Help me choose: GTX680 vs a new CPU

[Latvietis96]

right now im running a low-ish mid range (q6600, 4gb ddr3, 7850 1gb) PC and i want to upgrade, and i got 2 choices- either i buy a new i5 3570k, a new motherboard and some more ram OR I can buy a new KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC V2 for approx the same price as the cpu, mobo and ram.. The question is, would i get better performance in games by swapping the CPU and adding some more ram (i`d stay with the 7850 in that case), or by upgrading my gpu to the 680 and staying with the ancient q6600. Keep in mind I`m talking about games, no rendering or whatsoever. and maybe if someone knows, why is the KFA2 GTX680 so cheap ($404) compared to the other 680`s (starting $488), maybe because i`ve never heard of such brand ''KFA2'' ?

 

[renz496]

personally i think you should do better upgrading your cpu. i imagine without OC your Q6600 will somehow bottleneck your 7850. you're going to need new mobo though. btw are you sure your RAM is DDR3 and NOT DDR2? if your RAM indeed is DDR3 then there is nothing to worry about. 4GB is still fine by today standards.

 

[Latvietis96]

Yeah my mobo supports Socket 775 and DDR3 ram, im running the Q6600 @ 2.88 ghz (feels like its still bottlenecking the 7850 despite the oc)

 

[the dood]

Depends on the game and resolution. If your going to be playing something like BF3 Multiplayer, the CPU gets extremely stressed especially if it's a 64 player match. Also on lower resolutions the CPU is stressed even more (such as 1600x900). Regarding the KFA2 GTX 680, I've never heard of the brand. Although generally brands that aren't well known often lower the prices to try to compete and get popularity. Surprisingly they don't even sell on Newegg or Amazon, though. All I found was their website. I would go with some other manufacterer, even if they cost more.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Depends on the game and resolution. If your going to be playing something like BF3 Multiplayer, the CPU gets extremely stressed especially if it's a 64 player match. Also on lower resolutions the CPU is stressed even more (such as 1600x900). Regarding the KFA2 GTX 680, I've never heard of the brand. Although generally brands that aren't well known often lower the prices to try to compete and get popularity. Surprisingly they don't even sell on Newegg or Amazon, though. All I found was their website. I would go with some other manufacterer, even if they cost more.

That's because they seem to cater to the European and Asia markets IIRC, part of the Galaxy group I think.

 

[renz496]

KFA is very well know for premium design. for sure they will cost more than MSI Lightning series or Asus Matrix series

http://www.techpowerup.com/177456/KFA2-All-White-GeForce-GTX-680-LTD-OC-V4-Pictured.html

 

[the dood]

That's because they seem to cater to the European and Asia markets IIRC, part of the Galaxy group I think.

Ahh that makes sense. Just surprised I haven't heard of them before.

 

[Kkkk1]

As your CPU is overclocked at 2.8 I'd go WiTh a GTX670 as opposed to the 680 as it's cheaper for a very small amount of less performance. This will generally give you better performance. Your CPU is definitely next on the shopping list though.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Ahh that makes sense. Just surprised I haven't heard of them before.

I'm guessing you are in the US? If so then chances are that you would have to have one shipped in making it prohibitively expensive I would have thought, they can be quite funky looking cards though if you like that sort of thing.

 

[jonjonjon]

i'd get the cpu since you already have a 7850. id be concerned that your cpu would bottleneck the 680. take a look at the article below they test a 655K which faster then the q6600.

http://techreport.com/review/23246/inside-the-second-gaming-performance-with-today-cpus
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/145?vs=53

 

[Latvietis96]

right now im still @ 720p (sadface)
however im going to 1920x1080 after i either get the 680/670 or the i5
oh and i just noticed that the cheapest 670 is more expensive than the KFA 680 LOL

 

[MC_K7]

With your current CPU there's no point in buying a 680 as it will be heavily bottlenecked.

I would advise to get a new system with the i5-3570K and keep your 7850 (which is already decent). Maybe you can upgrade the video card later next year if you get more money. But the 7850 is far from being a bad card, it should allow you to play most games at 1080p. If you can't play in 1080p right now it's probably because of your CPU, upgrading to an i5 will give you better FPS.

 

[MC_K7]

As your CPU is overclocked at 2.8 I'd go WiTh a GTX670 as opposed to the 680 as it's cheaper for a very small amount of less performance.

Even an overclocked Q6600 will bottleneck a GTX-670 by a big margin that would be wasting money in my book. Since he has the money I think it's a better path to go with a new CPU and motherboard especially since he already has a 7850 which is a decent card. I don't know maybe his Q6600 might even be bottlenecking his 7850 a little bit.

 

[Latvietis96]

With your current CPU there's no point in buying a 680 as it will be heavily bottlenecked.

I would advise to get a new system with the i5-3570K and keep your 7850 (which is already decent). Maybe you can upgrade the video card later next year if you get more money. But the 7850 is far from being a bad card, it should allow you to play most games at 1080p. If you can't play in 1080p right now it's probably because of your CPU, upgrading to an i5 will give you better FPS.

yeah im pretty sure the 7850 would handle 1080p well but by ''im still @ 720p'' i mean that i got a tiny 18.5 inch monitor the 27 inch monitors seem fine, im looking forward to buy one of them