Choices of New GPU

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sirholmes

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Sep 19, 2012
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Hello,

OLD desktop gaming PC setup:

Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-v Pro
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)
CPU: Intell i5-2500
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)
PSU: 900w Antec
Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)
RAM: Patriot Sector 5 G Series 2x 4GB DDR3-1600MHz (PC3-12800)
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 560
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)
Chassis (Case): NZXT H2
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)
HDD: [ OS Installed here -Seagate ST2000DL001 (9VT156) 2TB 5900RPM 32MBCache SATA 3.0Gb/s], and 2 [Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s] extra storage
SSD: 64GB OCZ SATA 6.0Gb/s SSD (Intell RST Enabled)
OPTICAL Drive: Samsung SH-B123L (Blue Ray Drive)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64


NEW desktop Gaming PC:

Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-v Pro
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)
CPU: Intell i7-3770k
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)
PSU: Rosewill LIGHTNING 1000W
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)
Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 1600 (PC3 12800) [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...]

GPU: ?????????????????????????????

Chassis (Case): NZXT H2
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)
HDD: [ OS Installed here -Seagate ST2000DL001 (9VT156) 2TB 5900RPM 32MBCache SATA 3.0Gb/s], and 2 [Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s] extra storage
SSD: 64GB OCZ SATA 6.0Gb/s SSD (Intell RST Enabled)
OPTICAL Drive: Samsung SH-B123L (Blue Ray Drive)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64



I am updating/upgrading my rig and I have almost everything set except I am a little lost when it comes to GPUs

I am looking to purchase a new GPU because as you can plainly see my old one is WAY outdated. It can not even handle games like Farcry3 or its counter part Blood Dragon ( only got like 10 fps turning everything down) I do a lot of heavy gaming and am looking to get either 2 gpu or 1 beast. I do not plan/want to have the need to overclock soon. I know how to and my current one is OC but I just want a decent GPU or set where I do not need to and just want to use everything out of the box for now. My budget is about $500 - $600 (prefer closer to the $500 range but can go higher if need be and for either two gpus or 1 beast as I said earlier.)

First things first I basically am just not sure where to start. I am looking to future proof to some degree, as much as budget allows, but I realize that eventually (with in two years) I will need to replace my GPU again as it gets slower and less capable of handling newer games.

I am not looking to start and argument here and know people have their strong opinions but I do not know which maker I should be looking at or who has the better graphics card in general AMD or Nvidia. I do not think I really have a huge preference maybe Nvidia just because I am used to it (and the PhysX) but I am not tied down to one or the other at all. I am not sure if I should be looking at higher bits like 192 (EX: GTX 660 ti) vs 384 (HD 7950). If I should be looking for Higher memory amounts like 3gbs vs 2gbs and so on. I am not even sure if i should even buy 1 monster graphics card now with plans to sli/CrossFire later or if I should buy 2 good graphics cards and sli/CrossFire to start with. Should I even be considering using two or only ever 1 graphics card? I am looking for good performing cards and higher frame rates with less stutter as well as being able to handle rendering. I am looking to max out all current games in the settings. I do not want to purchase a card that is not able to take full advantage of all of its memory.

I wanted to see what the thought the best one price per performance, best to purchase in general,and just general information not limiting to the categories I just said. I am interested in general opinions and thoughts on the subject. Also what price point would be best to shoot for when looking at gpus? I have always had the impression that the $300 and under zone is where to go but i could be wrong. I am just looking for a better depth of knowledge and more well rounded idea about them.

I have done some research and have seen a lot of mention about the AMD Radeon hd 7870, the AMD Radeon HD 7950, the NVidea GeForce GTX 660 Ti and the NVidea GeForce GTX 670 as just all around great graphics cards for a "decent" price. Also is there any preference as to the gpu's manufacture such as gigabyte, xfx, asus, or sapphire? I am just not sure what else to look for. I am open to any suggestions, ideas and tips you have for me.


Thank you so very much.
Appreciatively,
Trent
 
Solution
Rok125
Basically between the gpu clock and the memory clock there is a pipe where data is transmitted for display on your monitor. This bit # is the memory bandwidth. This is how much data can fit in that pipe between the gpu and the memory clock. The bigger that pipe the more data can be transmitted per clock. If you notice the higher end graphics card have larger memory bandwidths for this reason.

So the more memory a card has the easier it can handle more information at once. More VRAM is good for multiple monitors as well as games like Battlefield or...
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winkay

winkay

Honorable
Jan 17, 2013
257
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I highly suggest going for a 700 series chip rather than a 600 series, dependant on where you live (prices) I'd get a,
MSI 770

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127741 ($400)

or if you're up for SLI get two 760's

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125465 ($250 x 2)


 
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PresidentSwag

PresidentSwag

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Jan 2, 2012
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18,810
First of all, don't get a previous generation card (6xx) as the 7xx just came out a couple months ago. For what you are looking for, I would recommend getting either a gtx 770 or gtx 780 as they provide incredible performance, and a great "bang for your buck"

DO NOT look into buying sli when you can get one very good card. One powerful gpu always beats 2 okay gpus.

Brand wise, I always recommend Asus as I find they have great warranty's, customer support, and almost all products they make are built to last!

Lastly, if you want to take full advantage of memory, get a 2gb card... if you are playing on one monitor. If you have 3+ monitors, get AT LEAST 4gb vram.

Good luck with your purchase!


Sources
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html
http://www.newegg.ca/


 
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sirholmes

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Sep 19, 2012
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I am in the continental USA just to let everyone know. All the information I have researched has come from TomsHardware and Benchmark.net.
[http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html]

I have been looking at this ranking chart and are not the gtx 660 ti only one tear below the gtx 760 and gtx 670?
[http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html]
Right now because the gtx 7xx series just came out are they not at a high premium price point so would it not be better to be getting a little lower card or wait until price drop? I also thought the 660 ti was still considered an excellent card? There is also a sale on the gtx 660ti and I can get two of them for $400 on newegg.
[http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Aug-0-2013/Blueprint08/index-landing.html?nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL080813&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL080813-_-EMC-080813-Index-_-E0-_-PromoWord]
Also as "burdenbound" mentioned there is a great sale over at Newegg for the Radeon HD 7970 for $300. So would it be better to get 2 gtx 660 ti or get one Radeon HD 7970 save $100 and wait for the price drop in the future to then Crossfire? Is that not comparable if not better then the 760 in some cases?
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008]
When "Winkay" said "or if you're up for SLI get two 760's" do you mean gtx 760s and would I not benefit performance wise to spend $100 more and get a second Radeon HD 7970 then two gtx 760s?

These are just my temporary thoughts thank you for considering them
 
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jinayhvora

jinayhvora

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May 28, 2013
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2 760s can go head to head with a Titan, and at half the price, that's a steal deal, also a 760 is essentially an improved and cheaper 660 Ti so if u're going for 660 Ti better go for 760
about 2 7970s, AMD recently released drivers that fixes some problems of CrossFire but its still a work-in-progress so u might wanna wait for them to be perfected or if u're in a hurry 2 760s is ur best bet
i repeat do not replace the 2500 with a 3770
 
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Rok125

Rok125

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Aug 2, 2013
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Basically between the gpu clock and the memory clock there is a pipe where data is transmitted for display on your monitor. This bit # is the memory bandwidth. This is how much data can fit in that pipe between the gpu and the memory clock. The bigger that pipe the more data can be transmitted per clock. If you notice the higher end graphics card have larger memory bandwidths for this reason.

So the more memory a card has the easier it can handle more information at once. More VRAM is good for multiple monitors as well as games like Battlefield or Skyrim which are VRAM hungry. So you should look at the games you want to play to see if this is something that is important to you or not. Currently 2GB will handle most games with 3GB handling everything (to my current knowledge).


As mentioned above a fast single gpu is better than two slower gpus. I'll come back to this further down


Nvidia has been making graphics card with focus on smooth game play for longer than AMD. So if micro-stuttering is something you want to avoid I would go with Nvidia. AMD has made significant strides towards this, especially with their 13.8 driver. If you play a lot of VRAM hungry games. AMD may provide you with more mileage on this end. Although it is my personal opinion that games still have quite a ways to go to take advantage 6GB monsters.


You are right in your research, in terms of price to performance. The price to performance sweet spot is usually, between $150 - $250. It’s basically whatever card has the cheapest card that has the biggest performance delta. Currently, overall the 760 at $250 reigns supreme for p/p. These are the cards that are going to be able to play pretty much any game you throw at them at High settings for at least 1 to 2 years. After the 1½ year mark you may want to consider Xfire/SLI to extend the life of your card at High settings or the latest price to performance leader.


It really depends on what factors are important to you. One manufacturer that you didn’t mention that is really good is MSI. MSI focuses on performance, and their Hawk & Lightning lines are made for overclocking. On the other hand Asus is a quality company that has great customer service (not that MSI doesn’t), and their cards are usually some of the coolest and quietest when rounded up with others of the like.

In conclusion purchase according to some upgrade strategy.
You can grab a 760 2Gb this will play Crysis at >45 fps. Just know you may want to consider another card down the road or next year’s price to performance leader. To stay at high settings for future games.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-760-review-gk104,3542-12.html

On the other hand you may want to purchase a 770 for ~$400 or 780 for ~$600 which will give you something like 1 ½ - 2½ years for the 770 or 2 ½ to 3½ years for the 780. At that point depending on drivers and etc. you may want to consider another card for SLI or a new single card. A new card perhaps could potentially mean a new CPU, PSU, Motherboard, RAM to prevent bottlenecks.

Predicting the future is tough business, however, I hope this helps.

By the way I used the Graphic's Hierarchy Chart to come up with this make shift timeline.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
 
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