New Graphics Card Help Required

blackconverse · 28 Dec 2013 at 19:17

Hey All

In March this year I upgraded my computer to include the following:

1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) -
1 x Gigabyte Z77MX-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit

I am now finally looking to upgrade my graphics card as I have been using the Point of View GeForce GTX 260 for a long time now. I have a budget of £170 (excluding shipping) with a maximum of £200 (I am reluctant to spend this amount, and would prefer around the £170 option) I play a variety of games, but intend to start streaming on Twitch.tv which requires not only a good cpu but also a good graphics card hence the upgrade

If you can help me out here it would be much appreciated as I have no real idea when it comes to buying new graphics cards.

ChrisD. · 28 Dec 2013 at 19:45

I would suggest the R9 270X.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produ...catid=56&sortby=manual_sort&subid=1982&mfrid=

My personal preference would be either MSI or Gigabyte due to UK based RMA and excellent coolers (non reference).

The Gigabyte comes with a BF4 game code, so you can use that or choose to sell it if it's of no interest.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-123-GI&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1982

blackconverse · 28 Dec 2013 at 21:56

MilanoChris said:
I would suggest the R9 270X.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produ...catid=56&sortby=manual_sort&subid=1982&mfrid=

My personal preference would be either MSI or Gigabyte due to UK based RMA and excellent coolers (non reference).

The Gigabyte comes with a BF4 game code, so you can use that or choose to sell it if it's of no interest.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-123-GI&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1982

Do you reckon this will be good enough for streaming games? I've never used AMD before do you have any recommendations for Nvidia?

Tonester0011 · 28 Dec 2013 at 21:59

Yes, good enough for streaming.
Thought most of that was via the CPU though?

As for Nvidia, nothing really competes at your price points.
The GTX660 is slower, and only £10 cheaper. The GTX760 isn't much quicker, but a good £30 more expensive.

If it was my money:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming Edition OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
Total : £165.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

blackconverse · 28 Dec 2013 at 22:18

Tonester0011 said:
Yes, good enough for streaming.
Thought most of that was via the CPU though?

As for Nvidia, nothing really competes at your price points.
The GTX660 is slower, and only £10 cheaper. The GTX760 isn't much quicker, but a good £30 more expensive.

If it was my money:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming Edition OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
Total : £165.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Thanks

I've got the i5-3570K which I notice a lot of streamers have, and came recommended quite a lot to me. I've got it OC to 4.0Ghz, and I am just wondering if my PSU I listed above will cope fine with this new graphics card?

murah · 28 Dec 2013 at 22:34

Yes your pc/psu is more than fine, get to 100 posts and you get free shipping (Read the shipping rules http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sh...&posted=1&utm_source=forums&utm_medium=banner )

check out general discussion always a post there that you just have to reply to

blackconverse · 28 Dec 2013 at 22:39

murah said:
Yes your pc/psu is more than fine, get to 100 posts and you get free shipping (Read the shipping rules http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sh...&posted=1&utm_source=forums&utm_medium=banner )

check out general discussion always a post there that you just have to reply to

Thanks. I am looking at the 270 series, and wondering if there is a particular card I should purchase - I don't understand why some are priced higher then others.

blackconverse · 28 Dec 2013 at 23:02

Tonester0011 said:
Yes, good enough for streaming.
Thought most of that was via the CPU though?

As for Nvidia, nothing really competes at your price points.
The GTX660 is slower, and only £10 cheaper. The GTX760 isn't much quicker, but a good £30 more expensive.

If it was my money:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming Edition OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £155.99
Total : £165.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

I should have asked earlier, but just out of interest why in particular this exact model? I can see overclockers stock a lot of other cards in the 270X series, and I am confused what makes some cards better then others?

Tonester0011 · 28 Dec 2013 at 23:07

murah said:
Yes your pc/psu is more than fine, get to 100 posts and you get free shipping (Read the shipping rules http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sh...&posted=1&utm_source=forums&utm_medium=banner )

check out general discussion always a post there that you just have to reply to

blackconverse said:
Thanks. I am looking at the 270 series, and wondering if there is a particular card I should purchase - I don't understand why some are priced higher then others.

blackconverse said:
I should have asked earlier, but just out of interest why in particular this exact model? I can see overclockers stock a lot of other cards in the 270X series, and I am confused what makes some cards better then others?

It's got a decent cooler, tidy stock clock (encase you dont overclock etc) UK based RMA and doesn't come bundled with BF4 which raises the price.

If you're planning on playing BF4 and do not own said game, get yourself this card:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X WindForce 3X OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with BattleField 4 PC Game Included £164.99
Total : £174.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Same reasons as above, UK based RMA. Decent cooler but lower stock clocks, so will perform slower out the box.

As for the other cards, different brands, different coolers and some come with 4GB VRAM.

blackconverse · 28 Dec 2013 at 23:14

Tonester0011 said:
It's got a decent cooler, tidy stock clock (encase you dont overclock etc) UK based RMA and doesn't come bundled with BF4 which raises the price.

If you're planning on playing BF4 and do not own said game, get yourself this card:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X WindForce 3X OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with BattleField 4 PC Game Included £164.99
Total : £174.59 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Same reasons as above, UK based RMA. Decent cooler but lower stock clocks, so will perform slower out the box.

As for the other cards, different brands, different coolers and some come with 4GB VRAM.

Great Thanks

I am not interested in games like BF4, and do not understand clock speeds etc so it's fantastic that I cane come to this forum, and have my questions answered for me

Just out of interest looking at the rest of my build what would you personally make a priority to upgrade next?

ChrisD. · 29 Dec 2013 at 00:23

After the GPU? Not much really, it's a well balanced rig for what you use it for. Unless you don't have an SSD already?

blackconverse · 29 Dec 2013 at 00:35

MilanoChris said:
After the GPU? Not much really, it's a well balanced rig for what you use it for. Unless you don't have an SSD already?

I do not

I've heard a few bad things about them in terms of failure etc - Its also expensive to purchase a 1TB SSD which is what I would require to fit my data usage requirements.

ChrisD. · 29 Dec 2013 at 00:41

You don't need all your data on the SSD, just the OS and the apps you launch, storage data should remain on a mechanical drive. I have 5 or so SSDs in various computers here at home and never had a failure. Just get a decent one such as Samsung 840 or Crucial M4 (most mine are M4's) and they've been faultless. Definitely should be your next upgrade.

Tonester0011 · 29 Dec 2013 at 01:22

SSD should defo be on your list to buy

120gb is a nice balance, between price and space.

Avenged7Fold · 29 Dec 2013 at 01:26

I think the failure thing was hyped up through fear-mongering more than anything, on their mainstream introduction. I have owned half a dozen SSDs of varying size and brand and have never had any fail.

Tonester0011 · 29 Dec 2013 at 01:33

Avenged7Fold said:
I think the failure thing was hyped up through fear-mongering more than anything, on their mainstream introduction. I have owned half a dozen SSDs of varying size and brand and have never had any fail.

^That tbh.
Every computer i own or build has a SSD, not had a single one die, fault etc.

Still rocking mine after 2+ years, according to SSDlife running at 98%

blackconverse · 29 Dec 2013 at 10:03

Tonester0011 said:
SSD should defo be on your list to buy
120gb is a nice balance, between price and space.

I will look into it

blackconverse · 29 Dec 2013 at 10:03

Avenged7Fold said:
I think the failure thing was hyped up through fear-mongering more than anything, on their mainstream introduction. I have owned half a dozen SSDs of varying size and brand and have never had any fail.

Do you have a particular brand that you would recommend?

blackconverse · 29 Dec 2013 at 10:04

Tonester0011 said:
^That tbh.
Every computer i own or build has a SSD, not had a single one die, fault etc.

Still rocking mine after 2+ years, according to SSDlife running at 98%

How do you mean it's running at 98%? I don't quite understand what that means for an SSD

ChrisD. · 29 Dec 2013 at 11:13

You can run a performance tool on one, and it will give you a scale of how healthy the SSD is, from 0-100%.

As for brand, the Samsung 840 is highly regarded, if I were buying now it's what I would go for.