Upgrading Build, Need Advice: GTX 680 vs. ???

Loxosceles

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Feb 26, 2013
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Hello,

I made the step from console to PC gaming last October (best decision ever), and now that I'm more familiar with parts, overclocking, and performance, I am looking to make an upgrade or two in the near future. Since the next gen consoles are coming out this year, and my setup runs into some trouble with very high settings in games like Far Cry 3, I thought maybe a GPU upgrade is the way to go.

My current setup:

CPU: i5-3570k (4.3 ghz)

MOBO: Gigabyte z77-DS3H

GPU: EVGA GTX 570 HD (2.5gb vram)

MEMORY: ADATA DDR3 @ gb @ 1333mhz

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1tb

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I

PSU: Ultra 650W Bronze

I'm not rolling in the dough, obviously. In addition to a ram upgrade, would upgrading to a GTX 680 be "worth it?" Or is my system too slow overall to reap the full benefit of such? I want to be able to play whatever games come out later this year (which will likely be more demanding since the next gen consoles are coming out as well). And if I do get the GTX 680, do I need to get the 4gb vram since I only use one monitor @ 1920 x 1080? OR should I just upgrade other parts first, like maybe MOBO, processor, PSU, and wait for the 700 series to roll out later this year? Any advice is appreciated, thanks!
 
Solution
An overclocked 3570K is as good as it gets.
Your PSU could be better. At one point many years ago Ultra had some great PSUs, but they only rarley have a decent PSU these days and when they do they are overpriced.

You have no use for that much RAM. 3GB is also overkill but what I would recommend is a 7970 such as
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413

And a good PSU.

Capstone 650 modular is a good price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182263

Review
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5698/rosewill-capstone-450w-and-650w-80plus-gold
An overclocked 3570K is as good as it gets.
Your PSU could be better. At one point many years ago Ultra had some great PSUs, but they only rarley have a decent PSU these days and when they do they are overpriced.

You have no use for that much RAM. 3GB is also overkill but what I would recommend is a 7970 such as
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413

And a good PSU.

Capstone 650 modular is a good price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182263

Review
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5698/rosewill-capstone-450w-and-650w-80plus-gold
 
Solution

Loxosceles

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Feb 26, 2013
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Thanks! You know, I was looking at Tom's review of dollar-per-performance and the 7970 looks very nice.... especially considering i want bioshock and crysis 3 anyway... i would basically be getting it for 1/2 the price of a 4gb 680... Do you use one? If so, how does it perform on high-demand games?
 

hero1

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May 9, 2012
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7970 is an awesome card. I have 2 of them in CF mode and they are just great. Mine are Sapphire Dual-X HD7970 and they can OC like crazy and still run cool and quiet compared to other 7970 cards other than ASUS and HIS. Also Gigabyte run cool but I don't know about quiet. Get the 7970 since it has a very low price point and can OC to leave the 680 in the dust. Try Sapphire Dual-X HD 7970 and you will not be disappointed. Cheers.
 

Loxosceles

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Thanks for all the advice guys! I decided to go for it - ordered the SAPPHIRE HD 7970 3GB ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008 ). I looked at the plethora of benchmarking done on the card vs. other options, and it looks to be by and far the best value for the money even without the Never Settle bundle. Bioshock Infinite and Crysis 3 are icing on the cake - according to the estimate, I'll get the card on my birthday! Plus if i want in the future I can run crossfire (i have tons of room in my case). I'll post here when I get the card installed. Thanks again :)
 

Loxosceles

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Feb 26, 2013
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UPDATE:

Got a Rosewill Capstone 650W Modular 80+ Gold Rated and love it. Having a modular PSU really decluttered my tower and lowered the temps by ~3-4 degrees C.

Ended up with a Sapphire HD 7970 Dual X OC with Boost - had to RMA the first one for an issue with the fans being unbalanced, but the RMA process at newegg was totally painless and I now have a great GPU. I run it at 1100/1500 - it can go higher, but I like not having to have the fans running very hard and keeping it under 70C at the same time. Blows anything away at 1920x1080 except Crysis 3 or others like it with more than 2x MSAA. Otherwise, can run Crysis 3 at Very High (textures), Very High (everything else), 4xSmaa or 2xMsaa, with 50+FPS. I am very, very pleased. I was worried that I might not be getting that much of an upgrade from a GTX 570, but it is the difference between High settings with no AA and Ultra with 2xMSAA on FarCry3. A seriously noticeable upgrade indeed.