Which one would the best option?

Pshaw98 · May 13, 2014

I own an AMD 7970 and I want to upgrade. I know it seems early to upgrade, but I don't care so please don't mention that. And also please leave all fanboyism out as well.

My options are to get another 7970 and to crossfire it along with my current card, or to get an NVIDIA 780. Obviously, if I could, I would go with the 780, but I'm curious if it is really worth the extra $200 to get it because I have heard some sketchy things about crossfire, but it might be fixed with the new drivers? Im also asking if it is okay to get a 'like new' 780 from Amazon, is that reliable. Or is there an even better option than these?

I plan on playing demanding games such as Watch Dogs, Battlefield 4, Crysis Series, and Metro Series on 1920x1080. I don't plan on getting a higher resolution monitor, at least anytime soon. My processor is an Intel i7 4770k @ 4.4Ghz.

chargeit · May 13, 2014

It's a hard call. You'd get more performance out of going crossfire, yet poor frame timing would be enough to make any possible gains not worth it.

I haven't played any of the games you mentioned, but I can tell you that I'm considering getting a 2nd 780 sooner or later for more demanding games. Don't expect to just set everything to max with a 780 if you want the smoothest game play possible.

It always seems like you need just a little more power.

clutchc · May 13, 2014

To go CF will be determined by the MB you have. If the 2nd PCIe x16 slot is only X4 lanes, it won't be a good idea to go CF or SLI.

Anytime you get a gfx card that is anything but new, you take a chance. The nice thing about Amazon, is that there almost never is an issue with refund or replacement... even if the seller is third party. Of course, even new cards can be DOA. At least with a "good" used card, you can assume it was working when it was removed.

Pshaw98 · May 13, 2014

How does a 780 perform with Far Cry 3 from personal experience? I know I am definitely not getting the advertised experience from a 7970 as a bit of a stutter, even though I hold 40-60 frames, and there doesnt seem to be a great enough fix without dropping below high settings, even on DirectX 9.

Pshaw98 · May 13, 2014

clutchc :

Sorry for not stating this, but my motherboard is an Asrock Extreme4 Z87, so Im pretty sure there are 3 x16 PCIe slots

Pshaw98 · May 13, 2014

And I was reading some articles and it also seems I could get three games if I go with the r9 280x rather than another 7970 for my crossfire as I could get 3 free games with same performance and same price? Would I get similar crossfire performance?

unknownofprob · May 13, 2014

you can get a R9 280X instead of 7970, same chip, the R9 280X is almost a 7970GHz.

Best to OC your 7970 when in Xfire to same level as R9 280X for best performance.

You'll get better performance if you overclock the card (7970 with R9 280X) rather then just get two 7970's.

Pshaw98 · May 13, 2014

unknownofprob :

If Im going to want to OC, Im probably going to need to get a new case. My case currently has terrible Air Flow, Cooler Master HAF 912. My card runs at around 90-95 degrees on the second Bios in any game, and I don't really want to get into water cooling as I feel getting a new case is the overall better option. For $140, which case would you recommend for the best Full-Tower, ATX, air-flowing case? I just have to wait for a check to be accepted in the next day or two, so sales are nice. Then as for the card, its looking like Crossfire is the better option with a 280x. Is the Gigabyte Windforce a good decision as it has 3 fans? I don't care for sound, I just want low temps.

unknownofprob · May 13, 2014

HAF 912 is good enough, though you can get better.

Gigabyte windforce coolers are great, only rev 2.0 only! Not the terrible 1.0's!.

This case is $159.99 (HAF 932), but a beast of a case, just below the flagship HAF X 942 (I have the 942 and it is great at airflow)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Pshaw98 · May 14, 2014

unknownofprob :

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Advanced-SuperSpeed-RC-932-KKN5-GP/dp/B001EPUQAE/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1400039835&sr=1-1&keywords=coolermaster+haf+932

What should I look for in this case to make sure everything is compatible and everything will fit?

clutchc · May 14, 2014

If you have over heating issues in a HAF, you may have other problems. HAF stands for High Air Flow. I still have one in my basement I'm waiting to reuse. I used to have 2 x GTX 570 OC cards and my i5-2500K OC'd in it. Never had a heat issue. That case has as much air flow as any mid size ATX there is. What is your fan situation?

Pshaw98 · May 15, 2014

clutchc :

What do you mean by fan situation? I have 4 120mm fans. Only two are pointing towards the motherboard. They are on 100% full power.

clutchc · May 15, 2014

Then where's the heat problem? CPU? GPU? I had a 200mm in front, 140mm on the side and 120mm rear. All were running at reduced RPM to lower noise. Just the vented top alone was enough to allow heat to escape via thermal dynamics.

Pshaw98 · May 15, 2014

Its kind of in both, however my cpu is overclocked, so I'm not worried about that. But my gpu is running very hot and this is what I feel is the main issue. This case is under a desk with all sides of the desk within 6 inches of the case, except for the door with the fan and the very front of the case. I can't really move the computer to any where else until after I move in a few weeks, but do you think that could be the issue? Would doing something to the top vent make this a lot cooler?

unknownofprob · May 16, 2014

having fans at the top would.

Pshaw98 · May 16, 2014

So, I just went through my case and cleaning out all of the dust and wire managing. A couple of things happened. First, I accidently broke the PCI-e latch on one of my PCI-e slots. I have read that its ok as long as you don't mode your computer. NExt, I was glancing at my graphics card and I noticed that one of the bronze slots on the part you slide into the PCI slot is half gone, like it was torn or something. I rebooted my computer and the graphics driver was damaged. Was this because I changed the PCI slot? Anyways, I reinstalled the driver and everything is fine, but everything seems slower. I feel like I did damage something, but I don't know what it could be.....

clutchc · May 16, 2014

I was next going to ask if the case is in a confined area. But you answered my question. I think that is most of your problem. The fans are just circulating heated air.

As to the gfx card damage, can you post a pic? If you are referring to the copper traces (fingers) on the edge connector, a few only have half traces normally.

Which one would the best option?

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