Upgrading GPU

[mof]

I'm planning on upgrading my PC in next two weeks and I'm struggling to choose which GPU to get. I play games @ 1920 x 1080 and I'd like to be able to run games at max settings including 8x MSAA and with a minimum framerate of 40FPS (ideally 60).

I'm going to be getting bioshock infinite, Metro Last Light ,GTA5 (if and when it comes out) and watch Dogs (could be a long wait). Some of the games I currently play are: Battlefield 3, Crysis, Starcraft 2, Far Cry3.

I'm not planning on OC'ing anything or using SLI/Crossifre.

I'd like the card to have a good, quiet cooler.

I've been looking at 7970s and 670s and I'm not sure which to go for. I would consider a 680. I've also noticed that you can pay £280 - £400+ for 7970 with different clock speeds and coolers. Are the more expensive models really worth the price difference?

My budget for the GPU is £400.
I know it's the wrong place but I'd appreciate advice on what CPU to get too. I'm considering the i7 3820, i5 3570k, i7 3930k.

 

[arc@css]

Unless you need the extra cores, I would go for the i5 3570K paired up with a 7950 and if need be, you can overclock it past 7970 speeds. The 680 and 7970 are faster at stock, though imo they aren't worth the extra expense for around only an additional 5 - 10% performance.

As for the model of gpu, check this out :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-065-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1673


Edit : I would have thought your cpu would suffice for now? As far as I'm aware, it's a high end one. Still, if you want / need to upgrade, then my suggestion remains the same : go for the 3570K.

 

[Gregster]

Some good choices of future games there. If Rockstar don't release GTA V on PC, I won't be happy.

Anyways, back on track... A 7950 is the choice at the moment and with a decent overclock, it can't be touched in its price bracket. If you favour Nvidia more so, then a 670 is the sensible choice.

Look for the HIS ICEQ Boost 7950 or look for the Gigabyte 670 WF3. Either of those cards will cope very well at your res.

 

[mof]

Unless you need the extra cores, I would go for the i5 3570K paired up with a 7950 and if need be, you can overclock it past 7970 speeds. The 680 and 7970 are faster at stock, though imo they aren't worth the extra expense for around only an additional 5 - 10% performance.

As for the model of gpu, check this out :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-065-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1673


Edit : I would have thought your cpu would suffice for now? As far as I'm aware, it's a high end one. Still, if you want / need to upgrade, then my suggestion remains the same : go for the 3570K.

Thanks for both your responses.

Initially I only wanted to get a better GPU but I wasn't sure if the CPU would cause a bottleneck. Would a 7950/670 be used to its full potential with my current CPU(and RAM)?

Is it possible to buy a 7950 that has been OC'd already to 7970 equivalent speeds? With heat and noise kept down too?

Edit: I've ordered the 7950 HIS Ice Boost. I'm going have a look at the GPU usage on games so I can decide whether or not to replace the CPU.

 

[arc@css]

Would a 7950/670 be used to its full potential with my current CPU(and RAM)?

I would think that there'll be generally decent performance, but yes, in some games - particularly cpu bound ones, a card such as 7950 will be held back a bit. If you haven't already, try and overclock your cpu. Your ram is more than adequate.

Is it possible to buy a 7950 that has been OC'd already to 7970 equivalent speeds? With heat and noise kept down too?

Yes, it is, though bear in mind that you'll be paying extra for something that you can achieve yourself for zero cost in less than five minutes work.

Plenty of models are available that provide good cooling / quieter operation, such as the Gigabyte Windforce and HIS models.

 

[mof]

I haven't started a new thread because this is related to the previous posts.
I got the HIS iceq 7950 and used it with my 1090t and I noticed a lot of spikes in the gpu usage when games were running. I assumed that this was due to the cpu causing a bottleneck.
I've since upgraded my motherboard, cpu and RAM and I'm now using an i5 3570k. I've just run a heaven benchmark and I noticed that the gpu usage was spiking again jumping from 100-64% and staying at 99% for short periods. When I ran the benchmark again in windowed mode I looked at the cpu usage in speedfan and it didn't seem to go above 50%.
If the gpu usage spikes aren't caused by the cpu being inadequate what else could be the cause?
Also is there some better software for monitoring cpu usage over periods of time than speedfan?

 

[Bacon?]

I take it your running latest drivers and not the ones that come with the GPU?

 

[mof]

I take it your running latest drivers and not the ones that come with the GPU?

Yes I'm using the CCC 13.1 - 9.012-121219a-152192C-ATI driver package.

EDIT: I'm getting similar results on the Crysis 3 beta and battlefield 3 multiplayer.Edit2: I installed the 12.11 CAP but it didn't make any difference.

 

[ALXAndy]

Some good choices of future games there. If Rockstar don't release GTA V on PC, I won't be happy.

They will. There's too much money in sales sitting there waiting to be claimed. They may wait, but R* have never not released a game on PC unless they were told not to (like RDR).

Alan Wake was cancelled on PC at the request of M$. They wanted it as an exclusive 360 title and they got it. When the contract ended however they put it straight out on PC and actually commented on how it had made so many millions in the first day, even with piracy.

So yeah, whilst many companies pee and whine about how piracy on the PC hurts sales it's still a nice wodge in their sky rocket.

 

[mof]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1353203/what-does-power-limit-do-in-msi-afterburner

I followed the advice from the post in this link and by increasing the power limit to +20 in afterburner I was able to a get a solid 99% gpu usage during heaven benchmark and increase the benchmark score by almost 100. My max temp didn't change (62c).

Is increasing the power limit potentially harmful to the card? I haven't increased either of the voltages and it is only slightly overclocked by using the "iTurbo" function which makes the GPU clock 932 MHZ and the memory clock 1262 MHZ.

 

[OvEr_KiLL]

increasing the power limit wont harm your card, if you change the voltage to somthing silly it will
i have the same card and havnt changed the voltages, im running
power limit +20%
core 1050
memory 1350
and fan speed on auto user defined

edit. im now going to try 1100 and 1400 lets see what happens