Graphics Card Recommendation (based on my current Rig)

studlikeme

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Feb 23, 2014
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Hi All -- i'm new around here and hoping for some help. I built my rig back in 2011 but feel like it's still pretty relevant within the marketplace; below are the details.

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition (12M Cache, 3.33 GHz, 6.40 GT/s Intel® QPI)

Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium

Tower: COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

CPU Fan: COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with Intel 1366/1155/775 and AMD AM3

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Video Card: XFX HD-587X-ZNDC Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) XXX Edition 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

Memory: CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3A1600C9

HD: 1Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive + 1Western Digital WD Blue WD2500AAKX 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

CD/DVD Drive: 2 Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B – OEM

I'm going to upgrade my video card, and willing to go snag one today for the right price and fit. Can you guys recommend some options? I read http://www.anandtech.com/show/7703/desktop-video-card-buyers-guide-january-2014 -- and was looking at the AMD Radeon R9 270X and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770.

Open to other ideas -- more than appreciated!

-DP.
 

gaco66

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Nov 1, 2013
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The gtx 770 is the same price as the gigabyte 280x OC.IF you have enough money you can buy a SSD to boot and performe faster than the 250gb one.
Great rig btw and belive me it is still on the top of the market. Very few people use more than quad-core PC. Maybe the ram standarts are becoming 8+ gb ram but for now many people dont know what they can even do with so much ram.
 

studlikeme

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Feb 23, 2014
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Thanks Gaco for your prompt response. Given my motherboard is Gigabyte does it make sense (any significant advantages) to pair it with a Gigabyte GPU? (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125463) -- or does this really matter assuming I generally get a good brand?
 
You weren't messing about when you built that were you? ;)
Toms does something similar to the Anandtech article: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32865-7.html
If you can get the budget for it, the GTX770 is the right place to be looking, the R9 270 is really too small an upgrade and if you're in the USA then the R9 280/280X/HD7970 is just too expensive to consider ATM.
There is no advantage in using parts from the same maker, an EVGA (recommended for their class leading warranty BTW) or MSI card will work just as well.
 

studlikeme

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Feb 23, 2014
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Coozie7 -- When I built this I had very few limitations. The GTX 770 isn't necessarily out of my price range, and if there is a possibility I won't notice much of a difference from my current HD 5870 vs. the R9 270x then I certainly want to avoid that option. What are your thoughts on Gigabyte (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125463)? I also see the two below by EVGA and MSI -->

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130921
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127741

I am indeed in the U.S. and the 280x is way outside of my price range at the moment. I'm running a nVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M 256bit w/4.0GB GDDR5 in my gaming laptop (Sager). It seems to do pretty well for what I'm playing. Hence why I've been leaning towards the nVIDIA card rather than the ATI card.

Really appreciate the information and support.
 
The system is a few years old now but still more than capable of two or more years of top notch gaming, hence my suggestion of the faster, if more expensive option-Both Techpowerup: http://www.techpowerup.com/ and Guru3D: http://www.guru3d.com/ compare a wide spread of cards in their reviews, as does Toms ;), check out their benchmarks and decide if the extra cost of the GTX770 is worth it for you.
One other option, and one that does fall in between the 270 and 770 is the very good GTX760, right now it's the undisputed champion for high end gamers looking for best bang per buck.
If you decide on the GTX770 and want as quiet a card as possible the Gigabyte is for you, but with all three cards so close together on price and you living in the USA I'd go for the EVGA, we regularly get posts about old cards suffering problems and they seem to go out of their way to be helpful and supportive, just remember to register to get the full benefits.
 

studlikeme

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Feb 23, 2014
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Coozie7 -- In regards to the GTX 760 vs. 770 -- below are links to the two I'm considering at this point ..

(760) http://www.microcenter.com/product/419486/02G-P4-3765-KR_NVIDIA_GeForce_GTX_760_Superclocked_ACX_Cooler_2048MB_GDDR5_PCIe_x16_30_Video_Card

(770) http://www.microcenter.com/product/415537/02G-P4-2774-KR_NVIDIA_GeForce_GTX_770_Superclocked_w-ACX_Cooler_2048MB_GDDR5_PCIe_30_x16_Video_Card

Given the current Radeon HD 5870 will I see that 3x (upgrade) significant difference you mentioned in prior posts with the 760 or would i need to push it to the 770 to see that type of increase in FPS, mining, overall gaming satisfaction vs. what i have now?

Hope that makes sense -- was sort of a jumbled together response -- sorry!