[goobergump]

What's up guys, so my gts 250 hit the curb (literally) and I'm looking for my next upgrade. I'm very budget and minimalistic, and I was thinking maybe a gts 450 (which version? 19" monitor). I was also thinking of a SSD, but I think that the gpu comes first. Any ideas appreciated.

Note: I'm sorry for not updating, but I do have Windows 7, I'm just never on it unless I'm gaming. Thanks everyone!

 

[juano]

The resolution of your monitor is critical to getting good advice regarding a GPU upgrade. Regardless of resolution though I can tell you that the 450 isn't a great card, the 5770 is a little bit faster at the same price of around $100 and the gtx 460 is the next step up at almost twice as fast for about $160-170. Knowing the resolution will allow more accurate recommendations.

 

[goobergump]

1440x900

 

[tehPwnzah]

if ur on a budget go for a gtx 260 or gtx 460 if it has to be nvidia. U can get a gtx 260 used on here for around 80 to 90 or the 460 for around 160. If not go for a 5770

 

[firebirdjimbo]

your cpu is going to bottleneck any card you get.

 

[adizz]

Why not a GTX460? Its a much bigger upgrade than going for a GTS450.

There's not point in going for a GTX260, old gen and also no DX11 support.

 

[juano]

Alright at 1440x900 the most power for your buck will be a GTX 460 768MB and it should do very well for your resolution. The only qualm I have in recommending it is that it isn't very forward looking or future proof in that it has less than 1GB of VRAM. Like I said it will do great for your current resolution but lets say you upgrade your monitor to a 1080p in the future then you will wish you had the 460 1GB even though that may be out of your budget right now. Here is the 460 768MB I would recommend, if you can afford it though this 460 1GB would be a better choice for the future.

 

[juano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by firebirdjimbo your cpu is going to bottleneck any card you get.

I believe you can to try to unlock the dormant cores of your CPU with the motherboard you have.

Even if you can't I wouldn't worry about the bottleneck too much, I wouldn't recommend anything faster than a 460 but other than the most CPU dependent games like Starcraft 2 or GTA IV you should be able to shift the bottleneck away from your CPU by turning up the eye candy.