of 1440x900 at the moment, so I'm going to want to use that when playing games that support it (are you listening, EA?). But say, 12 months down the track, I get a 24" with a res of 1920 x 1200. Which cards would be better for that? I don't to have to play a game with a stretched image because my card isn't good enough to play at a high res.
Of course, there is always the option of just waiting until BF3 comes out and getting a suitable card then - but it will mean I'll still be playing newer games (and the more intense BF2 battles) with shitty frame counts for some time to come.
So, BF2s, what do you recommend?