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Upgrade to ???? From GTX 280

stu.artd

stu.artd

stu.artd

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Joined
29 Dec 2003
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I've got a Q6600@3GHz and am looking at upgrading my GTX 280 (standard Zotac card) to something faster and hopefully quieter. Thinking along the lines of a IceQ 6970 or Twin Frozr / IceQ GTX 570 or 580. Output is to a 27" LCD @ 1920x1080.

What's the best quiet and fast card that would give a good upgrade from the 280 ? I'm hoping to avoid a mobo/CPU/ram upgrade for now.
 
imo id get a 570 over a 6970 but if youre willing to pay the premium (and brag that you have one ;) ) then Id get the 580, i recently got a kfa2 580 anarchy edition and it is whisper quiet even at max fan speed, it was £350 at a competitors site so be sure to look around. I used google shopping :) or drop me a pm and ill send you some info :)
 
I have an idea where you're referring to. :)
I'm wanting a displayport connection if possible, it's not critical but I'd prefer it.

I've got a Seasonic 600W Psu, thinking that might not be enough for a 580 ?
 
if you go the 6970 route you may want to think about this instead as it can be unlocked to effectively give you a 6970(tho standard not guaranteed warning), performance wise is within 1/2fps of a true 6970 but saving yourself £70+
 
fowler002 said:
if you go the 6970 route you may want to think about this instead as it can be unlocked to effectively give you a 6970(tho standard not guaranteed warning), performance wise is within 1/2fps of a true 6970 but saving yourself £70+
Click to expand...

i thiught all the 6000 series could no longer be unlocked ?
 
the toxic one is the only one with chance of unlock I think, they come with dual bios with 1 being pre-modified so you don't need to flash it just flick the switch.

I've just got my 2 on Wednesday, only had chance to install 1 so far and it unlocks. I will be testing the other one soon.
 
Tbh with a Q6600 at 3.0 ghz you'll be bottlenecking a 580 quite severely and imo you'll be wasting money, especially as you are gaming at just 1080p, a gtx 570 or HD 6950 would be ideal.
 
Very good card choice, but as others have said, you WILL be limiting the potential of the card with the Q6600.

You should be trying to overclock your Q6600 to at least 3.2Ghz, if not 3.4/3.6Mhz if you can. I highly recommend you do this if possible, as it will significantly affect the way your games play.

Luckily for you, you have chosen a reasonably high resolution (1920 x 1080) so the 580 won't be demanding as many frames.
 
GTX 570s are great GPUs, great mix of price and performance IMO, i had a GTX 580 and tbh my EVGA GTX 570 HD SC is only a whisker away performance wise.

Just my personal opinion.
 
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