Upgrading from the GTX 650

bdg710 · Jul 20, 2014

I am looking for a card that can run most games with max settings. I will be running one monitor on probably DisplayPort maybe DVI (1920x1080). I was thinking about the GTX 760 or the 770 but i'm just not sure. I have a budget of $250 to $300.

Specs:
Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 500W
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Blaise170 · Jul 20, 2014

What's your budget? I'd be looking at an R9 280X or a 770.

Somber · Jul 20, 2014

The gtx 760 is an amazing gpu. Most of your games (with a good cpu) should run ultra settings.

bdg710 · Jul 20, 2014

Somber :

I was looking at the 760 but would it be worth it to but in the extra cash for the 770?

Blaise170 · Jul 20, 2014

bdg710 :

The 770 is a considerable upgrade. I'd still recommend getting the 280x for the best price/performance.

i7Baby · Jul 20, 2014

You need something within your budget, fits your case and can be reliably run by your power supply.

Your power supply should be from tier 1, 2a or 2b of http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html eg Seasonic 520, XFX 550 or Antec HCG 520M The CX is on Tier 3 - not for serious overclocking. And so limits what you can do with it.

With a good 500W power supply as suggested then you could get a gtx760 or r9 280 - if they fit in your case and are within your budget.

Karadjgne · Jul 20, 2014

With a CX 500 your best bet would be an r9 280. If you upgrade to a Antec 620m HCG, Seasonic m12II 620, or XFX 550, then you could easily run a r9 280x or gtx770, but I'd not run either card on a CX.

bdg710 · Jul 20, 2014

Karadjgne :

So it's not recommended to run the 770 on a 500 watt PSU?

i7Baby · Jul 20, 2014

For a 770 you need 600W

Blaise170 · Jul 20, 2014

i7Baby :

That's false. The GTX 770 has a max TDP of 230W.

Thus, using the equation for volts/amps/watts, we are looking at only 20A required on the +12V rail in order to actually run the card, by itself. With a full system, you only need about another 20A. So 40A total. Again using the equation, we find that 40A on the rails will only consume 480W of power.

So that's a long-winded way of saying that a CX500 will power a 770.

bdg710 · Jul 20, 2014

i7Baby :

Blaise170 :

This is a stupid question but what does 20A on the +12V rail mean. I keep hearing it and I am a little confused. Also if the card does draw more power than the PSU can handle, will it damage any parts?

Blaise170 · Jul 20, 2014

bdg710 :

Not a stupid question unless you are an electrical engineer. Internal wiring for power supplies are separated into what are called "rails". To completely understand it, you need to know a bit about electrical engineering, but to put it as simply as possible...

Power supplies have +12V, +5V, +3.3V, -12V, and +5Vsb rails. The majority of the power your system takes is put on the +12V rail. If you ever see the label on a PSU, it will separate each of these into a chart so that you can see how much amperage (current) is flowing through each rail.

In this example, you are wanting to power an i5 and a 770. A 770 uses about 20A of the +12V rail. The i5 uses around 77W of the +3.3V rail. You then have to start using voltage equations to calculate total power consumption of the system.

i7Baby · Jul 20, 2014

I don't know where you're getting 20A from. See http://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards

Blaise170 · Jul 20, 2014

i7Baby :

That's total amperage for an entire system, not just the 770. You want to see the voltage equation?

Max TDP of a GTX 770: 230W

Watts = Amps * Volts

230 = A * +12V
230 / 12 = 19.1666666667A

Technically it uses less than 20A.

bdg710 · Jul 20, 2014

Blaise170 :

bdg710 :

Not a stupid question unless you are an electrical engineer. Internal wiring for power supplies are separated into what are called "rails". To completely understand it, you need to know a bit about electrical engineering, but to put it as simply as possible...

Power supplies have +12V, +5V, +3.3V, -12V, and +5Vsb rails. The majority of the power your system takes is put on the +12V rail. If you ever see the label on a PSU, it will separate each of these into a chart so that you can see how much amperage (current) is flowing through each rail.

In this example, you are wanting to power an i5 and a 770. A 770 uses about 20A of the +12V rail. The i5 uses around 77W of the +3.3V rail. You then have to start using voltage equations to calculate total power consumption of the system.

If the card draws more power than the PSU can handle, will it damage any parts?

Blaise170 · Jul 20, 2014

bdg710 :

It can't draw more power than your PSU can handle. It could in theory take up to 500W, but it won't as long as you don't overclock or overvolt it.

bdg710 · Jul 20, 2014

Blaise170 :

So it should run fine with the 500 watt psu? To be clear if there were not enough watts, the computer would not even start up in the first place?

Blaise170 · Jul 20, 2014

bdg710 :

If in some freak scenario it needed more than 500W, it would simply throttle the card down, so it wouldn't damage any parts.

bdg710 · Jul 20, 2014

Blaise170 :

Oh thank God, I was worried there for a minute!

i7Baby · Jul 20, 2014

That's if it was a good quality power supply.

bdg710 · Jul 20, 2014

i7Baby :

What do you mean? Will it just shut down or blow up in smoke?

GhostRunner81 · Jul 20, 2014

Well if its a cheap 36 dollar power supply might blow up in smoke, if its a good quality power supply it should just shut your system down or blow only the power supply no smoke maybe a funny smell.

bdg710 · Jul 20, 2014

GhostRunner81 :

I spent like $60 on it. It's a corsair, so pretty good quality. I don't want to chance it but I don't also want to buy a whole new supply. Would you recommend me keeping the existing psu or buying another one? Also, if I should buy another one, how much wattage would you recommend?

Somber · Jul 20, 2014

bdg710 :

The 770 benchmark scores are higher. And gets about 9 fps more than the 760, if you dont get the 760 I would wait until the 800 series come out. But I don't think the extra money is worth what you're getting for a 770. But either way both cards will last you quite a bit.

Blaise170 · Jul 20, 2014

The CX500 isn't a top PSU, but it won't blow up on you. If you have the money you can get a nice PSU that is future proof.

I have an EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2. Yes, it is definitely expensive but it has a 10 year warranty, gold certified, and an awesome Superflower Leadex platform.

Upgrading from the GTX 650

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