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advice on upgrading gpu + psu

peter tron

peter tron

peter tron

Associate
Joined
6 Oct 2012
Posts
277
Location
(do-or-die) Wye, Ashford, Kent, UK.
hi guys,

my gpu is acting up, so i want to replace it.
my psu is quite old, so i want to replace that at the same time.

specs:
OS: Windows Vista HP 32-bit SP2
CPU: i3-2130 @ 3.40GHz
RAM: 2x2GB Unknown Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 1333MHz (9-9-9-24)
Mobo: Gigabyte H61MA-D3V
Monitor: Standard Monitor (1280x800@1Hz)
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 460
PSU: evolabs 750u (700w)
HDD1: 160GB Seagate ST3160316CS
HDD2: 1TB WD Ext HDD 1021 USB
Optical: LG DVD GE20LU10 USB
Case: eclipse computers
Audio: Realtek ALC887 HD Audio

i was looking at the gtx 660 and 670.
i wanted to keep within the £100 mark, as i have spotted quite a few of the above on ebay for under this amount.

the current card [gtx 460] measures 210mm with another 90mm spare until the hard drive carriage.

the there's the psu:
again, i want to keep 'frugal' i'm hoping to get a really good one for around £50 max.
of course, i'll welcome all suggestions!

i've been looking at cards generally on ebay [uk only], but i will not totally restricted myself to that.
amazonuk too, although there seem to be better prices on ebay.

i can also supply pictures of the pc inside and out if needed.

i'm looking forwards to brainstorming a quality build with a competitive, thoughtful price range ;)

baz
 
if your set on getting a used card have a look at 7950/7970/r9,280/r9,280x or a gtx 770, also look on gumtree to see if there any local to you,

for a psu any decent 550 watt will do.

one thing which everyone will say on here is to get a ssd for your OS so it feels more snappy, quicker boot time, loads programs faster.
 
i want to stick with nividia.
the 700 series are out of my price range.
i'm looking at the 600 series, maybe the 500 series too, but i can cough up for 600 series stuff on ebay.
 
peter tron said:
i want to stick with nividia.
the 700 series are out of my price range.
i'm looking at the 600 series, maybe the 500 series too, but i can cough up for 600 series stuff on ebay.
Click to expand...

I would advise to look beyond the sceptisms you may hold , nvidia whilst I do love them have nothing of any value to performance in this price range I'd concider . 7870s / 270xs 7950s/280s can be had from 40 to 80 notes which would stomp anything you can buy from nvidia at this range . Buy smart not loyal at this price
 
MasterOC said:
I would advise to look beyond the sceptisms you may hold , nvidia whilst I do love them have nothing of any value to performance in this price range I'd concider . 7870s / 270xs 7950s/280s can be had from 40 to 80 notes which would stomp anything you can buy from nvidia at this range . Buy smart not loyal at this price
Click to expand...

now that is true words, also why have 2gb when you can have 3gb for less
 
i tried looking on ebay for the following as 'buy it now':

7870s:
i could only find 7870k? and they were all around £100 or so.

270xs:

couldn't find any xs, but 'x', i could. again, too expensive.

7950s:
too expensive. over £100

280s:
again. too expensive.

i must refer back to my op, £100 max.
 
peter tron said:
i tried looking on ebay for the following as 'buy it now':

7870s:
i could only find 7870k? and they were all around £100 or so.

270xs:

couldn't find any xs, but 'x', i could. again, too expensive.

7950s:
too expensive. over £100

280s:
again. too expensive.

i must refer back to my op, £100 max.
Click to expand...

did you look on gumtree as them prices on ebay are way over priced as people try there luck for a higher price

the 7870k is a amd cpu (fm2) line

last year in picked up a 7850 for £50 on ebay

have you looked on cex as they have a few cards on there for £100 or less or for £115 you can get a gtx760
 
there are some good deals on gumtree, cheers for that!

unfortunately i cannot post competitor links here :(

can people look on gumtree and type gtx 660 and weigh in about which 660 looks like a good deal?

there were a few in the uk for about £50 or £60 but i need some futher once over opinions from people before i commit.
 
peter tron said:
there are some good deals on gumtree, cheers for that!

unfortunately i cannot post competitor links here :(

can people look on gumtree and type gtx 660 and weigh in about which 660 looks like a good deal?

there were a few in the uk for about £50 or £60 but i need some futher once over opinions from people before i commit.
Click to expand...

if your set on a gtx 660 get the 2gb model

on ebay try bidding on some and most of the time they will go for less or take a trip to your local cex

google avforums
 
i've settled on either:

gtx 660
7950

there's a gtx 660 on ebay for £65
and there's a 7950 on ebay for £90 [cheers fx!]

the form factor had me worried, as the 7950 is 11.2"s [285mm].
i have a space for 300mm max. it should fit.
 
I often see PSU's last for over a decade in 24/7 operation, so if you aren't having any problems with it then I really wouldn't worry about it too much. Use that money to bump up the budget for the graphics card, or use it for something else.
 
the 7950 would walk over a 660 and has much better memory size and bandwidth if you can squeeze in an ssd like mentioned that should do wonders with a fresh install of windows 7, ssd's are cheap second hand especially the 1st gen even if there not the fastest will still make ajoke out of a mechanical hdd
 
Wucked said:
I often see PSU's last for over a decade in 24/7 operation, so if you aren't having any problems with it then I really wouldn't worry about it too much. Use that money to bump up the budget for the graphics card, or use it for something else.
Click to expand...

i was speaking recently to member of the nvidia forum [greybear], and he told me that my psu readings in my bios were not brilliant.

5v - 5.000
12v - 12.024

apparently the above readings would be fine under load, but i was getting these readings idle.

i still do not know for sure if my 460 is truly knackered or not, as i can't try it out in my friends pc, as his psu is not powerful enough, and i don't know anyone else. he indicated to me that a psu that isn't in good health can affect the performance of a gpu.

once i choose the gpu, i was going to grab a new psu, as the one in my pc is quite old, and it ius the only piece that i have upgraded along with everything else.
 
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