Which is the better upgrade in terms of cost?

apav

Gawd
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
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Hey guys,

I recently got a 1440p monitor that can overclock to 120hz (the QNIX). Now in certain games my build struggles to hold a constant 60 fps on max settings (BF3, Tomb Raider, GW2, ect.) with 1440p. I'm fine with turning some things down like AA and shadows, but I feel that upgrading my current hardware will make a difference as well. So here's what I can do.

I can upgrade my i5 2500k (oc'ed to 4.5ghz) to one of the Haswell processors, but that would require me to upgrade my P8Z68-V to another motherboard as well. I may also want to invest in water cooling (not right away, but maybe in a couple months after upgrading the cpu), because I heard that these chips will run hotter when overclocked. My Hyper 212 EVO keeps my CPU in the mid-high 60's under full load.

OR

I can upgrade my 7970 to a 780. And I may SLI the 780 down the road. As much as I'd like to get a Titan, I see no point of paying more for that when the 780 offers a little less but is much cheaper.

Right now, I can only afford one of these upgrades. In terms of cost/performance, which is the better upgrade? Or am I overestimating the performance increase here and it's not worth upgrading yet?

Thanks guys!
 
Neither options are really worth it. THe GTX 780 is faster than the HD 7970 but not fast enough to justify the upgrade cost. Same goes for the Core i5 2500K to a Haswell CPU.

Right now your best bet for an upgrade would be a second HD 7970 for Crossfire.
 
What board do you have? That alone could determine whether you could even pick up a second HD 7970 (which I also recommend).
 
What board do you have? That alone could determine whether you could even pick up a second HD 7970 (which I also recommend).

Look at the OP's sig: The OP has an Asus P8Z68-V, which does support SLI and Crossfire. (On the Z87 side, the successor to the P8Z68-V and P8Z77-V is the Z87 Plus.)
 
I have thought about getting a second 7970 to crossfire, but this 7970 was actually a sidegrade from 2 unlocked 6950's. Between the microstutter and no or little fps increase in certain games, as well as the extra noise, heat and power, it wasn't worth the trouble to me. I replaced them with a 7970. Unless the crossfire technology has really improved in the past year, mainly if the microstutter problem is fixed, then I'll consider it. But I remember spending way to much time trying to fix all these issues than actually enjoying playing the games I had problems with. I mean, I could always disable crossfire for certain games, but what's the benefit of a second card if I can't get use out of it on certain games?

Also, would I even be able to fit another 7970 in here?
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I have thought about getting a second 7970 to crossfire, but this 7970 was actually a sidegrade from 2 unlocked 6950's. Between the microstutter and no or little fps increase in certain games, as well as the extra noise, heat and power, it wasn't worth the trouble to me. I replaced them with a 7970. Unless the crossfire technology has really improved in the past year, mainly if the microstutter problem is fixed, then I'll consider it. But I remember spending way to much time trying to fix all these issues than actually enjoying playing the games I had problems with. I mean, I could always disable crossfire for certain games, but what's the benefit of a second card if I can't get use out of it on certain games?
If Crossfire is not an option for you, then yeah you're going to have to wait awhile for a cost-effective upgrade.
Also, would I even be able to fit another 7970 in here?
Pretty damn tight but doable if you make sure that you're using an actual dual slot HD 7970 and not one that extends past the second slot.
 
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