Can't decide on upgrade. Current: ATI HD 7950

habbyster · 23 Aug 2014 at 20:04

I'm using the ATI HD 7950, my specs are:

i5 3570k 3.4ghz
8gb ram
z33-d3h
550W Antec psu
ATI HD 7950
Coolermaster Evo 212 cooler

I'm looking to upgrade my GPU to increase gaming performance, specifically for Arm 3 / DayZ SA. Any ideas? I'm looking at the gtx 770 but can't decide.

I'm looking to spend around £1100 + what I sell this card for (£150?)

arc@css · 23 Aug 2014 at 20:05

Overclock the 3570K for cpu bound games like Arma. If that's not enough, I'd recommend a GTX780 / R9 290. You can always add another later (mobo depending).

habbyster · 23 Aug 2014 at 20:43

Turns out I forgot I overclocked it to 3.80Ghz already, it seems like the gtx 780 is the best option. Will my PSU handle all this?

arc@css · 23 Aug 2014 at 20:52

Hmmm...I think 600w is the recommended wattage, though both AMD and Nvidia tend to err on the side of caution when calculating power requirements. You might be okay with a 550w for the interim.

I would look into pushing your cpu further if possible; over 4ghz should be easy. I'm still using a stock cooler, and can quite comfortably reach over 4ghz with very good temps.

Bart_Hunt · 23 Aug 2014 at 20:54

Stock 780 eats 230w, so you should be fine.

Tonester0011 · 23 Aug 2014 at 20:55

Which antec?

Disco_P · 23 Aug 2014 at 21:00

Definitely look into overclocking that CPU to about 4.2GHz. It really is an easy way to get a free performance boost especially in DayZ SA and arma III as they are so CPU bound.

You'll need to jump to a 780/290 to get a significant performance improvement. But a please please please try OCing your CPU first.

And you could probably sell that 7950 for about £100. R9 280 (same card - different name) goes for about £150 new.

humbug · 23 Aug 2014 at 21:03

Get a 290, its at least as fast as a 780 and costs less.

wazza300 · 23 Aug 2014 at 21:05

no 7950 xfire love?

arc@css · 23 Aug 2014 at 21:13

wazza300 said:
no 7950 xfire love?

+1

Pretty good option.

Most games will get a nice fps boost.

Disco_P · 23 Aug 2014 at 21:25

wazza300 said:
no 7950 xfire love?

Need a new PSU and I don't know how well arma 3 scales in crossfire but I doubt it is very good. Also the mobo only supports 16x 4x crossfire.

Boomstick777 · 23 Aug 2014 at 22:04

humbug said:
Get a 290, its at least as fast as a 780 and costs less.

+1

At that price range 290 over a 780.

If you want though Nvidia grab a 780 Ti, some good prices now.

nitram100 · 23 Aug 2014 at 22:09

290, I upgraded from a 7950 and was a great improvement with the same CPU you have.

~>Dg<~ · 23 Aug 2014 at 23:16

290 is 30 percent extra performance for 300 quid.

crossfire 7950 is roughly same as a 780ti

uksoldierboy · 23 Aug 2014 at 23:31

One 7950 is plenty to max out Arma 3 and dayz, you need to overclock that cpu as much as possible.

Even then, performance will still drop a lot in big contacts and urban areas on both dayz and Arma.

Getting another 7950 won't help, my advice would be to as mentioned, overclock the cpu as much as you can, change settings to put more stress on your gpu such as msaa etc.

James J · 24 Aug 2014 at 00:03

I'd wait personally as the new cards are coming in a few months.

Hybridtheory · 24 Aug 2014 at 00:51

Ive got nearly same system as you with a few extra's assuming you meant a Z77 board not a Z33 ? see my specs below.

Id defiantly be trying for 4.2, 4.4 on your cpu as others have said !, and maybe crossfire if you dont want to change your complete system

Minstadave · 24 Aug 2014 at 01:05

uksoldierboy said:
One 7950 is plenty to max out Arma 3 and dayz, you need to overclock that cpu as much as possible.

Even then, performance will still drop a lot in big contacts and urban areas on both dayz and Arma.

Getting another 7950 won't help, my advice would be to as mentioned, overclock the cpu as much as you can, change settings to put more stress on your gpu such as msaa etc.

I had a huge performance boost on ARMA3 adding a second 7950. Now I run a 7990 and it's smooth as butter, on a single 7950 there were obvious frame rate drops.

AlamoX · 24 Aug 2014 at 04:01

habbyster said:
I'm using the ATI HD 7950, my specs are:

i5 3570k 3.4ghz
8gb ram
z33-d3h
550W Antec psu
ATI HD 7950
Coolermaster Evo 212 cooler

I'm looking to upgrade my GPU to increase gaming performance, specifically for Arm 3 / DayZ SA. Any ideas? I'm looking at the gtx 770 but can't decide.

I'm looking to spend around £1100 + what I sell this card for (£150?)

if you are gonna build a rig do it with 4k in mind, by Q2 2015 there will be plenty of 4k monitors with freesync.
if i were you i would put a little more on PSU and get 1000watt, and i would get an R9 290, this way it will be ready for crossfire, so instead of having to change gpu and psu next year, you just get a 2nd gpu and crossfire it.

Calin Banc · 24 Aug 2014 at 09:01

uksoldierboy said:
One 7950 is plenty to max out Arma 3 and dayz, you need to overclock that cpu as much as possible.

Even then, performance will still drop a lot in big contacts and urban areas on both dayz and Arma.

Getting another 7950 won't help, my advice would be to as mentioned, overclock the cpu as much as you can, change settings to put more stress on your gpu such as msaa etc.

While server side and client side CPU performance IS a big deal, the GPU as well needs more grunt than a 7950 if you want to max those game at more than 30fps, especially at stock speeds.