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Suggestions for new card for next gen

zMarkon

zMarkon

zMarkon

Associate
Joined
28 Jun 2013
Posts
239
Location
Northern Ireland
Hey,

So recently done a build and picked the Asus GTX 670 DCII which turned out to be faulty. RMA'ed it and got a refund so i'm in the market for a new card as I have been a little put off by Asus cards since it was my first build. Originally had a £200 budget but can stretch to £250 or throw in a few cards to make my choice harder :D

I myself have been looking into a 7970. But wanted to get more suggestions.

Build is:
i5 4670K
MSI Z87-G45 ( so can go SLI/Crossfire if you want to throw that in)
Corsair Carbide Air 540
8GB Kingston HyperX RAM
Corsair GS700W PSU

Well thats the main components anyway!

Thanks
 
Personally i'd get a 7950 or 7970 as they use the same architecture as the next gen consoles plus they have more memory than the GTX670.
 
7970 is getting all the calls :) which brings me onto my next question, what reference card am I looking at with the 7970/7950? And would a new PSU be required for Crossfire if I ever go down that road?
 
You won't be getting a reference card, those disappeared ages ago. You can get an MSI or Asus 7970 for about £240 at the moment.

700W would be pushing it in crossfire but it'd probably be ok if you ran them at factory clocks. Also bear in mind these cards are now EOL (hence such brilliant prices), and so you'd have to crossfire with whatever AMD replaces them with if you bought new.
 
Still not chosen what to get yet. Something is telling me to just wait until I see the new AMD cards yet those will probably be out of budget. Basically I want this card to last me through all the new games no problem.

Things stopping me from just buying a 7970 Platinum
-worth considering 7950 Crossfire?
- GTX 770 (still just out of budget)
-AMDs new cards bringing down prices of other cards

Can anyone throw some things at me to help me make a decision?! I've had my build done around a month now and not even played a game since I got a faulty 670. So it's killing me to wait.
 
Wait until next Wednesday, that's what I'm doing.

I'm itching to upgrade from my 6950 and have been sorely tempted by the ASUS Platinum 7970 price, but I'm going to hold off a few more days and see what transpires.

It's killing me to wait, but I'll do it. It's the sensible thing to do. :p

Of course if the new AMD cards look good, that'll involve more waiting til they're launched but I've got up to £400-£450 to throw on a new card so I want to get it right.
 
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If you're above 1080p or want max settings in the most demanding games at 1080p, 7950 crossfire is a good idea.

The 770 isn't worth considering with current prices on the 7970 (which outperforms it).

AMD's new top card won't be as fast as 2x7950s, and it may even cost more than two of them.

I don't see the 7950/7970 prices dropping much further. Especially the 7970.
 
Ok so i'm going to cross off the 770, it's not worth it. Suppose I will wait to see what AMD does with the new cards and obviously the 7970 platinum is a great card for the price right now. If i'm looking at 2x 7950s what card should I be looking at? and would I have no problems with heat using the 700W Corsair GS PSU and Corsair 540 case?
 
For 7950s the HIS IceQ. They're (quiet) blower cards so they exhaust the hot air out of the rear of the case, making them ideal for Crossfire. 700W is enough for 2x7950s. They're £185 each at the moment.

For a single GPU, nothing can touch the Matrix Platinum until you get to the GTX 780, which is double the price and not a lot faster.
 
Appreciate the help :) Btw if it was up to you, what would you do and why? just curious. . .

I find you get the people who are against Crossfire who just say get 1 good card and then the people who say to get like a 7950 then down the line crossfire it.
 
These days SLI/Crossfire isn't much trouble. It's always going to be simpler having one card, but you can get amazing performance.

If I were buying a new system for 1080p gaming I'd go 2x7950, because I want 60fps min and max settings in as much as possible. The new GPU is likely to be over £350, so two of those is a lot less affordable. Lots of people would find it overkill, as all current games can be played at high (if not very high/max) with a 7970.
 
I feel your dilemma, had the same one. I know the new Amd cards are coming but anything more powerful than my 7950 will be costly and not much better. The 780 never tempted me as its too expensive and again not that much better. I was tempted to go with the 7990 but my Psu is borderline and the extra heat would be a problem. The best option was obvious for me, His IceQ Boost @ £185 to crossfire with my Gigabyte WFX3 7950, a reasonably small outlay for a powerful setup. :D
 
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