Trying to decide on a new graphics card, need help!

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
J

jerichai

Reputable
May 9, 2014
7
0
4,510
Hello,

I built my first computer about 2.5 years ago with the help of a friend who is way more tech savvy than I am. I'm getting to the point where I think it's time for a bit of a upgrade, as I'm seeing frame rates dropping off noticeably in newer games coming out. Here's what I'm currently using:

GIGABYTE GA-Z68AP-D3(R2.0) LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 650W ATX12V/EPS12V 80

EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1563-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Intel Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 95W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623i72700K

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

2 x Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGD38G1333ELK

The graphics card was one of the pieces I choose not to spend as much on at the time, but it was a solid card nonetheless, just starting to show its age I think.

I was looking to spend no more than $500 dollars. I think I may also need to update my power supply, as it seems like mine doesn't appear to meet the requirements for some cards out there today, so that's a cost I'd have to factor in (and wouldn't mind suggestions there too). The GTX770 seemed like a well reviewed card, but I'm not too good at comparing graphics cards to be honest, so I could use the help. Ultimately, if the value is there, I wouldn't mind going outside my budget some.

Thank you all for the help!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Denis Stoikovski

Denis Stoikovski

Honorable
Feb 2, 2014
2,200
0
11,960


What is your res? Also on what stetting you want to play?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

Dbm7

Reputable
May 29, 2014
5
0
4,510


The GTX 770 is a sick card. You could more than likely upgrade to it without having to upgrade your power supply, 650W is more than enough based on pcpartpicker's wattage calculator (ends up being ~430W). I have a Gigabyte GTX 770 Windforce 2GB (about $330), and I highly recommend it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

Dbm7

Reputable
May 29, 2014
5
0
4,510


True, for the 760 it would be worth $20 to upgrade to 4gb vram. But for the 770 most benchmarks show minimal difference between the 2gb and 4gb versions, even at massive resolutions. Also it's like a $50-60 price difference for the 770 2gb vs 4gb, so it isn't really worth the extra money (to me), unless you're considering it a future-proof.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jerichai

Reputable
May 9, 2014
7
0
4,510


Resolution is 1920x1080. Right now, I'm looking to play games like Wildstar and FF14 on max settings.

Thanks everyone for the replies, glad to know the 770 lives up to the recommendation.

I also wouldn't mind hearing people's opinion on the GTX780. It's a bit more expensive than my original budget, but since it's sounding like I may not need to update my power supply, would it be worth it? Would my power supply still be okay (looks like it has the same power requirements as the 770, but then again there may be something I'm missing).

Also, kind of off topic, but I do want to try to learn these kinds of things so I can't start making better choices on my own in the future. Is there a general rule of thumb for when it's time to upgrade a power supply. My concern with the 770 was that since it required a 600 watt supply, and mine is 650, that it might affect performance in some way.

Thanks again!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jerichai

Reputable
May 9, 2014
7
0
4,510
Hmm...now I'm confused. I wasn't expecting someone to recommend upgrading my hard drive. Any reason why? Also, looking at the reviews I'm seeing some people claim that that hard drive has speed issues. Also not sure I'd like loosing storage space, as I currently have more stored on my current hard drive than the size of the one you linked. I guess I could get an external, but that would be an additional cost.

Also, messing around with those power supply calculators, it almost looks like I need to start considering updating my supply. I guess I take it that those represent that max possible power usage...however the Asus calculator showed its result in minimum watts required...so I don't know, I'm unsure. I wonder if I should just get an upgrade to the power supply now before it becomes an issue.

I'd also still like a comparison between the 770 and 780. I've been trying to figure out that myself, but I'm not sure how to best compare graphics card (would love info on this as well). For the added cost, is the 780 a worthwhile improvement over the 770? I know a lot of people like the 770, but it has been out for a little while now, so I'm worried I might have to upgrade down the road sooner than if I spent a little more up front.

Thanks all
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
bushcraftbrandon

bushcraftbrandon

Reputable
May 27, 2014
112
0
4,710
So,
the read and write speeds of an SSD are MUCH higher than a traditional drive. It's probably true that once you're in game you won't notice much difference but getting an SSD with drastically improve boot time, game load time, and overall responsiveness of the system.
What I would do is run the OS and your games on the SSD and keep your Hard drive ans an internal storage.
THis is what i do at home.
That way your music, movies, data, etc is on a drive that more or less is reserved for mass storage, while your SSD is running the more intensive things like, games, the operating system, etc.
Personally i have this drive and it's way cheaper than i paid for it 8 months ago. this one is fast!
http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=ShellShocker-_-20-147-248-_-06022014_1



 
Upvote 0 Downvote
bushcraftbrandon

bushcraftbrandon

Reputable
May 27, 2014
112
0
4,710
Also, check this out.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-780-vs-GeForce-GTX-770

http://gpuboss.com/compare-gpus



 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jerichai

Reputable
May 9, 2014
7
0
4,510


Thanks for those links. Seems like the two aren't drastically different, so I guess it comes down to if I want to spend another $100 for a little more performance.

I'm also still unsure if the 780 would require a power supply upgrade. I've tried messing around with the power supply calculators you linked before. It looks like the numbers are coming out higher than the 650 watts I have, but I'm not sure those are realistic numbers or "worst case scenario" numbers. Is there any performance issues that can pop up when a computer is just barely meeting power requirements?

Thanks again.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
bushcraftbrandon

bushcraftbrandon

Reputable
May 27, 2014
112
0
4,710
650 is perfect.
You'll be alright. If you went up to SLI and added another graphics card i'd upgrade the PSU. Until then roll with what you got.
Worst case if it's not enough your machine will not turn on or just shut itself off. Very RARE if anything were to "fry" because of it.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom