Some advice needed

[FuF]

Hello everybody!

I've joined recently and was amazed how much I've learned from just reading the forum. So good work all guys who contribute, keep it comming!

You can't be a newly joined member without throwing a few newbie questions though! So here it comes..

In the next month or possibly as soon as next few weeks I will be purchasing a new GPU. My PC specs are not brilliant but pretty much doable for the time being (i5-2500 @ 4.1ghz, 8GB Corsair Vengeance RAM, Gigabyte Z68AP-D3, Corsair GS700 Supply block). The reason I am even considering it is that after the upgrade last year I was left unhappy with my Asus GTX 550 Ti (after 9800GT died on me - was due for an upgrade anyway). Good to run games on medium to lower specs but I find 30 FPS on games more or less unsatisfactory. Currently running on 1680 x 1050 and it feels like I am pushing my poor GPU to it's limits. If I see that my CPU needs to be clocked a bit higher to get the full potential of the GPU I will do that too. I still feel a bit apprehensive about overclocking CPU but I am sure it'll be fine

My near future plan is to purchase the GPU and a bit later get myself sorted with a 24-27" monitor that runs at least 1920×1080.

For the time being I am thinking to spend up to 350 GBP on the GPU.
There are few good deals around at the moment but because I am not buying the card now I will have to wait a see what's available closer to the date.

I need a card that will last me at last 1-2 years without worrying that my PC is massively under performing. I need a card that will run 1080p with current gen games at least on higher specs without chocking. Ideally I wish I could save some money and put it down for the monitor, but if I need to I'll spend around the 350. Preferably I would like it being Nvidia, as I've always used Nvidia and came to trust and respect the brand.

Deals for 670 GTX look amazing, but will it run 1920×1080 comfortably?
680 and 770 look pretty much close in the performance and the prices are not that different. 770 obviously being slightly more expensive because it's part of the new 700 series.

Is it worth saving a bit of money and getting 670 ? Or shall I get 680/770 and be done with it? As well as that, which brands would you advice on getting? MSI seems to be considered a reliable and good quality brand (plus three year warranty over most warranties of 2 years is a plus), KFA throws around some nice deals. Any thoughts?

Thanks for your answers!

Regards

FuF

 

[FuF]

Thanks for your answers guys.

I didn't consider SLI set up, but there's a few downsides to it. First of all, I don't wanna buy a used cards, so it means buying two new ones. That would be quite a bit over the budget (even at the very low ocUK prices that would come down to over 400). Secondly, will I not need to upgrade my CPU to support two cards in SLI? I may be talking out of my ass, so correct me if I'm wrong

And I am rather reluctant to go with AMD at this point. No experience with it whatsoever.

To make it short, do you think a single 670 will struggle with 1080p in the near future? If that is the case I'll have to settle with 680 or even 770 if there's a nice deal when I'm buying.

 

[FuF]

when you find it isn't enough then purchase another and keep on going.

Very true, I'm surprised I didn't think of that!!

I am a bit worried that when I decide it's time to get the second 670 they may be years out of production

the 770 is just an overclocked 680.

I was aware of that, but I like the bigger number!


FuF

 

[FuF]

Thanks all for your help. I think I shall go for 670 in a few weeks. With a bit of overclocking it'll last me a while I guess. And the money I save will go down for the monitor!

FuF