gtx 260, e8500, and triple monitors: should I upgrade gpu or rebuild?

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Chet-Manley

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Hi All,
I bought three dell u2713 monitors a month ago and am tired of only being able to power two of them with my current gtx 260. I game casually and would also like to get a graphics improvement besides being able to use all three monitors.

Would purchasing a gtx 650 ti boost and overclocking my e8500 cpu to ~4Ghz be viable, or would the bottleneck still be too severe? I don't want to waste $170 just to gain support for one extra monitor. GPU suggestions and performance increase estimations are welcome!

As an aside- I'm not trying to game at 7680x1440. My gtx 260 couldn't even handle 1920x1200 with current games, haha.
 
so when you game, you will use one 2560x1440 screen? a gtx650 ti boost is not going to do that well at a res like that. and even at 4.0, that cpu is not going to cut it in some games. the 650 ti boost at 2560 is not too much better off than the 260 was at 1920. I guess on mostly low settings you would be fine with that cpu and gpu but I cant imagine it being a very fun experience both from performance and visual standpoint if you want to play modern games.
 
What kind of a motherboard do you have?
If you could SLi two cards you might have a chance, but you would still need to game at low settings.

My GTX 780s in Surround 5760 x 1200 chug a little in Metro.
 
Thank you for the replies. My motherboard is a p5q-deluxe, so no sli for me. I would be gaming at 2560x1440 if it's possible with my new card. I agree that my current setup isn't going to cut it graphically no matter what gpu I get. What I'm really looking for is a gpu that will give me my maximum attainable graphical performance, given my bottlenecks, without a lot of unusable performance left on the table. Do you think I should go higher or lower than the gtx 650 ti boost?
 
You're in a tough spot man, that dual core is really going to hold back any GPU that is powerful enough to actually run 2560*1440. I don't think you'd be happy with the performance you are going to get out of that 650 Ti boost at that high of resolution. If I were in your shoes I would scrimp and save for a whole new system, or even buy some good used stuff. A decent quad core like and i5 lynnfield of better would be good enough, and at least a 660Ti or HD7950 would be my recommendation for a good budget build.

If you can't afford it all at once, buy a good GPU now (660Ti, 7950) and then get your other stuff later, either of those GPU's will still be relevant for a while.
 
My only issue in going with mid-range gpus (660TI, 7950) is that I want my next build to grow into the monitors I have now and fully support 7680x1440 gaming (I should've stated this in my initial post). I can't recycle a mid-range gpu I buy now to tide me over. I'm not confident that anything other than sli Titans can attain this resolution of gaming. They are too overpriced for me, so my next chance is probably the 800 series.
 
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Let me just chime in. I've just upgraded to a 770 and decided to throw my 660 ti in my spare pc which has a e8400. This thing is being bottlenecked very hard. Trying all resolutions from 1024x768 to 1650x1050 no matter how high the graphic settings yields the same fps all around.
 
sabregen said:
if you're lower than a gen1 core I series CPU, upgrade.
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This. My q6600 + 6950 on my old machine is a major bottleneck in lots of games these days. It's a pretty huge upgrade from where you are to a new cpu.
 
Playa you need to get three Titans and a 3930k...I can play everything maxed at 7860x1600 good fps.
 
Thanks snypa2k3, that's exactly what I needed to know, no 660 ti for me (or even a 560 ti boost prob).

To sabregen and others that think I should upgrade: Do you think an x79 board with 3-way 4gb 770s could handle 7680x1440 resolution? $3k in titans isn't reality for me, and the 780s being locked with 3gb of vram isn't ideal for my resolution.
 
I'd prefer not to go above $2800. As I need a full rebuild and it's been such a long time since my last upgrade, I'm going to have some fun and not be too frugal. The main focus would be supporting 7680x1440.
 
Your not going to need a crazy CPU at that insane resolution. I'd grab a 3770k + z77x-up7 board and 2 780s with a nice PSU like an ax1200 or hx1050 that will handle tri 780s and grab a third later. You will not be dissapointed with sli 780. The 780s will be better than tri 770s. I'd take 3gb of 384 bit memory over 4gb of 256 bit any day of the week.

ax1200 = 280
3770K = 320
Z77x-up7 = 350 after rebate
16gb ram of your choice = 130
Gtx 780 = 650x2

Total = $2380
Another 650 and your at $3030 and you have your insane tried sli setup. You in no shape or form need an 3930k for a resolution that high that would be a total waste. No game in existence will be held back by that CPU at that resolution. Even at stock.
 
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HOODedDutchman said:
Your not going to need a crazy CPU at that insane resolution. I'd grab a 3770k + z77x-up7 board and 2 780s with a nice PSU like an ax1200 or hx1050 that will handle tri 780s and grab a third later. You will not be dissapointed with sli 780. The 780s will be better than tri 770s. I'd take 3gb of 384 bit memory over 4gb of 256 bit any day of the week.
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People who own tri 780's at that res seem to regret it because the cards are extremely powerful and can push details to max out Vram pretty easily.
 
Wait for the 800s? LOL.

The main part is to work on your system.
A faster cpu with say a single 780 should be good enough for 2560x1440. But to game on all three simultaneously. You'd need tri-SLI 780s.

Upgrade mobo/cpu first and get one 780 to start. That allows you to at least get good performance on one monitor.
And if new graphics cards come around, sell the 780 and get a set of new cards when that happens.
 
I agree that upgrading incrementally is better than waiting 1+ years for the 800s. However, the upgrade path isn't clear to me. Anonmoniker stated in another post that he often goes past 3gb vram while gaming at 7680x1600. It seems that building up to tri-SLI 780s would paint me into an expensive corner. I could probably buy one titan used to start and still stay within my budget...

This is a slippery slope, now I'm trying to justify getting a titan...
 
With your budget you could get two used Titans with room to spare for a nice rig, they're going for $800-850 if you look around (I sold mine for 850). Thats how I would go, get a board with room for a 3rd down the road. Unfortuntely those are the only cards that offer both the horsepower and the Vram for that high of a res.
 
You got 3 1440p monitors and seemingly no room or desire to compromise. Sorry, but you're in an expensive corner no matter when you upgrade.
 
got for a top quality AMD 990FX motherboard, with an FX-8350 (or wait for the FX-9000 - 5ghz) .. (am3+ will allow future upgrade to next gen Steamroller)

that will save you quite a bit of money over going with intel, and tbh at that resolution, id bet you see VERY little fps difference if at all vs intel

not sure if they support sli tho youd have to find out
 
XenatR said:
got for a top quality AMD 990FX motherboard, with an FX-8350 (or wait for the FX-9000 - 5ghz) .. (am3+ will allow future upgrade to next gen Steamroller)

that will save you quite a bit of money over going with intel, and tbh at that resolution, id bet you see VERY little fps difference if at all vs intel

not sure if they support sli tho youd have to find out
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As someone who owned a 5.2ghz 8320, I completely disagree. I ran into CPU bottlenecks at 2560x1600 and 6000x1200. I managed to improve FPS and GPU bench scores by overclocking the piss out of my RAM and optimizing HT/NB a little more, but it was a significant difference between any of the SB/Ib setups I've had. It wasn't even cheaper than Haswell or Ivy because it took a full custom loop to get to that point. Hopefully Steamroller will change this but as it stands now it simply isn't a good idea.
 
So I decided to go with the sli titan setup. I've got one in the mail and one in the chamber when they get back in stock.

Will the i7 3820 bottleneck sli titans (potentially tri sli sometime in the future) for 7680x1440? If I can squeeze by with an oc'd 3820, I can put the $300 saved by not getting a 3930k towards the second titan. Is a 3930k absolutely necessary for my setup? I haven't been able to find a definitive answer.

I've got both cpu's in my cart and am itching to pull the trigger on one...
 
Chet-Manley said:
So I decided to go with the sli titan setup. I've got one in the mail and one in the chamber when they get back in stock.

Will the i7 3820 bottleneck sli titans (potentially tri sli sometime in the future) for 7680x1440? If I can squeeze by with an oc'd 3820, I can put the $300 saved by not getting a 3930k towards the second titan. Is a 3930k absolutely necessary for my setup? I haven't been able to find a definitive answer.

I've got both cpu's in my cart and am itching to pull the trigger on one...
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guy if you are going to spend that much then go 3930k. that way you can get the most out of that set up now and in the future. btw I sure hope you have one hell of a power supply too.
 
haha ya, I'm getting the ax1200i to power it all (Corsair Link looks sick if it's not gimmicky). I agree the future benefits of the 3930k are enticing. I was wondering more if the 3930k is overkill or completely necessary.
 
Chet-Manley said:
haha ya, I'm getting the ax1200i to power it all (Corsair Link looks sick if it's not gimmicky). I agree the future benefits of the 3930k are enticing. I was wondering more if the 3930k is overkill or completely necessary.
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not overkill for a system like yours. it will allow you to get full use out of the Titans and even the next gpu setup you go with down the road.
 
imho...3930k is definitely a bit overkill. Games won't use all those cores. That said...if you're going to do cpu-intensive stuff (for example, video rendering) that takes advantage of all those cores, or, if you want to get into benching...then the 3930k could make sense.
 
OP- Another alternative you might consider given that it's light gaming...you're motherboard can support crossfire or sli (check out here: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153046) so that could open up other options. If you haven't already, you'll want to overclock the pee out of your cpu (so a nice hyper air cooler or some form of water). Your's should be able to safely go up to at least 4.3GHz.

Your cpu and mobo are fine for any light to moderate gaming with a graphics upgrade. For 1440p, you could get a pair of 2GB 7770/7790 or 650/660 and actually have nicely playable (light-moderate). For widescreen make sure you get a card (or cards) with 3GB+.

Just a thought..
 
no point in trying to squeeze the death out of an older core 2 duo. dual cores are not sufficient for many modern games.
 
Thanks scbesterman, hypersli looks interesting. Even though I only game moderately, the experience of 7680x1440 is just too tempting. I need to decide on either the 3820 or 3930k by tomorrow, so I'll have everything by Thurs when the titan arrives. I was considering buying the 3820 now and upgrading in the future. However, it looks like Haswell-e won't fit in the 2011 socket. Now I'm leaning towards getting the 3930k and not upgrading the cpu for the lifetime of this mb.
 
Chet-Manley said:
Thanks scbesterman, hypersli looks interesting. Even though I only game moderately, the experience of 7680x1440 is just too tempting. I need to decide on either the 3820 or 3930k by tomorrow, so I'll have everything by Thurs when the titan arrives. I was considering buying the 3820 now and upgrading in the future. However, it looks like Haswell-e won't fit in the 2011 socket. Now I'm leaning towards getting the 3930k and not upgrading the cpu for the lifetime of this mb.
Click to expand...
Ivy E will be out in a few months.
 
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