Good upgrade on a budget

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Little_Devil

n00b
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Apr 27, 2015
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Hey all,

So I think it's about time to retire my trusty old GTX 660 (vanilla). This has been running in my 3570K rig (see signature) for a few years now and it's been good, but I want to move on. I used to use AMD's back in the olden days (had a pair of 4770's in CFX, a 4890 and a 5850) and then I got into WoW and all that, and at the time Blizzard's games heavily favored Intel/Nvidia setups. So that was that.

Now a days I play GTA V, Skyrim (not modded, but looking to start modding soon), Fallout, Borderlands 2, LA Noire, and all of the Bioshock games.

I just have one rule: No XFX cards. When I had some problems with my 5850 (damn thing only ever ran at x8, and I tested it on 4 boards, all in the correct x16 slots) they rejected my RMA saying a small performance loss (if any) was not a reason to return the card. That still get met mad to this day, so I don't give 'em a nickle. I prefer Sapphire for AMD cards and EVGA for Nvidia.

The MAX budget is $200, but I'd like to stay under $175 if it's possible. I have a decent PSU (HX1000, and it's only about a year old) and a good CPU/RAM setup going. Can I get some suggestions (and if possible links to the cards?) I'm in California, so if it's from Newegg I am going to be hit with tax and shipping. It sucks, but it's life.

OK, that about sums up my question. Thanks for reading (and sorry if this has been asked to death, I'm new and still learning the forums)
 
I bought a used r9 290 for ~160 with 2 years warranty in store.
so try looking for a used 290 or 290x, you will surely get massively better perf over a new 280.
Try to get an asus, gigabyte or MSI one since their warranties are by Serial no.s and you can easily check if it is covered before buying by using the s/n

with a 290 and ur CPU you will play every game at max settings smoothly with MSAA 2x or even 4x - GTA looks so much better with MSAA and you wouldnt be able to do that with a 280 i think.

if you have a mobo that supports it, you can add another 290(x) later on and you have really killer GPU perf for the price.
 
Thanks Venom. I'll keep my eyes peeled for one. Normally I can find 290's on newegg (refurb'd) for about $200, but it's just my luck when I start looking they are all sold out. Oh well. This isn't highest priority for me at the moment, it's a "would be nice to have" kind of thing. I made a few bucks on side work and it's kinda burning a hole in my pocket. You would think by 34 I could manage spare cash better!
 
when would you be interested in upgrading? I have a 770 2GB i would be willing to sell depending on what the cost of the 390x will be.
 
I should say, I have a policy of only buying new hardware from licensed/authorized vendors. Never used from strangers either in person or on the internet. I've been burned and have lost hundreds of dollars by supposedly trustworthy people/shops so to protect myself and my funds, I just don't do it. Nothing personal.
 
Little_Devil said:
I should say, I have a policy of only buying new hardware from licensed/authorized vendors. Never used from strangers either in person or on the internet. I've been burned and have lost hundreds of dollars by supposedly trustworthy people/shops so to protect myself and my funds, I just don't do it. Nothing personal.
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NP. Just thought i would offer. I want a GPU if i can afford one to run games on my 4k screen :)
 
atp1916 said:
OP, if you can save up another 20-30 or so on top of your budget you can score a BNIB R9 290.
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Too bad you need such a stiff power supply. Requires a 750 Watter or greater. My GS600 probably wouldn't even make it past the Windows 7 Splash Page, if it even booted at all. So, I would have to spend another $80-$100 on a high end PS.. might as well go for a GTX 970.
 
txsizzler said:
Too bad you need such a stiff power supply. Requires a 750 Watter or greater. My GS600 probably wouldn't even make it past the Windows 7 Splash Page, if it even booted at all. So, I would have to spend another $80-$100 on a high end PS.. might as well go for a GTX 970.
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hope thats sarcasm, because it runs fine on low end 500w ones
 
a3venom said:
hope thats sarcasm, because it runs fine on low end 500w ones
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Yeah, they are super-conservative on the recommend supplies to account for awful, heavily overrated units.

60570.png


That's system usage with a Intel Core i7-4960X @ 4.2GHz. I struggle to get the fan to turn on with my 760w
 
AllBlackFan said:
Yeah, they are super-conservative on the recommend supplies to account for awful, heavily overrated units.

60570.png


That's system usage with a Intel Core i7-4960X @ 4.2GHz. I struggle to get the fan to turn on with my 760w
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So, this tells me i can replace my i3 with a 4690K and it will still work on my 500w along with my 290 ref?
 
a3venom said:
So, this tells me i can replace my i3 with a 4690K and it will still work on my 500w along with my 290 ref?
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Based on what the previous poster said, I would say no, if he can barely get his fan to turn with a 760 watt PSU.
 
txsizzler said:
Based on what the previous poster said, I would say no, if he can barely get his fan to turn with a 760 watt PSU.
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that seems like a really bad PSU, i got i3 + r9 290 + 3 - 4 led fans and it runs nicely on my CX500m
 
Pretty sure AllBlackFan means that the system he has works fine and doesn't tax the PSU enough to even ramp up the fan on the PSU bacuse it's not getting hot.
 
txsizzler said:
Based on what the previous poster said, I would say no, if he can barely get his fan to turn with a 760 watt PSU.
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jthomas said:
Pretty sure AllBlackFan means that the system he has works fine and doesn't tax the PSU enough to even ramp up the fan on the PSU bacuse it's not getting hot.
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Yes, sorry for not being more clear I meant the PSU fan hardly turns on (according to Jonnyguru it comes on at about 300w+ usage in a hotbox). It works fine. Didn't mean to confuse.
 
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