Advice about a new GPU

[armodar]

Hey guys, first time poster in this forums

 

Current setup

• 3770k OCd 4.0ghz undervolted
• 16GB at 1.35v
• SSD(OS)+HDD(Data)
• HD 6870 1GB
• 580W beQuiet 80plus gold PSU
• 3x 1920x1080 21.5" 60Hz monitors (all LED 30w max consumption per)+ 1x 1280x800 projector

 

Activities on PC

1. work(office, PDFs, chrome w. 30-50tabs) 20-30%
2. games (tanki online (10%), wurm online(30%), nfs world(5%), tera online(5%)) - typically on one screen, with wurm online being the only game that could go at times on all 3 current screens
3. movies 20%

Issues

 

Although a good and solid card, my HD6870 is really struggling with both lack of VRAM (expecially visible in wurm online - at max settings im using 99% of VRAM + 300 MB of dynamic memory with just one client open) and GPU power (max settings in tanki 28-30 FPS; max settings in wurm 15-40 FPS; medium settings in tera 30-60 FPS; medium-high in NFS world 30-50 FPS)

 

What is the plan

 

Well, I plan on getting a 4th 1920x1080 60Hz screen to put on top of the main one (the other 3 are horizontally arranged) - i just need the screen space for work

Now, I was looking at the MSI Gaming 4G GTX 970 (don't really fancy EVGA because of the coil whine and gigabyte and asus are meh for me) and connecting all 4 1080p panels to it with the one on top as utility display or whatever is called, and the projector using the HDMI of the integrated intel GPU as its only gonna be used for movies (some in 3D but still)

 

As you might notice, my whole PC tries to be very powerful (within reason and with optimal cost/performance, except the CPU that i really wanted good) but as energy efficient as possible - atm in idle is drawing 95-105W and another 85-98W for the 3x screens so around 200W all together. Obviously energy efficiency is a big thing for me (due to energy prices around here but also heat generation)

 

Also the GTX 970 is quite expensive for my budget, and I will have to stretch quite a lot to fit it, but seems (for my own judgement) the best card from the perspective of price/performance/future/energy efficiency in my (super stretched) budget

 

Questions

1. Looking at my current setup, future additional screen and my gaming profile, is the ram on the GTX 970 (3.5GB) good enough or I would be spending a ton of money for something that is still not good enough for my gaming profile for at least 2-3 years to come?
2. Is there a better alternative (price wise, future-thinking) than this card within this budget and power requirement? (yes ive looked at the R9 390 with 8G ram but the 275W max is UNGODLY much)
3. Am I looking to spend too much money when I don't need to spend as much? (i do think the 960, even if it would have had 4G of VRAM would have been a bit too weak for 2-3 years?)

 

 

Thank you guys for reading and sorry for the long post

 

Looking forward to reading your suggestions/ideas

 

Thank you

 

Best,

Armodar

[pokechat8978]

-snip-

If it's possible, I'd look into an R9 285, or a 4GB variant of the R9 380.

[Lolucoca]

GTX 970 or R9 380(X)

[don_svetlio]

Fury Nano - lower TDP than the 980 and 5W more than the 970 and more pefromance supposedly.

[don_svetlio]

[gt403cyl]

MY honest opinion is look at the 390 more, that is MAX 275w, there is very few things I can see maxing it out in every day use/ gaming on 1080p.

 

They are the same price as the 970 and you get a better card that's also better suited for the future, be it going 1440p or just more demanding games.

[manikyath]

warning: large image

 

970 VRAM isnt an issue.

[armodar]

Thank you guys for your answers so far

 

 

If it's possible, I'd look into an R9 285, or a 4GB variant of the R9 380.

 

I was looking initially (half a year ago at the 285, but 2GB ram seems tiny considering how fast i run out now) - and the step down to the 380 is okay? do you think I don't actually need the horsepower behind the 970?

 

GTX 970 or R9 380(X)

 

I cannot seem to find a 380X anywhere....

 

Fury Nano - lower TDP than the 980 and 5W more than the 970 and more pefromance supposedly.

 

Sounds FANTASTIC, but damn the price on it....I am stretched so thin already with this.....that one is absurdly expensive (even if i wait a year after its launch)

 

MY honest opinion is look at the 390 more, that is MAX 275w, there is very few things I can see maxing it out in every day use/ gaming on 1080p.

 

They are the same price as the 970 and you get a better card that's also better suited for the future, be it going 1440p or just more demanding games.

 

That is why I was looking at the 390 in the first place....but I don't know man.... seems very inefficient use of power....

 

warning: large image

 

 

970 VRAM isnt an issue.

 

Haha, thank you for that

[DarkBlade2117]

At 1080p the 970 is a great option to may 2-3 years. Go for it.

[pokechat8978]

 

I was looking initially (half a year ago at the 285, but 2GB ram seems tiny considering how fast i run out now) - and the step down to the 380 is okay? do you think I don't actually need the horsepower behind the 970?

 

 

 

R9 380 is just a rebadged R9 285 with a 4GB VRAM variant and a slightly higher memory and core clock.

Honestly, I don't think you'd need a 970 for those games.

[don_svetlio]

Thank you guys for your answers so far

 

 

 

I was looking initially (half a year ago at the 285, but 2GB ram seems tiny considering how fast i run out now) - and the step down to the 380 is okay? do you think I don't actually need the horsepower behind the 970?

 

 

I cannot seem to find a 380X anywhere....

 

 

Sounds FANTASTIC, but damn the price on it....I am stretched so thin already with this.....that one is absurdly expensive (even if i wait a year after its launch)

 

 

That is why I was looking at the 390 in the first place....but I don't know man.... seems very inefficient use of power....

 

 

Haha, thank you for that

A 390 won't really melt your PSU - it's a good quality one and 580W is more than enough for that card - a 290X ran fine with a 500W PSU and an OC so it should be no problem @ stock

[Lolucoca]

@armodar With the brackets, I meant, when this card comes out

[Flyguyz28]

For 1080p, try the R9 380 4GB or GTX 960 4GB. Both are around $200, some less with rebates. And if it comes with a game you don't want, even better, just sell the promo code on eBay!

[armodar]

For 1080p, try the R9 380 4GB or GTX 960 4GB. Both are around $200, some less with rebates. And if it comes with a game you don't want, even better, just sell the promo code on eBay!

 

I do agree that I like the power consumption on the 960 way better, and the full 4GB ram do make a point, but isnt that a bit slow to last for 2-3 years? I mean I prefer stretching my budget to last me 1-1.5 extra years.....

 

If possible, I always change hardware every 3-4 generations

[Flyguyz28]

I do agree that I like the power consumption on the 960 way better, and the full 4GB ram do make a point, but isnt that a bit slow to last for 2-3 years? I mean I prefer stretching my budget to last me 1-1.5 extra years.....

If possible, I always change hardware every 3-4 generations

The games you are playing aren't very graphically demanding, and you've got an excellent processor already. The 960 will hold up for 2-3 years at 1080p. 90% of gamers are still on 1080p until monitor pricing comes down and GPU performance goes up to match 1440p. Direct X 12 will squeeze even more performance out of games with it being a low level api.