$500> Indecisive GPU stance.

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Alex Anouxa

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Mar 16, 2013
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Current Build:
case:Thermaltake Chaser-MK-I

CPU: i5-3570k

mobo: p8z77-Vlk

Memory: G.SKILL RipjawsZ 8gb(2x4gb)
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=516

PSU: Corsair HX850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011&Tpk=corsair%20hx850&IsVirtualParent=1

GPU: Gigabyte HD 6670 1GB DDR3

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500gb 16 mb cache @7200RPM

OS: Windows 8 Professional 64-bit

Approximate Purchase Date: 1 week - 1 month at most
Budget Range: less than without breaking $500

System Usage:Gaming>Video Streaming>Media

Parts to Upgrade: GPU

Preferred Website: none.

Location: The little state of Rhode Island

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050 with plans to go to 1920x1080


I'm at a loss for understanding of GPUs. I bought the current one I have off of a friend who upgraded theirs as a supplement for my Intel Graphics 4000 in the mean time while I decided. Seeing this ALMOST max out the games I play made me question what I want to put into my rig now. I've been looking into bang for your buck/performance and reading a lot on forums, but everywhere forum I tend to find people seem to be going back and forth of BIAS over AMD and Nvidia. It kind of showed me games in a new light and is a gate way and many people are telling me get cards like the AMD HD 7770 and that it'll max out WoW and SC2 and hold over well in other games. Others are telling me 7870, but if next gen consoles like the PS4 is going to have a GPU that operates at a 7850 why would I be slightly below that. the main options I've been looking at are:

Sapphire Vaper-X ghz ed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001
though the cheaper alternative is
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-SL-DVI-D-PCI-Express-11197-03-40G/dp/B009B6Y01Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363438041&sr=8-1&keywords=sapphire+7970
which is cheaper with Amazon prime, but i'm not sure what the huge difference is.

I was also checking out the gigabyte version
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Radeon-Mini-Displayport-Graphics-GV-R797OC-3GD/dp/B00752QYLK/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1363438105&sr=1-1&keywords=7970

and further looking into for a small price drop I can get the HD 7950, but at that point other people are saying the 7870 has a version that's just a capped 7950 for in the $200's.



Additional Comments:
I'm a fan of Blizzard games, I play WoW religiously, SC2 like there's no tomorrow, D3 on and off, and I'm a fan of RPG's like the elder scrolls, with full plans of playing Guild Wars 2 heavy. FPS like CoD, PlanetSide2 and Simulation Games, i tend to follow up on racing games and plan on getting a G27 wheel or a Thrustmaster within the season.

I'm upgrading to STOMP games without a problem without the worry of "OH! i got this cheap on sale, but it's not on par for ___ that just came out!" I bought a Gigabyte HD 6670 which doesn't run WoW on ultra which is my primary game.
 
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mikerockett

mikerockett

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A 7870 will handle all of your games you want to play. I have the older version the 6870 and can max wow, gw2 etc. To give you some headroom for future games you wish to play i would suggest getting a 7870 XT/LE, as you've said it's a 7950 with some restrictions. If you want to be completely sure of playing whatevers coming out then a 7970 is a good shout. The vapour x you listed is a great version of it.

To summarize, i think the 7870 XT/LE will be your best price/performance buy.
 
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4745454b

4745454b

Titan
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Apr 29, 2006
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You bought an HX850W PSU to run a 6670?!?! Sigh...

If you are nearly happy with the 6670 just get a 7850. Should be plenty of power for what you do. It's pretty cheap and all around good performer. By buying that card you can even get your 1080 monitor all at once.
 
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bigcyco1

bigcyco1

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Feb 11, 2012
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Buying Considerations

Like most tech products, graphics cards are segmented by price. Expensive cards tend to be more capable; and less expensive ones usually offer lower performance, consume less power, and are smaller in size (and so fit into a greater range of PC cases).

$400 and Up

The highest-priced cards deliver the strongest graphics performance, but they're also more power hungry. Both Nvidia and AMD have released a new generation of GPUs that are more power-efficient than their predecessors, but you'll still want a good 600-watt power supply to run these types of cards. At the extreme high end are dual-GPU cards, such as Nvidia's GTX 690. You can expect to spend close to $1000 for one of these.

One Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970GHZ should be able to run most games at high frame rates on 1080p monitors with settings at very high. Some games may show frame rate stuttering at ultra detail levels, so you'll need to test each game. If you have a high-end, 30-inch display running at 2560 by 1600, you'll need to manage your detail settings more carefully, unless you have a dual-GPU card, like the GTX 690, or are willing to install two discrete graphics cards.

$300 to $350

Cards in this category include the Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 and the AMD Radeon HD 7950. They offer performance that is nearly as good as that of the high-end models, but at a more modest price. If you stick with a 1080p or 1920 by 1200 display with one of these cards, you should be in good shape.

$200 to $300

At this level you may have to start making some sacrifices in detail settings. For GPUs such as the AMD Radeon HD 7870, that means running at "high" rather than at "very high" detail level, and it almost certainly means disabling antialiasing.
 
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MajinCry

MajinCry

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Dec 8, 2011
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Sheesh. People recommending super-duper cards when the OP is almost satisfied with the 6670.

@OP, Get a 5770/6770. Or, if you want something more current-gen, the 7750 will perform the same as the (5)6770.

The 6770 is a substantial improvement over the 6670 ddr3. No less than 60% better. In some games, it is twice as better than the 6670.
 
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mikerockett

mikerockett

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I agree in part with what you say, the 7750/7770 will mostly handle what he is wanting to play. The better card though does give him the extra needed for future games and any other games he may want to pick up that are more demanding. Also it would make little sense to pair such a great gaming CPU with such a low end card.
 
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CarolKarine

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Aug 29, 2012
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but again you want to factor in the future proofing. if he has 500 dollars available, don't tell him to get a sub-100 USD card that'll be terrible in 2 years, tell him to get a 300 USD (or 240 USD) card that will be good in 2 years - not the greatest, but good.

I suggest a 7950 or a 7870 XT. going higher isn't worth the cash unless you really have nothing better to spend it on, use it to get some more games. but going lower, while cheap, will leave you unhappy in less than 2 years.
 
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MajinCry

MajinCry

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Future proofing is just a fallacy. People need to stop using that term.

If he gets a 6770/7750 to satisfy him today, tomorrow he can sell it and get the 8770 (Or whatever). And it will cost him less than to just splurge on today's higher-end GPU for tomorrow's games.

By today/tomorrow, I'm using hyperbole for lengths of time. Get my drift?
 
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mikerockett

mikerockett

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I also agree with the whole future proofing is a fallacy, but you can easily plan for the next 2-3 years. Trying to get something future proofed for longer is much more difficult/not worthwhile. The near future though is perfectly reasonable to plan for. Getting a card thats only just good enough doesnt make sense to me. Especially when the budget he has available would allow him to purchase a 7870 XT/LE, an SSD and an after market cooler, all of which will keep his rig going for a good while.

Also, buying a 7770 now and an 8770 later pretty much nets you the same result of buying a single better card now with the hassle of having to buy another card and install it.

You also mention him buying a 6770, he already has one, isn't satisfied with it and wants an upgrade.
 
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Alex Anouxa

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Mar 16, 2013
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You're not taking into consideration that I bought it slowly and picked parts that were on sale, If I have the option of a HX850 as opposed to the 500-650W ones i was looking at, why not take the bigger piece for the same price? I'm still in the process of building, the 6670 isn't the card I originally intended to use, but rather a dirt cheap pretty much freebie that would haul me over until more funds where acquired for a much bigger budget range, which would be now, hence looking for more depth and less bias of in person talks where they'll say "I'm an advocate of Nvidia" or "yeah Nvidia is nice, but AMD is cheaper" I'm also looking to talking to people who can contribute to conversation about compatibility and performance as well as recommendations as opposed to going to the local best buy where most of them have a similar line to just get you out of their face(don't get me wrong i know people who work their who do knows stuff)

 
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Alex Anouxa

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Mar 16, 2013
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I've already got a side fund building up for an SSD and another hard drive at higher RPMS. I'm also looking into cooling for my computer, the funding isn't the problem, I can just take from my project car because that's a longer term project that won't change. My cap is for reasons like when I first started looking into building this rig, i though hey i7 is the most expensive there for it must be the best, but looking into it of the whole hyperthreading and all that sort when i would hardly touch the potential of the 3570k, what was the point of blowing the extra $200? things like
Sapphire Vaper-x,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001
is it worth the extra 50 from
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008
? they're both 7970's
 
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4745454b

4745454b

Titan
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Apr 29, 2006
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I understand this is a build over time. But I suspect a lack of knowledge or planning. (not trying to be mean, just saying.) I mention this because you seem to buy based on numbers. 850W? A new hdd with more RPMS? 7200RPM is fine. What you need is a new hdd with higher bit density. A quality 500W PSU will run any single GPU. Even the GTX680/7970. Unless you were planning on running two 7970s with other stuff a 750W would have been fine. You said why pick the lower wattage unit? Efficiency. When your computer is just surfing or at idle your PSU will be using more power then a similar rated 500W. You basically bought a more expensive PSU then you needed, and now will pay more in electricity just to use it.

I really feel if you have a $500 budget and you are nearly happy with the 6670 then get the 7850. 7870 or GTX660/TI if you want way more then you need. If you get the 7850 you'll only use around $175 of your $500 budget. This leaves a lot for the SSD, newer larger hdd, etc. You go all out and get the 7970/GTX680. But then you'll be back to saving money for more months while still needing the ssd, hdd, monitor, etc. Whats worse is that like with the PSU you might not see any difference between the 7970 and the 7850. But you'll end up paying lots of money for the "better" card.
 
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