Upgrade from GTX 560 ti

[chrisfromoh]

Hello, I am interested in upgrading my GPU from a 560ti to something new, however I don't know much about upgrading or building and I also hear alot about "bottlenecking". Right now I have a Dell XPS 8100 with an Intel Core i7 870 @ 2934 Mhz, 8 gb of physical memory and a Geforce GTX 560 ti and a 700 watt psu.

I guess my question is, can i just upgrade to a GTX 670 FTW with 4g memory, or is my processor outdated and will bottleneck the GPU? All input would be appreciated. Like I said, I don't know much about how all this stuff works! Thanks!

 

[ubercake]

There's no reason to pay more for the 4GB. The 2GB is sufficient. I would only get the 4GB if it's the same price as the 2GB. You should not see a bottleneck. Your processor came out after the 1366/X58s and those platforms are still good with the newest video cards. Additionally, most of the bottlenecking that anyone sees is with lower resolutions (ie 1280x1024) and CPU intensive games; not with newer games that effectively push the load to the GPU.

If you're running 1080p or 2560x1600 or 2560x1440, a 670 with 2GB VRAM will be sufficient to run everything maxed (exception Crysis 3) and will work fine with your CPU:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-review,3200-5.html

 

[chrisfromoh]

There's no reason to pay more for the 4GB. The 2GB is sufficient. I would only get the 4GB if it's the same price as the 2GB. You should not see a bottleneck. Your processor came out after the 1366/X58s and those platforms are still good with the newest video cards. Additionally, most of the bottlenecking that anyone sees is with lower resolutions (ie 1280x1024) and CPU intensive games; not with newer games that effectively push the load to the GPU.

If you're running 1080p or 2560x1600 or 2560x1440, a 670 with 2GB VRAM will be sufficient to run everything maxed (exception Crysis 3) and will work fine with your CPU:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-review,3200-5.html

Awesome! Yeah, I run everything at 1080. I can run most games like Battlefield on "high" but that's with anti aliasing "off" as well as motion blur. Would there be a noticeable jump in performance from going from a 560ti to say a 660ti or 670? I'd really like to be able to run anti aliasing. Thanks!

 

[Ratbeely]

Awesome! Yeah, I run everything at 1080. I can run most games like Battlefield on "high" but that's with anti aliasing "off" as well as motion blur. Would there be a noticeable jump in performance from going from a 560ti to say a 660ti or 670? I'd really like to be able to run anti aliasing. Thanks!

Yes, there will be a noticeable jump in performance. I too had a 560ti and anti aliasing was always my hold back on BF3, Batman Arkham City, Metro 2033, Far Cry 3. With my 670 ftw it is no longer an issue.

 

[ubercake]

I concur. You don't need a 4GB card to do it though.

 

[chrisfromoh]

I concur. You don't need a 4GB card to do it though.

Ok, i'll stick with the 2GB then. Also, are these simple to install for someone who has never done it? I'm guessing it's simple to just unplug the old GPU and insert the new one, but what about when firing the computer up after the install? Will the computer automatically install whatever it needs such as drivers or is there a process i need to follow? Thanks again for all the help.

 

[ubercake]

-First, download the drivers for the new card from Nvidia and save them to your hard drive (you may or may not need them once the new card is installed).
-Turn the PC off.
-Unplug the power.
-Open the case and you'll see the video card connected to the motherboard.
-Unplug the power connectors and keep them handy because you'll need at least one of them for the new card.
-Unscrew the video card from the case at the expansion slot (single screw on inside back of the case) and save the screw for your new card.
-On most motherboards, there is a little lock lever toward the front of the PCIe slot the video card is plug into.
-Push or pull the lever and you'll be able to lift the video card straight out of the slot. There will be a little resistance but not much. It may involve very slight rocking front to back to ease it out.
-Once you've removed the old card, push the new one down into the slot making sure the contacts go into the slot properly and the backend of the video card (with the connectors on it) align with the expansion slot on the case.
-You should see and hear the locking mechanism toward the front of the slot (mentioned earlier) lock when the card is in the slot.
-Screw the new card down to the case.
-Attach an 8-pin PCIe power connector and then one of the 6-pin PCIe power connector to the new card.
-Close the case.
-Attach your monitor to one of the connectors on the back (your choice).
-Plug the PC in.
-Turn it on.
You may or may not have to go through a driver install at this point. If you do, you'll know right away because you'll boot up in low res.

I guess the only concern I have is with your PSU. What kind is it and does it have an 8-pin PCIe power connector attached? I'm assuming it has at least two 6-pin connectors since you currently have a 560 ti in it?

 

[chrisfromoh]

-First, download the drivers for the new card from Nvidia and save them to your hard drive (you may or may not need them once the new card is installed).
-Turn the PC off.
-Unplug the power.
-Open the case and you'll see the video card connected to the motherboard.
-Unplug the power connectors and keep them handy because you'll need at least one of them for the new card.
-Unscrew the video card from the case at the expansion slot (single screw on inside back of the case) and save the screw for your new card.
-On most motherboards, there is a little lock lever toward the front of the PCIe slot the video card is plug into.
-Push or pull the lever and you'll be able to lift the video card straight out of the slot. There will be a little resistance but not much. It may involve very slight rocking front to back to ease it out.
-Once you've removed the old card, push the new one down into the slot making sure the contacts go into the slot properly and the backend of the video card (with the connectors on it) align with the expansion slot on the case.
-You should see and hear the locking mechanism toward the front of the slot (mentioned earlier) lock when the card is in the slot.
-Screw the new card down to the case.
-Attach an 8-pin PCIe power connector and then one of the 6-pin PCIe power connector to the new card.
-Close the case.
-Attach your monitor to one of the connectors on the back (your choice).
-Plug the PC in.
-Turn it on.
You may or may not have to go through a driver install at this point. If you do, you'll know right away because you'll boot up in low res.

I guess the only concern I have is with your PSU. What kind is it and does it have an 8-pin PCIe power connector attached? I'm assuming it has at least two 6-pin connectors since you currently have a 560 ti in it?

My PSU is a Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 700w. On the back of the box it came in it says it has PCI-e 6+2 Pin x 2. I have no idea what that means

 

[ubercake]

I just looked it up. Your fine for one 670. If you ever get another for SLI, you'll need to consider a PSU upgrade for the additional at least two additional PCIe connectors.

 

[chrisfromoh]

I just looked it up. Your fine for one 670. If you ever get another for SLI, you'll need to consider a PSU upgrade for the additional at least two additional PCIe connectors.

Alright, cool. Thanks for being patient and helping me out. Is there a certain brand i should stick with such as EVGA or MSI? The 560 ti I have now is a EVGA.

 

[wolfram23]

Just a thought... go SLI 560 Ti? It'll be cheaper and faster.

 

[chrisfromoh]

Just a thought... go SLI 560 Ti? It'll be cheaper and faster.

is a 700 watt psu enough to run two GPU's?

 

[wolfram23]

Yes... definitely. I'm on a 750W with two 5850s and a GT240 (and sound card and 2 HDDs and 2 SSDs and water cooling...)

 

[ubercake]

Alright, cool. Thanks for being patient and helping me out. Is there a certain brand i should stick with such as EVGA or MSI? The 560 ti I have now is a EVGA.

I like EVGA, PNY, Gigabyte and Asus because they usually offer decent warranties as well.

 

[chrisfromoh]

Yes... definitely. I'm on a 750W with two 5850s and a GT240 (and sound card and 2 HDDs and 2 SSDs and water cooling...)

Would two 560 ti's be a lot better than one 670? I've never installed a GPU before and the idea of hooking up two of them scares me lol. Are all games able to use dual gpu's?

 

[ubercake]

Just a thought... go SLI 560 Ti? It'll be cheaper and faster.

It will be cheaper and perform better, but two 670s in the future will be better than two 560tis.

Either way, your going to get better performance than with a single 560 ti. Do you want to prep for a 670 SLI system by getting the 670 or go directly to a 560 ti SLI setup by picking up another 560ti? It depends on what you want to do.

 

[chrisfromoh]

It will be cheaper and perform better, but two 670s in the future will be better than two 560tis.

Either way, your going to get better performance than with a single 560 ti. Do you want to prep for a 670 SLI system by getting the 670 or go directly to a 560 ti SLI setup by picking up another 560ti? It depends on what you want to do.

Well eventually I want to be able to run Rome 2:Total War but i'm not sure what I'm going to need in order to run that maxed. And since that's still about a year away, I was considering doing some sort of upgrade to enhance my games now.

 

[ubercake]

is a 700 watt psu enough to run two GPU's?

The PSU is sufficient in wattage for two 560 tis or 670s, but there are only 2 PCIe connectors. You'll have to use Molex to PCIe adapters to get another 560 ti connected to that power supply.

Looking into it further...
I guess the deal breaker here is the Dell XPS 8100 motherboard only has one PCIe x16 slot:

http://microdream.co.uk/dell-studio-xps-8100-0t568r-t568r-socket-lga1156-i5-i7-hdmi-motherboard.html

In your case, upgrading to two 560 tis in SLI would also involve a motherboard, possible CPU, possible case upgrade as well as an OS license for a new system.

As a result, I'm back to recommending a single GTX 670 2GB card.

 

[chrisfromoh]

The PSU is sufficient in wattage for two 560 tis or 670s, but there are only 2 PCIe connectors. You'll have to use Molex to PCIe adapters to get another 560 ti connected to that power supply.

Looking into it further...
I guess the deal breaker here is the Dell XPS 8100 motherboard only has one PCIe x16 slot:

http://microdream.co.uk/dell-studio-xps-8100-0t568r-t568r-socket-lga1156-i5-i7-hdmi-motherboard.html

In your case, upgrading to two 560 tis in SLI would also involve a motherboard, possible CPU, possible case upgrade as well as an OS license for a new system.

As a result, I'm back to recommending a single GTX 670 2GB card.

Alright, I'll just get a 670 for now and then once Rome 2 comes out I'll look into getting a new system altogether.