Upgrading Graphics card from GTX 560 Se

[Seiz]

Here's my specs at the moment.

i5 2500k (OC' 4.2GHz)

AS Rock Z77 Extreme

8gb Kingston HyperX DDR3 1600

Power and Cooling Silencer MK III 600W Modular

Cool Master Hyper 212

GTX 550 SE

Thermaltake Element V Black Edition Steel Full Tower


I play COD MWF3, Skyrim, WOW, D3, starcraft warcraft 3 etc.

And want to play on ultra and get 50 60 + FPS.

My budget is around 250 dollars is this my best bet?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130826

EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

In wow , i get normally 50+ FPS everywhere, except 35 - 30 in orgimar on illidan US horde, and thats with everything ultra maxed out except shadow on high right now with my current set up.

My resolution i play on is 1080 and on one screen help me find the best card for 250!
Mainly play wow but also the others i mentioned!

---------- Post added 2012-09-14 at 12:26 AM ----------

Can you guys help me find a good upgrade for GPU, like i said, my max i can spend is 250 and really want to play my games on ultra and get atleast 40 minimum FPS

[glo]

Well, SC2/WC3/WoW/D3 are all processor bound games and should be able to be on near max settings with your current card. The specific example of your FPS inside Org is not due to your GPU, it's a CPU restraint. Currently there isn't a single setup available that will max WoW @ 60 FPS on ultra in populated cities, 25m raid encounters and mass PvP.

That said, a better GPU will still give you a higher FPS ceiling outside of said WoW situations and hectic situations in your other games and provide a large boost in GPU intensive games that you may play in the future.

The GTX 660 is a decent card. The card it was most pitted against in reviews was the 7870. Results were very close. BUT they benched the non Ghz edition 7870 which would have more than likely come out on top. If you ever see yourself using a multi-monitor setup for gaming, or just a higher resolution monitor I would go with something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=

Higher membus for multi-monitor setups and a much higher overclock ceiling. If you don't see yourself doing those things in the future, or if the modest gain in performance isn't worth the extra bit of money, by all means the GTX 660 is a good card.

[Seiz]

Well my question is for my money of 250 dollars, on a single screen at 1080 reso, is the AMD 7870 better than the GTX 660?

I mean I want to play other games aswell, like COD etc.

Its either the GTX 660 or this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125418

Opinions?

[Skarsguard]

I would take the 7870 for sure esp the one that you linked its a solid card and has great reviews from the sites that I looked at. If you was talking about the 660ti on a single monitor setup at 1080 I might go with the 660ti instead.

[Seiz]

Honestly after looking at prices I might as well save the extra 150 dollars and just get the GTX 670 FTW little future proof it aswell.

Think that with my current setup would be pretty tops for gaming.

[glo]

Honestly after looking at prices I might as well save the extra 150 dollars and just get the GTX 670 FTW little future proof it aswell.

Think that with my current setup would be pretty tops for gaming.

If you're looking at attempting to future proof, the 7970 for the same price is a far wiser decision.

1. Generally benches better than the 670.
2. Higher membus for higher resolutions if you ever get a new monitor or go for a multiple monitor setup.
3. Higher VRAM for the same reasons stated in #2.
4. MUCH higher overclock ceiling.

[Seiz]

If you're looking at attempting to future proof, the 7970 for the same price is a far wiser decision.

1. Generally benches better than the 670.
2. Higher membus for higher resolutions if you ever get a new monitor or go for a multiple monitor setup.
3. Higher VRAM for the same reasons stated in #2.
4. MUCH higher overclock ceiling.

Ok but 1, i don't plan on overclocking a graphics card, I would perfer it to be highest core clock i can get when i buy it.
2. I don't ever plan on using multiple screens, I play one screen, its more than enough.

Wouldn't this make the 670 FTW better for me than the 7970?

[glo]

Ok but 1, i don't plan on overclocking a graphics card, I would perfer it to be highest core clock i can get when i buy it.
2. I don't ever plan on using multiple screens, I play one screen, its more than enough.

Wouldn't this make the 670 FTW better for me than the 7970?

The only thing you suggested that doesn't apply is your plan to not use multiple monitors or overclock. Newer games will still require more VRAM as they continue to come out, and the 7970 generally still does better than the 670.

Also I was just adhering to the 670 price point. If you want the highest performing card available out of the box, you'll need to look at the 7970 Ghz (not to be confused with a normal 7970) for about $440. That's the best single GPU currently available.

[Seiz]

The only thing you suggested that doesn't apply is your plan to not use multiple monitors or overclock. Newer games will still require more VRAM as they continue to come out, and the 7970 generally still does better than the 670.

Also I was just adhering to the 670 price point. If you want the highest performing card available out of the box, you'll need to look at the 7970 Ghz (not to be confused with a normal 7970) for about $440. That's the best single GPU currently available.

Even tops the GTX 680 and GTX 690?

[glo]

Even tops the GTX 680 and GTX 690?

Tops the 680.

The 690 isn't a single GPU card. It's SLI with 2 680s on a PCB. So you're forced into running actual SLI if you want to take advantage of the 690's power. In turn, you'll have to deal with all of the potential headaches that come along with a SLI setup (game incompatibility/driver issues/micro stutter/etc).

However, if you want the most powerful dual card, the 7990 would likely be it upon further testing, but it's not exactly widely available yet.

[Seiz]

Tops the 680.

The 690 isn't a single GPU card. It's SLI with 2 680s on a PCB. So you're forced into running actual SLI if you want to take advantage of the 690's power. In turn, you'll have to deal with all of the potential headaches that come along with a SLI setup (game incompatibility/driver issues/micro stutter/etc).

However, if you want the most powerful dual card, the 7990 would likely be it upon further testing, but it's not exactly widely available yet.

Ok please tell me which GHz version would be the best for the 7970?

[glo]

This here is the fastest factory OC version of the card (as well as having one of the best coolers available):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125439

Sapphire has a similar speed version with 6GB of VRAM and a bunch of other mostly useless features, but it's around $200 more.

[Seiz]

This here is the fastest factory OC version of the card (as well as having one of the best coolers available):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125439

Sapphire has a similar speed version with 6GB of VRAM and a bunch of other mostly useless features, but it's around $200 more.

:
So this is the fastest and most powerful singe gpu out of the box and should future proof me better than the 670 ?

[glo]

:
So this is the fastest and most powerful singe gpu out of the box and should future proof me better than the 670 ?

Indeed. The 7970 Ghz competes with (and beats out in more games than not) the 680 in addition to the numerous benefits already mentioned. Comparing the 7970 Ghz to the 670 isn't even a contest.

[Seiz]

Indeed. The 7970 Ghz competes with (and beats out in more games than not) the 680 in addition to the numerous benefits already mentioned. Comparing the 7970 Ghz to the 670 isn't even a contest.

Glad you said this i really had my mind set on a gtx670.

Question will there be any problems putting a amd gpu with my oc 2500k?

[glo]

Nope, not at all.