Some suggestions and recommendations for new GPU/PSU

[coookies]

CPU - Intel Core™ i5-4670K
GPU - Asus GTX650TiB DirectCU II OC
MOBO - Asus Z87M-PLUS
RAM - G.SKILL RipjawsX Series 16GB PC3-14900
PSU - Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2

So it is time for me to replace the GPU.. and potentially the PSU. The CPU and MOBO have been fantastic, well the whole build has thus far.

Buuuuuut... for GPU my budget is $500 (I could go a lot more but I dont want to spend needlessly for a marginally better card and just want to be a smart spender).

Currently at memoryexpress there is a superb clearance on some Sapphire 290x... for $280 !!! *(but very refurbished with a 60 day return/exhange period should they die.. which they do often sadly T_T) Ive heard these cards are the current best/price/performance and most of my gaming buddies all highly recommend them and all of them run them too. But what I want is a great card that is the most silent and doesnt produce too much heat. The 290x seem to produce heat from most reviews, but having played with my friends PC it doesnt seem to be too much. Still, ultra quiet is what Im after.

Also, PSU... I want a solid Gold/Plat 750 PSU to accommodate the new GPU =D. Thanks in advance comrades.

EDIT - Single card only, $500 is for GPU only for PSU dont really have a budget, but smart buy recommended and at 1080p.

 

[gokitty199]

do you want a single card, sli or what. is your $500 dollar budget just for the gpu or is it for the power supply and the gpu? and what resolution are you gaming on, 1080p or higher?

 

[coookies]

Edited original post for more clarification, thnx gokitty.

 

[gokitty199]

Edited original post for more clarification, thnx gokitty.

if you gaming at 1080p i would recommend a 970 OC like gigabyte g1 or msi, im not sure if evga fixed their cooler issue yet. although the 290x for $280 is a pretty decent deal so its going to come down to what you want for it. you can sli the 970's on a 750w but you cant do that with the 290x with the 750w, but at 1080p doing sli/crossfire is a waste with those cards, lower power usage, low noise, and low temps i would go with the 970. heres a comparison from gpu boss http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-290X-vs-GeForce-GTX-970
and for the psu i personally really like evga and corsair,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139055

 

[coookies]

Thnx for the recommends gokitty.. but Im a little skeptical about the 970 with the recent scandal surrounding the card. Do you have any other recommendations? Also, which manufacturer is better, ASUS, MSI or Gigabyte and is Sapphire AMD only?

The PSU Ill definitely go for the corsair, the current one I have is pretty great.

 

[gokitty199]

Thnx for the recommends gokitty.. but Im a little skeptical about the 970 with the recent scandal surrounding the card. Do you have any other recommendations? Also, which manufacturer is better, ASUS, MSI or Gigabyte and is Sapphire AMD only?

The PSU Ill definitely go for the corsair, the current one I have is pretty great.

remember how much everyone loved the card a few months ago before people started running benchmarks that maxxed out the vram when comparing it to a 980 and noticed the performance dropped off alot when it started using more than 3.5gb. its still that great card and its still probably one of the best price/performance high end cards to date. and at 1080p dont even worry about it, you dont hear people complaining about the 780 or 780ti vram do you? it has 3gb and the 970 has 4gb but the last 0.5gb is slow, so its about like 3.5gb of fast ram and .5 of slow.

 

[coookies]

I understand that, but I dont feel comfortable buying/supporting a card that was falsely advertised. I should have mentioned that Id rather buy the 980 then spend money on a 970. These kind of practices should be heavily antagonized and not supported I think... and until the whole ordeal gets promptly disclosed Im gonna stay away from the 970. How is the 780 tho? I hear they are pretty great, albeit quite a bit more expensive and more then what I usually need.

 

[gokitty199]

I understand that, but I dont feel comfortable buying/supporting a card that was falsely advertised. I should have mentioned that Id rather buy the 980 then spend money on a 970. These kind of practices should be heavily antagonized and not supported I think... and until the whole ordeal gets promptly disclosed Im gonna stay away from the 970. How is the 780 tho? I hear they are pretty great, albeit quite a bit more expensive and more then what I usually need.

it wasnt falsely advertised, it does have 4gb just the last .5 is slower than the rest which is a dissapointment but not a huge deal unless your running at really high resolutions. the 970 out performs the 780 at a lower cost and much lower power consumption and has an extra .5 gig of usable fast ram and .5gig of slow ram, the 980 is only 15-20% better than the 970 but at a much higher price thats not near worth what the performance gain is. any of those will max out games at 1080p no problem, just the 970 is the cheapest for the performance out of those three