Gpu upgrade

[Patgecko]

Ok so my friend wants to get a gtx 970 and is trying to sell me his old gtx 770. Right now I have an i3 2120. 8 gb of ram, a 7770 and a 500 watt bronze standard psu. He is selling it to me for 230 usd. Is it worth the buy and will I need to get a new psu?

[Guest]

Hell no, just got yourself a 970 and upgrade your CPU at a later date.

[AlwaysFSX]

Given 770s go for around $280 still and 760s are around that price, it's an upgrade and not that expensive for what it is. No you would not need a new psu.

 

Hell no, just got yourself a 970 and upgrade your CPU at a later date.

Uh? No.

[1Scotty1]

No need for new PSU, and the price is decent also, upgrade it!

[Guest]

Correction: I skim read £ apologies :rolleyes:

[Faceman]

Ok so my friend wants to get a gtx 970 and is trying to sell me his old gtx 770. Right now I have an i3 2120. 8 gb of ram, a 7770 and a 500 watt bronze standard psu. He is selling it to me for 230 usd. Is it worth the buy and will I need to get a new psu?

Heck no.

 

First of all, the 770 is basically obsolete.  Its limiting factor being just 2GB of VRAM.  3GB should be the minimum you consider.  You can buy an R9 280 for $150 that comes with 3GB of VRAM and performs almost as good as a 770.  Heck, buy an R9 280X for $200 brand new.  But, if you have $230 cash laying around, you should be looking at an R9 290.  Best case scenario, buy a GTX 970.

 

Only problem is your CPU, it will bottleneck all of these cards.

[bodoy]

Heck no.

 

First of all, the 770 is basically obsolete.  Its limiting factor being just 2GB of VRAM.  3GB should be the minimum you consider.  You can buy an R9 280 for $150 that comes with 3GB of VRAM and performs almost as good as a 770.  Heck, buy an R9 280X for $200 brand new.  But, if you have $230 cash laying around, you should be looking at an R9 290.  Best case scenario, buy a GTX 970.

 

Only problem is your CPU, it will bottleneck all of these cards.

I always thought the high VRAM was just for in case you wanna game on more than one monitor? Isn't 2GB enough for one screen?

 

Though the 280x for $200 IMO is a better choice than the deal OP is given atm. Not really sure where to get 280xs at that price though...

[Faceman]

I always thought the high VRAM was just for in case you wanna game on more than one monitor? Isn't 2GB enough for one screen?

 

Though the 280x for $200 IMO is a better choice than the deal OP is given atm. Not really sure where to get 280xs at that price though...

I guess they went back up to the $220-240 range.  I had seen them at $200 not long ago.  A deal here, and MIR there, you can see how they can become available for $200.  But even then, I would still hold out for an R9 290.

 

VRAM is becoming more an more important even for single monitor 1080p setups.  If you want to run Ultra graphic details, you need VRAM.  Even me with 3GB of VRAM on a 780, I can't max out every single game, and more games are being released that require more and more VRAM.  Its the difference between playing games on Ultra or High, and its the difference between your GPU lasting 2 years compared to 4 years(arbitrary guess).  I don't want to say future proof, but you are better prepared for games of today and tomorrow with more VRAM.  Anything less than 3GB shouldn't be considered.

[HighRabbit]

As Faceman mentioned, I'd take the R9 290. GTX 770 is way too outdated. And yeah, VRAM is important, uless you're going to play on a 720p monitor .