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Upgrade advice

citizenx13

citizenx13

citizenx13

Associate
Joined
23 Jun 2010
Posts
719
Greetings and salutations.

I was wondering if I could get some input form the Hardware gurus on here regarding a GPU upgrade.

on the 8th June 2010 I purchased the below machine and the beast has been keeping me happy for over two years, but I have over some time noticed that the old girl has been struggling and not able to max out as she used to.
I am leaning towards the GFX card being the weak link as it is 2 generations behind.

I am not a fan boy so I am mostly interested in bang for buck, my case has good air management and noise is not a big factor.
will my MB and chip handle todays cards and not be a bottle neck?

Krypton Intel Core i7 960 3.20GHz @ 4.00GHz
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5870 Vapor-X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
6Gig Ram

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
 
Also meant to ask what screen size and resolution are you using?

Your budget is certainly enough for the pick of the crop, personally upto 1200p I'd go for a lovely GTX 680 2GB (MSI Lightning on offer this weekend), if a higher resolution then maybe look to the 4GB GTX 680, or an AMD 7970 :)
 
Space Monkey said:
Also meant to ask what screen size and resolution are you using?

Your budget is certainly enough for the pick of the crop, personally upto 1200p I'd go for a lovely GTX 680 2GB (MSI Lightning on offer this weekend), if a higher resolution then maybe look to the 4GB GTX 680, or an AMD 7970 :)
Click to expand...

Crappy res :P
LG L226WTQ-SF - LCD display - TFT - 22" - widescreen - 1680 x 1050
 
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 Windforce 3X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [GV-N670OC-2GD]

£319.99 inc VAT
£266.66 ex VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-095-GI&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=2294

GX-095-GI_47595_350.jpg


You will not need a PSU upgrade with this card.


Review: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 WindForce 3X

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/41973-gigabyte-geforce-gtx-670-windforce-3x/


You will see in the 670 review above it is faster than a stock 680 in some games and the same performance in others and get yourself a new monitor with atleast 1920 x 1080p like the one below (you are missing out on all the Full HD goodness that these new cards are designed for).


BenQ EW2730 27" Widescreen LED Professional Monitor - Black [EW2730]

£229.99 inc VAT
£191.66 ex VAT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-058-BQ&groupid=17&catid=1120&subcat=

MO-058-BQ_53079_350.jpg



BenQ EW2730 27" LED Backlit VA Panel LCD Monitor Unboxing & First Look Linus Tech Tips

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Olze2vpTnmE



Above is more than enough for a good while and you will enjoy using the pc more than wasting all the money on a single £500 graphics card.


Sell the 5870 you have for about £75-85 to recover some costs.

The monitor you have at that low resolution now you won't get much for it so maybe keep it as a 2nd screen or give it to a family member or a friend really cheap, you may get £50-£75 if lucky for it and if it is in fully working order and not damaged in anyway.
 
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Nvidia claim 550w is enough for the 680, so as long as your PSU is a decent make you'll be ok. Also the above is another good suggestion, though for 2yrs plus I'd take the better card and get a better monitor later on, just my opinion :)
 
Space Monkey said:
Grab the MSI GTX680 Lightning, that'd be my choice, in fact it'll be the card I'll be buying soon :)
Click to expand...

Thats overkill and the 670's that are overclocked run as fast as 680's almost and some are faster than stock 680's.


The op states "I am mostly interested in bang for buck" a 680 is not bang for buck mate and not worth the extra compared to 670's that are factory overclocked and as I have said run faster than stock 680's.
 
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Purgatory said:
Thats overkill and the 670's that are overclocked run as fast as 680's almost and some are faster than stock 680's.
Click to expand...

Depends on viewpoint, the OP had a healthy budget and wanted it to last a few years, subject to him getting a better screen then I have no issues suggesting the best card available and still £50 under his budget :)
 
Was going to say the same, get a monitor with your budget and just don't all out on the card. Although, I may have missed it, but if your psu is generic investing in a decent one would be a good move.
 
Thanks to everyone for all your input, I came looking for a card now it seems my weakest link/most embarrassing component is my screen lol

if I go for the 670, do we see long life in the card? also will have to learn overclocking again :P
 
You don't need to overclock that 670 it is factory overclocked as it is and can be overclocked more in the future when you need more power but for now it is one of the top cards and right there next to a GTX 680 and if you read the review it is even faster than a stock 680 in some games and matches it in others. Also to answer your life question it has just the same life span as a GTX 680. As you see a bargain really.
 
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