Upgrading Video Card?

I

Ididar

Gawd
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
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627
The following is my current computer. Nothing special but it sits nice and quiet tucked under my TV. I'm thinking of getting a new video card, possibly a GTX 970. Anyone see any issues, particularly the power supply maybe?


Silverstone Grandia GD04 mATX HTPC Desktop Case Black 1X5.25 2X3.5INT 1X2.5INT 2XUSB3.0
Gigabyte H77M-D3H mATX LGA1155 H77 DDR3 2PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 HDMI CrossFireX SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard
Seasonic S12II 520W EPS12V 20/24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 80+ Bronze 6+8PIN PCI-E W/ 120MM Fan
Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5in SATA3 MDX Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti OC 1032MHZ 2GB 6.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card
Corsair Vengeance Blue CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit
Intel Core i5 3570 Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge 6MB
 
You should be fine using your current PSU.

It can put up a combined 40a on the 12v lines, so it'll feed a 970 easily. The 3570 is a pretty economical chip powerwise, so the rest of your system shouldn't pull a whole lot. The 3570 also has enough horsepower to allow the 970 to stretch its legs a bit too. P

Recommendation? Pull the trigger!
 
You should be totally A-OK.

* The 660ti (depending on make/model) typically draws around 130-145W..rated for 150W TDP (reference/stock).
* The 970 is in the neighborhood of 140-165W for power draw and rated for 145W TDP (reference/stock), and also grants approximately 110-120% more performance, which translates to greater gaming performance than 660ti SLI, in most cases.
 
Awesome, thanks folks. That puts my mind at ease in making the purchase. Anyone have any thoughts on ASUS vs Gigabyte vs MSI? Or am I just opening up a can of worms?
 
Whichever is cheapest at the time you purchase. They are all solid choices.
 
Right now I can get the ASUS STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5 for the same price as the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G. I'm leaning towards the ASUS.
 
MSI Gaming 4G will slightly outperform (read: only noticeable in synthetic benchmarks) the Strix, and it will run a couple/few degrees C cooler than the Strix.

I prefer the Asus cards because of the factory-included backplate. Although there is rumor/babble going on that MSI may very well be releasing a backplate available for purchase at a later date, but nothing set in stone.

If the backplate isn't important to you and you are going to push the limits of OC'ing, definitely go with the MSI Gaming.
 
The entire case is only 12.8" long. I'd make sure whatever card you buy is going to fit. You can always get a short 970 like the Zotac.
 
My current card is 10.5". The MSI is 10.6 and the ASUS is 11. Hmm. That may sway me towards the MSI along with the comments from DejaWiz. Valid points. Plus, my card sits on edge because of the case so the backplate isn't an issue.
 
I would think either should fit fine since there doesn't seem to be anything at the front of the case (like a fan) where the GPU would be installed, correct?
 
There's no physical component there but the wires to the power supply run along that edge. The extra 0.4 inches isn't a big deal, but since the cards are the same price the extra 0.4 inches is a nice to have.
 
You will be wanting a reference blower on that card with the case you are using.
 
Ididar, please report back when you get it installed and let us know your impressions of it. :)


mw8t said:
You will be wanting a reference blower on that card with the case you are using.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily...the 660ti has a TDP of 150W; Gigabyte OC will draw about 135-145W at full load.
GTX 970 is a slightly lower 145W TDP; the MSI and Asus versions will draw a max of about 165W at full load.
 
Last edited:
DejaWiz said:
Not necessarily...the 660ti has a TDP of 150W...the GTX 970 is a slightly lower 145W TDP.

Ididar, please report back when you get it installed and let us know your impressions of it. :)
Click to expand...

Well if he wants to oven roast his PSU, Hard Drives and SSD then yeah go for it :rolleyes:
 
mw8t said:
Well if he wants to oven roast his PSU, Hard Drives and SSD then yeah go for it :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Both the GB 660ti and MSI 970 Gaming will run full load at around the same 68-70C. If there wasn't a heat issue with the 660ti, then there won't be one with the 970. :rolleyes:
 
There's absolutely no issue right now with any temps inside that case. I've monitored temps at various points and nothing is running particularly hot at all. With the same, or slightly less power use from the new card I don't foresee anything drastic happening.
 
So the card is in the machine and working very well. Some very nice improvements. Oddly enough, despite the measurements saying it would fit, in height, it actually didn't. I can't get the top cover on. No big deal. I've got it marked up and will get the guys at work to do some modifications to the cover. We've got a full sheet metal shop and paint booth so making alterations to the cover is no challenge. The length is perfectly ok, as expected.
 
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