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Tech noob seeking upgrade advice

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  • Graphics Cards
  • Nvidia
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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September 18, 2014 5:49:05 PM

Hi all,

First time poster here. I am looking for advice on how to best and most effectively upgrade my PC. Consider me a tech noob only really understanding the basics. I'm not sure if I need a second card for SLI, a different card, more processor speed, or what. I'm not sure if my motherboard can handle another card, but I listed the specs below. My goal is to run games in 2k res with a great framerate and be ready for games with Dragon Age: Inquis and Witcher 3, etc.

I have a PNY XLR8 GeForce GTX 770 OC - 4 GB right now on a Intel i5-2500k @ 3.3 ghz with 8 gigs of ram and Windows 7 64 bit.

Other info you might want:

- GIGABYTE Z68A-D3H-B3 motherboard
- 2 4GB CORSAIR VENGEANCE 1600MHZ DDR3 (for 8GB total)
- some cooling elements as well, like COOLERMASTER SILENT PRO 1000W

Anyway, I'm just listing things from my old invoice. I've had the computer about 3 years now from CyberPowerPC.

So, please let me know what's best for me to upgrade for the best value/performance increase. I have a new Dell 30" 2k monitor as well.

Thanks in advance! :) 

More about : tech noob seeking upgrade advice

September 18, 2014 5:52:47 PM

What you have right now is great. No need to upgrade anything. You'll be able to max anything at 1080p (Besides Crysis 3 or Watch Dogs) with 50-60fps
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a b U Graphics card
September 18, 2014 6:01:37 PM

Hey,

since you already have the 4GB model of GTX 770 your best shot/cheapest option will definitely be to add another one for SLI.

Here http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/geforce-gtx-770-sl... you could see a good example on how would a SLI GTX 770 perform in 1440 and compare it to a single GTX 770.
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September 18, 2014 6:37:37 PM

Thanks for the input so far guys. My FPS is great for 1k resolution, once I push it to 2k it becomes a problem. 2k looks great on my big monitor - but is 2k gaming just kinda crappy with cards at the moment?

How much performance increase would a 2nd card in SLI give me? Is it worth it?

Also, do I need to upgrade my processor chip or anything as well?
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a b U Graphics card
September 18, 2014 7:40:33 PM

discoslice said:
Thanks for the input so far guys. My FPS is great for 1k resolution, once I push it to 2k it becomes a problem. 2k looks great on my big monitor - but is 2k gaming just kinda crappy with cards at the moment?

How much performance increase would a 2nd card in SLI give me? Is it worth it?

Also, do I need to upgrade my processor chip or anything as well?


I gave you a link in my first post showing a compassing but I guess you've missed it or just never clicked on it.

Below are just a couple of pics from the review. Notice the GTX 770 SLI vs single GTX 770 in 1440 p resolution.





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a b U Graphics card
September 18, 2014 7:41:16 PM

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September 18, 2014 10:09:13 PM

Thanks Mouldread I missed it - would you double up and get a 2nd card then for an extra 30 or so FPS?
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a b U Graphics card
September 18, 2014 10:27:51 PM

Well, to be honest I've never been a big fan of multi-GPU setup but maybe because I've never played on such high resolutions. From I've read some games do not support SLI/X-fire but I'm guessing these would be older games. Games which do supported sometimes suffer from micro stutter when multi-GPUs are used. But in your situation I think adding a second 770 would be the ideal price/performance ratio.

About the three way SLI I think you would need a special motherboard and probably a better PSU. If you are not in a rush to upgrade I think it's probably a better idea to wait a week or two. The new GTX 980 and 970 should be/were announced officially today and the prices are quite attractive - $549 and US $329 and from what I've heard they perform very well. I can only imagine if you were to SLI the new GTX 970 it would really boost your performance. But then inevitably comes the question - is your CPU going to bottleneck such a setup?

Give it a couple of weeks, see how prices settle down with the new and the old cards on the market and then decide. But again - the cheapest way is to get another GTX 770.
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