Upgrade from HD 4890

[jackleblack]

Hello everyone,
I am looking for a GPU upgrade for my current rig within 275-300$ (+/- 20$). I think my current CPU is sufficient, and the bottleneck is my GPU (corrent me if I'm wrong).
*CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE 3.5 Ghz
*GPU: XFX HD 4890 1GB
*RAM: 8GB Corsair XMS3
*MOBO: I forgot, will check later and edit, it's an AM3 socket
*PSU: Corsair 850W

I am looking to upgrade to the i5 3570k to match the GPU upgrade, but I'll probably wait Xmas sales for that.

What do you think is a decent upgrade option?
I read a few threads below people suggesting the GTX 660 Ti. Does anyone have any better suggestions / options?
I'm in Canada, so I can't order from some of the US sites.

Thank you

 

[bcarlo25]

Also look at the AMD 7870 which is about the same as the 660Ti. Both of those cards are a good jump up from the 4890. But to be honest with you I'd probably go for at least a AMD HD 7950 or GTX 670 with the i5 3570k.

 

[verdenshersker]

I think the best bank for the buck right now might be either the HD7850 2 GB or the HD7870 GB.

I found a HD7850 2 GB for less than $200 dollars yesterday.
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=69558&vpn=AX7850%202GBD5-2DH&manufacture=PowerColor&promoid=1061

Right there.

And if you have a decent Mobo and a good cooler, then overclock your processor to 4+ Ghz instead of an upgrade. Then you can wait longer with the upgrade.

And btw I pretty sure ncix has a canadian webstore.

 

[luciferano]

I'd recommend overclocking that CPU before replacing it. You can probably get some more time out of it yet, especially as games get more and more well-threaded. The CPU frequency can probably hit around 4GHz and you can also overclock the CPU/NB frequency to around 2.8GHz.

The Radeon 7950 is generally better than the 660 Ti. If you want a Nvidia card, then the 660 or the 670 are much better options. The 660 performs similarly to the 660 Ti and is cheap enough for its performance to be acceptable. Some 670s are cheap enough to also be justified and their performance is better than the 660 Ti, especially in 1080p where you have to pump up the AA to make use fo their performance.

If you overclock, then that gives AMD a distinct advantage with the 7950 versus the 670 and the 7870 versus the 660.

 

[jackleblack]

Also look at the AMD 7870 which is about the same as the 660Ti. Both of those cards are a good jump up from the 4890. But to be honest with you I'd probably go for at least a AMD HD 7950 or GTX 670 with the i5 3570k.

Can I ask you what are the advantages of getting the 670 or the 7950 instead of the 660 Ti or 7870? Do they perform better with Ivy bidge CPUs? Because I am definitively looking to upgrade sometime next year onto the i5 3570k, or maybe maybe as simple as i5 2500k due to a much higher running temperature of Ivy chips.

I think the best bank for the buck right now might be either the HD7850 2 GB or the HD7870 GB.

I found a HD7850 2 GB for less than $200 dollars yesterday.
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=69558&vpn=AX7850%202GBD5-2DH&manufacture=PowerColor&promoid=1061

Right there.

And if you have a decent Mobo and a good cooler, then overclock your processor to 4+ Ghz instead of an upgrade. Then you can wait longer with the upgrade.

And btw I pretty sure ncix has a canadian webstore.

Awesome link, thanks, as much as I wish to get it right away, I will do a bit more research first. Great deal thought!

I'd recommend overclocking that CPU before replacing it. You can probably get some more time out of it yet, especially as games get more and more well-threaded. The CPU frequency can probably hit around 4GHz and you can also overclock the CPU/NB frequency to around 2.8GHz.

The Radeon 7950 is generally better than the 660 Ti. If you want a Nvidia card, then the 660 or the 670 are much better options. The 660 performs similarly to the 660 Ti and is cheap enough for its performance to be acceptable. Some 670s are cheap enough to also be justified and their performance is better than the 660 Ti, especially in 1080p where you have to pump up the AA to make use fo their performance.

If you overclock, then that gives AMD a distinct advantage with the 7950 versus the 670 and the 7870 versus the 660.

Well a few things:
1) I have never overclocked anything, so my OC knowledge is non-existant
2) I have a stock CPU cooler, so I don't think that will support OC all that well. My average running temperature on idle (Windows 7, 5 minutes after boot) for the CPU is 54 C, and the GPU at 60 C. A few people adviced me getting a water cooling unit, like the Corsair H100, but I'll be honest, I really have no clue. I will ask around in the appropriate forum about that, unless someone has a suggestion here for that.

Thanks for all the replies

 

[luciferano]

Can I ask you what are the advantages of getting the 670 or the 7950 instead of the 660 Ti or 7870? Do they perform better with Ivy bidge CPUs? Because I am definitively looking to upgrade sometime next year onto the i5 3570k, or maybe maybe as simple as i5 2500k.


Awesome link, thanks, as much as I wish to get it right away, I will do a bit more research first. Great deal thought!



Well a few things:
1) I have never overclocked anything, so my OC knowledge is non-existant
2) I have a stock CPU cooler, so I don't think that will support OC all that well. My average running temperature on idle (Windows 7, 5 minutes after boot) for the CPU is 54 C, and the GPU at 60 C. A few people adviced me getting a water cooling unit, like the Corsair H100, but I'll be honest, I really have no clue. I will ask around in the appropriate forum about that, unless someone has a suggestion here for that.

Thanks for all the replies

The 670 and the 7950 are considerably better performing graphics cards than the 660/660 Ti and the 7870.

There are very many excellent guides on the internet and you have To'ms to help when possible, so I wouldn't worry about non-existent experience with overclocking, assuming that you're interested in it. Don't waste your money on closed loop water coolers. They really aren't any better than high-end air coolers and the risk of leakage causing damage is ever-present. I've heard too many stories of closed loop coolers, especially the H60, H80, and H100, leaking onto the motherboard and frying the system. Something such as a $15-30 air cooler would be plenty.

If you're not interested in overclocking, then don't bother getting a new cooler. The stock cooler should do well enough until you replace your CPU if you don't overclock the CPU.

Don't get a K edition i5 if you're not overclocking. They cost more because they're multiplier-unlocked for heavy overclocking.

Also, that great deal of a 7850 has a stock cooler. That card would probably run loud and probably also pretty hot.

 

[jackleblack]

Best answer selected by jackleblack.