Gpu help

[adzx]

Hello,

I'm looking to purchase a new gpu, I need some help.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: A month

BUDGET RANGE: $450-480 or £300-320

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Metro 2033, skyrim etc.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Going to upgrade to a new psu, I'd choose the psu according to the gpu.

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: AMD Athlon x4 3.1ghz, 8gb ram ddr3 AsRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 Motherboard.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I live in the Uk.

PARTS PREFERENCES: No preferences.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe, if the price of double the cards equals to my budget range.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 2x 1024x768 1x 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I need it to be able to play for long periods of time, e.g. 5hrs so the cooling should be good.

 

[refillable]

£300 - £320 for GPU only right?

I recommend this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-291-SP

or this cheaper card:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-153-MS

For PSU this would be enough for both cards:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-032-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

EDIT:
Wait sorry, I didn't see your 'Other relevant specs' section. I see you there you're going to put Athlon II X4 on to Z68 Motherboard???...

That will not fit... Get this if you want a processor that will fit the motherboard:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-360-IN

 

[jaguarskx]

Metro 2033 is extremely stressful on the PC as you can see in the benchmarks below. Skyrim is fairly easy to run. However, both games are rather CPU dependent. The test rig used is an Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.8GHz which basically beats the Athlon II X4 to a pulp so your actual performance will be less compared to the benchmarks.

Review: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_680/

 

[adzx]

£300 - £320 for GPU only right?

I recommend this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-291-SP

or this cheaper card:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-153-MS

For PSU this would be enough for both cards:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-032-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

Thanks, I was thinking of the 7950.

 

[adzx]

Metro 2033 is extremely stressful on the PC as you can see in the benchmarks below. Skyrim is fairly easy to run. However, both games are rather CPU dependent. The test rig used is an Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.8GHz which basically beats the Athlon II X4 to a pulp so your actual performance will be less compared to the benchmarks.

Review: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_680/

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_680/images/metro_2033_1920_1200.gif

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_680/images/skyrim_1920_1200.gif

The price is quite high, higher than my budget.

 

[refillable]

Yes, it should be good for you, but please read the 'EDIT'

 

[adzx]

I need to keep my processor, are there any am3+ motherboards with pcie3?
I'm also looking for a case with sufficient cooling for overclocking the 7950 and a suitable psu.

 

[refillable]

As far as I know there is no AM3+ motherboard that has PCI-E 3.0 support, But I'm pretty much positive that when piledriver motherboards has therm. But In my opinion, PCI-E 2.0 motherboards are sufficient for today usage.

I will go against putting 7950 with an Athlon II X4. Bottleneck will occur, if you want to use 7950/7870, I recommend getting the i5-2500k I suggest you before.

But anyway, good PSU:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-003-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-037-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

Or you can even get the 750W:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-038-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-004-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

Some Good Chasis I recommend:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-167-AN&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-240-CM&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-057-CS&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-023-NX&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

 

[adzx]

I'm not able to purchase a new processor atm, should I just stick with the athlon and get a new AMD cpu later on?