Looking to upgrade from an HD7850 2GB. Suggestions?

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SamuraiInBlack

Supreme [H]ardness
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Oct 10, 2003
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So it's been almost 4 years since I bought a video card, and I'm not sure where I stand at this point. I do know I'd like to eke out a couple more years out of my current system if I can help it. I am noticing some games are chugging a bit now if I start cranking up the eye-candy. Not sure if my processor is a bottleneck but I'm hoping it isn't.

Current specs:
Processor:i5 3570K @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge)
Mobo: MSI Z77A-GD55 Motherboard
RAM: 16 GB Corsair DDR3
Video: Gigabyte HD7850 2GB GDDR5
SSD: Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB
Monitor: BenQ 24" 1920x1080

Would an R9 380 be suitable for my current system? Or would my processor bottleneck it? Trying to keep my video card purchase under $200 as I'm not as avid a gamer as I used to be to warrant going higher.
 
it would do just fine...i might try to get a full tonga 380x but your cpu is fine. Now if you could get that cpu overclocked to 4ghz it sure wouldn't hurt. People who need real high clocked cpus generally just getting better min frame rates...like they might get 60fps min instead of 50. Your not going to bottle neck even a high end card to any noticeable degree.
 
Do you mind buying used cards? If not then for the sub $200 category, there's absolutely nothing that can beat the 290X in terms of raw performance. Just make sure you don't buy a reference card since the stock blower is just beyond terribad.

Oh and your i5-3570K will stay relevant for the next 5 years if Intel keeps up its snail pace, so don't worry about bottlenecking. Of course, make sure it's overclocked, and hopefully your DDR3 is at least 1600 (preferably 2133 or higher). You might find this EuroGamer article enlightening: Is it finally time to upgrade your Core i5 2500K?

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The high probability is we are near the end of life for the current video card landscape. It's likely you will see next generation products in the 3-9month time span or at least price adjustments for existing products until full roll outs occur. While current street prices are generally high due to the post Q4 (sale season) effect.

Factor those considerations into whether or not you want to upgrade right now.
 
Yeah, my vote would be to hold on a little longer. I don't think we'll see high end cards very soon, but mid range cards should be here mid-year to late summer.
 
Thanks for the input guys.

The only reason I'm considering upgrading at all is because it's slowly becoming clearer that in games, something system wise is definitely getting long in the tooth. I figured I'd start out on a video card, and cross my fingers that everything else is still good. RAM wise I might benefit from something a little beefier, but as it stands the system itself does not feel sluggish at all. It really only feels that way in video games these days. Everything else is still smooth.

That being said, in regards to waiting and seeing what's new coming out, would it be possible that my i5 would be a bottleneck even then? I'm definitely feeling the upgrade bug, but if what's coming around the corner is really going to be worth the wait, then I will be patient.
 
cpu is fine...that card is a "low end/value" model....its a huge bottleneck in games..lol...that thing has HALF the performance my "Mid Grade" model has.....Its not rocket science:)

A AMD R9 280x or better will run pretty much anything Near MAX settings at 1080p.....so if your struggling to get 30fps im getting around 60fps.....and 380x is pretty much same performance. Need 80fps on same game get a 290 or better....Its not complicated
 
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primetime said:
cpu is fine...that card is a "low end/value" model....its a huge bottleneck in games..lol...that thing has HALF the performance my "Mid Grade" model has.....Its not rocket science:)

A AMD R9 280x or better will run pretty much anything Near MAX settings at 1080p.....so if your struggling to get 30fps im getting around 60fps.....and 380x is pretty much same performance. Need 80fps on same game get a 290 or better....Its not complicated
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+1 This.
 
SamuraiInBlack said:
Thanks for the input guys.

The only reason I'm considering upgrading at all is because it's slowly becoming clearer that in games, something system wise is definitely getting long in the tooth. I figured I'd start out on a video card, and cross my fingers that everything else is still good. RAM wise I might benefit from something a little beefier, but as it stands the system itself does not feel sluggish at all. It really only feels that way in video games these days. Everything else is still smooth.

That being said, in regards to waiting and seeing what's new coming out, would it be possible that my i5 would be a bottleneck even then? I'm definitely feeling the upgrade bug, but if what's coming around the corner is really going to be worth the wait, then I will be patient.
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As others have said, it's your GPU, not the CPU.

Your HD 7850 slots somewhere in between the GeForce GTC 560 ti and 570 in performance, and those are dinosaurs now. This past summer I swapped out a GTX 560 (non-ti) in my aging Q6600 for a 750ti, which ended up being a significant boost. I then moved the 750 ti to my wife's new build which had a Haswell Core i3 (another significant boost). From there I got a GTX 970 for my new rig and it was an obscene boost.

Bottom line is that a sub-$200 card like the R9 380 will be a huge leap over your 7850. But as others said, I'd probably go used at this point. The new generation of cards is about to drop.
 
I wouldn't upgrade to anything less than a 290 or 390. Think about it: when you bought the 7850, you choose that instead of the 7970 which was available. 280X and 380X are basically the same performance. You might as well buy something faster than what was originally available, otherwise it sort of seems like a failure on your past self because you could have had 380X performance for the past 4 years already if you just spent more originally...

Daniel_Chang said:
Your HD 7850 slots somewhere in between the GeForce GTC 560 ti and 570 in performance, and those are dinosaurs now.
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In 2012, absolutely. But as Fermi driver optimization has ended and GCN has continued, I'd imagine a 7850 matches a 580 today.

17 Grafikkarten von AMD und Nvidia im Vergleich (Seite 2)

Even a full year ago, we saw that a 270X (overclocked 7870) was 30% faster than a 580 at 1080p, and a 260X (OC 7790) was only 10% slower. Likely a 7850 would match or slightly exceed the 580 today.
 
Decided to update this thread instead of making an entirely new thread for the same thing.

Now that all the info is out there, we have the GTX 1080, the 1070, and now the RX 480. The 1060 is around the corner but realistically I'm doubting that it will be in the $199-$269 range that the 480 is currently at per Newegg's listings (at time of posting). So short of the 1060 completely and utterly destroying the 480 while still being in the same price segment, here's my thoughts:

I'm most likely NOT going to end up doing 4K gaming in the next couple years. If I do it'll be because GOOD 4K monitors have hit ludicrously low prices. By good I mean one where I am not sacrificing picture quality or inputs just to say I have a 4K monitor. Aside from future proofing the hell out of my gaming experiences, I am not sure if the GTX 1080 is a good fit.

I WILL more likely end up doing 1440p gaming at some point. This is where the 1070 seems to fit today, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will tomorrow. Does that sound about right?

The RX480 seems to be a solid 1080p card, but I doubt if 1080p is where I want to stay.

Does that sum it up well?

I know nothing lasts forever and whatever I pick isn't going to be the last video card I buy, but I am trying to make sure I don't run into this situation again where I buy a card and find out it becomes long in the tooth before I can really make the most of it. I guess at this point, I want to make sure that whatever I end up buying, I end up getting my money's worth. So right now, to me, it comes down to the 1080 or the 1070.

What do you guys think?
 
I'm using a 1440p monitor now and have been for a long time ,with an AMD 290X. It still plays everything with maxed out in game settings, with a very playable framerate. Rarely I'll lower AA/AF on the most unoptimized games (ie early alphas for MMOs, shitty Nvidia-focus titles), but aside from that its Ultra/Max in game settings for all the real settings that matter and a smooth gameplay experience. I say this because where you are right now, it may not be a bad idea to get an RX 480 8gb (which is roughly equivalent to the 290/390 series, has more RAM, lower power requirements, and some updated tech that may or may not be a big deal for you). For price performance, its a great option if you have to buy something now/soon. Yeah, the 1070 is a nice upgrade too but obviously costs more. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd want to spend 1070 or especially 1080 money this year, given that its kind of a "hold over" year of tech.

Either later this year at the earliest or starting next year, both AMD and Nvidia will be coming out with new higher end cards that have HBM2 memory, for instance. I think AMD did the right thing by not throwing together a $700 high end card during this "gap year", because neither AMD nor NV could get the yields they wanted for HBM2 at the time/price they wanted them. So instead AMD competes on mid-grade playable price performance, whereas NV charges more regardless. If you need something for the time being, AMD may be the way to go to wait and see until the next gen cards on both sides. Alternately you can of course buy a used 390X or something similar. But I'd wait before spending the big money, if you plan to do so in the future...
 
Overclock your 3570k if you haven't already.

Then pick up a used 970 gtx, or a 290/290x all three of those cards can be had under the $200 mark and will be a massive upgrade in games for you.
 
I have a 7850 and 670ftw for sale if interested :) could crossfire or find another 670 and sli :)

Goodluck!
 
Buy a cheap placeholder like a HD 7970/R9 280X/ or RX 470 but if performance is required buy a custom rx 480
 
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With how the RX 480 Reference turned out, I really wish I'd jumped on the 290X new for 270 USD on NewEgg about a month ago. Considering how closely related the GCN cards are, it's likely there's still a lot of life left in the 290X/390X cards.

If you can afford to wait, look for non-reference AIB RX 480s to come out and compare to the 1060 that's supposed to be out soon.
 
I think the aftermarket 480 (with 8pin) is a solid choice. I play a lot of games vsr'd to 1440p with very minor settings tweaked for very playable frame rates (around 70)...And the coming 480's have a solid 35% improvement over mine. Unless they totally get stupid with the pricing they should be good choices
 
SamuraiInBlack said:
Decided to update this thread instead of making an entirely new thread for the same thing.

Now that all the info is out there, we have the GTX 1080, the 1070, and now the RX 480. The 1060 is around the corner but realistically I'm doubting that it will be in the $199-$269 range that the 480 is currently at per Newegg's listings (at time of posting). So short of the 1060 completely and utterly destroying the 480 while still being in the same price segment, here's my thoughts:

I'm most likely NOT going to end up doing 4K gaming in the next couple years. If I do it'll be because GOOD 4K monitors have hit ludicrously low prices. By good I mean one where I am not sacrificing picture quality or inputs just to say I have a 4K monitor. Aside from future proofing the hell out of my gaming experiences, I am not sure if the GTX 1080 is a good fit.

I WILL more likely end up doing 1440p gaming at some point. This is where the 1070 seems to fit today, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will tomorrow. Does that sound about right?

The RX480 seems to be a solid 1080p card, but I doubt if 1080p is where I want to stay.

Does that sum it up well?

I know nothing lasts forever and whatever I pick isn't going to be the last video card I buy, but I am trying to make sure I don't run into this situation again where I buy a card and find out it becomes long in the tooth before I can really make the most of it. I guess at this point, I want to make sure that whatever I end up buying, I end up getting my money's worth. So right now, to me, it comes down to the 1080 or the 1070.

What do you guys think?
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Get the fastest card that you can afford. Nvidia? AMD? It's all doing the same thing. The only caveat is if you want FreeSync or GSYNC since that requires picking a camp. All games run well on both manufacturer's hardware.

I think that should make your choice pretty easy.
 
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