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GPU upgrade advice

AxeAwe

AxeAwe

AxeAwe

Associate
Joined
3 Dec 2013
Posts
14
Hi all, hoping for some help from you knowledgeable types. I'm looking to upgrade my GPU and have about £200 budget, just seen this bad boy pop up though:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-363-AS

I have a humble budget rig, which is as follows:

Asus P8H61-MX-USB3 mobo
Intel Xeon E3-1230-V2
8Gb 1333Mhz RAM
Sapphire HD7850 2Gb OC
Powercool PC-750AUBA-M 80+ 750W PSU
CIT Vantage case (3 x 120mm fans)

I wouldn't be looking at OCing with my current set-up (don't think the PSU would cope). Do I have a chance of running the R9 290X, or should I set my sights a bit lower?

Thanks.
 
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How much room is in your case for big GFX cards?

You might need to update your boards BIOS to help it recognise and work with new GFX cards such as the 9 series from nvidia.

Your PSU is very weak on the 12V rails, I wouldnt place it under too much stress with a 290X, a GTX960 would be far safer.
 
stulid said:
How much room is in your case for big GFX cards?

You might need to update your boards BIOS to help it recognise and work with new GFX cards such as the 9 series from nvidia.

Your PSU is very weak on the 12V rails, I wouldnt place it under too much stress with a 290X, a GTX960 would be far safer.
Click to expand...

I don't know if this helps, but I also have a Cooler Master GX Lite 600W (RS-600-ASAB-L3) as a spare, this appears to have 45A on the 12V rail, whereas the Powercool is 18A + 16A = 34A. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this PSU looks like it gives me a bit more overhead for the GPU.

My case looks to be just about okay, I'm going to have to move the side fan up by one slot, but a quick measure shows that it will fit.
 
Thanks Stulid,

I was looking at a GTX960 4Gb edition for similar money, but the performance seems to be a fair bit off the R9 280X, let alone the R9 290X. A GTX 970 is appealing, but would blow my budget out of the water.

Do you think the Cooler Mater 600w would carry me through for a few months until I get a PSU upgrade? Please bear in mind that my CPU is very efficient and only draws 69W.
 
Yeah looking at the benchamrk comparisons i dont think upgrading to a 960 is worth it, might as well just save a bit longer for a 970 or go second hand like simon says.
 
That would be a better choice with that PSU.

Still not an ideal PSU, but better.

Have you checked how much space is in your case? the Palit is 247mm long.
 
That PSU you have needs to go mate, I purchased one years ago and it wouldn't even allow the system to start with a graphics card that required power connected (4870 AMD). I spent the whole day wondering what was wrong and it was that causing all the problems when I stuck a multimeter to monitor it during powering up the 12v line would tank and cause the failed startup of the system.
 
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