GPU upgrade suggestions

010010 · Aug 4, 2016

I currently have an AMD HD7770 1GB which i'm sure you can imagine is not very viable for most games these days, although it is a good piece of hardware for the price. i am now looking to upgrade this so i can play games at a higher setting/frame rate. i do not however want to splash out a grand on a 12GB TITAN despite it being very tantalizing. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

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Current Specs:
AMD FX 6300 3.5/4.1 GHz CPU
450W Crosair PSU (i'm aware this may also need upgrading)
AMD HD7770 1GB GPU
8GB(2x4GB) Crosair Vengeance ram
'Generic' 500GB HDD
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 motherboard
cooler master K280 case
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit

Thanks ~ 010010

Chugalug_ · Aug 4, 2016

What is your budget?

Jaster_1 · Aug 4, 2016

Theres good prices on 380's knocking about. Should give you a nice performance jump. What kind of price are you looking at?

010010 · Aug 4, 2016

Jaster_1 :

Preferably as close to £0.00 as possible :ange:

but up to around £250 would be ideal.

spdragoo · Aug 4, 2016

Well, it's going to depend on what resolution you plan on playing at.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gpus,4380.html#p1

Pretty much there won't be a problem at your budget with getting anything for the 720p or 1080p resolutions. I wouldn't go for the R7 360 for 720p, though, as it's at the same tier as your current 7770 (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html); however, the R7 260X would be a viable upgrade, or better yet an R7 370 at that level. For 1080p play, they recommend the RX 480 4GB version (cheaper than the 8GB version with same/similar performance), but if it's cheaper the GTX 1060 would also be viable.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#c=373,149,309,370&sort=a8&page=1

R7 260X or 370 look to be running around £120. The cheapest RX 480 runs about £215, with the cheapest 1060 right above it at £230.

Chugalug_ · Aug 4, 2016

I would recommend getting the Powercolor RX480 8GB, only £4 more than the custom 4GB by sapphire, which is a great deal.
Realistically though, you are unlikely to use more than 4GB of VRAM, with the exception being the more demanding titles, but it is still worth grabbing the 8GB simply because of the miniscule price difference between the two.
http://www.ebuyer.com/751299-powercolor-radeon-rx-480-8gb-gddr5-hdmi-3x-displayport-pci-e-graphics-card-axrx-480-8gbd5-m3dh
Should be a perfect fit for your CPU, although I wouldn't recommend going any higher in terms of graphical power due to the fact that the GPU will simply bottleneck due to insufficient CPU performance.

Jaster_1 · Aug 4, 2016

Whats the exact model number of your PSU? RX480 is a good choice but overkill for 1080p. The 380 is £100 less but a PSU upgrade maybe required. http://www.ebuyer.com/730576-sapphire-nitro-r9-380-4gb-gddr5-dvi-i-dvi-d-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-graphics-11242-13-20g

Should be significant improvement over the 7770. http://www.hwcompare.com/20005/radeon-hd-7770-vs-radeon-r9-380-4g/

Even if a new PSU was required it still would be under the £250 mark.

Jaster_1 · Aug 4, 2016

If you do go the RX 480 route ... https://www.scan.co.uk/products/nda-4gb-sapphire-radeon-rx-480-nitroplus-14nm-polaris-pcie-30-7000mhz-gddr5-1208mhz-gpu-1306mhz-boos?utm_source=google+shopping&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CjwKEAjwz4u9BRCbioK3stnBznESJADA75xbn4aisqhK4ZudqKfgvpnO1gvNSVI72Nnklk-75oN29BoC3jnw_wcB

Jaster_1 · Aug 4, 2016

also the 470 has just hit shelves ...http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/amd-radeon-rx-470,review-33625.html

Jaster_1 · Aug 4, 2016

https://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardware/all/gpu-amd/radeon-rx-470-pci-e ... variety of prices and custom coolers .. 87% the performance of a RX 480 less power draw though ... meanimg you should not have to upgrade your PSU.

Jaster_1 · Aug 4, 2016

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/amd_rx470_-_asus_strix_and_sapphire_nitro_review/1 .. sapphire one pulls a blinder ... https://www.scan.co.uk/products/nda-04-084gb-sapphire-radeon-rx-470-nitroplus-oc-14nm-polaris-pcie-30-7000mhz-gddr5-1143mhz-gpu-1260

Chugalug_ · Aug 4, 2016

Jaster_1 :

As mentioned above, that store is online only and charges 11 pounds for shipping.
Works out only 4 pounds less than the 8GB model, which I have justified and linked previously.

4 pounds for an extra 4GB of VRAM sounds worth it to me!

The RX 470s are also overpriced at the moment, best to wait a bit until they drop.

010010 · Aug 4, 2016

Chugalug_ :

Thank you both very much for the replies and suggestions, i think for the small amount extra i might as well get the extra 4GB VRAM to, somehwat atleast, 'future proof' my system and also make it a better part in case i also upgrade my CPU in the future. Now, with the PSU being only the CX430 Crosair (i got it wrong in the description), what Watt PSU would be recommended for the said GPU and my other parts (if any upgrade is neccessary)?

Jaster_1 · Aug 4, 2016

Chugalug_ :

The reference cards are woeful, cooling inadequate and power delivery borderline. At 1080p its worth going with an AIB partner instead of reference and forgoing the 8GB for 4GB as its rarely going to break that anyway in favour of better cooling and factory OC. See the following. http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/94969-sapphire-radeon-rx-480-nitro-4gb-8gb-oc/

Jaster_1 · Aug 4, 2016

Plenty of deals on 80+ 550W - 600W with an 8pin on there which will be more then adequate without breaking the bank. Used alot of these EVGA ones http://www.ebuyer.com/716703-evga-600w-white-80-power-supply-100-w1-0600-k3 ... the 500W model got an 8 from johnyguru ... not the best but good enough at this price point to warrant a mention ...

Chugalug_ · Aug 4, 2016

010010 :

Chugalug_ :

Thank you both very much for the replies and suggestions, i think for the small amount extra i might as well get the extra 4GB VRAM to, somehwat atleast, 'future proof' my system and also make it a better part in case i also upgrade my CPU in the future. Now, with the PSU being only the CX430 Crosair (i got it wrong in the description), what Watt PSU would be recommended for the said GPU and my other parts (if any upgrade is neccessary)?

You really don't need to upgrade your power supply, your rig will draw just around the 400w mark realistically, as the RX480 is now in line with its specced power consumption after a driver update just after launch.
Hell, your current GPU draws the same, if not more!

.

Jaster_1 · Aug 5, 2016

If he goes for an AIB thats an 8 pin connector. His PSU has only a 6pin.

Jaster_1 · Aug 5, 2016

Nothing to do with power draw just actual connectivity.

Chugalug_ · Aug 5, 2016

An 8 pin draws an absolute max of 150w, and even then it will definitely not draw that much.
Even if it does he's fine with that power supply, gets to about 480 before ovp kicks in.

Jaster_1 · Aug 5, 2016

And as you know theres few in the market at 400 to 500W that have an 8pin most only have a 6pin. I'm presuming with these new tier of cards PSU manufacturers should be looking at providing 500W PSU's with an 8pin as thats more then ample enough for most of the new breeds of finfet cards.

Jaster_1 · Aug 5, 2016

Actually there were some earlier CX430's that had a 6+2 pin connector if I recall correctly. He might be better off physically checking the pci-e power connector, if thats the case.

010010 · Aug 5, 2016

Jaster_1 :

Yeah it does have 8pin (6+2), i was thinking of upgrading it in the future anyway just to be safe as i have heard the CX430 has a high capacitor failure rate.

Jaster_1 · Aug 5, 2016

Its a bad time in the market to try and advise which exact card to get, as card prices are very weirdly set out. The 470 seems overpriced and then I'm getting alerts at work for deals like this.

Stocks are limited on the AMD side. But any of the above cards mentioned will offer great performance at 1080p and be a massive performance increase over what you have. So any choice I recon you'll be more then happy with

Jaster_1 · Aug 5, 2016

Sorry posted wrong card

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-GeForce-4GD5T-4096MB-GDDR5/dp/B00XKS2MR8/ref=sr_1_6?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1470397104&sr=1-6&keywords=gtx+970

Seems nvidia are dropping pricing across the board on 970's as they have excess stock. So its worth keeping an eye on.

010010 · Aug 5, 2016

Jaster_1 :

Yeah odd how the 470 is almost the same price as an RX480. i think ill wait a short while to see how the prices change, but... that RX 480 8GB does seem a good pick for my personal preference. Thanks Jaster

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