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Confusion Reigns Supreme

mattcrane

mattcrane

mattcrane

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Joined
29 Jul 2014
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594
Location
Truro, Cornwall, UK
I know this is the graphics card forum but please bare with me while I explain I promise there is a GPU related question at the end :D

So I recently asked for advice regarding purchasing 2 x 24" monitors:

Monitor 1 for gaming, just for fun not competitive BF4, Wow and Elite: Dangerous, so it would be nice to run everything at Ultra settings but to be honest its not a major priority.

Monitor 2 will be used for everything from underwater video/photo editing, (amateur use not professional/commercial film making etc), and general internet type use etc.

Gaming recommendation was a 144Hz of some sort maybe even G-Sync depending on funds,
Second recommendation was for a IPS type panel.

Great I thought I can start looking at relevant monitors yipeeee

Oh wait.... I was then asked what GPU I currently have, which is a GTX750Ti that is only 3 months old as it was an emergency purchase when my 550Ti went bang.

The general suspicion is that it may not run a 144hz Panel very well :eek:

So finally we get to my GPU related question which is: what graphics card would be required/recommended to run the kind of setup I want.

I am hoping to keep to a single card as if I wanted to go SLI I would need a new mobo as this one is X-Fire only, and I would probably need a new PSU currently have a 650w, and to be honest I really cannot afford to replace either of them right now.

Not overly worried about overclock ability due to lack of knowledge and funds if I get it wrong big time.

Can probably squeeze about £300 ish if I need a new GPU, and then take a few months to save up for monitors.

Only problem I can see with that is my current monitors are old enough that they only have DVI connections so may need adapters or something as I have seen that some cards only have a single DVI connection.

Also not sure if I have to change should I go reference or non-reference.

Any advice gratefully accepted as I am driving the wife insane with my constant mind changing.
 
A good time for buying a GPU, there's the gtx 970 that can be had for around £270 or there's the amd 290 going for £199 with free games, you pays your money and takes your choice
 
You will struggle for ultra settings at the FPs cap on a 144hz monitor without sli/crossfire. Don't worry about a 144hz monitor. Get a max of 120. Even 60 is fine if you are not competitive or anything. I consider myself a gamer and I game at 60hz. A gtx 970 is the best, most cost effective gpu for running your games, especially wow at the max settings.
 
old gamer said:
A good time for buying a GPU, there's the gtx 970 that can be had for around £270 or there's the amd 290 going for £199 with free games, you pays your money and takes your choice
Click to expand...

This really. The 290 and 970 perform about the same across the board. The 970 uses less power to do it, but it'll take a long time to recoup the purchase price difference in electricity costs. The 290 would allow you to use Mantle in BF4, which is nice, but if any of your favourite games use GPU PhysX then that's a point in the 970s favour.

As OldGamer said, your choice between the two - flip a coin if it comes down to it. You won't be disappointed with either option.
 
Given your budget I would scrap the idea of getting a 144hz panel. They certainly do offer an improvement to the smoothness of games but are a lot harder to run GPU wise and cost more. You'll also have the issue of when you use your IPS, 60Hz will feel quite framey and when you use your TN you'll realise how bad the colours are.

Personally I would recommend 2 IPS monitors, they are move than good enough for 99.9% of gamers.

GPU wise, we'd need a budget (unless you already set aside money for the monitors and £300 is for just the GPU) but the £200 290, £280 970 and £300 780 ti are all amazing amounts of performance for the cost.
 
^ I have the power to push 144hz but would only consider a refresh rates that high if it came in conjunction with an IPS panel , he's bang on couldn't go back to a TN no matter how good it was tbh . Gsync tempted me but IPS still king for me
 
Thank you all thats given me something to think about at least.

As for budget, the £300ish I mentioned above was the budget for a new GPU could probably squeeze a little bit more for it and it would just mean saving a little longer for monitors.
 
D1craig said:
You will struggle for ultra settings at the FPs cap on a 144hz monitor without sli/crossfire. Don't worry about a 144hz monitor. Get a max of 120. Even 60 is fine if you are not competitive or anything. I consider myself a gamer and I game at 60hz. A gtx 970 is the best, most cost effective gpu for running your games, especially wow at the max settings.
Click to expand...


To be honest though I am not overly worried about ultra settings except maybe in Elite: Dangerous as it looks lovely :)

Soooo much choice out there and it seems the more info I get the more confused I get :confused:
 
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