Want to upgrade Graphics Card

[Gelston]

I have this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5653786

Currently a Radeon HD 7870 2gb, I want to upgrade to a 4gb card... I want to stay with Radeon though.

Any recommendations?

[Frimpleton]

I have this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5653786

Currently a Radeon HD 7870 2gb, I want to upgrade to a 4gb card... I want to stay with Radeon though.

Any recommendations?

What I usually do is go to www.pcpartpicker.com. Plug in all the parts of your current PC that you know, and it'll give you good, reviewed recommendations on graphics cards based on what other people with similar systems are using, and it'll also warn you of any possible conflicts with other stuff on your system. Edited to add: Usually more useful with building a new system because it shows ya all the combo deals and best prices too, but in a pinch, it's pretty useful for single pieces too.

[Taernath]

I went with nVidia and haven't looked back. There are a lot of games that have been having serious issues with AMD recently.

If you absolutely must get a Radeon, get an R9 290 or something. I think that's the lowest 4gb card they have.

[Androidpk]

What is your price range?

[Androidpk]

I say go Nvidia as well.

EVGA GTX 970 - $335 after rebate and you get Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight for free.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487088

[Fallen]

I would wait a bit longer. Both AMD and Nvidia will be announcing their new cards soon. Even if you don't mean to buy top of the line, the older cards should drop in price.

[Androidpk]

I would wait a bit longer. Both AMD and Nvidia will be announcing their new cards soon. Even if you don't mean to buy top of the line, the older cards should drop in price.

The problem with thisbis generally speaking there are always new cards on the horizon and lately the newer cards haven't really caused the older cards to drop in price.

[Gelston]

I would wait a bit longer. Both AMD and Nvidia will be announcing their new cards soon. Even if you don't mean to buy top of the line, the older cards should drop in price.

Meh, that is the same advice you can give any part of the year! Heh.

[Taernath]

I say go Nvidia as well.

EVGA GTX 970 - $335 after rebate and you get Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight for free.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487088

It's not a major thing, but 970's aren't good at utilizing their 4gb memory. It's not an issue for the vast majority of games, but if you're dead set on a single card, 4gb setup, I wouldn't get a 970, probably a 980 instead. The 970 is still a very good card though, I have two of them in SLI.

[Gelston]

I had Nvidia before this computer, been on Radeon for the last 2 and a half years. With upgrading I sorta wanted to keep it the same brand atleast, because I'm wondering if stuff wouldn't get fucked up.

[Androidpk]

It's not a major thing, but 970's aren't good at utilizing their 4gb memory. It's not an issue for the vast majority of games, but if you're dead set on a single card, 4gb setup, I wouldn't get a 970, probably a 980 instead. The 970 is still a very good card though, I have two of them in SLI.

Not entirely true. The cards have 4GB of ram set up into 2 partitions, one is 3.5GB and the other is 0.5. For games that require more than 3.5GB both partitions are used.

[Fallen]

AMD hasn't had a major release in years, and one is imminent in a matter of a month or two. Nvidia is planning to fire back hard to take the wind out of their sales. By all means jump in now but it seems silly to do so with Pascal and the 390x on the horizon.

[Taernath]

I had Nvidia before this computer, been on Radeon for the last 2 and a half years. With upgrading I sorta wanted to keep it the same brand atleast, because I'm wondering if stuff wouldn't get fucked up.

Nah man, GPUs are like LEGOS, just uninstall drivers before you replace them.

[Androidpk]

I had Nvidia before this computer, been on Radeon for the last 2 and a half years. With upgrading I sorta wanted to keep it the same brand atleast, because I'm wondering if stuff wouldn't get fucked up.

You'd be fine. Just run a driver cleaner to flush out all the AMD files.

[Gelston]

AMD hasn't had a major release in years, and one is imminent in a matter of a month or two. Nvidia is planning to fire back hard to take the wind out of their sales. By all means jump in now but it seems silly to do so with Pascal and the 390x on the horizon.

But Witcher 3 will be out before a couple of months.

[Taernath]

Not entirely true. The cards have 4GB of ram set up into 2 partitions, one is 3.5GB and the other is 0.5. For games that require more than 3.5GB both partitions are used.

It is entirely true.

[Gelston]

It is entirely true.

So you'd recommend this one?

N/m. the link fucked up.1

[Fallen]

What display are you using?

[Androidpk]

As your attorney I advise you to buy 4 GTX Titan X cards.

[Androidpk]

It is entirely true.

Hey man, you edited what you said!

[Gelston]

What display are you using?

My monitor? Just a Samsung 27inch HD one. I'm not concerned with 4k support or anything. I just want MOAR VIDEO MEMORY

[Gelston]

$400 is about the max I want to spend. A titan is a bit more than that.

[Fallen]

My monitor? Just a Samsung 27inch HD one. I'm not concerned with 4k support or anything. I just want MOAR VIDEO MEMORY

Do you plan on playing heavily modded games or VR?

[Gelston]

Do you plan on playing heavily modded games or VR?

None of that VR shit, but I already play heavily modded games.

[Fallen]

At the 400 price point your choice is 970 for Nvidia. That 3.5 gigs of ram may bite you in the ass if you mod the Shit out of fallout graphically.

[Gelston]

If VR ever becomes more than a gimmick and something that is awesome, I'd probably just wait and buy a system that was made from the ground up with that in mind.

[Taernath]

$400 is about the max I want to spend. A titan is a bit more than that.

R9 290 @ $275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202143&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=5961731&SID=0

[Fallen]

Speaking from experience, SLI can be a pain in the ass.

[Gelston]

R9 290 @ $275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202143&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=5961731&SID=0

It has more eggs than the 970! :D

[Back]

I have this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5653786

Currently a Radeon HD 7870 2gb, I want to upgrade to a 4gb card... I want to stay with Radeon though.

Any recommendations?

Make sure you have a good power plant with the proper connections, and adequate cooling.

[Fallen]

My issue with AMD is driver support. They simply seem to have more problems at launch for titles.

[Androidpk]

In before Back tells you to drill holes in the sides of your case.

[Gelston]

My issue with AMD is driver support. They simply seem to have more problems at launch for titles.

I haven't really seen many issues, myself.

[Back]

In before Back tells you to drill holes in the sides of your case.

Really?

What is wrong with drilling holes in your case?

[Taernath]

Speaking from experience, SLI can be a pain in the ass.

Problems with Crossfire were one of the reasons I jumped ship to nVidia (massive microstutter in most games with 2 58xx), but both SLI and Crossfire tech have improved dramatically in the last few years. The only issue I have with my SLI setup currently is that it turns off when I install an update and I just have to renable it.


My issue with AMD is driver support. They simply seem to have more problems at launch for titles.

Yeah, I am definitely seeing this. There have been a few games that basically shut out AMD dev time in favor of nVidia which led to massive issues with AMD cards on launch. I think AC: Unity was one, Dying Light may have been another.

[Fallen]

Problems with Crossfire were one of the reasons I jumped ship to nVidia (massive microstutter in most games with 2 58xx), but both SLI and Crossfire tech have improved dramatically in the last few years. The only issue I have with my SLI setup currently is that it turns off when I install an update and I just have to renable it.

With my 680s I still get a decent amount of micro-stuttering gaming at 1080p.

[Gelston]

Problems with Crossfire were one of the reasons I jumped ship to nVidia (massive microstutter in most games with 2 58xx), but both SLI and Crossfire tech have improved dramatically in the last few years. The only issue I have with my SLI setup currently is that it turns off when I install an update and I just have to renable it.



Yeah, I am definitely seeing this. There have been a few games that basically shut out AMD dev time in favor of nVidia which led to massive issues with AMD cards on launch. I think AC: Unity was one, Dying Light may have been another.

I didn't play either of those games, it may just be certain ones then.

[Taernath]

Make sure you have a good power plant with the proper connections, and adequate cooling.

Power/heat needs have also been reduced quite a bit over the last few generations. I went from a single 770 to 2x 970's and it only increased my wattage need by like 70. As long as his PSU isn't on the edge already he is probably fine.

[Back]

Power/heat needs have also been reduced quite a bit over the last few generations. I went from a single card to 2 970's and it only required 30% more power. As long as his PSU isn't on the edge already he is probably fine.

With an SSD you pretty much eliminate HDD heat. Maybe you have an HDD for storage but it will always give off more heat than an SSD.

Throw an SSD in your box as the start up drive, use the HDD for storage, and your box could stand a bigger and better graphics card.

[Gelston]

With an SSD you pretty much eliminate HDD heat. Maybe you have an HDD for storage but it will always give off more heat than an SSD.

Throw an SSD in your box as the start up drive, use the HDD for storage, and your box could stand a bigger and better graphics card.

I have an SSD and liquid cooling, heat isn't an issue. As far as power, I have enough for a single card, probably dual. That stuff is a non-issue.

[Gelston]

Probably go with that R9 290, but going to ask my bartender friend tomorrow. I make many life choices based on bartender's words.

[Back]

I have an SSD and liquid cooling, heat isn't an issue. As far as power, I have enough for a single card, probably dual. That stuff is a non-issue.

Impressed.

Though, I went with drilling holes, putting in multiple fans (with filters), because I don't trust liquid near my machine. Let alone, in it.

[Androidpk]

Same one that serves you Bud Light?

[Back]

Same one that serves you Bud Light?

Fuck Bud Lite.

Now, if it served me Tecate all night, that would be an awesome box.

[Gelston]

Same one that serves you Bud Light?

What can I say, for the money, Bud Light is a great value. $2 a beer verses 3-5 for other crap? Yes please.

[Back]

What can I say, for the money, Bud Light is a great value. $2 a beer verses 3-5 for other crap? Yes please.

My opinion of you, of which I am sure you are worried about, has fallen a notch. Just, a notch.

[Gelston]

My opinion of you, of which I am sure you are worried about, has fallen a notch. Just, a notch.

Then my opinion of myself has gone up!

[Taernath]

Impressed.

Though, I went with drilling holes, putting in multiple fans (with filters), because I don't trust liquid near my machine. Let alone, in it.

That's a lot of work when you could have just bought a non-shitty case and a closed loop liquid cooling system.

[Androidpk]

My opinion of you, of which I am sure you are worried about, has fallen a notch. Just, a notch.

Whatever, you're the singing guy in this commercial.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3G6h8uRowg

[Back]

That's a lot of work when you could have just bought a non-shitty case and a closed loop liquid cooling system.

Manual Labor > Paying More For Frankly a Bullshit Idea.

SSDs are the future. Not "ROFL" liquid cooling systems.

[Gelston]

Manual Labor > Paying More For Frankly a Bullshit Idea.

SSds are the furture. Not "ROFL" liquid cooling systems.

Umm... What? Those are both two entirely different things. That is like comparing a bolt to a lawnmower.

[Back]

Umm... What? Those are both two entirely different things. That is like comparing a bolt to a lawnmower.

So what is the question? Price vs. Performance?

[Taernath]

Manual Labor > Paying More For Frankly a Bullshit Idea.

SSDs are the future. Not "ROFL" liquid cooling systems.

Liquid cooling has improved dramatically, just like GPUs. They are far more reliable, easy to install, and cheaper than they used to be. You can buy a simple closed-loop system for around $80, and I've used one for the last 5 years with no problems.

And yeah, SSDs are great. They rank up there in my top 3 must-have components, along with a second monitor and good airflow case... but you shouldn't be using them to make up for deficiencies in other areas of your setup.

[Androidpk]

So what is the question? Price vs. Performance?


http://i.imgur.com/47KW4PY.gif

[Back]

http://i.imgur.com/47KW4PY.gif

You've never put your hands into a box have you?

[Taernath]

You've never put your hands into a box have you?

Back, you didn't accidentally drill a hole into your head too, did you?

[Androidpk]

You've never put your hands into a box have you?

I've put my hands into many boxes.

[Wesley]

Well, this escalated quickly. Please enjoy the musical stylings of Dwayne The Rock The Tooth Fairy Johnson.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwReSCGL3ss

[Taernath]

I've put my hands into many boxes.

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--BR_pvr2f--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_320/mpn9huzhkhe5q9jiidx6.jpg

[Fallen]

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--BR_pvr2f--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_320/mpn9huzhkhe5q9jiidx6.jpg


THE PAIN

[Androidpk]

Love that movie.

[Back]

So... did you get any advice you would use, Gelts?

[Androidpk]

Supposedly this is Radeon's next gen flagship card. Talk about small for a powerhouse GPU

http://core3.staticworld.net/images/article/2015/05/radeon-r9-390x-wc-rumor-100583965-large.jpg

[RichardCranium]

Just to piggyback on this thread, if anyone can give me a few links to some sweet prebuilt or self customized rigs, whether it be from cyberpowerpc.com or wherever, I would greatly appreciate it. I've been working a turnaround at over 100 hours a week so my time is limited at the moment, and to be honest outside of a general working understanding of the components I'm afraid I wouldn't get the most bang for my buck. I'm about to go back on 5 10s for a while, so I'd like to buy a new rig for my down time. Money is not a concern.

[Whirlin]

Just to piggyback on this thread, if anyone can give me a few links to some sweet prebuilt or self customized rigs, whether it be from cyberpowerpc.com or wherever, I would greatly appreciate it. I've been working a turnaround at over 100 hours a week so my time is limited at the moment, and to be honest outside of a general working understanding of the components I'm afraid I wouldn't get the most bang for my buck. I'm about to go back on 5 10s for a while, so I'd like to buy a new rig for my down time. Money is not a concern.

CyberPower PCs were actually surprisingly good, I bought one from Newegg for my wife back in 2013. Of course, a bunch of bloatware like any other off the shelf PC, but the eventual upgrade to windows 10 is a good opportunity to completely wipe the HDD, whether you end up buying one on 7 or 8.

Honestly, I'd recommend just do a search on Newegg. I mean, if money was no option, you could spend a huge premium on an Alienware... but just because money is not a concern, doesn't mean you want to be excessive and wasteful!

[Fallen]

http://www.pcgamer.com/nine-custom-pc-builders-compared-who-gives-you-the-best-deal/

Should be useful in assessing pre-built PC companies.

[dez]

if your looking for a savings
http://computers.woot.com/plus/cyberpowerpc-gaming-computers-1?ref=cnt_wp_1
I too have a cyberpower pc no issues

[Taernath]

I mean, if money was no option, you could spend a huge premium on an Alienware... but just because money is not a concern, doesn't mean you want to be excessive and wasteful!

The thing with Alienware (and some other prebuilts) is that they're very unbalanced and prone to bottlenecking because they often pair monster CPUs with underpowered GPUs. I'm looking at Alienware's entry-level product line, and they've got an R9 270 paired with an i7 5820. Like, holy shit. It's a decent card but you don't pair a 2gb card with an i7 5820. It's like putting a supercharged v8 in the family Corolla. Their next step up is a single card 980 but you'd probably still need two of them to prevent a GPU bottleneck.

Plus while their case design looks cool, they really suck for airflow and upgradability/expandability.

[Thondalar]

The thing with Alienware (and some other prebuilts) is that they're very unbalanced and prone to bottlenecking because they often pair monster CPUs with underpowered GPUs. I'm looking at Alienware's entry-level product line, and they've got an R9 270 paired with an i7 5820. Like, holy shit. It's a decent card but you don't pair a 2gb card with an i7 5820. It's like putting a supercharged v8 in the family Corolla. Their next step up is a single card 980 but you'd probably still need two of them to prevent a GPU bottleneck.

Plus while their case design looks cool, they really suck for airflow and upgradability/expandability.

Weird, I more often run into a CPU bottleneck, especially when you have multiple GPUs.

[Taernath]

Weird, I more often run into a CPU bottleneck, especially when you have multiple GPUs.

Well yeah, more GPUs = harder for the CPU to keep up, leading to a CPU bottleneck.

[Thondalar]

Well yeah, more GPUs = harder for the CPU to keep up, leading to a CPU bottleneck.

Well yeah, just sayin'. Reminded me of a guy I knew that was bragging about his two 780's in sli but his benchmarks were just barely above mine with a single 760 ti. The difference was my rig was using an overclocked I7 2600k and his was using a stock i5-4670. I had to chuckle when he was genuinely surprised at the results.

[Gelston]

Grabbed this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202144

R9 290X, 8GB

[Fallen]

Grabbed this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202144

R9 290X, 8GB

Congrats, you meet the recommended GPU for the Oculus Rift!




NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
8GB+ RAM
Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
2x USB 3.0 ports
Windows 7 SP1 or newer

[Taernath]

Hmm... an 8gb card...

The only game that can really utilize an 8gb card is Shadows of Mordor on Ultra with the texture pack. Everything else, other 4gb cards are either better or very similar. Here's an article with some benchmarks:
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/76685-sapphire-radeon-r9-290x-vapor-x-8gb/


In-game truth is more prosaic. The 8GB framebuffer does little to positively impact gaming performance in the vast array of current gaming titles and engines, even at a 4K resolution twinned with high-quality settings. We need to cherry-pick examples of where the extra memory comes into play. This state of affairs may change when multiple 8GB-equipped cards in CrossFire are taken into account, thereby putting the burden on the framebuffer to a larger degree.

[Gelston]

Hmm... an 8gb card...

The only game that can really utilize an 8gb card is Shadows of Mordor on Ultra with the texture pack. Everything else, other 4gb cards are either better or very similar. Here's an article with some benchmarks:
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/76685-sapphire-radeon-r9-290x-vapor-x-8gb/

It wasn't much more expensive than the 4 Gig, so I figured why not.

[Fallen]

It's a good call if you mean to add a ton of texture mods

[Back]

Just installed a new fan on my box. Brought the CPU temp down from 60c to around 38c.

http://www.gameranx.com/img/12-Jun/bs4.jpg

[Taernath]

Latest 240mm fan tech I take it.

[Wrathbringer]

Lol @ painter's tape. That oughtta hold it! Just move the computer over three inches, Back. You're welcome. I'm good with puzzles.

[Thondalar]

lol, that actually probably wouldn't be too bad of a setup tbh.

My case is similar to that one except like twice as big (Thermaltake armor+ extended ATX)...it came with a massive fan on the side, but my CPU is water-cooled and I'm only using 1 GPU atm (ASUS strix GTX 980) so I just removed that side panel completely and keep my house at 72 degrees.

[Taernath]

Upgrade to BeaverTech (https://imgur.com/a/KhxA6)