GPU Upgrade question's and overclocking.

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Keith LC

Keith LC

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Jan 31, 2015
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Hello,

I just built a custom gaming rig about 2 months ago and it has ran beautifully so far. I feel I need a little more graphical power though I can run 90% of my games on ultra settings but it feels a bit sluggish. I am not a fanboy of either Nvidia or AMD, both are good manufacturers and I hate when people compare the 2 with unsimilar card structures. I also have an overclockable CPU but not sure what to OC to and whats safe. Here are the specs and some pics any ideas would be helpful!

http://prntscr.com/5zegjz

http://prntscr.com/5zegv4

http://prntscr.com/5zehv4

http://prntscr.com/5zeidn

http://prntscr.com/5zeioe

http://prntscr.com/5zej1d

Quick addition the card is a Gigabyte R9 280x OC Windforce edition with 3gb of GDDR5.
 
Solution
madmatt30
^ you fell into the trap that many first time gaming rig builders fall into.
& that's imbalancing the components (albeit slightly) when pricing up in the first place.
The 280x was a truly 'great' card 2 years ago under its 7970 guise - but with newer games now has lost its max settings tag.
If you'd gone with a gtx 970 or a r9 290/290x when you built this you'd be more than happy with performance IMO.
On a upgrade path though (unless you can recuperate 80% minimum of the cost of your 280x) they're not going to be a value for money upgrade at all.
What case is that BTW?? Quite like it.
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Trenchcoat

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May 7, 2013
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Looks like a pre-built and your CPU is already overclocked. Looks like there's room to overclock the GFX card so I'd start there, failing that grab another identical GFX card and plug it in. Best bet though is to just sell it and replace it with any 290x
 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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Jan 1, 2013
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Firstly ,if you built that yourself - congrats you did a sterling job.
Secondly,upgrading from a 280x is incredibly hard work.
You won't see a significant difference with a gtx 970/r9 290/290x , (10-15fps) in fact only a 780ti or a gtx980 are worthwhile as a single card upgrade.
That's a massive expenditure though.
Crossfire 280x as mentioned above is an option but comes with all the pitfalls of a dual card setup.
I would over clock the 280x for now as suggested OR minimise the aa & filtering in games to maintain a solid 60fps - the 280x is entirely capable of 60fps ultra with those 2 settings dropped a notch.
Wait out for the amd 3** series - I expect amd to drop something pretty big out on their 3 high tier cards.
Nvidia have impressed only with the efficiency of the 9** series not the performance.
We all know amd focus mainly on pure grunt when it comes to components & disregard efficiency pretty much - I personally expect big big things from their new lineup.
 
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Keith LC

Keith LC

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Jan 31, 2015
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Thanks! Yeah I have built PC's for my whole life. I did it in the Army for 9 years. Although this was my first attempt at a power rig. The pictures don't show it but I am also running a 128gb ssd for the OS, and a WD Black 2tb for storage. I was thinking Crossfire but the issue is space with either the card hindering airflow to top card, or being to close to PSU.
 
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Keith LC

Keith LC

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Jan 31, 2015
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Haha well the pre built thing I take as a compliment I guess, but it is far from it. For clarification look up any or all of the parts listed and you will see that there is no prebuilt system that comes with this HW setup. I did a 1 click OC through my Bios to 4.5ghz, but have been told it can push more than that is why I asked about the OC. Most of my PC builds prior to this were budget gaming rigs or server rigs. Never had to OC before.

http://prntscr.com/5zf3da
 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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Jan 1, 2013
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^ you fell into the trap that many first time gaming rig builders fall into.
& that's imbalancing the components (albeit slightly) when pricing up in the first place.
The 280x was a truly 'great' card 2 years ago under its 7970 guise - but with newer games now has lost its max settings tag.
If you'd gone with a gtx 970 or a r9 290/290x when you built this you'd be more than happy with performance IMO.
On a upgrade path though (unless you can recuperate 80% minimum of the cost of your 280x) they're not going to be a value for money upgrade at all.
What case is that BTW?? Quite like it.
 
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Solution
Keith LC

Keith LC

Reputable
Jan 31, 2015
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4,510



Corsair Vengeance C70: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139014
 
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