Recommendations please

ttreaders · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:00

Hi,

I've noticed in the last few games i've played (GTA 5 and The Witcher 3) that my card is showing it's age - gtx 660. I generally prefer nvidia cards, what is the best card currently for price & performance? I'm wanting to spend as little as possible but also want it to be a worthy upgrade. I originally looked at the 960 series but I don't think that's going to be significant enough, is the 970 the way to go? I'm completely out of the loop with graphics cards at the moment so any advice would be great!

Cheers

BriT · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:02

Yeah grab a 970 you will see a massive difference

Squink · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:05

Here's the obligatory comparison. Showing approx a 100pc increase I.e. a doubling in performance:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1039?vs=1355

ttreaders · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:12

Ok thanks guys, I'm going to order from Ocuk, is the Palit one thats on sale https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-013-PL&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010 ok or do you recommend I go for a different brand?

Jamielicious · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:16

To be honest the 970 is the lowest Nvidia card out now that'll give you a big step up from a 660. The 760 and the 960 are not great leaps forwards and 960s are still overpriced.

AMD have dominated the mid-range but mainly because Nvidia stopped caring.

So if you want to spend about £250 I'd get a 970.

If you want to spend £150 I'd wait for a good deal on a 770/780 or wait for the 4GB 380 to settle at that price-point.

kernow34 · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:18

If I was gonna buy a 970 right now would probably got for this one
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-259-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010
I don't own a Palit but for the extra £40 your getting a better card imo just sold the 980 version of the card i linked and it was cool,quiet and with it being MSI had no problem selling it on.

Squink · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:18

I'd probably see if you can get one with more than one fan on it. You'll notice the description on that card pretty much says it's going to sound louder than it should. The 970gtx does occasionally pop up for less and with better coolers.

Jamielicious · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:18

ttreaders said:
Ok thanks guys, I'm going to order from Ocuk, is the Palit one thats on sale https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-013-PL&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010 ok or do you recommend I go for a different brand?

It's by far the cheapest 970 out there, I think the Palit Jetstream versions had coil whine issues but I am not sure about this one. I'd imagine overclocking would be limited but at stock a 970 is about double what a stock 660 can do.

At £240 that may just be worth it.

MrMD · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:20

970 is deffo a worthwhile upgrade

Wouldnt be so keen on the palit,tis a blower cooler(so potentially loud) and palit dont have the best rma process should something go wrong.

The cheapest quality 970 is this one at £260 https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-149-GI&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

ttreaders · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:27

Thanks for all the help. I want to order one now so waiting for others to drop in price etc isn't an option for me. I'll go for either that MSI or Gigabyte one that's been recommended as I'd rather pay that little bit extra for piece of mind if something goes wrong.

My specs are:

i5-2500k @ 4.3ghz
8gb ram

Only mouse/keyboard plugged in.

At the moment I'm running on a 400w Corsair PSU, the 970 only seems to use a little more juice and my system is stable. Think I can get away with it?

Resa69 · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:29

ttreaders said:
Thanks for all the help. I want to order one now so waiting for others to drop in price etc isn't an option for me. I'll go for either that MSI or Gigabyte one that's been recommended as I'd rather pay that little bit extra for piece of mind if something goes wrong.

My specs are:

i5-2500k @ 4.3ghz
8gb ram

Only mouse/keyboard plugged in.

At the moment I'm running on a 400w Corsair PSU, the 970 only seems to use a little more juice and my system is stable. Think I can get away with it?

400w should be plenty

Squink · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:29

My PSU puts out 420w on the 12v rail. I think it's enough for a 970gtx but I'd probably not risk it.

ttreaders · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:37

Resa69 said:
400w should be plenty

Good to hear

mulpsmebeauty said:
My PSU puts out 420w on the 12v rail. I think it's enough for a 970gtx but I'd probably not risk it.

Ok, if it wasn't sufficient - what's the worst that could happen? I'm genuinely asking by the way, not trying to be clever

I'm guessing the pc would lock-up/power off randomly.. could it actually cause any physical damage though?

Squink · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:42

I've had a (very early) Superflower go pop on me and it took out my two raid 0 disk drives at the same time. This was many years ago. I don't know if motherboards have more protection against this sort of thing these days.

Resa69 · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:44

mulpsmebeauty said:
I've had a (very early) Superflower go pop on me and it took out my two raid 0 disk drives at the same time. This was many years ago. I don't know if motherboards have more protection against this sort of thing these days.

I'm guessing the quality of the power supply will play a role too. But the 970 is very energy efficient and since your processor is nothing too over the top 400w should be fine. If you get random lock ups and reboots then I'd get it replaced.

ttreaders · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:49

This is the PSU http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/corsair-cx400w-power-supply-review/10/

Rated as a good budget unit, 30amps on the 12v rail which is a bit lower than i'd like but from what i've read, it should just about manage. I will give it a shot

Thanks for all the advice

stulid · 21 Jun 2015 at 17:52

You may have to update your boards BIOS for newer GFX card releases.

That PSU was made by Seasonic, I would suggest getting a new one as its rather old now and they degrade.

550W for £50 - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-036-SF

And whatever card you get check its length against the space inside your case.

ttreaders · 21 Jun 2015 at 18:32

Cheers Stulid,

My case is huge so size wont be an issue

My PSU only has 1 6 pin connector - the 670 needs an 8 pin and a 6 pin.

I know I can attach (splitters?), but are these normally supplied with these cards?

stulid · 21 Jun 2015 at 18:46

If you have to use adapters to supply the right power then thats a sign you should update the PSU.

Squink · 21 Jun 2015 at 19:07

Being told you need a new PSU is like a smaller version of realising your boiler has packed up. It performs an essential function, but you really, really don't want to spend money replacing it as you see no perceptible benefit with the new part.