Upgrading GPU, would like recommendations

Post by **Jafar Ironclad** » 2014-05-17 04:52

Hey guys!

Looking to possibly upgrade from my GeForce GTX 650 to something somewhat beefier with the impending release of Star Citizen's dogfighting module. Budget is $150; willing to go up to $200 for something with good staying power; preference something that can be expanded in horsepower by adding additional cards in the future.

What do you guys recommend?

ShockUnitBlack · Post by **ShockUnitBlack** » 2014-05-17 08:34

Radeon R9 270 for ~$170. You can put it in Crossfire, but I'm pretty dubious that you actually should. You'd be better off saving you cash and buying a better single card than Crossfiring.

Post by **Psyrus** » 2014-05-17 09:07

ShockUnitBlack wrote:Radeon R9 270 for ~$170. You can put it in Crossfire, but I'm pretty dubious that you actually should. You'd be better off saving you cash and buying a better single card than Crossfiring.

I've heard (not experienced, since I'm still on a HD5870) that the newer generations of both Nvidia and ATI/AMD scale much better than historically, to the point of like 70%+ improvements. I'm looking it up now...

Performance | AMD Radeon R9 270X CrossfireX and R9 280X 4-way CrossfireX review [868] | Video card reviews#ReviewStudio.net

Yep, from what I can see there, the r270x scales between 70-85% better when a second one is added. Previous generations were almost 50% or worse.

Post by **Jafar Ironclad** » 2014-05-17 09:53

Additional thoughts:
-I plan on selling my old GeForce GTX 650, as it doesn't do SLI and I don't think its worth the extra power and heat in the machine to try and keep it around as a dedi physX processor. What's a good price for me to name for it? I've been using it for about 15 months if I remember correctly. This may allow me to spring for a better, slightly more expensive card, like the GTX 760 over the 750 Ti.

-Nvidia vs. ATI. Thoughts? I've never done an ATI card before. If it helps, here are my specs:

Code: Select all

System Information
------------------
  Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional  (6.1.7601)
      Architecture: 64-bit
   Current Culture: English (United States)
       Motherboard: Intel Corporation DX79SI
         Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3960X CPU @ 3.30GHz (Physical: 6, Logical: 12)
            Memory: 32.00 GB
      DIMM Modules: DIMM1: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM5: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM2: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM6: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM3: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM7: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM4: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM8: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
         Page File: 31.92 GB
    .NET Framework: 4.5.1, Runtime: 4.0.30319.18444

Display Information
-------------------
 Display Device(s): Generic PnP Monitor on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650
                    Generic PnP Monitor on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650
   Display Mode(s): 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) @ 59 Hz
                    1920 x 1080 (32 bit) @ 60 Hz
    Driver Version: 9.18.13.1422 (314.22)
    Display Memory: 2.00 GB
     Multisampling: 2, 4, 8
               DPI: 96 (100%)

DesmoLocke · Post by **DesmoLocke** » 2014-05-17 11:07

All that money on an i7 3960X and 32 GB of ram and you can't spring for a sweet graphics card?

First off, I'm a Nvidia guy. I enjoy the extra features that come with their cards. (Especially Shadowplay!) I would recommend a GTX 760 for $200, but I would strongly urge you to pinch some pennies and increase your budget to $300. The sweet spot for performance right now is the $300 tier. For the extra money, you can grab a GTX 770 which is a very strong card. It'll do well in the Star Citizen DFM (a.k.a. Arena Commander) which I am very excited for too!

The 770 is worth the $$$ compared to the 760 in Crysis 3.

*To be fair. Star Citizen will support the Mantle API. A $300 280X is worth consideration too.

Post by **Jafar Ironclad** » 2014-05-17 19:57

My dad was an Intel employee at the time, so we got significant discounts on the board, CPU, and an SSD. My computer's a Digital Audio Workstation first, so I've been investing more in sample libraries and audio gear when the money comes up.

Post by **Mineral** » 2014-05-17 20:08

Got a 770GTX. CE3(star citizen) runs great on it. I expect the DFM to go great as well

PR runs alright, arma runs good any pretty much all else runs amazing

But it seems to be a bit above your budget. I'd say don't expect too much from mantle, it seems to be mostly have been marketing. hasn't shown much actual improvement. But I believe that for that pricerange the AMD R9 270 series might be the best fit.

Whatever you do don't get a 750GTX.

MaSSive · Post by **MaSSive** » 2014-05-17 20:11

Well you can always add a bit more and get something better, there is no end to that, so you choose yourself, what you think its best for the money.

I wont throw any suggestions on specific cards or manufacturers but Ill leave you a link to this review.

MSI R9 270X HAWK 2 GB Review | techPowerUp

Take a deep look in it. Linked page is just a test result, but you can navigate to the rest of review. I use GTS450 and I will need to upgrade asap, but my budget is low so Ill probably go for older and cheaper HD6870. As for newer cards, from what ve been reading, R92XX - GTX760 - GTX 770 are in the top right now.

Daniel · Post by **Daniel** » 2014-05-18 00:50

is a R9 280 (x?) too expensive? I'd go for a GTX 770 aswell btw...

Steeps · Post by **Steeps** » 2014-05-18 12:01

Also going to suggest the GTX 770. I have a 680 and really want that 770...

But honestly, this is the best chart to reference: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

Going by performance though, the GTX 770 is right up with the best at the lowest price.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

X-Alt · Post by **X-Alt** » 2014-05-18 16:53

Get a 280 and win, sell the 3960X if you can. The 280(non-x) is really OCable and its only ~$280.

ShockUnitBlack · Post by **ShockUnitBlack** » 2014-05-18 18:17

Steeps wrote:Also going to suggest the GTX 770. I have a 680 and really want that 770...

But honestly, this is the best chart to reference: PassMark Videocard Value Chart - Performance / Price of Videocards

Going by performance though, the GTX 770 is right up with the best at the lowest price.

PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmarks - High End Video Cards

... The 680 and 770 are basically the exact same card.

Post by **LITOralis.nMd** » 2014-05-18 23:01

Jafar, I guess you are still in SoCal, check Microcenter in Tustin. and Fry's retailstores:
http://www.frys.com/ac/storeinfo/storelocator (Gas, time spent, and tax might kill the deal though)

otherwise check websites like slickdeals.net and fatwallet.com to find a discount/rebate/etc on the GTX 660Ti or R9 260 or R9 265.

I'd advise waiting to pool another hundred dollars, the step up will provide more than another year's worth of longevity.

My general reply to those in the US asking for websites:
Quote:
My suggestion is based upon finding the best prices, not on specific hardware...

start checking online deals websites daily:
my personal preferred bargain hunting websites:
Amazon.com Warehouse deals on SSDs. (I picked up a Crucial M4 256Gb SSD for US$149 in November, which was cheap then and is still cheap now, it was an open box return that had a total of 12 power cycles used, i.e. almost brand new.)
slickdeals.net
fatwallet.com
bensbargains.net
dell.com outlet deals in conjunction with coupons I find on the web.
amazon.com Gold box deals
email subscription to newegg.com for their daily deals
email subscription to us.ncix.com for their weekly deals

others I check from time to time:
techbargains.com
subscribe to tigerdirect.com email daily deals.
subscribe to buy.com email daily deals.

Sign up for accounts on slickdeals.net and fatwallet.com
You can create keyword searches that are instantly emailed to your email address you sign up with,
set up email deals alerts for "Radeon" "gtx" "psu" "i5-2500k" "ssd"
set up a filter in your email to put all those alert emails to a single folder.
you'll get some desktops and notebooks mixed in the emails, but it's a pretty good otherwise.
depending on where you live,
microcenter.com
frys.com
hhgregg.com
ncix.com
All run deals for brick and mortar retail stores.

Post by **LITOralis.nMd** » 2014-05-18 23:06

Also as you use this an an audio workstation you need to consider choice of buying a reference design or a upgraded design cooler.

The upgraded coolers are your ideal choice, but usually add $20 to $50 to the cost.

DesmoLocke · Post by **DesmoLocke** » 2014-05-19 01:48

X-Alt wrote:Get a 280 and win, sell the 3960X if you can.

Worst advice ever. A GTX 280 is way worse than what he has now!

But seriously, never get rid of the 3960x. Put that under a custom water loop and push it to 5 GHz!

Steeps · Post by **Steeps** » 2014-05-19 03:29

ShockUnitBlack wrote:... The 680 and 770 are basically the exact same card.

Oh I know. I'll probably upgrade to the 870 when it comes out though.

Post by **Jafar Ironclad** » 2014-05-19 21:38

How's this for an option (considering increasing my budget to get a card that'll have better staying power):
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-N770OC-4GD GeForce GTX 770 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready WindForce 3X 450W Video Card

DesmoLocke · Post by **DesmoLocke** » 2014-05-20 02:01

The most affordable 4GB GTX 770 on Newegg? I like it.

I would encourage you to look around at Amazon, TigerDirect, eBay, etc. for the best price of course. But be quick about it! Arena Commander is coming after all.

Post by **Jafar Ironclad** » 2014-05-20 06:06

Okay, found this listing, seller doesn't seem to have had much issues. Almost seems too good to be true...

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 4GB 256 Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3 0 GV N770OC 4GD V2 0 | eBay

Going to say yes to this tomorrow unless anyone has caution or negative feedback on the card, design, or seller.

Looking at the EVGA version as a backup plan:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 14-130-945

Is it worth paying the extra to go from 2 GB to 4 GB of VRAM?

ShockUnitBlack · Post by **ShockUnitBlack** » 2014-05-20 07:12

[R-DEV]Jafar Ironclad wrote:Is it worth paying the extra to go from 2 GB to 4 GB of VRAM?

Probably not IMO, especially if you're playing at 1080p.