A question of compatibility

SaltyBob · Jul 28, 2014

Hello
I'm currently running a Z77A-GD65 (MS-7751) motherboard and 2 GT8800s in a sli configuration. The graphics are becoming a bit chuggish and I believe its time for an upgrade. My questions is whether any new graphics cards will be compatible with it (i.e. GTX 670/780 or their radeon equivalents, DX11 is imperative) as i'd like to keep the rest of the internals. PSU and case won't be a problem as they resemble a small power plant and mini fridge respectively

CGurrell · Jul 28, 2014

Which PSU do you have?

Anyway, as long as you have a PCI-E x16 lane on your motherboard, you should be fine

Just had a look and it looks like you have 3 (though the bottom will probably run in x4 mode) so you should be good to go

Which GPU were you thinking of buying?

Novuake · Jul 28, 2014

" PSU and case won't be a problem as they resemble a small power plant and mini fridge respectively"

LOLs...

OK since your running 2 of the most power hungry GPUs that Nvidia ever released, I will assume your PSU is just fine for pretty much any config(Excluding dual R9 290/290xs).

As said above, compatibility is assured with your motherboard!
What are you considering ?

SaltyBob · Jul 28, 2014

CGurrell :

I believe the PSU currently calling my computer its home is a silentEZ 800w
I was gravitating towards something like the GTX 670 or its radeon equivalents. However, this is based on rudimentary research and a generous helping of ignorance, so any suggestions of a GPU with a good price to power ratio would be much appreciated. I'm also totally open to the concept of running 2 GPUs in a sli/crossfire configuration, assuming that's still a thing. My budget runs up to about 350USD maybe 450 with some austerity measures on my side

CGurrell · Jul 28, 2014

Never heard of that PSU if im honest, how long have you had it for?

CGurrell · Jul 28, 2014

If you wanted to stretch to $450 you could get a GTX 780 http://pcpartpicker.com/part/galaxy-video-card-78nnh5dn00g0

For $350 you could get a GTX 770 http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42776kr or r9 280x http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100363l

Which resolution will you be looking to game at?

Novuake · Jul 28, 2014

Its a Topower PSU(they make their own PSUs), not really a suggested manufacturer.

But its lasted you this long.

Anyway... Thats a sizable budget, so lets get cracking.

First off your choices around that price range is effectively the following :

AMD R9 290 (cheapest option and is probably the best performing single card depending on game played and resolution).
GTX780 (Nvidia equivalent thats a little overpriced at this stage, but its cooler at least)
Dual GTX760 (this is faster than both the above, but comes with all the SLI drawbacks which you may or may not care about)
Dual R9 280 (Crossfire little more of a headache than SLI but this is even faster than 2 GTX760)

Here are the best of each for a good price :
R9 290 - http://www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=94897&vpn=11227-00-40G&manufacture=SAPPHIRE&promoid=1031
GTX 780 - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DIH8OOQ/?tag=pcpapi-20
Dual GTX760 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130933&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
Dual R9 280 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202099&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Just to recap,
FASTEST solution : Dual R9 280.

Close second solution and dual graphics cards usually works in more games : Dual GTX760s. This only has 2GB of available VRAM so the others are better in resolutions larger than 1080.

Simplest solution and my suggestion : R9 290.

CGurrell · Jul 28, 2014

As Novuake says

Also remember that AMD cards, such as the r9 290, will be helped in compatible games (like Battlefield 4) thanks to the Mantle API

EDIT: Got two different posts mixed up, my bad

Mahisse · Jul 28, 2014

What are the rest of your rig? CPU especially? You may run into CPU bottleneck if it's an older make, which would totally defeat the purpose of a high end video card.

Novuake · Jul 28, 2014

CGurrell :

He has a G3258? LOL i missed that somehow.

CGurrell · Jul 28, 2014

Novuake :

He doesn't, I got two posts mixed up, my bad

Novuake · Jul 28, 2014

CGurrell :

No worries. Still a valid point. Mantle can be nice.

CGurrell · Jul 28, 2014

Novuake :

Yup

I know it was only a beta, but BF:Hardline on DX11 ran at 45ish fps, mantle was always above 60

Novuake · Jul 28, 2014

CGurrell :

On what spec is that?

SaltyBob · Jul 28, 2014

Mahisse :

Wow, thanks for all the responses folks

My current PC set up is as follows

CPU - intel core i5 3570K 3.40GHz
Motherboard - Z77A-GD65 (MS-7751)
RAM - Corsair 16 GB DDR 3 (667 MHz)
GPU - x2 GT8800 (sli)
PSU - SilentEZ 800w
And a liquid cooling getup of some kind

As far as my PSU goes, its probably been the most reliable part of my rig thus far, bizarre given its non pedigree nature, but if it fails, i just stick in another, cross compatibility is pretty much ensured there as far as I'm aware.

Now, the main gaming I'm planning on doing in the near future is titanfall and star citizen with RTS thrown in for variety and as far resolution....1080p? I'm assuming that's a gaming resolution, as I've said earlier, I ride high upon my mighty steed of ignorance.

So, given that you all are now aware of my PC specs and gaming habits, what are your recommendations for maximum bang for buck?

Novuake · Jul 28, 2014

REmains the same.

You do not need any more than a R9 280x / GTX 770 for decent FPS and high to extreme settings at that resolution, but an R9 290 would still be my suggestion for some future monitor upgrade or games that may require more GPU muscle.

So short answer :
http://www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=94897&vpn=11227-00-40G&manufacture=SAPPHIRE&promoid=1031

SaltyBob · Jul 28, 2014

Novuake :

An excellent suggestion

Now a question about the card, assuming I want to do some more upgrades in the future, does this card support crossfire?

Novuake · Jul 28, 2014

It does.
You will need a better PSU as its a pretty power hungry card, but it does.

SaltyBob · Jul 28, 2014

Novuake :

Excellent. Thanks a lot for all the help folks. You have probably saved me from wasting a bunch of money on unnecessary parts. I'll be placing my order in the morning

CGurrell · Jul 28, 2014

If the PSU dies, be prepared for something else to die at the same time...

Novuake · Jul 28, 2014

No problem! Have fun! One hell of an upgrade.

SaltyBob · Jul 28, 2014

CGurrell :

That sounds both ominous and expensive, please elaborate on this message of doom you bring. You saying that if my PSU kicks it it doesn't go alone? I thought these things had built in surge protectors or something. Are there any signs that your PSU is planning on committing a murder suicide?

Novuake · Jul 28, 2014

Haha ok lets just put that in context.

Unless PSUs are of utter junk, they rarely fail unless put under more stress than they can handle. Since your PSU was fine with the SLI setup bordering on 700W draw, you will barely be pulling 600W from the PSU AFTER this upgrade.

I am sure you will not have a catastrophic failure BUT it is possible.

Most PSU do have protection to avoid these things, but without having a thorough analysis of your unit, we can not be sure that all the protection needed is present.

But I stress, if your PSU wanted to fail, it would have done so already when you SLId 2 8800GT's.

CGurrell stop scaring the users!

SaltyBob · Jul 28, 2014

Novuake :

Ah, I see, I could already envision the inferno that would be my PC in the case of a PSU failure, doesn't seem quite that dramatic now.
Thanks a bunch

CGurrell, thanks for the warning, but you now owe me a pair of pants

CGurrell · Jul 28, 2014

SaltyBob :

LOL! Sorry about that

Just make sure not to overload the PSU (as in, replace it before crossfiring the r9 290) and you should be fine

I may have exaggerated a bit as I've seen people with generic 300W PSUs wanting to buy GTX 780s and I just blow a gasket

A question of compatibility

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