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ericlplante

Honorable
Feb 20, 2014
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10,530
I purchased my system about five years ago and at the time it was top of the line but now with all the new components and games coming out it seems to be getting a bit obsolete. I was able to overclock my CPU, install a SSD, and upgrade my RAM but my video card is still the same. Its an EVGA GTX560 1GB and my question is, without spending more then $200 can I replace it and get considerably more performance or should i just wait until I can purchase a more high end component? Thoughts? Thank you!
 
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The card you have should still be able to manage high detail settings in recent games, just not very high or ultra.
As a comparison to other cards below, roughly 34 FPS in Metro Last Light with High quality settings.
All frame rates quoted are at 1920x1080.
The closest equivalent to your card now is the GTX 650 Ti.

A GTX 660 would give you 2GB RAM. This would allow high res textures and mods in Skyrim (1GB VRAM on your current card is not enough for this) or high quality settings in Metro Last Light at 40 FPS.

A GTX 760 would give you high quality settings in Metro Last Light at 50 FPS.
A GTX 770 would give you high quality settings in Metro Last Light at 60 FPS.

There is always something better around the corner. It largely comes...
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,298
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The GTX560 is no longer considered a high end gaming card.
Most likely, you will be pleased if you replace it with a significantly stronger card like a GTX760.

To help clarify your options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 50%.
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.


Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
set to 50% and see how you do.


You could also experiment with removing one core in the bios. This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

 
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VincentP

Splendid
Oct 18, 2013
4,105
1
26,965
The card you have should still be able to manage high detail settings in recent games, just not very high or ultra.
As a comparison to other cards below, roughly 34 FPS in Metro Last Light with High quality settings.
All frame rates quoted are at 1920x1080.
The closest equivalent to your card now is the GTX 650 Ti.

A GTX 660 would give you 2GB RAM. This would allow high res textures and mods in Skyrim (1GB VRAM on your current card is not enough for this) or high quality settings in Metro Last Light at 40 FPS.

A GTX 760 would give you high quality settings in Metro Last Light at 50 FPS.
A GTX 770 would give you high quality settings in Metro Last Light at 60 FPS.

There is always something better around the corner. It largely comes down to whether you are happy with the performance you are getting at the moment.

Edit: If your processor limits your frame rates below these numbers, remember that a better graphics card will always allow higher detail settings at the same frame rate if not better frame rates.
 
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ericlplante

Honorable
Feb 20, 2014
34
0
10,530


AMD Phenom Xll x4 965 BE 4.2ghz w/ Corsair Hydro h80i
4GB x 2 DDR3 RAM (dont remember brand or other specs)
Kingston 1TB 7500 rpm
Kingston 120gb SSD
800w Single Rail Power supply
Asus M4N68TM V2 Motherboard

 
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