Looking to upgrade my GFX card but perhaps a new build is in order?

[Ozafy]

Hi there,

I'm thinking of upgrading my GFX card. It's not running the latest games flawlessly anymore and I also have some odd stuff appearing when i'm not gaming (colored lines, green pixels. Doesn't seem to be the screen/cable as I can take print screens of them). However my PC itself is 2-3 years old by now as well so perhaps it's time for a completely new core?

Budget:
For the GFX card i'm looking at ~€250-300
If a full upgrade is in order i'd like to be around ~€800-1000 (Guessing my HDDs, PSU and DVD Drive wouldn't need upgrades however I would like a new case for that new car smell!)

Current PC (pulled from speccy):
Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz
6,00GB Triple-Channel DDR3 @ 534MHz
ASUS P6T SE
ASUS 1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 5800 Series (it's ~260MM seems to be the limit of what i can fit in my case)
Crucial M4 (250GB)
4*500GB WD HDDs
Cooler Master 620W
Windows 8.1

I was looking at buying a GTX 760 or 770. I'd like to be able to run games at high-ultra without issues for the next 2-3 years. My current build allowed this up until now (Assassin's creed 4's causing the issues atm)

Thank you in advance for your time and suggestions!

[Deleted]

if u dont want to have trouble playing games the next 2-3 years on ultra i would recommend going for some new stuff.

build with nvidia:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec HCG M 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $864.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-29 13:09 EST-0500)


build with a 280x

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec HCG M 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $844.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-29 13:19 EST-0500)

u can even fit in a 290, though i would wait for non reference cooling solutions.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card ($399.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec HCG M 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $944.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-29 13:20 EST-0500)

i would lean towards the build with the 280x, probably best price/performance and pretty much enough for a single screen setup. btw, u sure its not ur monitor causing the issues?

[Ozafy]

Not a 100% sure, haven't hooked it up to another pc yet but seeing i can take a screenshot of the problem i'm fairly sure it's to do with the actual rendering. Combined with the fact that the system's getting dated an upgrade or new build seems in order.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions

[Deleted]

dont wait too logn though... the asus mobo for under 100 is a heck of a deal.. its normally around 140, same for the noctua its 20 off.

[Deleted]

I have to disagree.
The i5 4670 is around 25% faster than your i7 920. It's not worth a full upgrade of your computer as we don't know if this is a bottleneck. You may wait for the next intel generation (skylake)

What is the model of your GPU ? 5800 series give us the generation, but not the level of the GPU.
Additionaly, this will give us the TDP of your GPU, and will indicate if a PCU upgrade is required.

[Fascinate]

His CPU is fine imo, and honestly your GPU is fine if you lower settings just a little from max (assuming you have a 5850). The only thing holding you back is the vram on your card, games nowadays use over 1gb at 1080p so getting a 760 could be a definite upgrade for you, but a i7 920 is still plenty fast enough for todays games.

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Also his psu is fine aloryen, you can run any single gpu graphics card on the market with a 620w psu (titan, 290x included), total system consumption with something like a gtx 760 is in the 300-350w range.

[Deleted]

His CPU is fine imo, and honestly your GPU is fine if you lower settings just a little from max (assuming you have a 5850). The only thing holding you back is the vram on your card, games nowadays use over 1gb at 1080p so getting a 760 could be a definite upgrade for you, but a i7 920 is still plenty fast enough for todays games.

no it isnt... the i5 4670k overclocked to a nice 4.5 is bitch slapping the 920 all day long. if he has the budget and he mentioned he would like to not touch it after the upgrade for another 2 years, haswell i5 is the way to go... saying (he probably has a 5850 or so ) is fine... i mean.. come on...

[Ozafy]

Thanks for the additional info. With model of the GPU do you mean name? What I'm seeing in speccy is 'Cypress' not sure if that's what you mean or not :x As for the rest, it does feel like my pc is strong enough to handle most things i throw at it, except for the occasional stuttering frame rates which i'm guessing is down to the GFX card needing an upgrade.

Again thanks so much for your input!

[Fascinate]

no it isnt... the i5 4670k overclocked to a nice 4.5 is bitch slapping the 920 all day long. if he has the budget and he mentioned he would like to not touch it after the upgrade for another 2 years, haswell i5 is the way to go... saying (he probably has a 5850 or so ) is fine... i mean.. come on...

http://www.techspot.com/review/734-b...rks/page6.html

No one is debating that the 4670k is faster, but a gpu upgrade is by far the smarter upgrade in this scenario. I cant find any cpu benchmarks for the game he is having problems with (AC4) but i can guarantee a gpu upgrade will gain far more fps than a cpu would. Like stated above waiting for skylake is the smart decision on the CPU side of things. If he wanted a cheap upgrade he could even get by with a 2gb 7850 or gtx 650 ti boost to hold him over until he builds a new rig when skylake comes out (2015).

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Thanks for the additional info. With model of the GPU do you mean name? What I'm seeing in speccy is 'Cypress' not sure if that's what you mean or not :x As for the rest, it does feel like my pc is strong enough to handle most things i throw at it, except for the occasional stuttering frame rates which i'm guessing is down to the GFX card needing an upgrade.

Again thanks so much for your input!

Google GPU-z and download it, that will tell you the model of your GPU. (it should be either 5830, 5850, or 5870).

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Also im gonna add, AC4 is extremely demanding game and ive heard reports of people with high end graphics cards having some troubles with that game. If you are only have trouble with that game its not a problem with your system, and the same behavior could be there even if you bought a new card.

[Deleted]

You have too choose between changing all your computer now, with mid-range components, or change only half the computer with higher range components.
Personnaly, I change the GPU every 3 years, and the cpu/mobo/ram(...) every 3 years, alternatly. This allow me to have recent high range components, for a correct cost.

In your situation, I will probably spend more money in a good GPU for now (780 or 290X but adapt to your budget), and delay the CPU renewal a little.
Additionaly, games are currently optimised for 2 cores. But with next gen console, this may change to 8 cores optimisation. Another reason to wait a little imo...

AC4 is extremely demanding game and ive heard reports of people with high end graphics cards having some troubles with that game.

good to know

[Ozafy]

Thanks again for all the info. So far I think just doing a GPU update seems the best course of action. Then maybe rebuild my other components in a year or two. I'm still puzzled by the GPU model, I downloaded GPU-z but I still can't see it (I must be blind) I've attached a screenshot however:


Again, thanks for all the help!

[Fascinate]

Wow you actually have a 5870 (it doesent say it on there for some reason, but i can tell by the 1600 shaders). Honestly man, your system is fine i wouldnt touch it. Like i said earlier, if you are only having troubles with AC4 and all your other games play fine its simply that AC4 is not coded very well (been hearing this lots lately).

Keep your PC, its still a relative beast and was absolutely top of the line only 3-4 years ago.

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Just to put it in perspective, 5870 is about as fast as a gtx 570 which is about as fast as a gtx 660 (slightly slower). Your card is on par with a current 170 dollar graphics card, when your card was released it has an msrp of 400 dollars. If you start having issues with other games then you can think about upgrading, but for now chalk it up to AC4 not being optimized well.

[Deleted]

This time, I have to disagree with you
A nvidia 760/770 GPU will be 80/100% faster than a 5870. The additional RAM will help in latest game too.

With next gen console, the vRAM comsuption may grow too... the 760 and 770 exists in 4GB, it may be a good investment for next gen game.

[Ozafy]

Hmm, guess I'm still none the wiser really I think I'll probably go for a 760 to hold me over for a while and then perhaps build a completely new system in two years or so.

Thanks again for all your help guys!