What would be a good upgrade from HD6970?

gil80

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Jul 1, 2012
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Hi,

I currently have Sepphire Dirt3 Edition HD6950 2GB with dual BIOS. The 2nd BIOS opens extra shaders to match the HD6970.

I currently use 1920x1200 but plan to upgrade to 2560x1440 @ 120Hz.

My budget is up to $800 (could be higher if I wait for another month or two) and I was thinking to change to NV cards and maybe use SLI.

I play a lot of FPS and use graphic editing software. I hate to compromise on low graphic settings :)

If I plan to upgrade the monitor with higher resolution what would be a good GPU solution?

Thanks.
 

gil80

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Jul 1, 2012
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I've read that AMD GPU's are not as good as NV because of micro stuttering. So if I think of multi-GPU I'd better go with NV.
My PSU is 850W Thermaltake Gold.

So, let's say for 1 GPU between $400 and $500, what would be the best choice?
How useful it will be to have 4GB if I'm planning to upgrade to 2560x1440?


 
What is the CPU? Pairing a dazzlingly fast graphics card with a less than staggeringly fast CPU is going to be a waste of money.
I got a HD7950 for Christmas and eagerly swapped out my (also unlocked) 6950 only to be a little disappointed, it's faster, but not enough to justify the (had I bought it) cost.
Perhaps my i5 is n't overclocked enough to feed it properly (3.4GHz-modest I know ;) ), if so it underlines the importance of a fast CPU to go with your planned upgrade.
 
first of all, there are no 120hz 1440p panels. they dont exist

second, anything higher than a 7870 will be a upgrade. if you are looking for a good bang for the buck, the 7950 vapor x at newegg is your best bet. if you want the best performance, pick out a gigabyte 7970 for 399.99
 
D

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At 2560 x 1440 you want all the VRAM you can get. A 4GB GTX 670 or GTX 680 or standard HD 7970. Even the 6GB 7970 is not a bad idea. As said above the rest of your system needs to be pretty good to support multiple or even a single high end card.
 

gil80

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My CPU is Core i7 3770K @ 4.5GHZ
 

gil80

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1440p @ 120Hz do exists and not only they exist it's an IPS panel. True it doesn't come at stock 120Hz but this monitor can be OC to 120Hz quite easily. So 2560x1440 IPS panel at 120Hz is a dream.
Google Overlord Tempest monitor and look for the 27" OC edition.

 

gil80

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Jul 1, 2012
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Please tell me if my rig is sufficient for the GPU I want:
Asus P8-Z77-V-Deluxe
Intel Core i7 3770K @ 4.5GHz
16GB RAM @ 1600MHz
240GB SSD Intel 520 series
850W Gold Themaltake PSU
Dell 24" 1920x1200

The reason I don't want AMD is that CF has a lot of micro stuttering.
 
^

-you are wasting money with a z77-v deluxe when you can NEVER use all the features. something much cheaper like a gigabyte ud4h is more than fine. most people will be fine with even a z77-v LK board that goes for 104.99 after a MIR
-the plextor m5s 256gb is way cheaper and performs much better than the intel 520. its 159.99
-a xfx gold 750w goes for 99-109 and is much higher quality

 

gil80

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I needed to meet you before I purchased these things last year :)



 
D

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Oh you are fine with a pair of Titans if you have the money. Your system is fine for any single or multiple graphics cards you want to run.
 

gil80

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Jul 1, 2012
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Yeah I'm fine... but I won't be when my wife finds out I bought $1000 GPU.
So I'm looking for better value for money (and keeping alive from my wife's clutching nails).
 
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FTW is for the win. It's their highest factory overclocked card I believe or at least one of the highest.
 

gil80

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Jul 1, 2012
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Ok... so now I'm confused, what's the benefit of 7970 or 670 or 680? What gives better performance for money?
Or should I wait?

GTX 690 is a dual core, isn't it? Is it worth it?

I thought I got it by now but... na.. I have no idea what to choose... so many options and I have no idea how to OC a GPU so buying a cheaper one to OC it later is something which I can't do.
 

lolplanet

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Apr 8, 2013
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Definitely go for the 670 imo

sig.jpg
 
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You literally overclock a GPU by moving a slider bar to the right for faster and the left for slower in a program like EVGA Precision X or MSI Afterburner. If you can start your computer you can do it. The AMD cards are great overclockers. The Nvidia 6xx series not so much.

You can see benchmarks with GTX 670, 680 and HD 7970 both with single and dual cards at 1920 x 1080, 2560 x 1440 and 5760 x 1200 in the HardOCP links I posted above. It also covers the VRAM vs card speed necessary for each resolution.
 

gil80

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In regards to OC, I only OC my CPU without understanding much. For example I have no idea what to do with the CPU C states and all the OC I did was without realizing much.

As for GPU's, aren't they more sensitive for OCing? I never experimented with OCing a GPU and I have no idea about the relation with timings, voltage and temps in GPU and I'd probably damage the GPU.

I've read the links you've provided.
1. I cannot decide if I should go for the 7970 since they draw more power and that might be an issue if I choose CF.
2. CF at the moment suffers from micro-stuttering so I have no idea if to consider that.
3. 670 is 5% slower then 680 but doesn't 680 deliver newer tech and will last longer in terms of coping with games in the future?
4. Online rumors are that Nvidia might release a weaker version of gtx titan which will be cheaper. Should I wait and see?
5. If I'll buy now any card, I can't decide which vendor to choose from. Some are quite, some have better cooling, some OC better (if I could do it)...

At the end of the day, I have no idea what to do. I always end up with older tech and wish I got a better one. Every time I bought a GPU it ended up as old news after a couple of months. So I'm kinda unsure what to choose, which brand, which vendor...
In any case, I really appreciate you helping me out here and the rest of the guys. Sorry if I came out as a dumb a$$ but I really feel like there's nothing to choose from and be satisfied with for more the 2 months...

 
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The next generation of graphics cards will not be released until next year so a high end card from either Nvidia or AMD will not be anywhere near obsolete for quite some time. I am an Nvidia fan somewhat but right now AMD cards outperform Nvidia at the same price.

Really micro stuttering can happen with any multi GPU setup. But if you want Nvidia go with a GTX 680. Or wait a few months and see how much the new Titan LE will retail for. I expect around $700.

AMD has some things going for it. The 7970 has 3GB of VRAM and seems to perform better at higher resolutions. AMD also has the free game bundle with their high end cards. So you can get Crysis 3 and Tomb Raider with one card and Bioshock Infinite and Farcry 3 with the other if you get 2 cards. 2 high end games with a card is like an extra $100 of value if you planned on playing those games anyway.

Don't worry about power. Your PSU will handle 2 of either the 680 or 7970 easily.

M best advice is to go AMD with the higher resolution monitor you plan on getting. Staying at 1920 x 1080 a GTX 670 is pretty much just as good a choice just not quite as good a value.