What should I do, new graphics card or PC?

BORG8472

BORG8472

BORG8472

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11 Dec 2012
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Hi guys,

I was wondering you could me some advice on would you think I should. I recently purchased a new monitor 2560 x 1440, my PC is starting to struggle at playing games at the highest graphics settings.

My specs are as below:
Intel Core i7 950
GeForce GTX 580 1536MB
256gb SSD Sata 2
6GB DDR3

I was wondering if I should really thinking about a big upgrade new pc, or should I upgrade to a EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Classified 4096MB Graphics Card? OR should I just hold off till the new round of cards out then go and get a whole new pc?

Any help you guys can give would be great! Thanks!
 
Your system is still pretty good. Obviously the new screen had put more demand on the GTX580 but your cpu is still good. If you haven't done so already I would overclock your processor to 4GHz which all i7's can do with a reasonable cooler. Just consider a gpu upgrade at this stage I would say. I game at 1440p and have to turn settings down in games like BF3 or Crysis 2 with a GTX680.
 
for me just a vga card upgrade would be best for now and a new pc when something worth upgrading pops up, half way through next year something at the top end now will be a lot cheaper when quicker stuff comes out so i'd wait and have a new one then
 
Agree with the guys above. I recently changed one of my i7 900 setups for the spec in sig. Using the same gtx 670 gpu, theres no difference in games whatsoever. A new card would be my reccomendation.
 
Hi, if both your CPU and GPU are running at stock speeds overclock them, this would help alone, wait for Haswell to come out. For now you could upgrade your ram to 12GB as 8GB seems to be recommened these days if you want, you could for now just lower your resolution.

I'm running a i7 920 at 4.2GHz/12GB ram/6970 game at 1620/1680p, waiting for Haswell to see how it performs, or l might just get another GPU.
 
No need to increase RAM for gaming, 6GB is fine unless you do other work such as video or photo editing. If it were me, I'd try to sell your GTX580 and get a new card probably a non reference 670. Yes it won't be a massive upgrade but you could consider getting another at a later date. I think its difficult with a card like the 580, its still a decent card and the new generation high end cards probably won't offer amazing boost in performance but I'd be a little hesitant in going down the route of sli gtx 580's cos of the lower VRAM at your resolution.
 
And the increased heat, noise and power consumption with sli 580's would be another thing to take into consideration.
 
Hey guys,

Sorry it took a while to reply... but I have finally made the dive and got a new graphics cards... but wait for it! I thought sod it, its christmas... have bought two MSI GeForce GTX 680 Twin Frozr 2048MB.

I have also overclocked my 950 to 3.70GHz, but im am getting avarage temps of around 70-74c when running bf3 maxed out? is that temp too high? I am getting around 70-80fps running the game at 2560x1400.
 
Temps do seem a tad high, how much vcore are you using for the cpu overclock, and what is your cpu cooler?

680 sli is a very nice upgrade.
 
Thanks for the reply Setter, I am new to this overclocking thing just to let you know. Checked my bios I currently have these settings: CPU Ratio 23.0 and QPI/DRAM Core Voltage: 1.43750

Yeah 680 is a great improvement from running at the lowest settings in bf3 to now getting 70fps with everything maxed out is fantastic! :D
 
qpi/dram is a bit high, try dropping it down a touch. Also, what is your cpu vcore. Both of theese voltages will have an impact on temps. Megahelims is a good cooler, had one on a 4.2ghz i7 920 a while back.
 
Went and had a look in the bios again. Last time i was looking for a value, in the bios its currently set to AUTO, I guess thats not a good thing and I should set this to my own. Im currently using a profile that OCUK had originally put on my system.
 
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