Upgrade options

Secret_Window

Secret_Window

Secret_Window

Soldato
Joined
10 Aug 2006
Posts
5,207
Currently trying to decide what is the most important upgrade for playing GTA V and gaming in general.

I have two options really:

SSD upgrade or graphics card upgrade.

Currently due to limited hdd space, and games increasingly requiring more space (especially GTA V), the 256gb SSD which I am using doesn't really go very far. I was looking at either the Samsung 500gb 850 EVO or Crucial 500gb MX200, but I am unsure whether the cheaper Crucial 500gb BX100 would be good enough and serve better value, as I am not sure whether I would notice the speed difference in the 850 EVO and MX200 over the BX100.

My CF 7950s have served me well, but the performance is starting to take a hit more and it is not always consistent due to having to the wait for a new CF profile or driver all the time - not to mention the heat and noise this can sometimes make with two cards. So I'm looking at possibly going to a single card that can offer similar or better performance for the latest games, especially GTA V without the mentioned issues. The GTX 980 looks good, but I don't know if it is the best option.

Ideally I would prefer to spend the money on one hardware upgrade rather than both - but need help deciding which of the two I feel is going to be more important for the things that I do. I was initially going to wait until the summer for a GTX 980 Ti, but as I currently only game at 1080p, this seems a bit excessive. I did look at the GTX 970 as a cheaper alternative, but didn't want to risk the 3.5gb ram issue with the latest games and would rather steer clear to save the grief.

My budget is £500.
 
Wait for the game to come out.

Is your CPU overclocked? if not do so.

I think you have enough GFX power so an SSD would be great.
 
cpu is not overclocked - wanted to for ages but everything runs cool and quiet, and have not wanted to disturb that too much.

Regarding gpu, I think it would be better to have all my games running under one card. I do agree that it's worth waiting to see how GTA V runs first, but I feel like it is only inevitable that I will replace the CF 7950s fairly soon - AMD drivers have been annoying me for a while along with the heat and noise with running crossfire for performance gain.

A new SSD is very tempting, but will I notice the difference in speed between the Crucial BX100 and the more expensive MX200 and Samsung 850 EVO given the price difference?
 
If you had 2 PC's running side by side with either SSD I bet you couldn't tell the difference.

As for GFX card or cards, obviously get the fastest you can afford you have a decent PSU so no worries there.

With such an important game there are bound to be performance reviews of GFX cards and this game at various detail setting and resolution.
 
stulid said:
If you had 2 PC's running side by side with either SSD I bet you couldn't tell the difference.

As for GFX card or cards, obviously get the fastest you can afford you have a decent PSU so no worries there.

With such an important game there are bound to be performance reviews of GFX cards and this game at various detail setting and resolution.
Click to expand...

this
 
With regards to graphics card could wait till AMD release their 3xx series. Probably be a few deals around when they come out.
 
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I think I may just get a SSD for now, as I think my main priority should probably be hdd space - I've been juggling things around for ages because of this.

The Crucial MX200 looks very nice. Gonna need to read some reviews. The BX100 has been a bit of a mixed bag according to a few reviews I've read.
 
Just looked at the prices, the Samsung 850 Evo is £10 less than the MX200.

Thats a fast SSD.
 
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