Graphics card upgrade from gtx 680

-Mike- · 21 Oct 2015 at 18:10

Hey all,

Looking at replacing a gtx 680 which I've had on loan for far too long! I game at 1080p on a u2414h and am looking for something to give a reasonable performance boost that won't hold me back for a year or two!

Looking at the gtx 970/980 but wondering if the 980 is worth the price increase over the 970 for my usage?

Thanks

stulid · 21 Oct 2015 at 18:11

R9 390 8GB if you dont mind AMD will be a stronger performer than a 970.

A GTX970 is fine for 1080P also.

-Mike- · 21 Oct 2015 at 18:18

stulid said:
R9 390 8GB if you dont mind AMD will be a stronger performer than a 970.

A GTX970 is fine for 1080P also.

Thanks stulid, I'd completely dismissed AMD but looking at the first review I've found they look to be pretty capable!

stulid · 21 Oct 2015 at 18:22

Yeah, solid performers and that double capacity Vram means it should last longer than a 970 in theory.

-Mike- · 21 Oct 2015 at 18:27

stulid said:
Yeah, solid performers and that double capacity Vram means it should last longer than a 970 in theory.

Do they still clock up massively for youtube videos etc like they used to? I know the nvidia ticks away at idle... I do a lot of youtube watching some nights!

stulid · 21 Oct 2015 at 18:30

Some of them run passive at idle (MSI gaming, ASUS strix) for example.

ElliotHand · 21 Oct 2015 at 18:56

I just went from 670 Sli to 390 and have been delighted.

Sold my 670s for 85 and got the 390 for 220 with a CIv beyond Earth free so a very cheap net upgrade that leaves me with lots of cash for when pascal etc lands next year.

Had no issues swapping from Nvidia to Amd either, drivers been fine so far and everything's run well. Not found mantle to be significantly better than dx12 but guess I'm still learning.

-Mike- · 21 Oct 2015 at 20:08

ElliotHand said:
I just went from 670 Sli to 390 and have been delighted.

Sold my 670s for 85 and got the 390 for 220 with a CIv beyond Earth free so a very cheap net upgrade that leaves me with lots of cash for when pascal etc lands next year.

Had no issues swapping from Nvidia to Amd either, drivers been fine so far and everything's run well. Not found mantle to be significantly better than dx12 but guess I'm still learning.

Which card did you go for? Thanks for the reply!

Thanks for your help stulid also! Research begins

Geeman1979 · 21 Oct 2015 at 20:16

You can't go wrong with either the card, 970 or the 390, both perform about the same with wins coming from either side. By all accounts the Windforce are good cards from what I've seen, cheap as well once you take the bundled game into account.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-149-GI&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

-Mike- · 21 Oct 2015 at 20:31

Geeman1979 said:
You can't go wrong with either the card, 970 or the 390, both perform about the same with wins coming from either side. By all accounts the Windforce are good cards from what I've seen, cheap as well once you take the bundled game into account.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-149-GI&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

Tempted to go for something nvidia based due to the lower power usage/heat still I must admit. May go for a G1 gaming of some variety.

Geeman1979 · 21 Oct 2015 at 20:33

Yeah the G1's are a good pedigree.

Dirk Diggler · 21 Oct 2015 at 20:37

Can a 390 access the full 8GB and still push the pixels faster than 60fps?

-Mike- · 21 Oct 2015 at 22:57

B Grade worth a gamble or not really?

stulid · 21 Oct 2015 at 23:19

The MSI 970? think I would rather pay the £30 more for a box fresh Windforce.

Geeman1979 · 21 Oct 2015 at 23:28

A good saving can be had on a G1 see link, although i'd still probably stump up the extra on new considering you get the free game and full warranty peace of mind.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-437-GI

arc@css · 21 Oct 2015 at 23:41

stulid said:
The MSI 970? think I would rather pay the £30 more for a box fresh Windforce.

+1

-Mike- · 21 Oct 2015 at 23:57

stulid said:
The MSI 970? think I would rather pay the £30 more for a box fresh Windforce.

Their clearance section is messed up! Shows about 5 items but if you put in **B Grade** GTX in the search box, there are far more! Was looking at the G1 gaming, but I hear peoples thoughts that the saving is not worth the lack of warranty as the discount isn't that massive.

Purgatory · 22 Oct 2015 at 00:01

**B Grade** Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 WindForce 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express G (GX-155-GI) £275.99 inc VAT

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-500-GI

-Mike- · 22 Oct 2015 at 00:04

Purgatory said:
**B Grade** Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 WindForce 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express G (GX-155-GI) £275.99 inc VAT

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BG-500-GI

Indeed, I saw that one

They also have gigabyte reference design gtx 980's. It's a lot of money to blow on something with potentially a 30 day warranty though! Also hassle if the previous owner returned it because it whines so bad - then having to return it and wait for a refund!

Purgatory · 22 Oct 2015 at 04:33

-Mike- said:
Indeed, I saw that one They also have gigabyte reference design gtx 980's. It's a lot of money to blow on something with potentially a 30 day warranty though! Also hassle if the previous owner returned it because it whines so bad - then having to return it and wait for a refund!

Warranty for this item is 90 days + any remaining from the manufacturer.