Considering upgrading my 7950....looking for advice

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masterosok

Gawd
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Apr 1, 2008
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I haven't been keeping up with the latest hardware so I am looking for some help. I currently have a 7950 and I am considering upgrading. I only run one monitor at 1920 x 1200 and overclocking isn't something I consider when purchasing. I do like to max out my settings a much as possible at this resolution. I usually look for the best performance option for my dollar and I am do not have any brand preferences.

My budget is probably $300-$350. Let me know what you think the best option would be for me or if I should wait for the next gen cards to be released.

Thanks!
 
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There are supposed to be some new cards coming right around the corner. So waiting is an option.

But if you were buying today with your budget, your options would be AMD R9-290 / 290x or GTX 970 at your price range.
The 290 and 970 are pretty much on par with each other, the 290x is a bit faster.
The AMD cards are known to run warmer and use more power than Nvidia. But with an aftermarket cooler, heat isn't going to be a big deal anyways.

So if you just want the fastest, 290x
If you want the most power efficient, 970
If you want the cheapest, 290
 
At this price range is the performance increase from going to a 290x or 970 from my 7950 worth the investment? I actually might end up waiting until January to make my purchase anyway as I will have my car paid off an will have some extra funds at that time. When is the next iteration of cards coming out?
 
masterosok said:
At this price range is the performance increase from going to a 290x or 970 from my 7950 worth the investment? I actually might end up waiting until January to make my purchase anyway as I will have my car paid off an will have some extra funds at that time. When is the next iteration of cards coming out?
Click to expand...

If you're already planning on waiting until January, you might as well hold on one extra month for AMD's 3xx parts. They're rumored to be released in February and the first 20nm, HBM cards. I'm expecting a big jump over my 7970s.
 
I would just wait. I am in the same boat. The only other option to me is scooping up one of these 290s for like $200-170.
 
I went from a 7970 to a 290x on my HTPC and really could not notice that big of a jump, granted I was hooked up to a 1080p projector and maxing out everything with the 7970 already. Maybe in total like a 15-20% jump and a little smoother, but 60 fps or more was really lost on the dlp. Jump might be a bit more from the 7950 and 1920x1200 vs 1920x1080, or 2.3Mpixels vs 2MP, but what games are you bottle necking in? I would think the bigger difference would materialize if say you were on a 2560x1440 or higher resolution.
 
Agree with others.
I was in the same boat. The issue is the 7950 is still a really good card. I mean there's nothing out there you can't play at 1080p with most settings set to high. My card did 1100/1300 24/7 through ccc.

I upgraded to a used, non-reference 290X for $250 shipped, and sold my 7950 for $100 shipped. Honestly if it wasn't for one game, Dragon Age, I'd never have done it. So my money is on keeping what you have unless there's a game coming out you're getting all jonsed about.
 
toddw said:
Agree with others.
I was in the same boat. The issue is the 7950 is still a really good card. I mean there's nothing out there you can't play at 1080p with most settings set to high. My card did 1100/1300 24/7 through ccc.

I upgraded to a used, non-reference 290X for $250 shipped, and sold my 7950 for $100 shipped. Honestly if it wasn't for one game, Dragon Age, I'd never have done it. So my money is on keeping what you have unless there's a game coming out you're getting all jonsed about.
Click to expand...

actually that's a bit subjetive, because even I think my overclocked 280X isn't enough for recent gaming (2013 and 2014) specially in demanding tittles at 1920x1080.. its a great and capable card but not enough (IMO) for today gaming specially if are used for someone who like to have settings as higher as possible.. even in fact i think the next year my gtx 780 who are also doing a good job gaming will be obsolete specially due to vRAM and will be unable to keep max eyecandy settings..
 
I don't have any games at the present time that I play that I am having issues with but I usually like to upgrade at least once every few years to just stay ahead of the curve if I can. Really the main reason I want to upgrade is so I can pass my 7950 off to the computer my girlfriend uses as I have noticed with some of the games she has recently been playing the 6950 in that box isn't quite cutting it. I probably bothers me more than her but I'd still like to make the switch. It sounds like waiting is the best option since I am likely to get more value for my dollar.

Thanks!
 
Ozymandias said:
If you're already planning on waiting until January, you might as well hold on one extra month for AMD's 3xx parts. They're rumored to be released in February and the first 20nm, HBM cards. I'm expecting a big jump over my 7970s.
Click to expand...
Sure, but then prices are usually inflated at launch, and you may be limited to reference coolers that really suck, so then wait a month to get the better third party coolers, etc.

Everything is better if you wait, but the real question is if you're going to see a real "step" in waiting or if its the same gradually increase in performance and drop in price you see week to week all the time. *shrugs*

Personally, next sale on a 290x I see, I'll probably just pick up two of em.
 
Seems like every few months now, there's a new game pushing VRAM requirements higher and higher and that's one of the reasons I've held off on upgrading my 680's. With two of them, I have plenty of GPU grunt for any game, but I'm being bottlenecked by the amount of VRAM (2GB) I have. With the state of flux we are in right now, transitioning to "next gen" games, I don't want to risk dropping the coin on a new card or cards now, only to face the same limitation a year down the line. Particularly if your current setup is still good enough.
 
In case this helps with recommendations I just purchased this monitor:

BenQ XL2411Z
 
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I was on 7950 w/boost

went to a 970 and it is MUCH better and smoother overall @1440p. my case much cooler on average which also lowers the avg cpu temp. the problem is.. i had to pick up a space heater now that my GPU is not dumping as much heat.

On 1080p it didn't make much of a noticeable difference. yeah the FPS was higher but didn't really feel much different

I'm with the rest, if you are waiting anyway.. see what the AMD3xx cards look like

If you gota go now, pick up a 970 sell your 7950, save the cash and if the 3xx cards are amazing sell your 970 and get a 3xx.
 
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