Updating rig. Advice on GPU selection.

[ihateyoujeffy]

My current main setup is a

q9550 @ stock speed

GTX 295

8 Gb of 1066

Vista 64 on HDD

 

I would like to build a completely new system and replace my media pc with my main pc.  I was wondering if there are any cards I could replace the 295 with anything reasonably priced and get some improvements out of it so if i want to game in the living room I can.  If I can get away with buying a new card and just placing it in my current pc for now and then moving it to the new one when it's built I would prefer that.  I'm also looking at just replacing the 295 with anything cheap that will still yield improvements and buying a seperate card.   The system is old and performs well enough but I would rather spend a little bit on it as opposed to essentially scrapping it.

 

Can I gain any signifcant benefits replacing the 295 with something $200 or less?

I'm shooting for 100fps range for my new setup and being able to continue using a single 3dVision monitor.

Would it be best and wait for price drops on nVidia cards?

 

Any help would be... helpful.

Jeff

[JoshM]

Yes but you might want to consider updating your whole rig, but 7870 is a good card

[D3MON]

My current main setup is a

q9550 @ stock speed

GTX 295

8 Gb of 1066

Vista 64 on HDD

 

I would like to build a completely new system and replace my media pc with my main pc.  I was wondering if there are any cards I could replace the 295 with anything reasonably priced and get some improvements out of it so if i want to game in the living room I can.  If I can get away with buying a new card and just placing it in my current pc for now and then moving it to the new one when it's built I would prefer that.  I'm also looking at just replacing the 295 with anything cheap that will still yield improvements and buying a seperate card.   The system is old and performs well enough but I would rather spend a little bit on it as opposed to essentially scrapping it.

 

Can I gain any signifcant benefits replacing the 295 with something $200 or less?

I'm shooting for 100fps range for my new setup and being able to continue using a single 3dVision monitor.

Would it be best and wait for price drops on nVidia cards?

 

Any help would be... helpful.

Jeff

overclcok your 9550 to 3.5ghz if you can and get the xfx 7950 off amazon for $250 and your set.

otherwise-new rig, and using this to replace your htpc doesnt make much sense, htpcs need to be quiet, small, efficient and not that powerful.

your 9550 wont bottleneck you in anything unless we're talking unoptimised dual core territory 9skyrim etc) in which case you'll get 150455935 frames per second anyway, ram doesnt make much differnce except for rendering so dont worry about that.

[91wow]

My current main setup is a

q9550 @ stock speed

GTX 295

8 Gb of 1066

Vista 64 on HDD

 

I would like to build a completely new system and replace my media pc with my main pc.  I was wondering if there are any cards I could replace the 295 with anything reasonably priced and get some improvements out of it so if i want to game in the living room I can.  If I can get away with buying a new card and just placing it in my current pc for now and then moving it to the new one when it's built I would prefer that.  I'm also looking at just replacing the 295 with anything cheap that will still yield improvements and buying a seperate card.   The system is old and performs well enough but I would rather spend a little bit on it as opposed to essentially scrapping it.

 

Can I gain any signifcant benefits replacing the 295 with something $200 or less?

I'm shooting for 100fps range for my new setup and being able to continue using a single 3dVision monitor.

Would it be best and wait for price drops on nVidia cards?

 

Any help would be... helpful.

Jeff

Semi close system to mine i see, OC the Q9550 and get a 7870GHZ or wait and buy either a R7 260X or a R7 270X maybe a 280x if you ahve the money! I am buying the R7 260X when i can so if you haven't decided by then I can help! (By the way a 7790/260x is faster than a GTX 295

[D3MON]

Semi close system to mine i see, OC the Q9550 and get a 7870GHZ or wait and buy either a R7 260X or a R7 270X maybe a 280x if you ahve the money! I am buying the R7 260X when i can so if you haven't decided by then I can help! (By the way a 7790/260x is faster than a GTX 295

xfx 7870-$200 ($180 for msi which is an option)

xfx7950 with a 50% wider bus and a more powerful core can be upto 40% faster for 28% more money and a 7950 will max out most games.

[ihateyoujeffy]

Semi close system to mine i see, OC the Q9550 and get a 7870GHZ or wait and buy either a R7 260X or a R7 270X maybe a 280x if you ahve the money! I am buying the R7 260X when i can so if you haven't decided by then I can help! (By the way a 7790/260x is faster than a GTX 295

 

 

overclcok your 9550 to 3.5ghz if you can and get the xfx 7950 off amazon for $250 and your set.

otherwise-new rig, and using this to replace your htpc doesnt make much sense, htpcs need to be quiet, small, efficient and not that powerful.

your 9550 wont bottleneck you in anything unless we're talking unoptimised dual core territory 9skyrim etc) in which case you'll get 150455935 frames per second anyway, ram doesnt make much differnce except for rendering so dont worry about that.

My current htpc is pretty much ancient and plays movies well but does not game good at all, which I would like to be able to do. I have already budgeted a max of $3000 (including new monitor/desk/chair) for a new build in spring. I would prefer to keep my current pc mainly for sentimental reasons since it was my first build.  I've never attempted any overclocking but I would definitely want to try if I can get somewhere without liquid cooling.  Thanks again for the advice.

[91wow]

My current htpc is pretty much ancient and plays movies well but does not game good at all, which I would like to be able to do. I have already budgeted a max of $3000 (including new monitor/desk/chair) for a new build in spring. I would prefer to keep my current pc mainly for sentimental reasons since it was my first build.  I've never attempted any overclocking but I would definitely want to try if I can get somewhere without liquid cooling.  Thanks again for the advice.

Might I suggest a 212 evo or 212+ with some good SP fans and a GPU? you can really OC a Q9550 with a 212!

[coen113]

get a 7950 while it lasts. its cheap right now, and the 280x is more expensive, or it will be.

[D3MON]

My current htpc is pretty much ancient and plays movies well but does not game good at all, which I would like to be able to do. I have already budgeted a max of $3000 (including new monitor/desk/chair) for a new build in spring. I would prefer to keep my current pc mainly for sentimental reasons since it was my first build.  I've never attempted any overclocking but I would definitely want to try if I can get somewhere without liquid cooling.  Thanks again for the advice.

yeah if it games and draws lots of power and is loud, that's not a home theatre (minecraft on a gt210 htpc for instance is acceptable).

What you really want is your old rig but able to play modern titles.

1#Get an xfx 7950 for $250 like i said and put cash aside for a year while you game for now (a 7950 will not be bottlenecked by an OC'd 9550).

2#Keep the 295 that you have now (saves buying 1 later) but just buy a 7950 and keep the 295 as a wall peice (as my 285 was intended for, like linus has done with the 6870...) then in a year or so build a whole new rig, put the 7950 in that and put the 295 back in your old rig for your "home theatre/old school gaming rig".

3#in a year or so you will have saved money (easily spread out over 12, 18, 24 months) plenty of cash to build an awesome rig with a haswell-e and a r9-390xx or whatever, your first rig will either be kept 9if your like me) or passed down and your current pc will be your new home theatre

I still have my athlon k6, 512mb SD ram, inno3d mx440, kinetiz 7a (slot a) motherboard...i can relate.

[Garden_Phantom]

first step: format hdd and install windows 7

 

edit: about the gpu... i would go 7870, best value for money

[Wulfgar]

If it's possible, I recommend building an entirely new rig. LGA 775 is wayyyyyyyy outdated to warrant upgrading anything. Save up some money, then reformat your PC with Windows 7 or 8, sell it for a couple hundred bucks to recoup some cash, and enjoy your new build