Budget upgrade from GTX550Ti?

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J

jiffles

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Oct 18, 2013
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So I feel the urge to upgrade my video card to run games like Final Fantasy XIV at better settings and at 1080p. I'm looking for a card at around $175. I know my CPU could really use an upgrade but from what I can tell I can still benefit a lot from a new GPU instead.

I have been thinking maybe a GTX 660 would be a good option. What do you guys think? :??:

Current specs:
GTX 550 Ti
Core i3-2120
ASRock H61M/u3s3
8 GB RAM
 
Solution
G
The GTX would be an upgrade, but not a major one. If that's the path you wanna take, here is a good price on one.

http://www.dealzon.com/deals/geforce-gtx-560-price#asus-gtx660dc2o2gd5

If you wanna take a pretty serious upgrade and you don't mind spending the $250, this is a really solid deal on an Radeon 7970.

http://www.dealzon.com/deals/geforce-gtx-560-price#asus-gtx660dc2o2gd5

I run a HIS IceQ x2 edition Radeon 7970 and it handles all modern games quite well. I was playing the BF4 beta at maximum everything and still getting 50fps, and the game isn't even optimized yet. I average 60fps on Crysis 3 max settings with X2AA. Its for sure an above average card. Hope that helps you a bit! :D
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G

Guest

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The GTX would be an upgrade, but not a major one. If that's the path you wanna take, here is a good price on one.

http://www.dealzon.com/deals/geforce-gtx-560-price#asus-gtx660dc2o2gd5

If you wanna take a pretty serious upgrade and you don't mind spending the $250, this is a really solid deal on an Radeon 7970.

http://www.dealzon.com/deals/geforce-gtx-560-price#asus-gtx660dc2o2gd5

I run a HIS IceQ x2 edition Radeon 7970 and it handles all modern games quite well. I was playing the BF4 beta at maximum everything and still getting 50fps, and the game isn't even optimized yet. I average 60fps on Crysis 3 max settings with X2AA. Its for sure an above average card. Hope that helps you a bit! :D
 
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Solution
G

Guest

Guest
In addition however, you would probably need a stronger PSU to run the 7970. (And maybe the GTX 660?) I would upgrade you CPU as well if you can, even it is only to an i5.
 
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G

Guest

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Yeah, that is a good point. You really should upgrade to an i5, or an i7 if you can. You will benefit a lot. You can probably find 3rd generation CPUs for a decent price now that the Haswells have been out for a bit.
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

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May 26, 2013
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The AMD 7950 can be had for 179 dollars after Mail-In-Rebates from newegg.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $179.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-18 02:35 EDT-0400)


If you are not the Mail-In-Rebates kind of guy, then you can get the 7870 Ghz Edition which is also a very powerful card for a little less price. It has a 179 base price which goes down to 159 after Mail-In-Rebates making it a very good deal too.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $159.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-18 02:38 EDT-0400)

I hope this helps. Is there anything else I can help you in?

 
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J

jiffles

Honorable
Oct 18, 2013
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Alright so I wasn't considering Radeon cards before. The 7950 looks pretty nice. Would I have to upgrade my CPU for that or could I wait for a while? Also I've used a couple power supply calculators and I think my power supply is enough (500W) but I want to be sure before I get a more powerful card!

Edit: Damn, just saw that the minimum requirement is a 550W PSU. Do I really need to get a new one, and if so, what would be a good budget PSU for my needs? You guys are really helpful btw lol :D
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

Titan
Mar 25, 2010
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My suggestion here, don't upgrade the card till you can also upgrade the CPU. If you buy the card now, then a year from now you can buy a new CPU, you have wasted a year of newer cards and lowered prices by buying something now.

With that i3 CPU, upgrading over the 550 you have now is pretty marginal, you could easily see very little benefit and the fact that newer/faster/cheaper cards will be out when you DO upgrade the CPU makes upgrading the video card now a pretty weak upgrade. If you had an old 8600GT or something, upgrade is good then, having a fairly new and quick card is a different story.
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

Honorable
May 26, 2013
2,640
1
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I feel the urge to upgrade my video card to run games like Final Fantasy XIV at better settings
Click to expand...

Reading this.. I think he needs to upgrade his card because he is not happy the settings at which he is playing and he wants to run the game more Smoother/Better Looking, etc.

Anyways I think it is the time for an upgrade. That GPU is two generations older now and the card was also never the best card even at the time when it launched. So according to me, the card has aged a bit.

Also there is no better time to buy a new card. The 7950's can be had for just like 180 dollars after rebates. I don't think you would have access to so much powerful GPU for such a low price for quite some time, so if you are buying the 7950, then this is the best time to buy it, in my opinion.
 
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