Upgrading from XFX GTX 260

[HarrisonTZ]

Hey guys... So I recently build a pretty nice gaming rig (specs are in signature) and it plays pretty much every game I own on high-highest settings (Crysis, etc...) I also play games like DayZ for ArmA II, but it isn't very well optimized and I can't play on highest settings without a decent amount of lag and slowdown. I am planning on upgrading my graphics, but probably not for a few months, maybe even at Christmas. I need to know a good, cheap ($100-$200) powerful card that can out-perform my 260 with a good performance increase in games. I'm not planning on upgrading my CPU, nor am I willing or able to overclock. But if it is a bottleneck, I would like to know. Thanks guys!

 

[nforce4max]

Look for a gtx 560 ti or a 6850/70 by then and a 7850 won't let you down.

 

[HarrisonTZ]

You might as well go get a crapbox 360 gaming with that pc..

I'm sorry? I don't quite understand what you mean. Are you saying that my system is old?

 

[HarrisonTZ]

Look for a gtx 560 ti or a 6850/70 by then and a 7850 won't let you down.

I am thinking either the former or the latter, but I don't think I'll see much of a difference with a Radeon 6 series.

 

[motorneuron]

Look for a gtx 560 ti or a 6850/70 by then and a 7850 won't let you down.

+1. If you were buying now, your best bet would be a few of the 560 Ti models that are under $200 post-rebate. But in a few months, it's possible that further competition in midrange cards from nvidia will push the 7850 down near $200 post-rebate. You can't go wrong with that.

 

[HarrisonTZ]

+1. If you were buying now, your best bet would be a few of the 560 Ti models that are under $200 post-rebate. But in a few months, it's possible that further competition in midrange cards from nvidia will push the 7850 down near $200 post-rebate. You can't go wrong with that.

We'll see. I probably wont be getting it any time soon, but I may run into some money if I'm lucky.

 

[zakattak80]

You might as well go get a crapbox 360 gaming with that pc..

dude seriously either help or don't post .

 

[HarrisonTZ]

dude seriously either help or don't post .

Exactly. My build isn't bad at all!

 

[zakattak80]

your gpus is a little old but it's right there with my old 5770 and a 550 ti in performance. for your system it's the bottleneck in every game im sure. when i used my 2500k with a 5770, the gpu was at 99 percent even on RTS games. so to me the lowest you really should go is a 560 ti, if your budget doesn't permit that then a 560 or 6870 would be the sweet spot.

 

[HarrisonTZ]

your gpus is a little old but it's right there with my old 5770 and a 550 ti in performance. for your system it's the bottleneck in every game im sure. when i used my 2500k with a 5770, the gpu was at 99 percent even on RTS games. so to me the lowest you really should go is a 560 ti, if your budget doesn't permit that then a 560 or 6870 would be the sweet spot.

I am thinking about getting a 560 Ti, but how much of a performance boost should I expect? It needs to be well worth the money because I did not purchase the 260, it was a gift.

EDIT: I've been looking around, and I think the GTX 480 might be just what I need. It's in my range, too. Is it a good enough card, and does it beat the 560 Ti?

 

[motorneuron]

The 480 is a tricky card. The answer on performance is that yes, it will crush a 560 Ti. Here's an example: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/309?vs=330 Not even close. So it's a great performance per price deal. The downside of the 480 is that it runs very hot and very loud and uses a boatload of power: 100W more than the 560 Ti. Being older hardware also has the moderate downside of not getting good performance boosts from driver updates any more. And it also has only 1.5GB of VRAM (though most 560 Ti models only have 1.) There are many posts about this card, but I think the bottom line is that it's not a bad choice. I'd still prefer the 7850 for a few reasons: (1) good OC headroom; (2) good power/noise (similar to 1); (3) has 2 GB of VRAM; (4) more possible to upgrade with a second card later; (5) more likelihood of driver update improvements on performance.

 

[zakattak80]

^ i agree the 480 is great card as long you have a good psu and have at least decent cooling in your case for it.

so whats your psu brand, that help us know how good your 700 w psu is

 

[HarrisonTZ]

^ i agree the 480 is great card as long you have a good psu and have at least decent cooling in your case for it.

so whats your psu brand, that help us know how good your 700 w psu is

It's a Raidmax... Got it for $50 on Newegg! And I think I've decided on the 7850. It, in my honest opinion, has the best bang for the buck, plus I'll probably be set for the next 3+ years.

 

[HarrisonTZ]

Best answer selected by HarrisonTZ.