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suggestions for gpu upgrade?

D

dave247

n00b
Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Messages
48
So I came into some money and figure I could get a better video card. I have about $300-$400.

Currently I have two GeForce 9800 GTX+ SLI but I'm not very happy with their performance. It's good for the games I play, but I know it could be a lot better. I mostly play MW2, Battlefield, and SC2. I can't really max out the settings in these games without noticeable drop in performance. Also, I do some misc 3D modeling/rendering from time to time.

I'm not a big hardware guy and I don't care about overclocking... usually I just read reviews and get something on newegg, but I usually end up paying a lot for something, then the price goes way down as usual. I figure I could get something used that was great a maybe year ago and still have it out-perform my two 9800's.

Any recommendations are appreciated.
 
Are you looking more toward a single card solution or SLI/CF?

For a single card solution, I'd recommend a GTX570, which would run around $300. For a little less performance and cost savings, you could pick up a single 2GB 6950 for around $250, or on the higher side, if you can find them in stock, a 2 GB 6970 for $350 after MIRs.

If you're okay with SLI/CF solutions, you've pretty much got 3 options in that price range:
SLI 560s (roughly $350 after MIRs)
CF 6870s (roughly $320 after MIRs)
SLI 560ti's (roughly $425 after MIRs)

Bang-for-buck wise, I'd say if you're comfortable with CF, go for the 6870s. XFX right now has a dual-fan 6870 for $167 after MIR with a free Steam-activated Shogun 2, otherwise a superclocked one for $190 after MIR. Two of those will outperform a single 580 for $150 less.
 
Thanks for the input Xonim. I am looking for a single card solution. I have been looking at the 570 too... seems like it could be the solution... I really don't care what it is if the next card I get is able to significantly out-perform the two 9800's I have now.
 
dave247 said:
I'm not a big hardware guy and I don't care about overclocking... usually I just read reviews and get something on newegg
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you went with the i7-920 from reading those reviews, but the only reason the 920 is/was so popular is because it was the cheapest chip they offered with the maximum overclocking potential. A stock i7-920 is not particularly fast. I know you said you don't like overclocking but overclocking doesn't mean you have to push your system to it's limit. The i7-920 has a lot of overclocking potential and you could probably overclock it by over 1Ghz with hardly any effort. Given the games you say you play, this could easily end up being just as big of an upgrade if not bigger than what you would get from upgrading your cards (especially for MW2)

I usually end up paying a lot for something, then the price goes way down as usual. I figure I could get something used that was great a maybe year ago and still have it out-perform my two 9800's.
Click to expand...

One thing that is kinda lame is that all these bitcoin idiots have really driven up the prices of used hardware. On the AMD side you would have to go all the way back to the 4-series to avoid the bitcoin inflation. That being said, you could pick up a 4870x2, sometimes for as low as ~$100 used, and that would give you performance in most games somewhere between that of a 6870 and a 6950, while still leaving you with a triple or quad crossfire upgrade path down the road.
 
You should really open up that i7 up, at 2.66 its only a shadow of what it could be :(. It hardly takes any work and would yield you large results on the cheap, plus you really want to avoid bottle necking your cards which will occur at 2.66ghz, but around 3.5-3.6 you'll be fine, and the 1366 platform is still the most performance oriented platform out there (imo).

For 300 bucks, i really have to agree with the idea of 2 x 6870 in crossfire. Seems to be the standard option if you have a 300 dollar gfx budget 2 slots. As far as a single card i would say the gtx570
 
empower64 said:
You should really open up that i7 up, at 2.66 its only a shadow of what it could be :(. It hardly takes any work and would yield you large results on the cheap, plus you really want to avoid bottle necking your cards which will occur at 2.66ghz, but around 3.5-3.6 you'll be fine, and the 1366 platform is still the most performance oriented platform out there (imo).

For 300 bucks, i really have to agree with the idea of 2 x 6870 in crossfire. Seems to be the standard option if you have a 300 dollar gfx budget 2 slots. As far as a single card i would say the gtx570
Click to expand...

Well if I knew exactly what to set the cpu settings in my BIOS, maybe I would consider overclocking it. Maybe I will find a guide online.

If I did do this with my cpu, should I increase my cooling? As it is now, I have a HUGE heatsink and fan... I forget what it is but it's definitely a good one.

Also, if I overclock my cpu, can I continually run it oc'd or is it common to down-clock for general computing use? BTW, I leave my system running 24/7.

Thanks guys
 
For a single card, I'd say the 570 is your best best, they're excellent cards. A quick look at Newegg doesn't appear to indicate any spectacular combo deals or anything right now, but for $300 plus/minus $20, you have several options. Good luck!

empower64 said:
You should really open up that i7 up, at 2.66 its only a shadow of what it could be :(. It hardly takes any work and would yield you large results on the cheap, plus you really want to avoid bottle necking your cards which will occur at 2.66ghz, but around 3.5-3.6 you'll be fine, and the 1366 platform is still the most performance oriented platform out there (imo).
Click to expand...

Hey now, the 920 is still a heck of a chip even at stock speeds! I've got mine running stock because the aftermarket cooler I was using was shorting something out and preventing a boot, that I couldn't resolve after several reseatings of the cooler. And with a c0 stepping, aftermarket is pretty much a necessity to get above 3.0GHz, which for that small increase, it's not worth the time/effort to me on a stock cooler. I just haven't gotten around to finding another cooler yet. Perhaps someday when I feel I need it...
 
For an overclocking guide, I'd suggest checking out this one. It seems to explain everything pretty well.
 
empower64 said:
You should really open up that i7 up, at 2.66 its only a shadow of what it could be :(. It hardly takes any work and would yield you large results on the cheap, plus you really want to avoid bottle necking your cards which will occur at 2.66ghz, but around 3.5-3.6 you'll be fine, and the 1366 platform is still the most performance oriented platform out there (imo).

For 300 bucks, i really have to agree with the idea of 2 x 6870 in crossfire. Seems to be the standard option if you have a 300 dollar gfx budget 2 slots. As far as a single card i would say the gtx570
Click to expand...

Yeah, HD6870 alone, is faster than a GTX285, which is faster than 9800gt SLI :p

That, and add in nearly perfect CF scaling of the HD6800 line, means a fair performance boost :)
 
For 1600x1050 gaming, do not crossfire/sli anything, just buy 1 gtx570 and your golden for at least a year.

The op says he has 2 9800gtx+'s , these cards = a gts250. 2 gts250's are a good bit faster than a gtx285, closer to gtx460 performance. A 6870 is not a good upgrade. Even a gtx560ti is not that great of an upgrade.
 
happymedium said:
For 1600x1050 gaming, do not crossfire/sli anything, just buy 1 gtx570 and your golden for at least a year.

The op says he has 2 9800gtx+'s , these cards = a gts250. 2 gts250's are a good bit faster than a gtx285, closer to gtx460 performance. A 6870 is not a good upgrade. Even a gtx560ti is not that great of an upgrade.
Click to expand...
I was responding to a suggestion on HD6870 Crossfire, not just a single card. Needless to say, 9800GTX+ SLI would likely have trouble topping a single HD6870. Add in crossfire, and 9800GTX+ SLI would be rapidly outpaced (in addition, most 9800GTX+ cards only had 512MB of VRAM)
EuphoricRage470 said:
Get a GTX 580 from EVGA's B-Stock site for $370...
Click to expand...

Only 90day warranty, however...
 
Its pretty simple..

6870 crossfire is way overkill,
6870/560ti is not enough of an upgrade vs 2 gts250's in sli
6950's are now way overpriced
the gtx570 will easily match a 6970 @ 1600x1050 for less money.

The best choice is a gtx570 for under 300$ and with his psu he could add another one later..
 
happymedium said:
Its pretty simple..

6870 crossfire is way overkill,
6870/560ti is not enough of an upgrade vs 2 gts250's in sli
6950's are now way overpriced
the gtx570 will easily match a 6970 @ 1600x1050 for less money.

The best choice is a gtx570 for under 300$ and with his psu he could add another one later..
Click to expand...

If Crossfired 6870s are way overkill, what exactly are SLI'd GTX 570s? :D
 
Great board, great CPU.

OC first. I am sure you are NOT bottlenecking the cards but some games can benefit from a CPU boost. You can get a great 570 now and in the future get another cheaply when the next series comes out. You can also use one of your 9800's for Physx. That would give you a great boost if you must spend the money now. IN the 6850 camp they were/are upgradable to 6870's. If you are more comfortable with Nvidia you can get the added bonus of a Physx boost and also S3D if you choose at some time to try it out. (amd S3D implementation is more cumbersome)

They have the same MB/CPU setup as you and have it crossfired. http://www.overclock.net/amd-ati/861247-weird-cf-5870-evga-x58-e758.html

OR

If you can wait a few months the new series will be available. BUT before that happens BLACK FRIDAY is only a few months away. In August I always tell people to wait if they are not being critically hampered by their hardware.
 
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After reading everybody's suggestions.I don't see not one person recommending a 480.Yes they are older tech and run a little bit hotter than the newer 5 series but for the $220 to $230 range they are at right now used,the performance can not be beat.They are good cards and would fit what the OP is needing.And for future use they can be sli'ed and make a great setup that will last a good bit of time.
 
DX11 cards are the future. Old technology will limit future opportunities so why would it be suggested? Yeah, they DO run hot and use more power inefficiently. His target is a $300-$400 card. New 570's can be had for $300, why get a lesser card?
 
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