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GPU Upgrade?

SupahPhresh

SupahPhresh

SupahPhresh

Associate
Joined
1 Dec 2013
Posts
52
Hey guys, I currently have a Powercolor HD7850 2GB and I've been thinking about upgrading.

Now I'm loathe to needlessly upgrade if there is no real reason to so I was just wondering how much life people could honestly see being left in my graphics card.

I'm willing to splash the cash so should I go for a 290X or are NVIDIA's products coming up trumps these days? If so what card should I look at?

Many thanks.
 
The life of your card depends on what games you play, and how high your crank the eye candy in these games. If you don't have to play everything at 1080p full resolution, then your 7850 will be fine for several more years.

If you want the newest in terms of technology, and want to game at high resolutions with high/ultra details etc. , then you can buy a new GPU.

In terms of performance, AMD 290 < Nvidia 780 < AMD 290X < Nvidia 780Ti. There are a lot of websites and youtube videos with benchmark numbers, but numbers aren't everything.
Nvidia cards generally run cooler, AMD has some cool new innovations such as Mantle, Nvidia now has g-sync and so on.

As a general process, decide how much you value high resolutions and high details, to see if you really need a new GPU. If you do need one, set a budget and get the best performance you can for that budget, looking at benchmark sites (whichever you prefer).
 
I would like to play all games at 1080P, that is my minimum requirement for gaming.

My question is though is it truly worth forking out an extra 100+ quid to get NVIDIA? I only have a 60HZ monitor which I am fairly happy with and don't want to go down the route of having to buy a brand new monitor to notice a slight difference in visuals. Or are the changes really noticeable?
 
The AMD 290 is easily able to push 60 FPS in Metro Last Light, and about 42 FPS in Crysis 3. These are the numbers for the stock version, mind you. Also, since the new 14.4 Drivers, performance has gone up for a lot of games.
If you have a 60 Hz monitor, a 290 should suffice. Do yourself a favor and get it with an aftermarket cooler though :) There are some deals on the 290 now, from what I can see.

To answer your other question, I haven't yet gamed on a 120Hz monitor, so I would't be able to give you a good answer.
 
Would grab a 290p and put the rest towards a cpu/mobo upgrade in the future. If you dont plan on bumping the CPU/mobo up, would sell your current card and go for a 280x.
 
Avenged7Fold said:
Would grab a 290p and put the rest towards a cpu/mobo upgrade in the future. If you dont plan on bumping the CPU/mobo up, would sell your current card and go for a 280x.
Click to expand...

Cheers Avenged. Being a Yorkshireman I'm loathe to part with cash needlessly so I'm just wondering whether getting a 280X is enough of a jump in spec to fully justify the purchase. I'm willing to chuck around 350-400 towards this if that helps.
 
The thing is, your current CPU will limit the performance you get from a 290 quite a lot depending on the game you play.

For £400, if going second hand is an option i would snatch up a 290 + 2500k + motherboard. That will see you massive boosts.

If not 280x is still a pretty big jump.
 
Yes if you are okay with your current graphics grunt until you can upgrade the GPU. Upgrading CPU and mobo without the GPU will not see you any noticeable increase in fps due to your card not being a monster card. You will see the difference once you pop in a more powerful card though.
 
Depends on what you want mate. If you want to keep your current motherboard and go the CPU route, get an 8350 or an 8320. If you want a new system, get a 2500k with a cheap z68 or z77 motherboard.

I would personally get a better graphics card. Not the top of the range one, but something high end. Buying a new CPU won't give you any noticeable increases in performance, and if we all take the approach "something better will come out next year", we won't ever buy anything :)
 
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