AMD Radeon HD 7770 vs. Suggestions? (£150 budget)

[BetaJedi]

Hey everyone (I'm hoping it's fine to post a discussion post in this forum). I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card for my PC, since I am currently using the AMD Radeon HD 6450. It's not too bad for what it's worth, but I'd like it to be a bit more powerful. I'm not speaking "Ultra on every game ever" kind of level... just, y'know, enough to let me play some of the games I have (such as Skyrim, Soon to be Assassin's Creed: Unity, Fallout New Vegas, those level games) in Medium to High graphics without dramatic frame loss, nothing special. I need it to fit in a PCI slot too, because I don't have AGP.

I've been researching in to getting a Radeon HD 7770, even though it is "old", but the different prices of it has made it a struggle being able to find a solid price-zone and a place to actually /buy/ the card. I've managed to gather a few places where I can grab one for around £90. If anybody can recommend me to a website which is good for selling graphics cards, then I would be really grateful.

My specs are as follows:

• 
  Processor: AMD Athlon X4 750K Quad Core Processor (overclocked to 4.2GHz)
  RAM: 16GB
  Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6450
  OS: Windows 7 Prof x64 (SP1)
  Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-DS2
  HDD: 1TB Master (+ 500GB Slave) -- although this isn't really needed by you guys

I'm alright with the rest of the knowledge, but to be honest, I know absolutely nothing about the graphics cards. What are your thoughts on the Radeon 7770, and should I consider getting a new card? If you have any suggestions, my budget is £150.

Thanks in advance!

 

[cowboydude99]

If you absolutely need a new gpu the 7770 is okay.

I would personally hold off until you can upgrade the CPU and motherboard.

 

[Avinoam73]

i won't recommend the 7770 generally because it's pretty old, but since your CPU and MOBO aren't very "gaming oriented" as well, it doesn't leave a whole lot of room to go with. i would recommend going for the R7-260X. AMD's new Rx series is very good imo, plus you get the advantage of something like mantle, which should up your FPS by about 10-20.

 

[BudLightHereWeGo]

The r9 270 is a better option, they can be as low as $140 (110 Euros) in the United States.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Radeon-11220-00-20G-Eyefinity-Graphics/dp/B00GI3DT24/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225691&sr=8-4&keywords=r9+270

Or for 150 Euros:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-R9-280-Gaming-Graphics/dp/B00IYD0K9Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225770&sr=8-3&keywords=r9+280
Or
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nvidia-GeForce-DirectCU-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00DBPKEOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225796&sr=8-1&keywords=gtx+760

I would personally go with the GTX 760 because I prefer Nvidia over AMD based on past experience.
Though, your CPU might hold you back on the R9 280/GTX760 but none the less you'll get good frames

 

[cowboydude99]

The r9 270 is a better option, they can be as low as $140 (110 Euros) in the United States.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Radeon-11220-00-20G-Eyefinity-Graphics/dp/B00GI3DT24/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225691&sr=8-4&keywords=r9+270

Or for 150 Euros:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-R9-280-Gaming-Graphics/dp/B00IYD0K9Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225770&sr=8-3&keywords=r9+280
Or
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nvidia-GeForce-DirectCU-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00DBPKEOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225796&sr=8-1&keywords=gtx+760

I would personally go with the GTX 760 because I've proffered Nvidia over AMD based on past experience.

^^ he's right

 

[BetaJedi]

If you absolutely need a new gpu the 7770 is okay.

I would personally hold off until you can upgrade the CPU and motherboard.

The r9 270 is a better option, they can be as low as $140 (110 Euros) in the United States.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Radeon-11220-00-20G-Eyefinity-Graphics/dp/B00GI3DT24/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225691&sr=8-4&keywords=r9+270

Or for 150 Euros:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-R9-280-Gaming-Graphics/dp/B00IYD0K9Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225770&sr=8-3&keywords=r9+280
Or
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nvidia-GeForce-DirectCU-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00DBPKEOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225796&sr=8-1&keywords=gtx+760

I would personally go with the GTX 760 because I prefer Nvidia over AMD based on past experience.
Though, your CPU might hold you back on the R9 280/GTX760 but none the less you'll get good frames

Wonderful, can you recommend any motherboard/CPU upgrades (models/names would help) I should get before I splash out on the graphics cards you have suggested? I've been meaning to update my PC for a while now, but never really got the time to check

 

[cowboydude99]

That depends on your budget...

How much would you be willing to spend?

 

[BudLightHereWeGo]

If you absolutely need a new gpu the 7770 is okay.

I would personally hold off until you can upgrade the CPU and motherboard.

The r9 270 is a better option, they can be as low as $140 (110 Euros) in the United States.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Radeon-11220-00-20G-Eyefinity-Graphics/dp/B00GI3DT24/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225691&sr=8-4&keywords=r9+270

Or for 150 Euros:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-R9-280-Gaming-Graphics/dp/B00IYD0K9Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225770&sr=8-3&keywords=r9+280
Or
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nvidia-GeForce-DirectCU-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00DBPKEOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225796&sr=8-1&keywords=gtx+760

I would personally go with the GTX 760 because I prefer Nvidia over AMD based on past experience.
Though, your CPU might hold you back on the R9 280/GTX760 but none the less you'll get good frames

Wonderful, can you recommend any motherboard/CPU upgrades (models/names would help) I should get before I splash out on the graphics cards you have suggested? I've been meaning to update my PC for a while now, but never really got the time to check

If you do go with the r9 270, I don't think a CPU upgrade is needed. Though, it would throw you over your budget if you upgraded your CPU and got the more expensive graphics card. There is also the R9 270x (120 Euros)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Dual-X-Radeon-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00FL8H49Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413227074&sr=8-1&keywords=r9+270x
Which gives a slight boost over the (Non X) 270. If anything, it would bottleneck a very small amount, might want to overclock slightly to prevent it but I think all of the options are going to get you 60 frames if you adjust settings to where they should be.

EDIT:
Also, combo that baby with the FX 6300 for 200 Euros right there if you wanna. I would recommend this Mobo for the FX 6300:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008RPZ5SC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

 

[BetaJedi]

That depends on your budget...

How much would you be willing to spend?

To completely upgrade my PC fundamentals? I'd say about... (I'll put it in USD if thats easier to work out)
160$ for the Motherboard and 145$ for the CPU

 

[cowboydude99]

I think if we start at the begging it would be best.

What resolution and what quality do you want to play games at?

 

[BetaJedi]

If you absolutely need a new gpu the 7770 is okay.

I would personally hold off until you can upgrade the CPU and motherboard.

The r9 270 is a better option, they can be as low as $140 (110 Euros) in the United States.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Radeon-11220-00-20G-Eyefinity-Graphics/dp/B00GI3DT24/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225691&sr=8-4&keywords=r9+270

Or for 150 Euros:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-R9-280-Gaming-Graphics/dp/B00IYD0K9Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225770&sr=8-3&keywords=r9+280
Or
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nvidia-GeForce-DirectCU-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00DBPKEOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413225796&sr=8-1&keywords=gtx+760

I would personally go with the GTX 760 because I prefer Nvidia over AMD based on past experience.
Though, your CPU might hold you back on the R9 280/GTX760 but none the less you'll get good frames

Wonderful, can you recommend any motherboard/CPU upgrades (models/names would help) I should get before I splash out on the graphics cards you have suggested? I've been meaning to update my PC for a while now, but never really got the time to check

If you do go with the r9 270, I don't think a CPU upgrade is needed. Though, it would throw you over your budget if you upgraded your CPU and got the more expensive graphics card. There is also the R9 270x (120 Euros)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Dual-X-Radeon-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00FL8H49Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413227074&sr=8-1&keywords=r9+270x
Which gives a slight boost over the (Non X) 270. If anything, it would bottleneck a very small amount, might want to overclock slightly to prevent it but I think all of the options are going to get you 60 frames if you adjust settings to where they should be,

Sounds good to me

 

[BetaJedi]

I think if we start at the begging it would be best.

What resolution and what quality do you want to play games at?

Hmm, well, as it stands, I have a 4:3 1280 x 1024 monitor. So, I guess that, LMAO. I'm not sure number wise, it never really occurred to me of what resolution I'd like to play it in... preferably high enough to fit the 4:3 monitor and look nice without requiring too much power.

 

[cowboydude99]

CPU
$160 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117446

Motherboard
$90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128718

RAM
$75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231643

Total = $325

You can find a cheaper motherboard, but I think that should be good. You sent over a total of $305.

 

[BudLightHereWeGo]

I think if we start at the begging it would be best.

What resolution and what quality do you want to play games at?

Hmm, well, as it stands, I have a 4:3 1280 x 1024 monitor. So, I guess that, LMAO. I'm not sure number wise, it never really occurred to me of what resolution I'd like to play it in... preferably high enough to fit the 4:3 monitor and look nice without requiring too much power.

If your playing at the Res, I think 60 frames would be an easy achievement with new hardware lol

 

[cowboydude99]

One thing.

If you want to purchase this type of build- excellent, but you'll either have to continue using your GPU (6450) or upgrade that too...

I know it is a lot of $ to spend at once. But if it were me, I'd go for the new core components first. Then later on upgrade your GPU and monitor (to 1080p).

I hope this helps. If you have any questions, just let us know.

 

[BetaJedi]

One thing.

If you want to purchase this type of build- excellent, but you'll either have to continue using your GPU (6450) or upgrade that too...

I know it is a lot of $ to spend at once. But if it were me, I'd go for the new core components first. Then later on upgrade your GPU and monitor (to 1080p).

I hope this helps. If you have any questions, just let us know.

Thanks a lot for your help, im not so worried about the money, I plan to buy it all over the next few weeks, so I should have enough money coming in to help fund it all. Cheers again everyone, I'll come back here if I have any questions!

 

[cowboydude99]

Great!

 

[BudLightHereWeGo]

One thing.

If you want to purchase this type of build- excellent, but you'll either have to continue using your GPU (6450) or upgrade that too...

I know it is a lot of $ to spend at once. But if it were me, I'd go for the new core components first. Then later on upgrade your GPU and monitor (to 1080p).

I hope this helps. If you have any questions, just let us know.

Thanks a lot for your help, im not so worried about the money, I plan to buy it all over the next few weeks, so I should have enough money coming in to help fund it all. Cheers again everyone, I'll come back here if I have any questions!

Good luck to you sir

lol

 

[Avinoam73]

great! hope you have fun with it!

 

[BudLightHereWeGo]

Just wanted to tell you about this, not sure if it's even available in the UK but here is a great deal on an r9 280 for 120 euros I found on slickdeals.
http://slickdeals.net/f/7258376-msi-r9-280-gaming-156-ar-w-free-shipping-newegg
Also comes w/ 3 free games

 

[cowboydude99]

Sounds like a good deal, but you will still be bottlenecked.

 

[BetaJedi]

Great!

Sorry to resurrect a dead post, however:
I've bought the Sapphire Dual-X Radeon R9 270X, and it's come with these 8-pin to 4-pin connectors. I've had a look at plugging them into the board, which I did, but I don't seem to see any spare/free ones on the motherboard? My current graphics card (Radeon 6450) doesn't seem to have these pins though, and is just an unplug and plug-back-in job when switching it.

Any ideas? Am I going to need to buy the upgraded motherboard before this will actually work? Or am I ok to use this?

Cheers.

Edit: Nevermind about that, I connected it in, I needed two cables linking to the power supply. However, I had to borrow them from my case fan and my front LEDs. Is it easy to just attach more power adapters to the PSU and get these both back on?