How much will an upgraded GPU really help?

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Episodic

Episodic

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As of now, I can play most games on ultra with ~30fps, which is decent enough. I plan to upgrade my GPU in the coming months and I don't want to spend money on a new GPU to just get almost the same FPS. I plan to upgrade to an AMD 290x or a Nvidia 780 ti, couple that with my 16GB of ram and an i7 4770k, will I have increased fps? For example, on Crysis 3 on ultra I get 30fps during idle game play, and it drops to 20 fps during combat, (I don't actually play it on ultra because that fps is terrible, but it was just a test). So with one of those new GPU's, I can assume I would be able to play Crysis on Ultra with 40+ fps, or am I wrong? If I am wrong, what else would I need to upgrade to be able to get 60fps?

i7 4770k
16GB ram
Intel SSD
AMD 7950
MSI Z87-G41

Edit: Main reason I am upgrading is because I keep getting artifacts on my screen and just overall I believe my GPU is dying. As for resolution, I have 1920x1080p monitor at the moment, I have been debating upgrading it to a higher resolution but haven't decided yet.
 
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Mahisse

Mahisse

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You should see a nice fps increase with those cards (especially with the 780 ti. I wouldn't recommend buying anything lower than that from a jump from a 7950. Personally I wouldn't upgrade from thath card just yet since, as you stated you can play most games on ultra except Crysis 3, which has always taken alot of GPU power. Just crank the texture details to ultra and tweak the rest of the settings and you should be alright for 6 months more at least (but that's of course a matter of opinion)
 
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O

oxiide

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I can understand 30 FPS on max settings in Crysis 3, but most games? Something is fishy about that. What other games are we talking about? What's your resolution?

Even in Crysis 3, "high" settings rather than ultra at 1080p should be quite a bit higher than what you're seeing: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7103/nvidia-geforce-gtx-760-review/13

Your HD 7950 is hardly out of date, its on par with (its rebrand) the R9 280 or the GTX 760, both of which are still perfectly capable cards at 1080p.
 
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Episodic

Episodic

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I agree with you that I don't need to upgrade my GPU if I just wanted more power. However, the main reason I am upgrading is because I keep getting artifacts on my screen and overall I believe my GPU is dying.

 
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Episodic

Episodic

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Assassins Creed 4, only way I get 30-40fps is with Anti-aliasing off. Watch Dogs I also get around 30-40fps, just pretty much most modern games.
 
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Mahisse

Mahisse

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Well if you really need to a new card and set on an upgrade then go for the 780 ti since everything in between will just be a disapointment I think.

With that said I usually recommend people, who suspect that their card is dying to try to repair it. There's nothing to lose if you've already set your mind on buying a new card.

I assume that you haven't overclocked your card? If so the overclocking may very well be the cause of the artifacting.

Try re-applying the thermal paste and all that jazz.. In the end if nothing works try baking it in the oven.
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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How old is that 7950? There's at least a good chance it's still under warranty so don't start wielding any screwdrivers yet!
Also, The Obvious: Check its temperatures and give it a nice cleanout if it's running hot-use the compressed air technique, that way you don't have to invalidate the warranty. If it's running over 800/1250 it's overclocked, try backing the clocks down. Check the CPU temperatures, if it's overheating it'll throttle and slow your gaming down as well. Run only the latest WHQL drivers, if you're using Beta software, ditch it.
If you haven't already worked it out ;) AMD cards don't like too much AA, lowering that is the fastest way to a slicker frame rate.

I'd look at either a GTX780 (the 'Ti' is just too expensive for it's slim performance advantage) or an R9 290 (not the '290X'-same reason as the 'Ti'), all of the GTX twin or triple fan coolers are very good, the best AMD one is probably the Sapphire Tri-X.
 
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Episodic

Episodic

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The card is less than a year old, which is why I find it a bit strange that its dying already. I do keep it regularly cleaned and dust free as much as possible. I made sure it was plugged in nice and tight and I'm not overclocking it. The GPU temps were normal, 32C idle and 60-70C on load, the CPU temp is around 40C idle and normal on load. Since all of it was normal I thought it had to be the drivers that was causing the issue, but even with bad drivers I don't think it would cause artifacting. None the less, I was running the latest driver which was 14.4, and there was still artifacts from time to time. So I upgraded to the beta drivers to see if it made a difference and it didn't, so I am back to 14.4. When I tried playing Crysis 3, I got to maybe 5 minutes into the game and the whole thing just (artifacted)?, and made the game crash. So I haven't tried it today but I will try again and see what happens on Crysis 3 when I get home.
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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If it's only Crysis 3 that is the problem, check for patches, if it's on Steam, verify the game files, I've had a similar issue and the problem was a corrupt game, Open Steam>Library>right click on the game>properties>Local Files>Verify Game.
A lot of those cards were factory overclocked, and there was a Boost edition so check the speeds with GPUZ and try dropping them through the Catalyst Control Centre, but even if it does solve the artifacting I'd start an RMA.
Depending on who made the card you may be able to ask for an upgraded replacement, obviously you'll have to pay towards the upgrade and they may say no but, as they say, 'nothing ventured nothing gained' and if they say yes, you'll not have the problem of selling on the returned card.
 
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