GTX 550 TI? should I go for it?

[zizo]

Hi. my ATI HD4850 is dying. it's idle temp. is 105 celcius (!!). cleaning the pc again, as I do every month, will drop it to 85-90. I'm tired of it and want to replace it, and I am thinking about GTX 550 Ti, vs. HD 5770.
I live in Israel so prices here are not as low as in USA, so these are my only options, only the GTX550 costs 10% more than the HD 5770.
I hope that it's the right place for this thread.
Anyway, what are you saying? what would be a better choise, and what are the REAL temprature of the cards, for those of you who have it?
I am also thinking to add some more money and to get the HD 6850. any thoughts?

Btw, my motherboard is P43 DS3L which has only 1x PCI-E 16, which I was told, conforms PCI-E 2. would a PCI-E 2.1 card fit on it?

Thanks in advance

[Major_A]

The 550 Ti has newer tech than the HD 5770. That said I think it's a toss up. But if you can, yes, save more money for the HD 6850. If the card is PCIe 2.1 it should be backward compatible with your motherboard.

Have you tried manually adjusting the fan on your video card with MSI Afterburner or Sapphire TriXX?
http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm
http://www.sapphireselectclub.com/ssc/TriXX/TriXX.aspx

[zizo]

No, I think my current card is a Gainward, and I used the "built in" catalyst tools to speed up the fan to 100%. but I will try the tools you just linked me to. thanks.
So you're saying that both cards Iv'e mentioned are not good value for money?

[Major_A]

I don't think they are as good as your current card. That's why I said you should try to save up for the HD 6850.

[lordvic]

If you took at the performances of the radeon HD 5770, it's very similar to the 4870. In fact, the 5770 is basically a HD 4870 with lower power consumption & DX11 support.
Look: http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd ... ew-test/14

A Radeon HD 4850 -> 4870 isn't a large performance increase, so in my opinion, a HD 5770 is not worth it.

The GTX 550 Ti is better than the HD 5770, but only by a COUPLE framerates.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gef ... ,2892.html

[zizo]

Ok thank you very much. I think I will save up for the 6850

[zizo]

Ok, bringing this one from the dead - I might be able to get a 285 gtx (new but warranty is expired - just a card untouched).
it would cost about the same as bringing a new HD6850 (the IceQ HIS version).
do you think its a preferable deal, or should I forget about the 285 "might" and get a newer card? (cause tempratures are important for me alot nowdays - it's the main reason im changing my hd4850)

[lordvic]

A GTX 285 is a decent card, but with the newer technology like: DX11, multi-monitor support, LOWER power usage (= lower temperatures = less heat), you might want to think about it. New cards are also faster.

The Radeon HD 6850 is JUST a little bit slower than the Radeon HD 5850...or faster/identical depending on game/program used. From a HD 5770 review from Legit Reviews here, you can see the 5850 is noticeably faster than the GTX 285.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1105/7/

According to nVidia, the GTX 285 has a maxiumum power draw of 204W. On AMD's side, the HD 6850 draws only 127W and the HD 6870 draws 151W.

Couple of games here involving the HD 6850, 6870 and GTX 285...along with other cards. You can see the 6850/6870 beats the GTX 285 in every test, and yet, uses less power.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds ... e-market/8

Quick comparison chart, HD 6850 VS GTX 285 (you can set it up however you like with different cards...but some older cards (Radeon HD 4000, GTX/GTS 200, GeFroce 8000/9000, etc) will be in the GPU2010 and the new ones are in GPU2011.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/291?vs=317

Expired warranty - I wouldn't get the GTX 285 if I were you.

[zizo]

I see. Well thanks for the details, I will get the 6850

[anuparockz]

I think your Best choice will be EVGA GTX 560 Ti (not superclock or FTW but those are great if you can afford more 20$ or so)

[Cassius]

There have been a few 6850 sales recently, good card too.