• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Upgrade GPUs? or WC current?

T

tory

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 31, 2011
Messages
172
So the thing is real life is catching up with me and im spending too much on my Puter. So i budgeted my self 800$ a year to Machine upgrades.

Well ive been Debating whether its with it to upgrade my GPU's to 6950s or 70s from 460s and not have to upgrade GPU's for a year or 2 (and possibly just add another to the 2 50s or 70s (triple CFX)) or if it would be better to just WC my 460s and OC the begezzus outta them for another 2 years?

My i7 is at a Stable 24/7 4ghz so that doesnt need upgrading for a long time. IMO

I have never had a AMD card before so idk how they preform other than the reviews i have seen.


Full Machine Specs Currently.

i7-860 @ 4ghz on H2O
Asus p7p55d-e Pro
G.Skill RpiJaws 1600
SLI GTX 460s
G.Skill Sniper 120GB SSD
WD 1TB HDD
Corsair 1000W PSU

and all in a White NZXT Phantom Case. (Soon to be Wooden Case.)

Remember i will not be upgrading hardware (assuming none fail) for another 2 years, So give me some advice on what to update now if anything at all.

Please Advise!


EDIT: i have read the post below about the 460 or 6950 but i am still undecided on what would be best for me since i do play at 1080P
 
Water cooling is first and foremost a hobby. And an expensive one.

If you want to see real performance improvement for your buck, upgrade your graphics hardware. Don't waste money on a gamble to squeeze another 5 or 10 percent performance out of outdated or slow components.

My advice is always as follows:

Display>GPUs>Better Display>WC

In other words, invest in a good display, whether it's TN LED or IPS, not the cheapest panel you can find. Then invest in a solid pair of video card that scales well in multiples. Then when you have the money, consider getting a triple monitor setup.
 
Last edited:
At 1080 i dont think you really "Have a reason" to upgrade. I don't think many games are going to challange SLI 460's.... Maybe Rage, BF3, or the new Oblivion... but they are all coming out on consoles as well so its hard to tell.

Then again why do we ever need a reason to upgrade? If you have the money set aside for the specific purpose of upgrading yah i think you could do better than 460's. 6950's would be a good bet especially if you can unlock them.
 
IF you are going to WC, I'd recommend going with the MCW80, which is rather well actively supported by Swiftech to have new adaptor plates. All adaptors interchangeable with the older MCW60.
 
Matrices said:
Water cooling is first and foremost a hobby. And an expensive one.

If you want to see real performance improvement for your buck, upgrade your graphics hardware. Don't waste money on a gamble to squeeze another 5 or 10 percent performance out of outdated or slow components.

My advice is always as follows:

Display>GPUs>Better Display>WC

In other words, invest in a good display, whether it's TN LED or IPS, not the cheapest panel you can find. Then invest in a solid pair of video card that scales well in multiples. Then when you have the money, consider getting a triple monitor setup.
Click to expand...

Thats a good philosophy i guess you would say well for now the Display is Acquired for Amazing Gaming As of now. Im sure by next year this display will be lowered in price and i can grab 2 to complete the 3. And i agree, i do not NEED to WC my GPUs thats just my second option IF they could last 2 more years.

obliv said:
At 1080 i dont think you really "Have a reason" to upgrade. I don't think many games are going to challange SLI 460's.... Maybe Rage, BF3, or the new Oblivion... but they are all coming out on consoles as well so its hard to tell.

Then again why do we ever need a reason to upgrade? If you have the money set aside for the specific purpose of upgrading yah i think you could do better than 460's. 6950's would be a good bet especially if you can unlock them.
Click to expand...

Yes i dont not NEED to upgrade but i need to Tinker dang it!! :p And either way i will be tinkering with a WC setup or New GPUs i have never handled before as well as unlocking them!.

jeremyshaw said:
IF you are going to WC, I'd recommend going with the MCW80, which is rather well actively supported by Swiftech to have new adaptor plates. All adaptors interchangeable with the older MCW60.
Click to expand...

way ahead of you man :p the full blocks are too expensive especially on a budget.
 
with two 460 in sli i would wait till fall when the next gen gpu's come out. your money will be better spent then.
 
tricky0502 said:
with two 460 in sli i would wait till fall when the next gen gpu's come out. your money will be better spent then.
Click to expand...

As i normally would agree with this, two 6970s would still over power one 70xx card Unless new tech is put in the 70xx card to make it super amazing... and we are also talking about higher prices for the 70xx card than the 6970. Also with say 2 6970s in CF will be more than enough for games right now next year if i need a boost i can add another 6970 to make 3 6970s with the aid of the price drop of the 6970 after the 70xx series is on the shelves.
 
Last edited:
780$ for 2 6970s (xfx)
640$ for 2 6950s (xfx)

hmmm i got some thinking.
 
tory said:
780$ for 2 6970s (xfx)
640$ for 2 6950s (xfx)

hmmm i got some thinking.
Click to expand...

$760 for the 6970s, not $780. Still a shame it went up from $740 though.
You can of course still get MSIs for $740 for a pair, but there are some pretty scathing reviews of the MSI cards [presumably BIOS issues] on newegg, if you trust that sort of thing.
 
If you're on a budget, I wouldn't go after something that would void your warranty and potentially leave you without hardware.

Honestly ask yourself if you need to upgrade at all. 2 460's should let you play most current games at an acceptable level. It just sounds to me as if you're having money concerns and are trying to get validation to spend money on stuffs from the forums.

If its a matter of hobby spending, I might suggest spreading your wings and finding something else to tinker with outside the realm of PC's. Build an RC boat, work on your ride, try some shooting; Your system is going to last you a good while as is.
 
If you like to tinker, wait for Z68 motherboards to come out and upgrade to Sandy Bridge. Then you can tinker with overclocking and sell your current CPU and motherboard to get money back for more tinkering.
 
save you gpu's dont go watercooling unless your gonna stick with it for a while.

buy a better monitor. save up for games. done and done. get full cover cause they cool down vrm chips unlike those "only" chip coolers won't help. your better off stock or aftermarket cooler than those MCR80
 
Ultima99 said:
It seems you have the itch to upgrade so either get the 6950s and unlock or this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162070

$345 + $8 shipping up front
$30 rebate

$323 AR cost

Great price on 570's if you are looking for an alternative.
Click to expand...

570s are a good possibility though i would go with EVGA ones. But the problem arrises on 3 1900X1080 displays will 2 570s have enough VRAM for it because thats definatly the road im going down after the card upgrade.
 
yes the only reason you would want to get those kinds of cards. eye infinity if not just SLI.

i would say moniter > gpu > SSD

cheers tory and good luck
 
dangbrandon said:
yes the only reason you would want to get those kinds of cards. eye infinity if not just SLI.

i would say moniter > gpu > SSD

cheers tory and good luck
Click to expand...

well i have a Single monitor which is good for now and i have a SSD so i do need 2 more monitors, but im not sure if my 460s will blow up or not.
 
Matrices said:
If you want to see real performance improvement for your buck, upgrade your graphics hardware. Don't waste money on a gamble to squeeze another 5 or 10 percent performance out of outdated or slow components.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better myself. Listen to this OP.
 
Souljah said:
I'd wait and save that cash for next year.. that way you'll have 1600.
Click to expand...

this. they are good for now. if you do go 3 screens then the 6950 will do far better. but I would spend the money the displays FIRST then upgrade as your budget allows
 
Go for new gpu over wc. wc'ing and clocking the current cards would not have that much performance gain compared to new cards.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top