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  1. #1

    Should I upgrade my GPU? and what can I get before bottlenecked?

    When I built my PC last year I just threw in a 560 ti because I ran out of money lol. Also back then I was only playing WoW and figured that was more than enough seeing how a Commodore could probably run WoW. Now that I am playing Tera and Im sure future games like TESO I think its time to upgrade to something with more power. I was at least smart enough to not gimp on the power supply to allow for a future upgrade and got 750w. My mobo is an Asus P8Z68-V Pro Gen3 LGA 1155 and I have an i5-2500k OCed to 4.32 GHz. Just wondering how good of a GPU I can get before I am bottle necked by my CPU or something that wont even fit on my mobo. I prefer NVIDIA over AMD.

  2. #2
    The Lightbringer Toffie's Avatar
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    If you're not satisfied with your performance then I guess you can upgrade depending on your budget.
    I know you prefer Nvidia so do I, but if you want the best for the money then a 7870 XT / 7970 GHz are excellent choice.
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  3. #3
    even if the i5-2500K does bottleneck one of the highest end GPUs, it will be so insignificant it won't even matter.

  4. #4
    I would recommend the Nvidia 670. there are 3 GPUs on the market right now in comparable categories - 670, 680 and 690. 680 is slightly more powerful than 670, but costs quite a bit more, and 690 is just an internal sli of 680.
    670 is EXTREMELY buck-per-frame efficient, and just overall quite powerful and will last you for ages.

    My recommendation is: 670, 680 if you can afford it, 670+670SLI, or 690 (cash price increases from left to right).

    My recommendation is also to stay the F away from ATI Radeon - so far i have not had a single radeon GPU that did not F me up badly at one point or another. They also cant write the drivers to save their asses. I would recommend sticking to Nvidia.

    tl;dr = GTX670 is fantastic, 680 slightly better, 690 is best on market atm.
    We dream, we dream.

  5. #5
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Lilly32 View Post
    When I built my PC last year I just threw in a 560 ti because I ran out of money lol. Also back then I was only playing WoW and figured that was more than enough seeing how a Commodore could probably run WoW. Now that I am playing Tera and Im sure future games like TESO I think its time to upgrade to something with more power. I was at least smart enough to not gimp on the power supply to allow for a future upgrade and got 750w. My mobo is an Asus P8Z68-V Pro Gen3 LGA 1155 and I have an i5-2500k OCed to 4.32 GHz. Just wondering how good of a GPU I can get before I am bottle necked by my CPU or something that wont even fit on my mobo. I prefer NVIDIA over AMD.
    A family member is currently playing on Tera as I type this. Level 33/34, the name is Oddler. He's running with an i5 3470 and a 7870 Tahiti LE card (XT for those who like to use the Sapphire moniker). The game looks gorgeous and I'm pretty sure his settings are on high with AA on.

    You are running with a more powerful CPU (since it's overclocked) and a very capable and decent midrange GPU. I wouldn't even bother upgrading this year. I can't imagine your game looking much better even if you did upgrade to a more powerful GPU. If you did upgrade it will run smoother in open areas and in empty cities but atleast you have the main part of your system that matters most for MMOs and that's your CPU.

  6. #6
    The Lightbringer Toffie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drudgery View Post
    If you did upgrade it will run smoother in open areas and in empty cities but atleast you have the main part of your system that matters most for MMOs and that's your CPU.
    Tera doesn't run great with the 600 series, atleast my 680 stutters every few seconds.
    8700K (5GHz) - Z370 M5 - Mugen 5 - 16GB Tridentz 3200MHz - GTX 1070Ti Strix - NZXT S340E - Dell 24' 1440p (165Hz)

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Anakonda View Post
    My recommendation is also to stay the F away from ATI Radeon - so far i have not had a single radeon GPU that did not F me up badly at one point or another. They also cant write the drivers to save their asses. I would recommend sticking to Nvidia.

    tl;dr = GTX670 is fantastic, 680 slightly better, 690 is best on market atm.
    The OP already stated his preference so there is no need to spread misinformation. The current alpha drivers are good at the moment, the only issues are still the dreaded Xfire, which Nvidia themselves are not immune to either I might add.

    The question should be whether or not he should upgrade. I'm of the opinion he doesn't need to. He'd have to invest in a really high end GPU to see any significant gains and the cost to benefit ratio isn't worth it.

    ---------- Post added 2013-02-17 at 07:39 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Toffie View Post
    Tera doesn't run great with the 600 series, atleast my 680 stutters every few seconds.
    Ahh my mistake then, maybe I should have written, 'If you did upgrade your game might run smoother on higher settings, but you'll need to ask someone who owns one'
    Last edited by mmoc7f933b7749; 2013-02-17 at 07:50 PM.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lilly32 View Post
    When I built my PC last year I just threw in a 560 ti because I ran out of money lol. Also back then I was only playing WoW and figured that was more than enough seeing how a Commodore could probably run WoW. Now that I am playing Tera and Im sure future games like TESO I think its time to upgrade to something with more power. I was at least smart enough to not gimp on the power supply to allow for a future upgrade and got 750w. My mobo is an Asus P8Z68-V Pro Gen3 LGA 1155 and I have an i5-2500k OCed to 4.32 GHz. Just wondering how good of a GPU I can get before I am bottle necked by my CPU or something that wont even fit on my mobo. I prefer NVIDIA over AMD.
    got a budget?
    also plans for higher resolution/multiple screen setup?

  9. #9
    The Lightbringer Toffie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drudgery View Post
    Ahh my mistake then, maybe I should have written, 'If you did upgrade your game might run smoother on higher settings, but you'll need to ask someone who owns one'
    No one could have known Atleast I'm the one that spent almost 800 bucks for a card that can't run the game I love.
    8700K (5GHz) - Z370 M5 - Mugen 5 - 16GB Tridentz 3200MHz - GTX 1070Ti Strix - NZXT S340E - Dell 24' 1440p (165Hz)

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by shroudster View Post
    got a budget?
    also plans for higher resolution/multiple screen setup?
    $250ish

    No multiple screens and I run on 1680x1050 but I plan on getting a 40" HD TV soon to use as my monitor so dont know how that will affect my reso.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Toffie View Post
    No one could have known Atleast I'm the one that spent almost 800 bucks for a card that can't run the game I love.
    SLI 680's? also mmo's are quite known for bad SLI/CF support

  12. #12
    The Lightbringer Toffie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shroudster View Post
    SLI 680's? also mmo's are quite known for bad SLI/CF support
    I got a single 680 lightning, I live in Denmark so prices are insane :/
    8700K (5GHz) - Z370 M5 - Mugen 5 - 16GB Tridentz 3200MHz - GTX 1070Ti Strix - NZXT S340E - Dell 24' 1440p (165Hz)

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lilly32 View Post
    $250ish

    No multiple screens and I run on 1680x1050 but I plan on getting a 40" HD TV soon to use as my monitor so dont know how that will affect my reso.
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202024
    also 40" TV is not recommened for PC gaming due to bad qualities of tv compared to an actual monitor.
    660Ti's from nvidia are just out of your budget by $20 but worth it if you want to stick with camp green.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Toffie View Post
    Tera doesn't run great with the 600 series, atleast my 680 stutters every few seconds.
    meh, Tera seems to have troubles with every 600 and 7000 series (and who knows what else) once in awhile.

  15. #15
    Bloodsail Admiral Killora's Avatar
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    imo he'd be better served holding onto his 560TI for awhile. It's a good card and the cost of upgrading to one that is better isn't worth the price (as far as price per performance upgrade from his present card)

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Killora View Post
    imo he'd be better served holding onto his 560TI for awhile. It's a good card and the cost of upgrading to one that is better isn't worth the price (as far as price per performance upgrade from his present card)
    I agree, altho new cards are still probably still 10 months away (not counting titan). But if you do feel the need to upgrade, with your budget the 7870 XT (or LE) is the best choice in that bracket. Otherwise you would have to get a 660ti or 660.

  17. #17
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    Just looked at the FPS counter for the area in Tera called Relic Hunter Outpost. The PC has an i5 3470, 8GB of RAM and VTX3D 7870 Tahiti LE. With most settings on max and a few settings below max settings, the game hovers around 30 FPS near questing hubs and jumps to the high 40s to mid 50s when fighting beasts in open areas. The game has no AA settings and I'm not sure if you can force it through CCC. Anyway its more than playable. If you're experiencing similar results with your 560ti and you have most of your settings on high, then the upgrade to a Sapphire 7870XT or even a GTX 660ti is definitely not worth it.

  18. #18
    I've played TERA a little and I've live-streamed a steady 30+ with my 7970 and 3770k @ 4.5GHz. Haters gonna hate AMD GPUs I guess.
    Computer: Intel I7-3770k @ 4.5GHz | 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM | AMD 7970 GHz @ 1200/1600 | ASUS Z77-V PRO Mobo|

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Yohassakura View Post
    I've played TERA a little and I've live-streamed a steady 30+ with my 7970 and 3770k @ 4.5GHz. Haters gonna hate AMD GPUs I guess.
    I would try a AMD GPU its just I know nothing about them. I dont know how their model numbering works.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Lilly32 View Post
    I would try a AMD GPU its just I know nothing about them. I dont know how their model numbering works.

    79xx = upper tier cards
    78xx = middle tier cards
    77xx = low tier cards
    76xx and lower = HTPC cards

    xx50 = slower version of the tier
    xx70 = higher version of the tier
    xx90 = dual-chip card
    GHz Ed. = higher clocked version of the card
    XT and LE mean a better version of the card
    Last edited by Butler to Baby Sloths; 2013-02-18 at 01:43 AM.

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