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Best GPU for 350$?

D

djcoder

n00b
Joined
Dec 23, 2012
Messages
43
Hey,
'tis the time of year for a GPU upgrade :D. I've got about 350$ to spend on a graphics card, but I'm hearing mixed preferences on AMD GPUs and NVidia GPUs, so I'd be grateful if somebody could point out some good GPUs for me :)

Possibly relevant info/specs as of now:
AM3+ Motherboard (with an FX-8120 @ 4GHz if it makes a difference)
AMD Radeon HD 7670 2GB GDDR3

What I'm looking for:
Either NVidia or AMD - no preference, just performance
GDDR5 for higher speeds
3GBs of VRAM (2GBs... maybe, preferably 3GB)
Everything on Ultra settings in games - I don't like to cut corners.

What it'll be used for:
Gaming @ 1080p, maybe an IPS monitor (the dirt cheap ones from Korea) in the near future
-Battlefield 3
-PlanetSide 2
-Crysis 2/3
-Any new triple-A games for the next 2-3 years
Amateur video editing @ 1080p

Of course, I did some looking for myself, and I found an EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti Superclocked+, with 3GBs of GDDR5 RAM clocked at 980MHz. I thought that was a pretty good deal for 309.99$ Canadian.

Just looking for any extra input if there are any better GPUs. Thanks guys!
-Cameron
 
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Sorry about the PSU - I'm not really completely sure as this is one I salvaged from an old Acer, however the model number is PS-6301-08A3. Apparently it's 240V max. I've attached a picture, hopefully you can make more sense of it. Thanks!
2012-12-23%2015.38.16.jpg
 
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Danny Bui said:
Yeah you need to get a new PSU. That PSU is of very low quality and even if it was good quality, it still isn't enough power for your planned setup. Hell I'm surprised it's running your system at the moment. So no matter what, replace that PSU ASAP!

I recommend this PSU as a replacement:
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=67324&vpn=HCG-520M&manufacture=Antec&promoid=1305
Click to expand...

Really? The computer it came from had the same processor, and a similar GPU... It's been running fine for the last 3 months...?
-Cameron
 
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djcoder said:
Really? The computer it came from had the same processor, and a similar GPU... It's been running fine for the last 3 months...?
-Cameron
Click to expand...

Yes but damage from a crappy PSU can take awhile to crop up. In addition, the longer you run it, the more stressed that PSU will be which means that it's gonna die eventually. Especially with a setup like yours. So again, replace your PSU. It's not a smart idea at all to keep using it.
 
Danny Bui said:
Yes but damage from a crappy PSU can take awhile to crop up. In addition, the longer you run it, the more stressed that PSU will be which means that it's gonna die eventually. Especially with a setup like yours. So again, replace your PSU. It's not a smart idea at all to keep using it.
Click to expand...

Ok... thank you for your help. I'm not sure if the new GPU will fit in my current case, so I'll actually probably buy a new case and a new PSU. Would 500W be suitable for this setup? I'm looking to put this PSU into this case. I know case is viable, as a friend runs a FX-8150 in one.
Again, thanks!
-Cameron
 
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djcoder said:
Ok... thank you for your help. I'm not sure if the new GPU will fit in my current case, so I'll actually probably buy a new case and a new PSU. Would 500W be suitable for this setup? I'm looking to put this PSU into this case. I know case is viable, as a friend runs a FX-8150 in one.
Again, thanks!
-Cameron
Click to expand...
A good quality 500W PSU would be enough for most setups. However, Thermaltake's TR2 PSU line are generally all shit. They can barely provide half their rated power let alone their supposed rated power. So not worth getting at all.

s for the case, it's a so-so choice.
 
Good quality can be subjective, personally I prefer modular Corsair or Seasonic, neater looks,better airflow & better quality, cost difference for 650/750 W is small and will pay back in future upgrades.
Cheap PSU's tend to be low quality and the PSU is the heart of a good trouble free system.
 
Britgeezer said:
Good quality can be subjective, personally I prefer modular Corsair or Seasonic, neater looks,better airflow & better quality, cost difference for 650/750 W is small and will pay back in future upgrades.
Cheap PSU's tend to be low quality and the PSU is the heart of a good trouble free system.
Click to expand...

Do you have a model that you recommend for my setup/planned setup, or one that you use in your build? Are there any noticeable differences against the Antec that Danny Bui recommended, in terms of system speed/stability? I know both are modular, so I'm not sure what you mean by neater looks...? Thanks!

Danny Bui said:
A good quality 500W PSU would be enough for most setups. However, Thermaltake's TR2 PSU line are generally all shit. They can barely provide half their rated power let alone their supposed rated power. So not worth getting at all.
s for the case, it's a so-so choice.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for the input. I'll be buying the Antec unless Britgeezer can persuade me to spend a little more on a Corsair/Seasonic. If you have any better cases in the 75- and below range, I'd appreciate the info. Thanks again.

Ironhand said:
7950 will be about 300 and a 7970 will be around 400.

I would buy the 7950 and overclock it to match 7970 capability.

That is actually what I did.



EDIT: They have a 7970 for 359 after MIR.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=67172&vpn=FX797ATDFC&manufacture=Others&promoid=1285
Click to expand...

That seems to have a lower clock than the Superclocked EVGA, as well as a slightly higher price. Since it's a lower clock, what is the overclocking like on this card? I am currently an AMD fan but am willing to switch to NVidia, so since it's a higher price I'd like to make up he performance difference versus the NVidia.

Sorry guys, I'm a complete n00b when it comes to PSUs and custom PCs at all. I'm the software guy, I guess you'd say :D Thanks again for your help
-Cameron
 
djcoder said:
Ok, thanks for the input. I'll be buying the Antec unless Britgeezer can persuade me to spend a little more on a Corsair/Seasonic.
Click to expand...
Depends on which Corsair Britgeezer is talking about. Some Corsairs are good but some are just poor values for the money.
djcoder said:
If you have any better cases in the 75- and below range, I'd appreciate the info. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
My budget case recommendations generally are the NZXT Source 210 Elite, Corsair 200R, and Coolermaster HAF 912 if the first two cases aren't available.
 
Danny Bui said:
and Coolermaster HAF 912 if the first two cases aren't available.
Click to expand...

I found a deal on these at NCIX with a 750W SLI PSU for 154$. The PSU seems optimized for Intel, but some people have apparently had success with Phenom IIs. I think I'll put in an order for this, as it kind of kills 2 birds with one stone and the GTX 660 Ti has a minimum recommended power of 500W so this is well above it, good for stability.]
I'll wait until tomorrow to see if there is any more input.
Thanks,
-Cameron
 
Nice deal yes, but the CM PSUs aren't that great either. Still, it would be much better than what you have right now.

EDIT: nevermind, it's much worse than I think. 435 watts is the most it can do? Holy crap.
 
Danny Bui said:
That Coolermaster PSU is also a piece of crap:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=188

That's the reason why it's being sold for so low of a price with that case.
Click to expand...

I found a bunch of good reviews on it too, which is weird and contradicts what you found:
http://www.futurelooks.com/coolermaster-gx-series-750-watt-atx-power-supply-review/
http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmgx750w/page2.shtml
and a couple more, but I didn't think they were worth mentioning (2 should prove a point!)

Volume wise, I couldn't care less if it was as loud as a 747 as I wear headphones when in the same room as it (about 6 computers operate here at any one time in this room!), and volume was one of the biggest concerns found in the reviews - it has a decent efficiency which keeps it running over 550W all the time no matter the heat (at least in the reviews). All I need is a powerful PSU that I hopefully won't need to upgrade for a while, as I am planning a GTX 660 Ti or, if my future budget allows, a GTX 680.

Who would have thought that so much effort would be required to just get a new graphics card. This isn't really a video card discussion any more, but rather a discussion on how much of my computer I have to upgrade. Since this will obliterate most of my 300$ budget for upgrades for the first quarter of 2013, I'm probably not even going to get a GPU out of this! :rolleyes:
 
djcoder said:
I found a bunch of good reviews on it too, which is weird and contradicts what you found:
http://www.futurelooks.com/coolermaster-gx-series-750-watt-atx-power-supply-review/
http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmgx750w/page2.shtml
and a couple more, but I didn't think they were worth mentioning (2 should prove a point!)
Click to expand...
None of those links are valid PSU reviews. Neither PSU reviews shows the PSU being tested with an Automated Testing Equipment, show correct ripple and noise measurements, show testing above room temperatures, and actual quality commentary on the PSU's build. So without those four factors, both of the PSU reveiws you posted mean nothing. They're basically padded brochure ads for the PSU.

And I have another proper PSU review site that backs up the JG review:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-GX-750-W-Power-Supply-Review/917

No intelligent computer hardware enthusiast (at least the ones on this forum I hope) is gonna trust the word of either of your two websites in regards to PSUs over the word of the leading PSU review site, JonnyGuru.com. So I have two properly done PSU reviews VS two of your padded ads. That's should be sufficient proof that the Coolermaster GX750 is a piece of crap.

djcoder said:
Who would have thought that so much effort would be required to just get a new graphics card. This isn't really a video card discussion any more, but rather a discussion on how much of my computer I have to upgrade. Since this will obliterate most of my 300$ budget for upgrades for the first quarter of 2013, I'm probably not even going to get a GPU out of this! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Yeah when you build a PC right and do the right research, this kind of discussion/effort isn't needed.
 
couple things.

First off listen to Danny Bui, he knows what he is talking about when it comes to PSU's and review websites.

Now. DO NOT get a 660ti. They are very overpriced for the performance. if you REALLY need to go the Nvidia route. I would say get a 670 if one is on sale, but that comes around to you needing a new PSU.

My Best recommendation would be to get a very good decent PSU, and maybe a good 7870. Or of you can find a good PSU for $50ish dollars (not sure if you can get a good decent one for that price) Get a 7950. You can easily pick one of those up for $299, and the blow away a 660ti, and even match the 670 in performance.

P.S. Like to add, if you get a 7950, you get Sleeping Dogs, Hitman, and Farcry 3 for free!!!!
 
Danny Bui said:
None of those links are valid PSU reviews. Neither PSU reviews shows the PSU being tested with an Automated Testing Equipment, show correct ripple and noise measurements, show testing above room temperatures, and actual quality commentary on the PSU's build. So without those four factors, both of the PSU reveiws you posted mean nothing. They're basically padded brochure ads for the PSU.
Click to expand...

Ok, I'll stick to what you suggested earlier. I trust that 500W is enough to run the FX and a powerful GPU.

Danny Bui said:
Yeah when you build a PC right and do the right research, this kind of discussion/effort isn't needed.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but the PC booted up and has ran stably for months. I have stated before in this thread that I am a newb, and this was my first build. I didn't have amazing top of the range parts and when I built the computer I had a budget of 250$, which is why the PSU and some other components are from other computers (as well as my decision to use an AMD processor). You've been on this forum for 7 years, I've probably been on it for 7 hours. In my untrained mind, when it boots successfully and doesn't break after some benchmarks, then it is a successful build. Things probably didn't go 100% to plan on your first build, either, but c'est la vie, we have to learn from our mistakes.
 
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DASHlT said:
My Best recommendation would be to get a very good decent PSU, and maybe a good 7870. Or of you can find a good PSU for $50ish dollars (not sure if you can get a good decent one for that price) Get a 7950. You can easily pick one of those up for $299, and the blow away a 660ti, and even match the 670 in performance.
Click to expand...

How much PSU power are we talking for a 7950? I have no qualms with AMD, however NVidia seem to have the edge in certain games (weirdly the ones I like to play!) such as PlanetSide 2, where my AMD 7670 *should* perform on high/medium yet it cannot run even low without lagging (looks like the original CounterStrike with low settings, horrible optimization on the game's part) which was in fact one of the things that motivated me to get a new GPU.

I found one with 3GBs of GDDR5 at NewEgg for 300$. Specifications seem good.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125414

Thanks,
-Cameron

EDIT: watched the NewEgg video and apparently AMD recommend 500W or more. The PSU that Danny Boi recommended meets this requirement, however the video recommends always keeping a bit of headroom, so we'll see.
 
djcoder said:
How much PSU power are we talking for a 7950? I have no qualms with AMD, however NVidia seem to have the edge in certain games (weirdly the ones I like to play!) such as PlanetSide 2, where my AMD 7670 *should* perform on high/medium yet it cannot run even low without lagging (looks like the original CounterStrike with low settings, horrible optimization on the game's part) which was in fact one of the things that motivated me to get a new GPU.

I found one with 3GBs of GDDR5 at NewEgg for 300$. Specifications seem good.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125414

Thanks,
-Cameron
Click to expand...

Planetside 2 is VERY CPU hungry. And the AMD processors do not come close to intel when it comes to gaming performance. So getting a new GPU Will help for sure. But only so much since you would be held back by your CPU (not saying your CPU sucks, its just performance wise Intel is king for gaming).

The Gigabyte one is a pretty good card, stays cool and i think comes factory overclocked. I would also recommend the Sapphire 7950 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006

I recently got one of these and was very impressed with it. Stock cooler is very beefy, and was able to overclock quite nicely (although every card is different)

The Sapphire is also $299 with a $20 MIR which makes it $279, and is free shipping compared to the Gigabyte.

But I think a minimum PSU for a 7950 is either 550 or 600watt PSU. And you might want a lil more power if you plan to overclock it (and let me tell you the 7950's LOVE to be overclocked to really get their true performance.).

Here are some CPU/GPU benchmarks so you can get an Idea how much the AMD proc is holding you back. http://forums.videocardz.com/topic/188-planetside-2-performance-test/#entry773

P.S.S. Also like to add that those benchmarks for the Video cards do not show the 12.11 performance drivers from AMD, which increase gaming performance from 10-20% on alot of games.
 
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djcoder said:
Ok, I'll stick to what you suggested earlier. I trust that 500W is enough to run the FX and a powerful GPU.
Click to expand...
A good quality 500W is enough.

djcoder said:
Sorry, but the PC booted up and has ran stably for months. I have stated before in this thread that I am a newb, and this was my first build. I didn't have amazing top of the range parts and when I built the computer I had a budget of 250$, which is why the PSU and some other components are from other computers (as well as my decision to use an AMD processor). You've been on this forum for 7 years, I've probably been on it for 7 hours. In my untrained mind, when it boots successfully and doesn't break after some benchmarks, then it is a successful build. Things probably didn't go 100% to plan on your first build, either, but c'est la vie, we have to learn from our mistakes.
Click to expand...
I totally understand that you're a newb. and I agree with your statement that we have to learn from our mistakes. In fact, one of the first few threads I made when I first joined this forum was this:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1096876

But my point still stands: Lots of research before hand ensures lesser issues and effort later on. If I had done my research, I would have avoided HDD deaths and a shit PSU.

djcoder said:
How much PSU power are we talking for a 7950?
Click to expand...
Same PSU I recommended before would work. With that said, Newegg.Ca just made this PSU available in your country so this is a good budget option and would save you some money:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030

Though the Antec I recommended earlier is of higher quality and has modular cables.

djcoder said:
I have no qualms with AMD, however NVidia seem to have the edge in certain games (weirdly the ones I like to play!) such as PlanetSide 2,
Click to expand...
Make sure that you're ready up-to-date reports/reviews as AMD released updated drivers in October 2012 that dramatically increased the performance of their GPUs:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/11/12/fall_2012_gpu_driver_comparison_roundup/
djcoder said:
where my AMD 7670 *should* perform on high/medium yet it cannot run even low without lagging (looks like the original CounterStrike with low settings, horrible optimization on the game's part) which was in fact one of the things that motivated me to get a new GPU.
Click to expand...
The HD 7670 is a low-end GPU. It would be extremely surprising if you got medium to high settings with PS2 or other high-end games for that matter.

djcoder said:
I found one with 3GBs of GDDR5 at NewEgg for 300$. Specifications seem good.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125414
Click to expand...
Did you increase your budget or something? You just said earlier that your budget for upgrades is $300 to $350. Since you absolutely need a new PSU and probably a case as well, that means that you have roughly $170 to $230 CAD leftover. Unless you raised your budget, that GPU is not an option for you. With your budget, you're looking at the HD 7850 2GB or the HD 7870 2GB.
djcoder said:
EDIT: watched the NewEgg video and apparently AMD recommend 500W or more. The PSU that Danny Boi recommended meets this requirement, however the video recommends always keeping a bit of headroom, so we'll see.
Click to expand...
That's just Newegg covering their asses. As you've seen already, not all PSUs can actually provide their rated wattage. The 750W Coolermaster you posted earlier is barely a 450W PSU under real world conditions. So when a company or PSU calculators recommends a 750W PSU for a system that would actually run just fine with a 450W PSU, they're usually assuming that the buyer is not going to do his or her research and are gonna buy a 750W PSU that can barely do 450W.
 
DASHlT said:
Planetside 2 is VERY CPU hungry. And the AMD processors do not come close to intel when it comes to gaming performance. So getting a new GPU Will help for sure. But only so much since you would be held back by your CPU (not saying your CPU sucks, its just performance wise Intel is king for gaming).
Click to expand...

A good part about PlanetSide 2 is that if you press ALT+F in game, not only does it display the framerate but also which component on your computer is bottlenecking it. 99% of the time this displays GPU, so my graphics card is an issue.
Yes, the CPU is not as good for gaming, but that is due to the horrible optimization of the game for AMD. I run the AMD system monitor when in game and it shows that I am using 70% on my top 2 cores, then 20% on the next 2 but 0% on anything after those.
My claims are also backed up by many forum articles explaining the horrible state of the game's optimization - it is 32 bit, uses DX9 instead of DX11, and is a one tire fryer, making horrible use of multiple cores. Therefore I will hang on for a while with AMD until the next generation from Intel.

DASHlT said:
The Gigabyte one is a pretty good card, stays cool and i think comes factory overclocked. I would also recommend the Sapphire 7950 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006
I recently got one of these and was very impressed with it. Stock cooler is very beefy, and was able to overclock quite nicely (although every card is different)
Click to expand...

The Gigabyte card is overclocked to 900MHz stock. It has very good cooling, or so I've heard, thanks to the 3 fans. The Sapphire, on the other hand, has a lower clock but has a 'Turbo' setting which makes it's clock speed 925MHz when under load - not sure it is as effective as the Gigabyte's out of the factory overclocking but it is certainly interesting. I'll look into it, thanks.

DASHlT said:
The Sapphire is also $299 with a $20 MIR which makes it $279, and is free shipping compared to the Gigabyte.
Click to expand...

The free shipping is what makes it appeal the most to me, however it is on the US store and only appears to ship for free to the US, not Canada.

DASHlT said:
But I think a minimum PSU for a 7950 is either 550 or 600watt PSU. And you might want a lil more power if you plan to overclock it (and let me tell you the 7950's LOVE to be overclocked to really get their true performance.).
Click to expand...

Danny Boi just replied, I'll see what he has to say about this. He's the PSU expert.

DASHlT said:
Here are come CPU/GPU benchmarks so you can get an Idea how much the AMD proc is holding you back. http://forums.videocardz.com/topic/188-planetside-2-performance-test/#entry773

P.S.S. Also like to add that those benchmarks for the Video cards do not show the 12.11 performance drivers from AMD, which increase gaming performance from 10-20% on alot of games.
Click to expand...

I realize that it is holding me back, however my priority as of now is a GPU for this quarter. It seems that where one processor is better at some things (single core power of an Intel is better), the other is better at others (AMD's number of cores allow multithreaded operations to run quicker). I will wait until next generation for CPU - hoping for a cheaper 6-core i7. Thank you for the link.

Regards,
-Cameron
 
djcoder said:
A good part about PlanetSide 2 is that if you press ALT+F in game, not only does it display the framerate but also which component on your computer is bottlenecking it. 99% of the time this displays GPU, so my graphics card is an issue.
Yes, the CPU is not as good for gaming, but that is due to the horrible optimization of the game for AMD. I run the AMD system monitor when in game and it shows that I am using 70% on my top 2 cores, then 20% on the next 2 but 0% on anything after those.
My claims are also backed up by many forum articles explaining the horrible state of the game's optimization - it is 32 bit, uses DX9 instead of DX11, and is a one tire fryer, making horrible use of multiple cores. Therefore I will hang on for a while with AMD until the next generation from Intel.



The Gigabyte card is overclocked to 900MHz stock. It has very good cooling, or so I've heard, thanks to the 3 fans. The Sapphire, on the other hand, has a lower clock but has a 'Turbo' setting which makes it's clock speed 925MHz when under load - not sure it is as effective as the Gigabyte's out of the factory overclocking but it is certainly interesting. I'll look into it, thanks.



The free shipping is what makes it appeal the most to me, however it is on the US store and only appears to ship for free to the US, not Canada.



Danny Boi just replied, I'll see what he has to say about this. He's the PSU expert.



I realize that it is holding me back, however my priority as of now is a GPU for this quarter. It seems that where one processor is better at some things (single core power of an Intel is better), the other is better at others (AMD's number of cores allow multithreaded operations to run quicker). I will wait until next generation for CPU - hoping for a cheaper 6-core i7. Thank you for the link.

Regards,
-Cameron
Click to expand...

Ahh Didn't realize you were in Canada.

When it comes to AMD, there is nothing AMD is better at then Intel when it comes to processors, Unless you count benchmarks.....More cores doesnt = more performance.

But yea a GPU would better upgrade first.
 
Danny Bui said:
A good quality 500W is enough.
Click to expand...

You're the expert.

Danny Bui said:
I totally understand that you're a newb. and I agree with your statement that we have to learn from our mistakes. In fact, one of the first few threads I made when I first joined this forum was this:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1096876

But my point still stands: Lots of research before hand ensures lesser issues and effort later on. If I had done my research, I would have avoided HDD deaths and a shit PSU.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your understanding. Yes, I made some shitty mistakes with my first build, but that's why I am improving it bit by bit to try and make a better system. It seems that the newer case to fit bigger GPUs and a newer PSU so it doesn't go unstable would be the first logical upgrade.

Danny Bui said:
Same PSU I recommended before would work. With that said, Newegg.Ca just made this PSU available in your country so this is a good budget option and would save you some money:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030

Though the Antec I recommended earlier is of higher quality and has modular cables.
Click to expand...

I will stay with the one you recommended earlier. I am fine with dropping some more $ on this PSU upgrade if it improves my system.

Danny Bui said:
Make sure that you're ready up-to-date reports/reviews as AMD released updated drivers in October 2012 that dramatically increased the performance of their GPUs:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/11/12/fall_2012_gpu_driver_comparison_roundup/
Click to expand...

I am currently running these drivers and I definitely notice an increase in performance. Not so much in PS2 which is the game I am worried about in terms of performance, but I have a higher FPS in BF3 when running the 12.11 beta 11 drivers from early this month I believe.

Danny Bui said:
The HD 7670 is a low-end GPU. It would be extremely surprising if you got medium to high settings with PS2 or other high-end games for that matter.
Click to expand...

This is no stock GPU, but one I salvaged from a family member's desktop. It has 2GBs of GDDR3 RAM. I do not believe this is offered stock by AMD - they sell it 1GB GDDR5 I think. I can hit 40FPS on Ultra in BF3 Singleplayer and 40FPS on High in BF3 32v32 multiplayer. Acceptable, imo. Just look choppy on my 120Hz monitor.

Danny Bui said:
Did you increase your budget or something? You just said earlier that your budget for upgrades is $300 to $350. Since you absolutely need a new PSU and probably a case as well, that means that you have roughly $170 to $230 CAD leftover. Unless you raised your budget, that GPU is not an option for you. With your budget, you're looking at the HD 7850 2GB or the HD 7870 2GB.
Click to expand...

I also said earlier that I would be also be spending most of my Q1 2013 budget of 300$ on this upgrade as well as my Q4 2012 budget - not in the OP however.

Danny Bui said:
That's just Newegg covering their asses. As you've seen already, not all PSUs can actually provide their rated wattage. The 750W Coolermaster you posted earlier is barely a 450W PSU under real world conditions. So when a company or PSU calculators recommends a 750W PSU for a system that would actually run just fine with a 450W PSU, they're usually assuming that the buyer is not going to do his or her research and are gonna buy a 750W PSU that can barely do 450W.
Click to expand...

Again, you're the expert. However this information is good to know. I'll look into how to determine PSU quality for future upgrades/builds. Thanks.

-Cameron
 
If you still want to go for NVIDIA video cards, I'd recommend you to buy used parts in the FS/FT forums and lots of folks are selling GTX 670's for $300 which could fit your budget. Otherwise, a 7870 GHz Edition or higher would be more than enough to provide playable experience with your 120Hz monitor. I have a Korean monitor that I overclocked to 110Hz (120 is doable but red lines appear whenever I have a dark background) and love it. Yes, intel processors are much better than what AMD offers right now but BF3 loves the 8 core AMD's. Since you already have an 8120, I'd stick to it.

The HD 7670 is most likely a 128-bit video card which is a bit weak, and is using GDDR3 which is outdated by today's standards. Also as someone else here said once, you do not let a $50 PSU power up a $500-1000 PC. Never skimp on the quality of the PSUs.

Galaxy GTX 670 (Tigerdirect, Canada-friendly) for $304.99
 
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Mr. Stryker said:
Since you already have an 8120, I'd stick to it.
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You have the new 8350, right? Is it worth the upgrade if I can get it cheap? A friend would be willing to trade with my 8120 for 50$ as he doesn't need the chip, and I'm wondering if the Piledriver performance gain in games is enough to justify 50$.
Thanks!
 
djcoder said:
You have the new 8350, right? Is it worth the upgrade if I can get it cheap? A friend would be willing to trade with my 8120 for 50$ as he doesn't need the chip, and I'm wondering if the Piledriver performance gain in games is enough to justify 50$.
Thanks!
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I think it would be, Piledriver is better then bulldozer. I think with Piledriver AMD finally caught up to the first gen I7's.
 
Do not skimp on as psu it will eventually bite a big ass hole in your butt if you do. If your looking at a7950 or 7970 min recomended psu is a 500w. I currently run a 7870 at 1920 and it runs everything I play fine on med to high settings.Good luck with your choice may the force be with you;)
 
DASHlT said:
I think it would be, Piledriver is better then bulldozer. I think with Piledriver AMD finally caught up to the first gen I7's.
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Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor @ 3.4GHz would be the only Intel option I'd consider atm. If you can explain to me why it's worth spending about 300$ on the upgrade (new processor & motherboard) then I will upgrade it in the second quarter of 2013 (after my GPU). I'll be upgrading CPU then anyway, as my friend apparently sold his Piledriver for 125$ on ebay.
 
djcoder said:
Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor @ 3.4GHz would be the only Intel option I'd consider atm. If you can explain to me why it's worth spending about 300$ on the upgrade (new processor & motherboard) then I will upgrade it in the second quarter of 2013 (after my GPU).
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im not saying its worth it. I am just saying, since you said it yourself (This GPU upgrade is for Planetside 2). Well then Intel CPU's are the only way to go period (which i showed in that benchmark).

Now since you are on a budget, and you DEF need a new GPU. I would stick with what you got, or get that piledriver and upgrade the GPU.

Not everyone can afford a Intel CPU. But I have seen the 2500k on sale at microcenter for cheap (of course in the USA only).

Your best bet option right now is to stick with what you got, and get a new PSU (maybe a case) and GPU over a CPU.

Just remember in Planetside 2, your CPU will be holding the GPU back to some extent. That is all....nothing more or nothing less.
 
DASHlT said:
im not saying its worth it. I am just saying, since you said it yourself (This GPU upgrade is for Planetside 2). Well then Intel CPU's are the only way to go period (which i showed in that benchmark).

Now since you are on a budget, and you DEF need a new GPU. I would stick with what you got, or get that piledriver and upgrade the GPU.

Not everyone can afford a Intel CPU. But I have seen the 2500k on sale at microcenter for cheap (of course in the USA only).

Your best bet option right now is to stick with what you got, and get a new PSU (maybe a case) and GPU over a CPU.

Just remember in Planetside 2, your CPU will be holding the GPU back to some extent. That is all....nothing more or nothing less.
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Yes I realize the CPU will bottleneck it somewhat, in most games however it is the graphics card that will bottleneck it and not the CPU. I MUST upgrade the case, there is no other option, as this current case is a shitty one salvaged from an old build (this was an extreme budget gaming PC) which was a stock part and not a custom build case, so it has very little room for large GPUs. In fact, it will not fit the 7950, which is why I am prioritizing a PSU and case upgrade.
 
djcoder said:
Yes I realize the CPU will bottleneck it somewhat, in most games however it is the graphics card that will bottleneck it and not the CPU. I MUST upgrade the case, there is no other option, as this current case is a shitty one salvaged from an old build (this was an extreme budget gaming PC) which was a stock part and not a custom build case, so it has very little room for large GPUs. In fact, it will not fit the 7950, which is why I am prioritizing a PSU and case upgrade.
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Fractal Design has some REALLY good cases for cheap, with good airflow. I think they even have a good Micro ATX case for cheap, but damn good for the price. Not sure what kind of mobo you have.

(cant load the canadian newegg website for some reason, so im linking the american one) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352009

Built a PC with one of those cases for a Co-worker. I gotta say was very impressed how quiet, and how cool things stayed in the PC. Was not a bad case for $40 IMO.

And if you get the PSU Danny Bui linked, should give you enough (around $200ish left) to get a 7850 (or a 7870 if you can find one on sale).
 
DASHlT said:
Fractal Design has some REALLY good cases for cheap, with good airflow. I think they even have a good Micro ATX case for cheap, but damn good for the price. Not sure what kind of mobo you have.

(cant load the canadian newegg website for some reason, so im linking the american one) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352009

Built a PC with one of those cases for a Co-worker. I gotta say was very impressed how quiet, and how cool things stayed in the PC. Was not a bad case for $40 IMO.

And if you get the PSU Danny Bui linked, should give you enough (around $200ish left) to get a 7850 (or a 7870 if you can find one on sale).
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Thanks for the info, but I've already put in an order for a Cooler Master HAF 912. It was a good price on NCIX Canada at 54.99$.
-Cameron
 
djcoder said:
Thanks for the info, but I've already put in an order for a Cooler Master HAF 912. It was a good price on NCIX Canada at 54.99$.
-Cameron
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Wow that is a damn good price :) Nice find indeed.

Good luck with your build man! Hope ya get a good GPU for yourself.
 
DASHlT said:
Wow that is a damn good price :) Nice find indeed.

Good luck with your build man! Hope ya get a good GPU for yourself.
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Thanks, hopefully I will have good luck this time!
Thank you very much for your help with the graphics card. The AMDs have higher specifications than the EVGA GeForce I was looking at in terms of RAM speed and overclocking capability. I'll either be purchasing a Gigabyte 7950 or the Sapphire 7950 you recommended. It all really comes down to pricing now, as I'm spent out on components :p Still haven't picked a PSU however, wondering if I should get the cheaper one or the higher quality one Danny Bui recommended.

Regards
-Cameron
 
Also, double check the card's power connectors. All of these cards are going to have at least 2 6pin PCIe connectors, some may have one 8pin and one 6pin. But don't get burned like I did, snagged a 6950 that had two 8pins and none of my PSU's at the time had a pair of 6+2's so I had to either wait on adapters or new PSU. I went with an adapter because the 6950 I picked up had no reason to have two 8pins. It was just ASUS using overbuilt circuitry. (actually I think they were being dicks hehe)
 
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