Looking for a Great Video Card for upcoming AAA titles!

[zozoman]

Hello everyone,

I am currently looking to upgrade my video card so I can play the upcoming games on max settings. I just would like a little advice . I currently have:

PSU - Thermaltake Toughpower W0172RU 850W

RAM - CORSAIR XMS3 8GB

CPU - Intel Core i5 750 OC'd to 3.3ghz

MOBO - Gigabyte P55A-UD4P

GPU - Radeon HD 4870 1GB

I just upgraded my mobo and cpu recently to the gigabyte and the i5. All I want to do is upgrade my video card, but I imagine I will have to upgrade my psu in order to handle a beefy video card. So if anyone knows of a good video card and psu that will handle the upcoming games (BF3, SWTOR, Diablo, and etc) on max settings, it would be GREATLY appreciated! I am looking for a video card in the $250-$350 range and a PSU in the $100-$200. I'm a big fan of nvidia and evga (but up to trying out a different manufacture). I tried out the Radeon HD 4870 and I had some problems that I never experienced with an nvidia card before and it has left a bad taste in my mouth.

Thanks for the help,

-Alonzo

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Your psu is fine i think, no need to change. With the money toy save you can have a gtx580, it will really rock !

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

"money you save", that is. What the f is a money toy ???

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Or maybe sli 2 GTX 560 ti or crossfire 2 HD 6950.

 

[zozoman]

Thanks for the prompt reply!

I was looking at the 580's, but when I saw the power requirements I was a little worried about my PSU. The requirements recommended a PSU with "Minimum of a 600 Watt power supply. (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 42 Amps.)" My PSU meets the wattage, but not the amps needs on the rail.

I picked this one as a reference: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130731

 

[benski]

You have more than enough amps, they are just spread out over 4 rails. It will be fine with any graphics card you choose.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Yup. Btw the bad radeon taste in your mouth is probably because of driver problems ATI had in the past. AMD have pretty much solved that now.

 

[zozoman]

How do you guys feel about using SLI/Crossfire with 2 lesser cards like the aforementioned GTX 560 ti or HD 6950 compared to buying 1 beefy card such as the gtx580? I always find that people have mixed opinions on it.

 

[joshyboy82]

I'm running a GTX 580 on the same wattage and I have no problems. In fact I bought the overhead of a 750w in case I wanted to add a PhysX card, but sadly no great games ever required one, and to add to this pointless story, 850w isn't enough for GTX580 SLI. So my purchase was rather pointless.

Short story, spend the money you 'allotted' for a new PSU and put it into a GTX 580.

 

[Deeks]

In my opinion its always better to have one beefier card. SLI and CF have micro stutter problems when u go below 60fps so if you have to lower end cards and sli/cf them then within the next year or 2 you will have more demanding games and ur FPS might drop below that and u might experience these issues. Another reason is not all games support cf/sli, not to mention driver support for sli/cf. dont get me wrong sli/cf are still good options but in my opinion always go with the beefier card becuase u can SLI/CF the beefier card in the future if needed.

 

[jitpublisher]

Well, I have not noticed any stuttering with my setup, noticed anyway.
But my opinion is always, always, always, always buy the very best single card you can afford for a new build, or big upgrade anyhow.
I think buying two lesser cards in SLI may at times net you a little better performance at the present, but any lessor SLI or Crossfire setup can be quickly eclipsed by adding a second beefier card later, when the price of said card comes down a little. That is my 2 cents and I don't agree with Toms "Best Cards for the Money" at all when they start suggesting 2 cards in SLI or Crossfire as 2 lessor cards over a somewhat higher priced single card.
I have 2 560ti's, but that is only because I bought 1 when they first came out, so the natural thing now was to add another. If I was buying now, it would be a GTX 580.

 

[guavasauce]

you forgot the most important variable when lookng for a gpu: resolution.
what are you running now? do you plan on upgrading?
there is zero sense in buying a gtx 580 or any crossfire/sli config to play games at 1680x1050. further, a gtx 570 will smoke through any game at 1920x1200.

sli/xfire is a preference thing. but all it takes to ruin either is bad game/driver support.

 

[tomskent]

you forgot the most important variable when lookng for a gpu: resolution.
what are you running now? do you plan on upgrading?
there is zero sense in buying a gtx 580 or any crossfire/sli config to play games at 1680x1050. further, a gtx 570 will smoke through any game at 1920x1200.

Exactly

 

[zozoman]

Ah yes, I did forget to mention that. I currently have 2 monitors at 1680x1050, however, I do plan to eventually get 2 or at least 1 1920x1200 monitor/'s.

So you recommend to get a GTX 570 and that should beast through all new upcoming releases on max?

Thanks again to everyone for your help. You all are awesome!

 

[zozoman]

Best answer selected by zozoman.

 

[joshyboy82]

False on the "smoke any games at 1920x1200" front. Two games come to mind. Metro 2033 and Witcher 2. Sure, if you consider 30 fps without all options enabled, then yes, smoke them. But of the games you mentioned: BF3, Diablo, SW:TOR, it would be a bit much for those games. I own a GTX580. I know what it can and can't do. I also know that a new Metro is coming out that uses the same engine as the first, but with better gunplay. Think of it this way, the future is unknown. First time you have to scale back settings remember this post. Shoulda', woulda', coulda', but didn't.

Oh, and for perspective, I game on a 1080p monitor.