Upgrading graphics card, maybe something else.

Melvior

Melvior

Melvior

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Joined
6 Nov 2014
Posts
8
Location
Latvia
Hey everyone.
New to this forum(sort of), and wanted to ask for some help.
I'll start by saying that I've been in IT for quite some time so I know a little about something, but there are always people smarter than myself and I trust you guys to be better at this than I am.

So, I, of course, love to play some games. Some of them quite heavy.
This is the rig I have at the moment:

Sabertooth 990fx R2.0
AMD Phenom 2 x4 955BE
Kingston Hyperx (the old ones) 2x4GB kit, 1600mhz I think.
Plextor somethin 128gb for system + WD 1tb for all the rest.
MSI GTX 550ti.
Chieftec 550w 80+ Bronze(not entirely sure about this, i'm out of country so I may be a bit off)
Single monitor, HPx2301(still loving it, 3 ms is good enough for me and image quality is amazing plus the classy look)

The system is custom watercooled, been trying to improve it whenever I have time and/or resources. The case has been modified so many times I don't even remember what was the original. Me and a couple guys have a little workshop so we get creative sometimes.

I've had this setup for about 3 years, except the mobo and psu, which were both upgraded at the start of September.
I know, my CPU is an oldy, but it's O.C'd to 4.1ghz and so far been doing great, barely ever reaches 60C, under load that is. I've had it stable at 4.3 for some days but I figured that's an overkill and I didn't want to damage anything. I've OC'd the graphics card as well, via Afterburner, can't name the exact numbers but I went pretty with it, and temps barely ever reach 70c.

Of course, most games I can't play even at High settings, let alone Ultra.
That would be why my first goal is the GPU. Obviously I'm looking at either GTX 980 or GTX 970 as I'm familiar with nVidia cards and these are both pretty fantastic.

I can afford either of them if I really must, but it's hard for me to choose since I want max performance I can get but I'm not exactly rich to throw money out just like that. Where I'm at I can get them with about 200eur(~250usd or ~160gbp) difference, the 970 being the cheapest of course.

So, is it worth going all in and taking GTX 980 or should I settle for gtx970 with my system? It is possible that I may want to go dual or even triple monitor some day, but not necessarily, certainly not anytime soon. Bear in mind that I'm looking into upgrading my CPU as well, but not as soon as the end of 2015, unless I get a better paying job in coming months.

I understand that phenom would bottleneck either of those cards, no matter how overclocked but I'm ready to push it to limits if needed.

Besides the GPU i'd love to upgrade my SSD to Samsung 850 Pro 128/256 gb, as well as I'd like to know if my RAM is good enough for another 2-3 years or should I get something newer(I don't plan on looking at DDR4 for 2 years at the very least).


---- this part isn't important, feel free to skip it ----
Overall, I've barely ever had any problems with this PC, except for my ex hating the fact that I like to play games, and she didn't even care if it impacts my time spent with her or not. Oh, women. it's hooked up to a sound system through a Yamaha receiver, so I'm good to go in that field. I clean it regularly, both the OS and the insides.

What else I do besides gaming on this PC? Movies, rarely, since it's a lot more comfy to lay back on sofa, and watch them on bigger screen. I do some programming when I got time, but nothing major. I hold a minecraft server for about 7 guys and maybe some of their friends too. I don't care much since I never got into that minecraft stuff, and I've never felt it affecting the performance of my PC. Things as torrents/skype/hamachi are always open, + I use teamviewer a lot to fix computers of other people if possible without arriving to their house.

---

Thanks,
Tom.

P.S.
Obligatory - not native English speaker, pardon me if I tried too hard to make this look decent.
 
You won't need a 980 and the rest of the system would be holding it back anyway.
A 970 is the sweet spot for 1080/1440p performance.

However I don't know of that PSU brand so would be inclined to say a new PSU might be needed as well. RAM is fine, no need to upgrade that, but a better CPU should be on the cards for the future as well.

Depends how much you want to spend.
 
You board will take most CPU's I think, including the big wattage ones.

The FX8320 would be a good boost and overclock well (with a big heatsik) to easily match the FX8350 stock speed and beyond.
 
Evenin.
Before I get annoying - should I take that GTX 970 now or maybe wait for a possible TI version or price drops/interesting offers sometime around christmas?

Thanks.
 
There is always something around the corner you could be waiting for.

Buy a card now and just enjoy it.
 
True, bit since the cards are still fairly new, there is a slight chance of something interesting happening sometime soon, ain't there? Besides, it isn't like my gtx 550ti is gonna die tomorrow.

Anyways, thanks for your opinion. I might just do that when I get back to my homeland.
 
There are rumors of 8GB GTX980/970 cards on internet sites, but Gibbo (works at ocUK) says there isn't.

AMD R9 300 series should be after Xmas (Q1 2015).
 
Been reading/hearing a lot on that matter lately, and it doesn't seem like nVidia are gonna release such monstrosities.

AMD R9 300 would be 20nm afaik and won't differ THAT MUCH from 9XX cards so I shouldstill be safe to assume that taking a GTX 970 and waiting for 16nm card from nVidia sometime around 2016 would be rather smart thinking, wouldn't it?
 
Where are the games that need better GFX cards? unless you are running 4K or silly resolutions/multiple monitors you should be good for long time.
 
There are none, you are right, but for me that long time would be 3-4 years, while for some it is 2 years. So I'd like to get something that would last me as long as possible. It takes time for me to save up money for things like this, considering it is nowhere near my first priority.
 
I am looking at getting a GTX 970 at some point, as I am in no rush to get 1 I am going to wait till December time to see if the prices come down a bit and if not I will buy one then ready for Christmas.

I know what you mean about saving, I have been upgrading my PC over the years and takes me time to save
 
970 would be a good choice, and if new version comes around next year this will drop in price and you can do SLI on them. That will also benefit if in future you want multiple monitor setup as you mentioned.

ED209 the price drop very likely wont be that significant. More next year when AMD comes with their new guns...

Melvior said:
There are none, you are right, but for me that long time would be 3-4 years, while for some it is 2 years. So I'd like to get something that would last me as long as possible. It takes time for me to save up money for things like this, considering it is nowhere near my first priority.
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