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1080p gaming, max settings new games..upgrade my 560Ti to...?

gazjam

gazjam

gazjam

Associate
Joined
16 Oct 2007
Posts
595
Looking for a bit of futureproofing, playing gaming pc through 1080p plasma so this is max resolution.

Looking for settings all turned up, high framerates no slowdown.
How far up the ladder do I have to go from my 560Ti 2GB DDR5 card to achieve this?

If I can spend less than a lot great, the main criteria is to get me to where I can turn up the settings at 1080p and not think about it.


thanks! :)
 
Spend less then a lot then keep an eye out for 280x's on offer, iirc the other week some MSI ones were down at £200 and is a significant boost over your 560ti :)

Or even less the gtx760 was down around £170 recently, slower then the 280x but is reflected in price.
 
Do you have a budget in mind? There are a definitely a range of cards ranging from ~£150 all the way up to £400-£500ish that would offer you an upgrade in performance. If you state the most you would ideally want to spend then it would help us narrow down the search and try get you the most bang for your buck.
 
thanks guys,
budget £250, possibly £300 if improvement is significant over £250 cards.

Been out the gaming market for a while, not been keeping up with current best buys.
 
AMD

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-091-HS

Or if you prefer the green team...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-202-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1750

Both will be within a whisker of each other performance wise...

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1041?vs=1037

As you can see, the 280X wins some, the 770 wins some. Both are spot on for 1080p. Will get you 60fps at highest settings on all but a few games.

If you could push the budget to £300 then this would be an improvement over those cards, but be warned the stock cooler on this card is not considred the best. Runs at high temps and is noisy. To get an aftermarket cooled version would put you over you budget.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-015-VX&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

But as you can see here, the 290 is a step up from either the 280X or the 770...

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1041?vs=1068
 
Just so you can see the performance increase - here is a 560Ti compared to a 7970Ghz which is essentially the exact same card as the R9 280X.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/858?vs=768

As you can see it is a massive improvement. From between a 100 - 200% jump in performance. The 770 is there or thereabouts as well.

I can't speak for the 280X, but since it is essentially a 7970, you should also be able to get a decent 20% overclock on it as well.
 
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I recently upgraded from a 560ti to a MSI Gaming R9 290 (they seem to regularly be on offer for 280-300 ish on various sites). Playing on the living room tv in 1080p and it handles everything i've thrown at it with ease so far. It's a lot quieter and cooler than the MSI twin Frozr 560ti I had before as well so couldn't be happier.
 
I've been after a new card recently to replace my 7850 and I asked about a R9 290 but it's been suggested to me that they are overkill for 1080p and I should go with a 280x instead. Maybe the same for you too?
 
Great info guys, thanks very much.

If spending £30/50 or so will give me a worthwhile step up and futureprtoof the box a bit longer then that's good by me.

Big love for the AMD cards?
Been sticking with Nvidia for the last while based on sloppy driver issues and noisy cards
with AMD cards I've had in the past, looks like things have gotten sorted then?
From what I can see the 280/290 cards are quite silent even when running high settings...

that been your experience guys?
PC will be set up in bedroom so better if theres not a vacuum cleaner firing up in the corner every 5 minutes when gaming! :)


cheers.
 
gazjam said:
thanks guys,
budget £250, possibly £300 if improvement is significant over £250 cards.

Been out the gaming market for a while, not been keeping up with current best buys.
Click to expand...

A £300 card is a lot better, well that and a bit..:p

This is the best £300 ish (£320) card by a long shot, its about 30% faster than a 280X / GTX 770.

If you can afford that i think its a very good buy, it will see you right chewing on the best games for a few years.

If not this is the next best card. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-091-HS

"My Experience" of it in linked in my signature.
 
If you get an aftermarket cooled card, then it will rarely be audible. The 280X iceq i linked in an earlier post is meant to be an excellent cooler, keeping the temps low while being quiet.

Generally speaking (again) if you were going to go for a reference blower style cooler, nvidia produce a better quality cooler, but neither brands own reference coolers are as good as most aftermarket coolers.
 
Cheers guys, good info.
Know what I'm doing now. :)

Sitting with the 560ti for now, saving towards an R9 290.
Its a good "milestone" buy, which I always try to do ( previously had 8800GT, then the 560Ti), so getting the 290 will future proof my gaming for a good few years.

Will it run MAME though? ;)
Seriously its new games round the corner that's got me interested again (Alien Isolation for one), and look forward to getting back into it.

Thanks for all the help.

Atb
Gaz.
 
Just my two penneth, the R9 290 ran hot under reference coolers when it came out and even with the custom coolers now it might be hotter than the 560ti. I have seen it compared to the 480 ie awful under reference but acceptable under custom.

Also with having green team cards for so long just make sure you don't get burnt switching to AMD after so long. The old adage of sticking to what you know best.
I was swayed last year and two AMD cards I bought (new) failed to work properly.
It was like the green god causing havoc as I was leaving the dark side. So I stayed.

I would be tempted to bide your time a bit and see which games make the 560ti chug.
If you then find it being an issue look for a card then. There might be new ones out by that time.

Price per performance the R9 290 seems a cracking purchase its just not my cup of tea with it being AMD and possibly too hot.

You pays your money you takes your choice.
 
varkanoid said:
Just my two penneth, the R9 290 ran hot under reference coolers when it came out and even with the custom coolers now it might be hotter than the 560ti. I have seen it compared to the 480 ie awful under reference but acceptable under custom.

Also with having green team cards for so long just make sure you don't get burnt switching to AMD after so long. The old adage of sticking to what you know best.
I was swayed last year and two AMD cards I bought (new) failed to work properly.
It was like the green god causing havoc as I was leaving the dark side. So I stayed.

I would be tempted to bide your time a bit and see which games make the 560ti chug.
If you then find it being an issue look for a card then. There might be new ones out by that time.

Price per performance the R9 290 seems a cracking purchase its just not my cup of tea with it being AMD and possibly too hot.

You pays your money you takes your choice.
Click to expand...

Oh don't be so gloomy. you have been on the dark side for to long :D

Your putting a lot of emphasis on heat for no reason. its a bit misleading. the reference 290 series had a reference 7970 cooler on it, it was completely inadequate for that GPU let alone a 290

Custom cooled 290's run at 60 to 75c depending on which one, even one with a crap custom cooler is more than enough to keep the temps right down.
overclocked mine never gets to 70c and costs less than a reference cooled GTX 780, wich runs hotter, is slower, has less vRam and is more expensive.

The R9 290 is less money for a better card, so i bough the 290 and feel pretty good about the card, its excellent.
 
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I'd go for something at least in the 290 ballpark performance-wise.

I've got a 7970 Ghz and can't max out at 1080p although the games I play do seem to cpu heavy (ArmaII/ArmaIII). That's with a 3570K @4ghz.
 
gazjam said:
Read up a lot of reviews...the old driver/noise issues I had with AMD cards seemed to be sorted....
Always looking for best bang for buck so 290 it is.

I have a Seasonic X-760 80+ Gold power supply, no issues there?
This one:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=235
Click to expand...

That PSU will work fine. I don't think you will draw more than 400W in a typical system while gaming. Me, I get a maximum of around 320-360W using the system below.
 
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