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  1. #1

    Need help upgrading my monitor and GPU

    Right, so because the other thread drowned away several pages, I'll create a new thread. Unfortunately, since I didn't get any final answer in the other thread, nor want to order before I was sure what to buy, the sale expired before I was able to order anything.

    To sum up, I wanted to get a new monitor, as the one I currently use is closing in on 11 years of use (still works like a charm, but I can't play WoW on a higher resolution than 1280x1024), and at the same time I was recommended to get a new GPU, because the one I have is bottlenecking the rest of my system. I'm mainly using the computer to play WoW, but I might get into frapsing in the future.

    Here's my current build:

    CPU: Intel Core i5 Quad Processor i5-750 (Quad Core, 2.66Ghz, Socket 1156, 8MB, 95W, Boxed w)
    Motherboard: MSI H55M-E33, H55, Socket-1156, DDR3 (DDRIII, mATX, 1xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16, GbLan, OC Genie, D)
    Memory: Kingston ValueR. DDR3 1333MHz 4GB, CL9 (Kit w/two matched ValueRAM 2GB DDR3)
    Storage: Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB SATA2 (16MB 7200RPM)
    Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 5670 512MB GDDR5 (PCI-Express 2.0, DVI-I, HDMI)
    Case: Cooler Master Elite 310 Black/Orange (Fan: 1x 120mm Behind, ATX, mATX, 2x USB, 1x Audio, )
    Power Supply: Corsair VX 550W PSU (ATX 12V V2.2, 80 Plus, Standard, 1x 6pin, 1x 6+2-p)
    Optical Drive: Sony NEC Optiarc DVD±RW burner AD-7240S (DVDRW 24x, DL, RAM, SATA, Bulk, Black)
    Operating System: MS COA Label Windows Home Premium 7 (Nordic, 32/64 bit)

    I ended up looking at this monitor and this GPU (as it seemed to have quite a bit of overclocking potential). Now, even though the sale is over, the monitor's price has been reduced by 100 NOK, but I have found both the monitor and the GPU on another site on which they're around as cheap as they were on Komplett during the sale.

    However, I noticed that the monitor only supports VGA, while the GPU (like most other GPUs for that price and up) only supports DVI. So one question that I have is if a converter (or a cable with VGA in one end and a DVI in the other) will take a toll on the speed. I can of course switch to another monitor if that's more feasible.

    Another thing that might be worth bringing to attention, is that a 7870 is up for 100 NOK less than the 7850 of the same brand, for some reason.

    Lastly, here is a Norwegian comparison site in case anyone has other suggestions -- hopefully the pictures will suffice in knowing which section is which. Also, my budget is around 2800 NOK ($500~).
    Last edited by Arctagon; 2013-01-30 at 06:18 AM.

  2. #2
    Deleted
    screen choice is fine.
    gpu if that 7870 is cheaper then it might be worthwhile but XFX DD's aren't the most reliable cards out there.
    also for wow a nvidia card is usually better perhaps this one (http://prisguide.hardware.no/produkt...2gb-amp-167951'

  3. #3
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    Most DVI cards come with a DVI-> VGA converter. Those no difference in 'speed'

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by shroudster View Post
    screen choice is fine.
    gpu if that 7870 is cheaper then it might be worthwhile but XFX DD's aren't the most reliable cards out there.
    also for wow a nvidia card is usually better perhaps this one (http://prisguide.hardware.no/produkt...2gb-amp-167951'
    DD? Also, doesn't the GTX 650Ti generally have much worse performance than 7850, let alone 7870? http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=680

    Quote Originally Posted by chazus View Post
    Most DVI cards come with a DVI-> VGA converter. Those no difference in 'speed'
    Exactly what I needed to know. Thanks!

  5. #5
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Arctagon View Post
    DD? Also, doesn't the GTX 650Ti generally have much worse performance than 7850, let alone 7870? http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=680
    I would stick with the 7850 (although from a different manufacturer, like gigabyte/asus/msi/sapphire) or get maybe a 660/7870 depending on how much you want to spend.

    http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...rmance/20.html (there have been new driver updates for both sides, so it might be a bit different now)

  6. #6
    So XFX = no good? And what's the difference of having one with 1GB memory and one with 2GB?

  7. #7
    Deleted
    The MSI 7850 Twin FROZR 2GB seems to be slightly cheaper than your initial choice, and looks to have a better overall spec. And it should have some overclocking potential.

    ETA: well, for a single-monitor setup, anyway. The XFX is going to beat it out in multi-monitor setups.

  8. #8
    Yeah, uh, I said that I had found another store that sold it for a cheaper price, 1395 NOK to be more specific, but I'm all fine with that price as well.

    Hm, it seems that GTX 660 is only marginally more expensive than what I've been looking at, so I might as well go with that? Although, according to the link Zeara provided, HD 7870 Catalyst 12.11 (no idea what the latter part means) runs better than GTX 660.

    Basically, the GPUs on this list and two pages forward are the GPUs I can look at. I gave it some thought, and I can push it to 1800 NOK, but preferably not more than that. What would be even better, would be if the GPU was from Proshop, as that's where I'm planning to order the monitor from. That way I don't get additional shipping fees.

  9. #9
    Deleted
    If you can go to 1800, i would get this one
    http://prisguide.hardware.no/produkt...-oc-2gb-156957

    If you think thats a bit to much than i would probably go with
    http://prisguide.hardware.no/produkt...e-2x-oc-167067


    The 12.11 part stands for the driver version. AMD is now at 13.1, which has all the improvements the 12.11 driver also had.

  10. #10
    Hm, it's less than a 200 NOK difference, so I wouldn't mind going with the 7870. Price-to-performance wise it's perhaps also the best card? Or? And it says OC on them, does that mean that they're overclocked versions (trying to learn as much as possible while doing this, which is why I ask a lot of things -- hope you don't mind)?

    Will the drivers be up to date when I get the card, or will I need to fix that myself?

  11. #11
    Brewmaster Majesticii's Avatar
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    Monitorwise i'd pick the Dell Ultrasharp U2312HM if i were you.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arctagon View Post
    Hm, it's less than a 200 NOK difference, so I wouldn't mind going with the 7870. Price-to-performance wise it's perhaps also the best card? Or? And it says OC on them, does that mean that they're overclocked versions (trying to learn as much as possible while doing this, which is why I ask a lot of things -- hope you don't mind)?

    Will the drivers be up to date when I get the card, or will I need to fix that myself?
    OC means gigabyte has it already overclocked from the stock settings.

    You should get the newest drivers from AMD, the drivers on the disc (which is/should be provided by the card) will most likely be out of date.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Majesticii View Post
    Monitorwise i'd pick the Dell Ultrasharp U2312HM if i were you.
    I appreciate suggestions, but instead of just throwing it out like that, I would be much more grateful if you could elaborate. Why would you pick that monitor if you were me? You know that it's almost 500 NOK (~$100) more expensive, and that if I were to go with it I'd have to go with a cheaper GPU, right? That's also something I'd like to see some opinions on.

  14. #14
    Brewmaster Majesticii's Avatar
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    Because the U2312HM is best price/performance. The IPS panel give richer colors in comparisson to your suggested TN panel. Input lag is 0.6ms. And no visible ghosting. Excellent backlighting and build quality. You're better off putting the extra money in the perhipheral. Because ultimately that's what defines the quality of the picture.

    Read this
    http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2312hm.htm

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Majesticii View Post
    Because the U2312HM is best price/performance. The IPS panel give richer colors in comparisson to your suggested TN panel. Input lag is 0.6ms. And no visible ghosting. Excellent backlighting and build quality. You're better off putting the extra money in the perhipheral. Because ultimately that's what defines the quality of the picture.

    Read this
    http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2312hm.htm
    While that monitor is really good it is way outside of OPs budget. He would have to match it with a 7770 to stay inside desired budget.
    Intel i5-3570K @ 4.7GHz | MSI Z77 Mpower | Noctua NH-D14 | Corsair Vengeance LP White 1.35V 8GB 1600MHz
    Gigabyte GTX 670 OC Windforce 3X @ 1372/7604MHz | Corsair Force GT 120GB | Silverstone Fortress FT02 | Corsair VX450

  16. #16
    Brewmaster Majesticii's Avatar
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    Dont cut corners on perhipherals...
    Image quality on U2312HM + HD7770 will be better than HD7850 + S24B350H

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Majesticii View Post
    Dont cut corners on perhipherals...
    Image quality on U2312HM + HD7770 will be better than HD7850 + S24B350H
    But performance of games will be worse. So id stick with a TN panel and the 7870.
    And if you havent seen IPS, you dont know what you are missing :P

  18. #18
    Brewmaster Majesticii's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zeara View Post
    But performance of games will be worse. So id stick with a TN panel and the 7870.
    And if you havent seen IPS, you dont know what you are missing :P
    He mainly plays WoW. You don't need a heavy graphics card for that, the HD7770 would be just fine. And the extra eyecandy you can enable on the 7850 would be wasted on the 'cheaper' display.
    Enfin, not trying to force my will. Just giving the OP the option. I'd still recommend spending relatively more in perhipherals.

    Also, while the i5-750 is still pretty good. It somewhat lacks juice at certain graphical settings. I know i have to clock mine to 4.0ghz+ to keep up with the 670 sometimes. Seeing as he/she is using a H55 board, i dont think there's much room for clocking. So you have to consider buying a card that will match a stock i5-750 a bit better.
    Last edited by Majesticii; 2013-01-30 at 04:02 PM.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Majesticii View Post
    And the extra eyecandy you can enable on the 7850 would be wasted on the 'cheaper' display.
    Enfin, not trying to force my will. Just giving the OP the option. I'd still recommend spending relatively more in perhipherals.
    That sounds a bit weird. A bump in graphics will also show on a TN panel. But you are right, if the pc will only be used for wow a 7770 will be fine i guess.

    Also, while the i5-750 is still pretty good. It somewhat lacks juice at certain graphical settings. I know i have to clock mine to 4.0ghz+ to keep up with the 670 sometimes. Seeing as he/she is using a H55 board, i dont think there's much room for clocking. So you have to consider buying a card that will match a stock i5-750 a bit better.
    A 7870 is a good match for the i5 750. And i dont think the i5 will be bottlenecking the 7870 or a 670. I mean, a game can be bottlenecked by a CPU. But that doesnt mean the cpu is bottlenecking the gpu.

  20. #20
    Brewmaster Majesticii's Avatar
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    http://imgur.com/a/HfWqB 2.8 vs 4.0ghz. 67% load and 81%.

    What i meant was, the extra eyecandy doesn't look as good as when displayed on a IPS screen.
    Last edited by Majesticii; 2013-01-30 at 04:21 PM.

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