Help! Need new GPU (and maybe PSU?)

    I've been out of the tech race for years, especially the GPU side of things as I never needed it at Uni due to needed CPU/RAM power for rendering. My current GPU is a nVidia 7900GS 256MB and till last night I thought that was ok, after all it runs everything I play (HL2, TF2, Burnout Paradise) at 1440*900 at high settings, but no AA. It even ran Crysis at a decently medium/low setting where it looked nice and had 30fps.

    I bought GTA4 last night and after spending about an hour trying to get it to let me set my res at 1440*900 I find it will only let me use low settings and then barely scrapes what looks like 5fps! It looks worse than San Andreas on low settings to boot!

    Fuck you Rockstar.

    So I need a new GPU and probably a PSU to go with it as my 450W probably won't cut the mustard anymore.

    Core2Duo E6600 (2.6Ghz OC'd to 3.0Ghz)

    4GB RAM

    nVidia 7900GS

    450W "Real-Power" Coolermaster PSU

    Looking for decent brands in PSU's (Coolermaster have been good for me, no problems in 2 PSU's, but what else is there aside from Corsair?) and whatever wattage is deemed normal now. Plus whats the current high/mid/base line of nVidia GPU's.

    I had a ATI card once and it was rubbish, nVidia have always been good to me but if theres a bargain to be had on the ATI said let me know!

    Help!

    P.S. If anyone has any cards they don't want....

    Well my PSU is a PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750 Watt, and its been working perfectly. It also has a +12VDC @ 60A which is a huge single rail, which I think (don't quote me) is better then dual rails, especially cause many of them are very bad.

    As for the GPU I've got an Nvidia 8800GTX so I'm not considered to have one of the new gfx cards I guess, but its still a powerhouse, so Id recommend a 9800GTX as its the same card with improved cooling. But I'm sure others will come in here and talk about the new GTX line of cards (I don't know enough to recommend them.) and someone will come saying go buy ATI anyways...

    I have a 8800 GTS which you can probably get real cheap now and it runs gta4 great on high settings. That's with 8gb of memory and a quad core. As for power supply I have a generic well reviewed newegg one that definitely didn't cost more than $80...I think it's like 700-800w.

    edit: you can pick up a 8800 GTS for about $150-200 on ebay and the BFG ones have a lifetime warranty.

    I got an ATI 4870 1GB for about £140 a few weeks ago, and it kicks the shit out of my previous 8800 GTX (which is still used in my desktop PC upstairs — this is in a gaming HTPC). Even Crysis runs pretty smoothly (I'd estimate about 30 FPS) on 1080p with every setting on 'High' and 4x anti-aliasing.

    While ATI have had their issues, their newest cards (the only one in this range better than the 4870 is the 4890 I believe) deliver excellent performance for the money. And more critically for me, they use less power and are smaller/quieter than their NVIDIA counterparts.

    If you're looking for all-out power and you're not too bothered about price, power consumption, volume, and size... go for NVIDIA. But if you're trying to squeeze the most out of a budget, ATI seems to be the best choice right now. As usual it's all about what happens to deliver the best value at a given moment.

    With regards to ATI cards being rubbish, I think nowadays there's no real distinction between them and NVIDIA. The image quality is perceptibly identical, and the drivers are no more or less easy to use for either. As someone with experience using recent high-end cards from both I think I'm in a good position to say this.

    I used to have a 420 W power supply hooked up with my 8800 GTS and my E6600, no issues there. Of course I couldn't find anything below 600W when I moved here and had to change the PSU....

    Wattage for power supply doesn't even really matter anymore, as long as it's over 400-500W, unless you're going for multiple CPUs, multiple GPUs, etc. When replacing a video card, the power area that might be an issue for something more demanding isn't wattage, but amp on the +12v line. Something new and fancy, like, say, a GTX260, you'd want at least 30A. Mainly, though what you want is quality and reliability. If what you've never given you shit, and it's not too old (a few years), then you shouldn't need a new one, especially since you're budgeting and not getting the extreme stuff.

    Quote from Thrik

    I got an ATI 4870 1GB for about £140 a few weeks ago, and it kicks the shit out of my previous 8800 GTX (which is still used in my desktop PC upstairs — this is in a gaming HTPC). Even Crysis runs pretty smoothly (I'd estimate about 30 FPS) on 1080p with every setting on 'High' and 4x anti-aliasing.While ATI have had their issues, their newest cards (the only one in this range better than the 4870 is the 4890 I believe) deliver excellent performance for the money. And more critically for me, they use less power and are smaller/quieter than their NVIDIA counterparts.

    If you're looking for all-out power and you're not too bothered about price, power consumption, volume, and size... go for NVIDIA. But if you're trying to squeeze the most out of a budget, ATI seems to be the best choice right now. As usual it's all about what happens to deliver the best value at a given moment.

    With regards to ATI cards being rubbish, I think nowadays there's no real distinction between them and NVIDIA. The image quality is perceptibly identical, and the drivers are no more or less easy to use for either. As someone with experience using recent high-end cards from both I think I'm in a good position to say this.

    I concur, absolutely brilliant value for money and i dont care what the nvidia fanboys say, ATi totally deliver with these cards. You will definitely need a new PSU though as these require some special power connector thingys.

    Had a hunt around reviews, guides and peoples opinions and come up with this inital suggestion?

    Inno3D GTX260 896MB Freezer X2 Fan:

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/162001

    Read some very good reviews of this card, plus the price is a lot lower than other 260's let alone ones with custom cooling solutions. The fact it's humongous is not a problem as the only other PCI card I have is right at the bottom and in a P180B case, there's room for a small child.

    Corsair 650W TX

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514

    Still can't fully decide on modular/non-modular/single rail/split rails. But this seems more than enough and I have lived 22 years without a modular PSU without losing sleep.

    Check the price difference between the HX620 and the TX650. If it's tiny, take the HX620. Even if you don't care about modular, fewer cables and better airflow is a nice thing to have

    Quote from cyberjunkie

    Check the price difference between the HX620 and the TX650. If it's tiny, take the HX620. Even if you don't care about modular, fewer cables and better airflow is a nice thing to have

    It £22 more for the HX620. That and it has triple rails that give the same power as the TX's single, not sure if this is actually important or relevant though. One review I read said the triple rails on Corsairs all come from the same place so theres no benefit or some such rubbish.

    The Inno3D GTX260 card came by today. After some serious reorganising of my case (a Antec P180 lol) it squeezed in and much to my surprise, happily plays games at high detail with AA no problem. Except GTAV which is still being a whiny bitch, shall sort it out later.

    I've not even changed the PSU... I guess it will just cut out when it can't take anymore rather than go kaboom. I'll be backing up today anyway.

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