Update Graphics Card & long(er) term plan for my rig

[FreakyAlleyCat]

Hi everyone,

 

with Red Dead Redemption 2 coming to PC, i figured it may finally be time to start upgrading my rig.

 

I built this computer in 2014 and it's been running fine so far, but i'm slowly starting to notice it running out of power here and there. Since i don't have enough money to upgrade the whole thing at once, I'd like to upgrade my graphics card first and upgrade the CPU/Mainboard/Ram section later on in 2020. My current specs are:

 

- Intel Xeon E3-1231v3 4x3,4 GHz, Socket 1150

- Asus H97M-Plus Mainboard

- 24 GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600 DIMM

- 1TB Samsung 970 Evo M.2 Drive

- 2 TB Samsung 860 Evo SSD Drive

- 480 Watts be quiet! Straight Power E9 CM Modular 80+ Gold Power Supply

 

- 3GB Asus Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Graphics Card

 

 

I do realize that a new graphics card will be heavily bottlenecked by the older cpu/mainboard section but I'd rather upgrade the gpu now because i noticed that this is the component that is driven to it's limits way before the cpu when gaming or editing videos. I'm not a heavy gamer but i like to occasionally check out new titles and also do some video editing here and there (no 4k). Besides that the system is mainly used as a browsing / media machine and (most importantly) for music production. I'm currently running a 1080p dual monitor setup.

 

Here's what i'd like to do in the future:

- Maybe upgrade to a higher resolution dual monitor setup 

- Fiddle around with VR

- Game

 

I was thinking maybe an RTX 2070 could be what i'm looking for. What would you guys recommend? My price point is roundabout 400€ to maybe 500€ (440 to 550 USD). Also what's really important to me is that the card is as silent as possible (because of the music production tasks) and - can my 480 Watts 80+ Gold Power Supply even handle a newer card or do i need to calculate a new one into the whole search?

 

Thank you guys for your help!

 

Cheers,

FreakyAlleyCat

[Fasauceome]

What is your performance target? Do you only play in 1080p?

[FreakyAlleyCat]

Ah, sorry I forgot. I currently only play in 1080p but i'm considering maybe upgrading my monitors to WQHD in the future.

[Jurrunio]

28 minutes ago, FreakyAlleyCat said:

video editing here and there

what software?

[19_blackie_73]

I did get a 2060 super from msi, the gaming x. Very quiet card and has not much problems running rdr2 on 1440p, though the 2070 super would be technically better if you want ultrawide.

I'd stick with nvidia for video editing support.

[FreakyAlleyCat]

47 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

what software?

 

Switched to Filmora just recently since I don't edit often enough to pay for Premiere Pro anymore.

 

 

Blackie: I was thinking about the 2060 super as well but since i'd like the option to use the card with some VR Headset in the future (mostly for flight-sim fun) I guessed it might be better to reach for as much power as i can possibly afford.

[Jurrunio]

34 minutes ago, FreakyAlleyCat said:

Filmora

it doesnt seem to be bothered with either brand of graphics cards, so that's a factor ruled out

 

2060 Super and RX 5700XT are the best value options at this price range (if I'm underestimating prices of the 5700XT, look for the 5700 instead). Performance wise 5700 < 2060S < 5700XT, they'll do 1080p 100-140fps or 1440p 60-80fps in general, tho demanding games like Red Dead 2 stresses GPU so much that the 2060S and 5700 do 90fps at 1080p high settings and 5700XT does 100fps with the same settings. 1440p will tank frame rates further if you dont reduce graphics quality

[FreakyAlleyCat]

Thank you Jurrunio, that is actually really helpful!

 

What do you think about the 2070 Super? Some of those cards are just slightly above my 500€ limit and offer quite a plus in performance compared to the 2060 Super (from what i've read). Usually I upgdrade my rig every 4 to 6 years, so i'm already planning for a card that brings as much headroom as i can possibly afford.

[Jurrunio]

6 hours ago, FreakyAlleyCat said:

What do you think about the 2070 Super? Some of those cards are just slightly above my 500€ limit and offer quite a plus in performance compared to the 2060 Super (from what i've read). Usually I upgdrade my rig every 4 to 6 years, so i'm already planning for a card that brings as much headroom as i can possibly afford.

If you can afford them sure, but which one out of so many is another problem

[FreakyAlleyCat]

@Jurrunio

 

After a day of researching reviews and doing lots of reading i think i have my heart set on the Gigabyte RTX 2070 Super Gaming OC 3x White.

 

Main reason is that the length of the card fits my mAtx build, it seems to get quite good reviews and the be quiet power calculator tells me that i can keep my 450 watts Gold + PSU for now, as long as i don't upgrade my current cpu. Also with the 3 fans it seems to run quite silently compared to the two fan versions, which is crucial for my music recording work.

 

https://www.gigabyte.com/de/Graphics-Card/GV-N207SGAMINGOC-WHITE-8GC#kf

 

 

[Jurrunio]

6 minutes ago, FreakyAlleyCat said:

crucial for my music recording work.

to be fair when recording, you shouldn't be running 3D stuff at the same time and in this case, fan stop mode on many custom cards can fully stop the fans and make them silent

 

Gigabyte's also tends to add more fans to coolers with the same performance as many others, while MSI dont use 3 fans until they run out of ideas on two, for example the Gaming X and Gaming Z (not sure which is the one on 2070S). EVGA XC Ultra is also an option, tho tends to cost more since this time EVGA doesnt have DT models like they did on Pascal

[FreakyAlleyCat]

17 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

to be fair when recording, you shouldn't be running 3D stuff at the same time and in this case, fan stop mode on many custom cards can fully stop the fans and make them silent

 

Gigabyte's also tends to add more fans to coolers with the same performance as many others, while MSI dont use 3 fans until they run out of ideas on two, for example the Gaming X and Gaming Z (not sure which is the one on 2070S). EVGA XC Ultra is also an option, tho tends to cost more since this time EVGA doesnt have DT models like they did on Pascal

 

Haha, that's right, i'm not doing any gpu intensive tasks while recording. But as even the lowest noise levels from spinning fans are quickly adding up (and some of the better studio microphones i'm using tend to pick up everything close) i'm always going with the lowest possible noise levels when picking parts. Although completely stopping the fans is definitely a nice option to have!

 

I've heard good things about the EVGA cards but unfortunately those are the only ones available to me right now (because i've still got a 50 bucks gift card from the shop):

 

https://www.mindfactory.de/Hardware/Grafikkarten+(VGA)/GeForce+RTX+fuer+Gaming/RTX+2070.html

[Jurrunio]

5 minutes ago, FreakyAlleyCat said:

I've heard good things about the EVGA cards but unfortunately those are the only ones available to me right now (because i've still got a 50 bucks gift card from the shop):

 

https://www.mindfactory.de/Hardware/Grafikkarten+(VGA)/GeForce+RTX+fuer+Gaming/RTX+2070.html

I myself might just go with the Palit Jetstream or Gainward 3 fan Phantom GS cards, though that's totally because their local agency is right next to where I usually shop from so RMA is easy. Palit owns Gainward btw and is also responsible for producing Nvidia's workstation cards, just like PC Partner (parent company of Sapphire and more) to AMD

[FreakyAlleyCat]

So what exactly is better about the parlit jetstream compared to the gigabyte i picked out?

 

It's a little more affordable and also seems to run very very quiet, which of course gets me thinking - but i'm having a hard time comparing all those numbers  

Edited November 13, 2019 by FreakyAlleyCat
typo

[Jurrunio]

5 minutes ago, FreakyAlleyCat said:

So what exactly is better about the parlit jetstream compared to the gigabyte i picked out?

 

It's a little more affordable and also seems to run very very quiet, which of course gets me thinking - but i'm having a hard time comparing all those numbers  

Just, price. RGB means nothing to me and customer service part is the same for me.