Upgrading GTX560 + when to buy

[semperfi1133]

Hello all!
I built a budget gaming PC over the summer and with Black Friday deals coming up, I am ready to upgrade my graphics card.

I currently have a Zotac GTX 560, which has worked great.
http://www.zotacusa.com/geforce-gtx-560-multiview-zt-50706-10m.html

1) My budget for a new card is $250-300. I have been looking at the Radeon 7870 which is around $250. Thoughts?
Note: I have a Corsair Hx500, I would rather not upgrade at this time.

Here is my PC rig,
AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE
Nvidia GTX 560
AsRock 970 Extreme4 AM3+
Corsair HX500
8Gb 1600mhz RAM

2) I was wondering what yall's thoughts are considering the fact that new cards will be coming out soon. Should I wait a bit? And thoughts on Black Friday deals on cards, where to buy etc.

Thanks in advance!
-Semp

 

[techbaddie]

I am in the same boat as you, I am wondering If I should wait or not as well. I think that if your card is good enough for you right now, you might want to hold on to it because their will for sure be new cards coming out in the next 6-8 months.

It's personal preference, but I think I am going to hold out with my 470 GTX until the new cards come out. It runs all the games I play just fine with 60+ FPS on highest settings.

 

[rene13cross]

If you find your games starved for GPU performance, i.e. you cant max out your games anymore, then you should upgrade, otherwise it's not worth it and you should wait for next gen cards to come out.

Otherwise the 7870 is the perfect choice for 1080p gaming if you still feel like upgrading.

 

[maxinexus]

You can get 7950 for under $300 but I would just wait and see what HD 8000series will bring

 

[Guest]

i am eyeing the 7870/660 range and was ready to buy something this week until:
AMD "Tahiti LE" Brand Named Radeon HD 7890

the new SKU, according to the report, is being designed to be 15% faster than GeForce GTX 660 on average, while being similarly priced.

i think i can wait to see some reviews/benchmarks . . suppose to be out at the end of the month.

 

[dscudella]

I completely agree with Techbaddie and Rene13cross. Your GTX 560 is only one generation old. If you really HAVE to upgrade then you're going to spend ~$165 to see a performance increase.

If you can hang on, AMD has an unofficial release date for it's new 8xxx line of Video Cards of the first quarter 2013. A few months away but they are speculating a 15% performance gain per model.

So the new 8770 (or whatever it will be called) should be roughly 15% better on all fronts than the current 7770.

 

[techbaddie]

I completely agree with Techbaddie and Rene13cross. Your GTX 560 is only one generation old. If you really HAVE to upgrade then you're going to spend ~$165 to see a performance increase.

If you can hang on, AMD has an unofficial release date for it's new 8xxx line of Video Cards of the first quarter 2013. A few months away but they are speculating a 15% performance gain per model.

So the new 8770 (or whatever it will be called) should be roughly 15% better on all fronts than the current 7770.

+1

 

[jessterman21]

I completely agree with Techbaddie and Rene13cross. Your GTX 560 is only one generation old. If you really HAVE to upgrade then you're going to spend ~$165 to see a performance increase.

True. Hang on to that card until next year, unless you're willing to shell out for an HD 7950 or GTX 660Ti.

 

[mightymaxio]

Main reason I upgraded is heat, if you have a 470 gtx or 480 gtx you should upgrade because any of the new cards are way more heat efficient. I had 2 gtx 470s in SLI and when I upgraded to 2 gtx 660ti's the heat went down tremendously.

This is just another factor that you have to think about before upgrading.

 

[techbaddie]

I have a Zulman after market fan on my 470 and it runs pretty cool, but I do completely agree that the temps will go down with newer video card models.

 

[semperfi1133]

My GTX 560 is certainly sufficient for me at the moment, but if i max out games I run into heat issues. I'm running most games on medium settings (MW3, BF3, Assassins Creed).

Something I forgot to mention is that my friend is interested in buying my card so this might be a good opportunity for an upgrade, as it knocks off about 120 bucks off the new card.

I think I might can fit a 7950 into my budget.
But still, to upgrade in the next month'ish, or wait till beginning of 2013?

 

[jessterman21]

My GTX 560 is certainly sufficient for me at the moment, but if i max out games I run into heat issues. I'm running most games on medium settings (MW3, BF3, Assassins Creed).

Something I forgot to mention is that my friend is interested in buying my card so this might be a good opportunity for an upgrade, as it knocks off about 120 bucks off the new card.

I think I might can fit a 7950 into my budget.
But still, to upgrade in the next month'ish, or wait till beginning of 2013?

Wait til next year - prices will only continue to drop - especially when the next generation cards arrive.

If you're running into heat issues, you should use MSI Afterburner to set a custom fan profile. You can also limit your framerate in games (so your card isn't running at 100% usage all the time) to whatever you want if you set a profile in the OSD. I use it in every game so they appear smoother.