GPU upgrade need advice

[Hulkri]

Hi Linus Tech Tips Community (fist post )

 

I looking to upgrade my GPU to breath a little life back into my system and i need some advice on a good replacement. My current specs.

 

CPU: i7 920 @2.67 GHz
RAM: 6GB DDR3
MOBO: P6T SE
GPU: HD 5750
PSU: 600W

 

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Lolzious]

Budget? Country?

[Tedster]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

You might want to upgrade your RAM while you're at it.

 

Where are you (which country) and what's your budget? Also, would you prefer to buy from any particular retailers?

[Vexzarium]

Hi Linus Tech Tips Community (fist post )

 

I looking to upgrade my GPU to breath a little life back into my system and i need some advice on a good replacement. My current specs.

 

CPU: i7 920 @2.67 GHz

RAM: 6GB DDR3

MOBO: P6T SE

GPU: HD 5750

PSU: 600W

 

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Depending on how many PCI-E's your PSU has, I'd say a GTX-970. Simply due to you having 600w. If you had 750w, I'd suggest a R9-290x. If you're on a tighter budget than this, a R9-280x should suffice.

 

Maybe someone more familiar with your CPU could shed light on how it would perform paired with one of these GPU's.

[chopdok]

I would suggest R7 260X or R7 265. At most R9 270. If you fancy nVidia - GeForce GTX 750 Ti. Ideally, if you can get your hands on either used HD 7850, or get a discounted one for cheap - that card would probably be perfect for you.

 

The problem is that some games are more CPU dependant than others, so depending on what you play, you can even have GTX 970 and little to no bottleneck or you can have GTX 750 Ti at 60% utilization.

[Syte]

Hi Linus Tech Tips Community (fist post )

 

I looking to upgrade my GPU to breath a little life back into my system and i need some advice on a good replacement. My current specs.

 

CPU: i7 920 @2.67 GHz

RAM: 6GB DDR3

MOBO: P6T SE

GPU: HD 5750

PSU: 600W

 

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

Welcome to the forums!

 

As an bipartisan in the AMD/Nvidia flameware in this case if you're considering high-end options make sure you stick with Nvidia if you don't have AC. My Australian friends with GTX 970s see very high temperatures on their 970s due to the climate in most parts of the country (very high, but not a problem) and I know from experience that the 290x runs with more heat than that, even. 

 

If you're looking in more GTX 960/280 range the story is the same there as well, the 960 is the better option due to the 280/280x producing a lot of heat already and thermal throttling issues can be a real buzz-kill. The 285 doesn't have that same problem though it still doesn't have the same low temperature of the 960. Below the 960 I'd recommend the R9 270, depending on local prices, it's the best budget card on the market in my humble opinion.

[Hulkri]

Budget? Country?

 

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

You might want to upgrade your RAM while you're at it.

 

Where are you (which country) and what's your budget? Also, would you prefer to buy from any particular retailers?

I live in Australia, and im not looking to spend much over 500AUD on the gpu. advice on ram would be great.

 

 

Depending on how many PCI-E's your PSU has, I'd say a GTX-970. Simply due to you having 600w. If you had 750w, I'd suggest a R9-290x. If you're on a tighter budget than this, a R9-280x should suffice.

 

Maybe someone more familiar with your CPU could shed light on how it would perform paired with one of these GPU's.

my PSU is a 650w Coolmaster Extreme Power if that helps

[Vexzarium]

Welcome to the forums!

 

As an bipartisan in the AMD/Nvidia flameware in this case if you're considering high-end options make sure you stick with Nvidia if you don't have AC. My Australian friends with GTX 970s see very high temperatures on their 970s due to the climate in most parts of the country (very high, but not a problem) and I know from experience that the 290x runs with more heat than that, even. 

 

If you're looking in more GTX 960/280 range the story is the same there as well, the 960 is the better option due to the 280/280x producing a lot of heat already and thermal throttling issues can be a real buzz-kill. The 285 doesn't have that same problem though it still doesn't have the same low temperature of the 960. Below the 960 I'd recommend the R9 270, depending on local prices, it's the best budget card on the market in my humble opinion.

Not fueling a flame war, but most 290x's don't put out near the heat people claim. Now mine may be an exception, but 60c is almost never reached.

 

Although, there are plenty of cards that do emit the heat that would not be desirable in Australia. So as for AMD GPU's, going with the one's with nice coolers is the way to go. i.e. Sapphire 280x Tri-x. Sapphire 290x Tri-x. MSi 290x Lightning.

[rossbunting35]

Welcome to the forums!!

 

Taking into consideration your current specs the 750 ti would probably be your best option. I cant see any reason to go with a 970/R9 290 because you will be paying for performance that the rest of your system cant utilize. If you get a 750 that is PCIE powered it will also make things a bit neater in your case

 

Hope this helps

[Thoric]

TITAN Z- Very cheap

[DekonX]

I would say go with a HD 7970 - R9 280x simply because they are on average cheaper. 

I dont know a whole lot about the nvidia cards 

However you should look at a linear update again depending on your budget. 

Faster ram / more ram, will improve pc performance, possibly overclocking / liquid cooling or even a processor update if possible.

Just focusing on one area will not result in an overall improvement of your system in general. Focusing on memory, liquid cooling, more ram, faster ram. will improve your your system in general. So if you have 600$ to upgrade your computer dont just dump all that into a video card spread it into doubling your ram, getting an SSD if you dont have one, and spend 300$ on a video card that will be an upgrade for you but dont pigeon hole yourself with a minor update for video cards if that makes sense. 

[Vexzarium]

I live in Australia, and im not looking to spend much over 500AUD on the gpu. advice on ram would be great.

 

 

my PSU is a 650w Coolmaster Extreme Power if that helps

 

Damn, not a very efficient PSU with only two 6+2Pin PCI-E's...

 

Here's what I would do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($99.00 @ IJK) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($499.00 @ Centre Com) 

Total: $598.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 03:11 EST+1000

I want to suggest AMD cards, but with that PSU, I'd feel more comfortable with a more power efficient Nvidia GPU. I suggested that RAM due to it's top notch quality, and outstanding CAS Latency.

 

I also must note that your CPU would make me a bit nervous. You may encounter a bottleneck when paired with a 970.

 

It may be time for something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($255.00 @ CPL Online) 

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Performance ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.00 @ CPL Online) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($90.00 @ IJK) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($325.00 @ Umart) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($139.00 @ Umart) 

Total: $948.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 03:20 EST+1000

Just a more balanced upgrade than just a GPU. 

 

Now if you want an even better CPU and the ability to overclock:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($325.00 @ CPL Online) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($45.00 @ CPL Online) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($129.00 @ Umart) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($99.00 @ IJK) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($325.00 @ Umart) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($139.00 @ Umart) 

Total: $1062.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 03:22 EST+1000

I'd go this route.

[Syte]

Not fueling a flame war, but most 290x's don't put out near the heat people claim. Now mine may be an exception, but 60c is almost never reached.

 

Although, there are plenty of cards that do emit the heat that would not be desirable in Australia. So as for AMD GPU's, going with the one's with nice coolers is the way to go. i.e. Sapphire 280x Tri-x. Sapphire 290x Tri-x. MSi 290x Lightning.

 

The temperature your card is running at and the air it is displacing are two different things. Any competent aftermarket cooler can keep the 290x within acceptable temperatures in most places of the world; but in the case of my Australian friends sometimes 42C Ambient is just on the menu for the day, inside a hot computer case that 42C turns into a 50C after just an hour of operation.

[Hulkri]

 

 

Damn, not a very efficient PSU with only two 6+2Pin PCI-E's...

 

Here's what I would do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($99.00 @ IJK) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($499.00 @ Centre Com) 

Total: $598.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 03:11 EST+1000

I want to suggest AMD cards, but with that PSU, I'd feel more comfortable with a more power efficient Nvidia GPU. I suggested that RAM due to it's top notch quality, and outstanding CAS Latency.

 

I also must note that your CPU would make me a bit nervous. You may encounter a bottleneck when paired with a 970.

 

It may be time for something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($255.00 @ CPL Online) 

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Performance ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.00 @ CPL Online) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($90.00 @ IJK) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($325.00 @ Umart) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($139.00 @ Umart) 

Total: $948.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 03:20 EST+1000

Just a more balanced upgrade than just a GPU. 

 

Now if you want an even better CPU and the ability to overclock:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($325.00 @ CPL Online) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($45.00 @ CPL Online) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($129.00 @ Umart) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($99.00 @ IJK) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($325.00 @ Umart) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($139.00 @ Umart) 

Total: $1062.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 03:22 EST+1000

I'd go this route.

 

Thanks for the help. I might have to save up a little more and go with a fresh system