Advice on upgrade

ziggynerja · 4 Aug 2015 at 19:57

Hi all,

Problem:

I've been having big problems with my current R9 280X over the last couple of months and it's making me consider upgrading. Currently, if I game for long periods (over 1h), my PC freezes and some solid color will appear (see pic below). The only way to get out of this is restarting the PC. My temps on my GPU don't go above 75c, and my CPU temps don't go over 50c, so I've no idea what's going on there.

My questions:

I was considering the gtx 970, but after doing some research, the r9 390 might be best for me, being that I have a 4k monitor and would like to game at a higher res than 1080p.

1) Soo first of all, which of these would you suggest:

- PowerColor Radeon R9 390 PCS+ 8GB
- SAPPHIRE Radeon R9 390 NITRO 8GB (£20 cheaper)
- XFX version, at the same price as the Sapphire, and has a very slightly higher clock speed.

2) I'm thinking of upgrading my BitFenix Neos to the Fractal Design's Define R5. Will these cards fit?

3) Lastly, I've got the Cooler Master Silent PRO 600W PSU - Is this sufficient?

Spec:

GPU: Sapphire R9 280X
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16gb
Mobo: Gigabyte Z77X-UP4 TH
PSU: Coolermaster 600w silent pro
Case: BitFenix Neos
CPU: i7 2600
Storage: Samsung SSD 850 Evo

Any help at all would be massively appreciated!

ziggynerja · 5 Aug 2015 at 17:34

lawrence281 · 5 Aug 2015 at 20:50

I would recommend the gtx 970 over the R9 and yes, it will fit inside the fractal r5.
Graphics cards up to 310 mm in length with the top HDD cage installed; with the top cage removed, graphics cards up to 440 mm
GTX 970 = L=312mm, W=129mm, H=43mm

BUt if you'd choose from the 3 options, SAPPHIRE Radeon R9 390 NITRO 8GB, in terms of benchmarks and performance. But i've got more experience with Nvidia, since i run a G-sync.

And from all the components combined, that PSU is more than enough to power it all, with a good chunk left over

Anything else you need to know?

lawrence281 · 5 Aug 2015 at 21:03

And i cant seem to find the physical dimentions on the R9 390X nitro.. :/

ziggynerja · 6 Aug 2015 at 01:21

Hi Lawrence, thanks for the response!

It seems most threads people are suggesting the 970 over the r9 390. The only reason I thought of going down the ATI route was because I have read the R9 390 handles high res better (larger than 1080p).

However I do like how the 970 has lower power consumption and that its slightly cheaper.

Great news about the R5! I think I'll go for that. I was debating whether I should choose that or the H440, but I think I prefer the quieter case.

thanks again!

lawrence281 · 6 Aug 2015 at 06:22

No problem, Im thinking of getting myself a R5 aswell, due to the fact, I want to start modding a brand new system and sell my old case which is phanteks ethoo pro..(too big)