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Help Upgrading Graphics

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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Hello everyone,

Ive recently noticed i can no longer run wow, starcraft 2, or even diablo 3 on top settings, id like to run skyrim on top settings and possibly guild wars 2 since i blew so much cash on this PC. So ive decided i need to scratch up some cash to upgrade my graphic cards. My Alienware Aurora runs dual Radeon HD 5670s on crossfire, however i dont know much about computer hardware and upgrading, compatibility etc. and i know there are many of you out there who are very tech savvy and i would appreciate your help immensely. please help.. any suggestions are welcome :D 

Here are my specs:

Windows 7 64bit SP1
Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz
9GB Ram
PSU 875w

More about : upgrading graphics

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Graphics card Authority

well to be honest its always better to have a single gpu solution instead of sli/ crossfire cause it gives you less issues with noise, heat and micro stuttering. So it's better for you to replace the dual hd5670 with either a single hd7950 or gtx670.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

They are both under $400 but I will highly recommend the EVGA gtx 670 FTW cause it is one of the best gtx670s out there and the price newegg is offering right now is superb. This gpu should be able to max out most if not all games for years to come and it actually beats some of its more expensive and higher end competitors like the gtx680 and hd7970s.
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Ah i see. that sounds good. so the gtx 670 FTW is better then the hd 7950 even tho the 7950 is 3GB and 384bit? i actually dont know what these things mean lol. what makes the gtx 670 FTW sucha superb card? going from AMD to Nvidia shouldnt present any compatibility problems correct?
Graphics card Master

It isn't that I'm an AMD fan, but I would not choose a Kepler card because they have crippled compute performance. That may not matter in a lot of things (e.g. most games), but since it does matter in some things, I'd rather not risk being gimped. Just because you have $400 to spend does not mean you need to drop it all. A HD7850 or GTX570 will do quite well in those games.
If you do prefer to spend more, a HD7870, HD7950, would be nice; a GTX580 would be a little over budget.

Onus said:
It isn't that I'm an AMD fan, but I would not choose a Kepler card because they have crippled compute performance. That may not matter in a lot of things (e.g. most games), but since it does matter in some things, I'd rather not risk being gimped. Just because you have $400 to spend does not mean you need to drop it all. A HD7850 or GTX570 will do quite well in those games.


Indeed. Saving money would be great! but i also dont want to have to upgrade again for at least another year or 2. ive also herd about nvidia cards and keplers issues although most of the stuff ive read i dont understand much. can you explain the difference between PCI express 2.0 and PCI express 3.0? im worried i might buy a card that wont be compatible
Graphics card Master

PCIe2.0 and 3.0 are compatible; a card of one type will work in a slot of the other. Right now, no cards can max the bandwidth on a 2.0 slot; I'm not even sure there's even a 2%-3% difference in actual tests, especially for a single card.

Onus said:
PCIe2.0 and 3.0 are compatible; a card of one type will work in a slot of the other. Right now, no cards can max the bandwidth on a 2.0 slot; I'm not even sure there's even a 2%-3% difference in actual tests, especially for a single card.

Great. Thanks for the advice. im going to probably end up going with the hd 7950 or the GTX670 FTW after a little more research. Thanks again.
Graphics card Authority

Onus said:
It isn't that I'm an AMD fan, but I would not choose a Kepler card because they have crippled compute performance. That may not matter in a lot of things (e.g. most games), but since it does matter in some things, I'd rather not risk being gimped. Just because you have $400 to spend does not mean you need to drop it all. A HD7850 or GTX570 will do quite well in those games.
If you do prefer to spend more, a HD7870, HD7950, would be nice; a GTX580 would be a little over budget.


as far as I know, a hd7950 really isn't in the league of a gtx670.

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/40613-evga-gefor...

anyway what kepler issues are you all talking about? I mean I have been using a gtx670 for quite a while now and have not really had any issues with it. Is there something I am missing here?
Graphics card Master

shamsmu said:
as far as I know, a hd7950 really isn't in the league of a gtx670...

No, it isn't. There are certain [rare] applications, however (such as bitcoin mining) at which nVidia GPUs in general do poorly, and the GTX670 in particular outright sucks. I only pointed it out in case it's a possible issue; it may not be, at all, but I thought it ought to be out there.
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