Should i start my build without my GPU?

White Mike · May 21, 2013

Hello first time post. lets make it short and sweet. I'm building my first PC and i have everything i need to start the build the only thing im missing is the GPU. I'm waiting til the 1st to make the purchase. My question is should i build the pc now and just throw the GPu in when i get it? Thanks for the help.
CPU FX 6300
RAM G.skill ripjaws X 8gb 1866
MOBO Asus m5a97 le r2.0
CPU cooler CM 212 evo
HDD WD blue 1tb
Case CM storm enforcer
PSU Rosewill 630 80 bronze
GPU I'm prolly getting a sapphire 7950

notea · May 21, 2013

depends on what you are going to do, for browsing, movies etc, you wouldnt need a GPU, but if you plan on gaming, there's nothing much you can do till you get a GPU, but it would be a good idea to assemble the PC now just to check everything is working, install Windows, all the drivers, necessary programs, etc.. then all you will have to do is slap on the GPU later

White Mike · May 21, 2013

Thanks Notea. That's what i was thinking but i'm kind of a noob at this lol. I didnt even know if it would post so... But what do you think of the 7950 with my build is it worth getting?

sam_p_lay · May 21, 2013

I personally steer clear of Sapphire because they keep dying on me soon after the warranty expires (I had one that actually died the same month the warranty expired!). Maybe I've just been unlucky but it's happened enough now that I won't be buying another. nVidia are just about to launch the GTX700 series. GTX760 Ti is meant to be $200 and same speed as GTX670. That could be worth waiting for.

White Mike · May 21, 2013

Yeah sam you make a good point. Im not buying for at least 10 more days hopefully the 700 series comes out but who knows. also what do you reccomend instead of the sapphire. my price point is 310 exactly so anything more just cant do i have to get a mouse for 20 and a keyboard for 15 bucks so thats where im at.

notea · May 21, 2013

7xx are releasing day after tomorrow (780 23rd and 770 30th of May if im not mistaken), id wait and see if the performance gain will be justified with the price, the 7950 is comparable to a 670 in but a little slower but a lot cheaper, 5-10% slower but around 20% cheaper i think, and the 760ti would be an updated version of the 670 much like the 770 will be an updated version of the 680. Wait 1 - 2 weeks, see the reviews/benchmarks and make your purchase accordingly

White Mike · May 21, 2013

Thanks for your help i will.

notea · May 21, 2013

Sapphire makes good cards, if someone experiences a problem with a sapphire card, its not that the company makes bad cards, its just a matter of luck of the draw, you could get an EVGA GTX Titan and it could be DOA, i've been using a sapphire 5670 in my office PC for the past 2 years and i havent had any issues with it, that being said, i would always choose ASUS over Sapphire as they make better looking, cooler and quieter cards at the same price if not cheaper..

Note: id stay away from XFX, their cards are having a lot of issues lately, many cards DOA, some dies after just months of use -- etc

sam_p_lay · May 21, 2013

How is Sapphire luck of the draw but XFX are bad? I'm using an XFX at the moment (and it's alive, but only just - the cooler is seriously faulty and will probably fail soon). I'd argue any manufacturer that puts out lots of faulty products is best avoided.

I've owned four Sapphires (from the 9700 up to the 5970) and all four died within six months of warranty expiry. They did three year warranties back in 9700 days and the cooler packed up in the 36th month. The 5970 became faulty 2 months after warranty expiry and died completely 2 months after that.

As for what manufacturers I'd recommend, EVGA would be an excellent choice for warranty cover. If you're into overclocking then MSI would be a strong choice, or ASUS.

White Mike · May 21, 2013

Yeah i like asus cards but they dont make a 7950 card unless im wrong. also in my fixed budget what msi card would you go with. i do plan on overclocking my cpu and gpu btw.

Basicly if you had 310 bucks what card would you buy

notea · May 21, 2013

i guess its just bad luck on your part for those sapphire cards, i have yet to see a sapphire card fail on me or any of my friends for that matter, but i've seen a lot of XFX cards DOA, fans failing like you said only after 3- 4 months, a friend of mine is a retailer for PC components and he ordered 3 XFX 7870 DD all of them DOA, could be a bad batch, i dont know, because of all these, i dont recommend XFX, as for EVGA/MSI/ASUS - all of them are pretty good, like you said, EVGA's support is 2nd to none, MSI and ASUS are very good overclockers with very good custom fans, you cant go wrong with any of them

sam_p_lay · May 21, 2013

Don't worry, they have all GPUs covered

Probably more than one 7950. What I'd do is wait for the GTX760 Ti - if rumours are accurate, that will be GTX660 price for GTX670 performance (i.e. better than the 7950). If I had to buy right now, I'd take a GTX660 and pocket the change (probably put it towards a 250gb Samsung 840 Pro :-D).

notea · May 21, 2013

White Mike :

Asus makes 7950s, http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/
look up AMD cards, 7000 series and 7950, there's a bunch of them

sam_p_lay · May 21, 2013

notea :

Agreed - and I'd include Gigabyte in those too. Pretty good warranties too - three years, but from date of manufacturer (not date of purchase). On a brand new model though like a GTX700 model, those dates will be near enough the same. I'd also avoid XFX cards in your position due to that first hand experience with them (and WILL avoid them due to my own first hand experience). Many forum users are quick to disregard other people's experiences and trust nothing other than the numbers, but I'd place a lot of value on learning from failures - of both your own hardware and that of people you know. So many companies to choose from, why keep buying from a company that lets you down?

White Mike · May 21, 2013

Yeah i'm not buying for at least 10 days anyhow ill do some more looking thanks. I hope the rumors are true though that would be awesome price drops from amd maybe

sam_p_lay · May 21, 2013

White Mike :

They would have to! I'm picking up an EVGA GTX760 Ti myself (assuming price/performance speculations on GTX760/770 are correct).

notea · May 21, 2013

i have a 670 and i see no point in upgrading to 7xx series, same performance maybe a bit slower, but a little OC can get me into the 680 level performance, i'd consider upgrading when the 8xx series comes out, that too, if the performance gain is more than 20%

sam_p_lay · May 21, 2013

notea :

I wouldn't either if I had a GTX670 (which I almost bought last year but decided to wait for GTX700) but I'm on a knackered old 4870 since my 5970 died so would be a major upgrade for me. If I can get GTX670 performance for cheap money then it'll have been worth waiting for!

Should i start my build without my GPU?

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