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Need advice on what to buy first.

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  • Systems
Last response: in Systems
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March 29, 2013 8:55:07 AM

Hello,

I'm looking for a new screen and a graphics card.
Problem is, I want a proper graphics card to run games above 40 FPS on the highest settings. And I want a proper screen too. My budget is only 300 euro's, so I'll have to decide what to get first.

Currently, my setup is;

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
Corsair 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz
Asrock 970 Extreme3
AMD Radeon HD 6790
OCZ Modxstream Pro 600
CM Storm Trooper
Chimei CMV223A 22 inch monitor


My monitor is chinese garbage, it stutters, has dead pixels all over the place. I can't look at it for more than 2 hours. I'll be re-using it as a second monitor though.

My GPU used to be lovely. In 2011. Now, I'm getting nowhere near 25 FPS in BF3.

Both issues are bothering me just as much. I can't live with getting terrible framerates and I also can't live with a screen that doesn't know how to be a monitor.
Also, I'm a bit afraid of buying a GPU now. If I would buy a GTX 660 Ti right now, would it last me 3 years?

More about : advice buy

March 29, 2013 9:16:02 AM

IMO go for the Monitor first.
If you buy the new GPU first you still have a crap looking screen to play it on.
The 6790 is still a playable card even if not ideal.

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March 29, 2013 9:22:59 AM

Dhamilton said:
IMO go for the Monitor first.
If you buy the new GPU first you still have a crap looking screen to play it on.
The 6790 is still a playable card even if not ideal.



^ what he said. And when you do get a new gpu get a 7870 XT/LE instead of the 660 Ti though.
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March 29, 2013 9:39:06 AM

ohellothere said:
Hello,

I'm looking for a new screen and a graphics card.
Problem is, I want a proper graphics card to run games above 40 FPS on the highest settings. And I want a proper screen too. My budget is only 300 euro's, so I'll have to decide what to get first.

Currently, my setup is;

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
Corsair 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz
Asrock 970 Extreme3
AMD Radeon HD 6790
OCZ Modxstream Pro 600
CM Storm Trooper
Chimei CMV223A 22 inch monitor


My monitor is chinese garbage, it stutters, has dead pixels all over the place. I can't look at it for more than 2 hours. I'll be re-using it as a second monitor though.

My GPU used to be lovely. In 2011. Now, I'm getting nowhere near 25 FPS in BF3.

Both issues are bothering me just as much. I can't live with getting terrible framerates and I also can't live with a screen that doesn't know how to be a monitor.
Also, I'm a bit afraid of buying a GPU now. If I would buy a GTX 660 Ti right now, would it last me 3 years?


Look around a lot, you will be able to find a cheap LED/LCD 1600x900 screen, I got a new one for £50, and then spend the rest of your budget on a good GPU.
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March 29, 2013 9:42:34 AM

Dhamilton said:
IMO go for the Monitor first.
If you buy the new GPU first you still have a crap looking screen to play it on.
The 6790 is still a playable card even if not ideal.



Yes, but if I want to play Bioshock Infinite right now, I wont be able to get any fun out of it due to terrible framerates. Also, my GPU has a bad chip so it sometimes dies and requires a hard reboot.
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March 29, 2013 9:46:54 AM

Don't get a "cheap" monitor. Get a reliable brand. Samsung, Asus, and possibly BenQ.

You can get a good monitor for ~150 euros.
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March 29, 2013 9:49:49 AM

ohellothere said:
Dhamilton said:
IMO go for the Monitor first.
If you buy the new GPU first you still have a crap looking screen to play it on.
The 6790 is still a playable card even if not ideal.



Yes, but if I want to play Bioshock Infinite right now, I wont be able to get any fun out of it due to terrible framerates. Also, my GPU has a bad chip so it sometimes dies and requires a hard reboot.


PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/N2cB
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/N2cB/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/N2cB/benchmarks/

Video Card: Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card (£171.62 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: BenQ VW2230H 21.5" Monitor (£121.22 @ Dabs)
Total: £292.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-29 16:49 GMT+0000)
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March 29, 2013 9:53:07 AM

And for the record, I have zero issues playing Bioshock Infinite on my 7750 which is in the same tier as the 6790.
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March 30, 2013 5:18:24 AM

Is the 7870 any good then? I more like the look of a 660 Ti. I've looked at benchmarks and reviews but I can't draw a conclusion easily.
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March 30, 2013 6:55:56 AM

The 7870 XT or 7870 LE or 7870 Myst Edition as they call it, is an absolute beast. It is a crippled 7950. It runs around $240.
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