Looking for a new GPU - is my CPU and PSU good enough?
72 replies, posted
Spagetto, the reason newer games are running poorly even on low/medium settings is your GTX 650 has 384 cuda cores. That's just not enough for newer games. You could stick a GTX 750 ti in there with no PSU worries and you'd get massively improved performance since the 750 ti is the fastest card that doesn't need a 6 pin power connector.
If you're chasing 60fps average at 1080p on highest settings on all games you will need a more powerful videocard than a 750 ti though, so I guess it all depends on what kind of performance you are looking to get. At this point your CPU is fine for most games, I don't know of any big game that isn't playable with a Phenom II. Over the next 2 or 3 years that could change. I would not buy a CPU now, trying to guess what you'll need in 2 years. It's best to buy what you need when you need it, it's easier to spend money wisely when you know exactly what your needs are.
he needs a GPU, so getting a 970 and saving for a new cpu/mobo is the best choice.
why would he get a 750ti, it would be so pointless
one problem i also have with getting a new gpu is that it cant be too big or it wont fit in my computer, has to be about as big as the gtx 650 (heigh 4,4 inches, lenght 5,7 inches). Most gtx 970s are quite large, i think the only one that seemed small was inno3d:s brand but im having a hard time finding any reviews on that gpu. Most people just say ''get the msi/gigabyte one'', but as far as i remember they both were too big
[QUOTE=Harry3;46932333]This post confused me.. in the UK to say "..is the dogs bollocks" is to say its really fucking good
[url]http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dog%27s+Bollocks[/url][/QUOTE]
I had no idea. I thought it meant what it sounded like; a wrinkly old dog's scrotum. How would a society evolve to think that's a good thing?
a case is cheap to get, and can solve that problem easily, just make sure when you transfer components you are careful and plug everything back in
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;46932404]Spagetto, the reason newer games are running poorly even on low/medium settings is your GTX 650 has 384 cuda cores. That's just not enough for newer games. You could stick a GTX 750 ti in there with no PSU worries and you'd get massively improved performance since the 750 ti is the fastest card that doesn't need a 6 pin power connector.
If you're chasing 60fps average at 1080p on highest settings on all games you will need a more powerful videocard than a 750 ti though, so I guess it all depends on what kind of performance you are looking to get. At this point your CPU is fine for most games, I don't know of any big game that isn't playable with a Phenom II. Over the next 2 or 3 years that could change. I would not buy a CPU now, trying to guess what you'll need in 2 years. It's best to buy what you need when you need it, it's easier to spend money wisely when you know exactly what your needs are.[/QUOTE]
Honestly im looking for an upgrade that will let me play mordern games in higher settings for at least a few years ahead. My computer is otherwise fine, a little slower than usual but i suppose that is expected since its 2 years old(rigth?)
Getting a new motherboard and cpu and all that sounds really complicated cos im inexperienced with building computers, but if thats necessary i might consider that too.
Is it tho really possible to upgrade my pc so that it will stay good for the next 4-6 years, as someone here claimed? Id think i can still wait a few years until that kinda upgrading will ne necessary, or instead just buy a new pc. But yea, i dont know shit about computers :v:
In theory, yes it's possible. This is because console games set the bar for game developers. They develop games for the PS4 and Xbox One and just use that tech in PC games. So in the next few years most games will target that in hardware. There of course will be a few PC specific titles that will push hardware, but PC gaming as a whole will not advance much past PS4/Xbox level.
Keep in mind that high settings and high resolution are two different things. If you are willing to play at 720p resolution then a lot of cards will do the job just fine, even at high settings. Once you up the resolution to 1080p levels, you'll need a much more powerful card to handle the high settings AND greater demands of high resolution.
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;46932705]In theory, yes it's possible. This is because console games set the bar for game developers. They develop games for the PS4 and Xbox One and just use that tech in PC games. So in the next few years most games will target that in hardware. There of course will be a few PC specific titles that will push hardware, but PC gaming as a whole will not advance much past PS4/Xbox level.
Keep in mind that high settings and high resolution are two different things. If you are willing to play at 720p resolution then a lot of cards will do the job just fine, even at high settings. Once you up the resolution to 1080p levels, you'll need a much more powerful card to handle the high settings AND greater demands of high resolution.[/QUOTE]
I did mean high/ultra settings in 1080p yes. Not sure r9 270 could handle that nor gtx 760/770, but gtx 970 most likely will. I just dont know whether my pc could handle that kinda card since apparently my cpu is shite. And ive heard you need a 500/550w psu for handling a 970, i think the radeon and 760/770 also needed higher watts(according to the official sites), but some people on other message boards say its apparently fine to only have a 450w psu?? Im just really confused, lol
Sorry if anyone answered the whole ''do i need a new psu'' question, its been a bit overwhelming to follow the posts here
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;46932705]In theory, yes it's possible. This is because console games set the bar for game developers. They develop games for the PS4 and Xbox One and just use that tech in PC games. So in the next few years most games will target that in hardware. There of course will be a few PC specific titles that will push hardware, but PC gaming as a whole will not advance much past PS4/Xbox level.[/QUOTE]what?
i think you're mistaken here.
yes, some games are console ports, but many are still heavy hitters in PC power, just look at recent games.
Your current XFX 450W supply would be fine for a 970, the 900-series is really efficient. A 970 consumes less power than a 770, for example
[QUOTE=Spagetto;46932797]I did mean high/ultra settings in 1080p yes. Not sure r9 270 could handle that nor gtx 760/770, but gtx 970 most likely will. I just dont know whether my pc could handle that kinda card since apparently my cpu is shite. And ive heard you need a 500/550w psu for handling a 970, i think the radeon and 760/770 also needed higher watts(according to the official sites), but some people on other message boards say its apparently fine to only have a 450w psu?? Im just really confused, lol
Sorry if anyone answered the whole ''do i need a new psu'' question, its been a bit overwhelming to follow the posts here[/QUOTE]
If you go with a Radeon card, you're going to be really pushing it with a 450w PSU. I've got an 8350/290x combo, but even when I was running on a 965/290x I was getting occasional shutdowns and restarts running on a 630w PSU. Granted, the 290x is a power hungry madman, but even if you go with an efficient 970, between the 965 and the 970 you're looking at ~375w in total (250/125w 970/965), and that doesn't leave you a lot of room once you consider peripherals, case fans, hard drives, and above all that, how much wattage your PSU is actually putting out reliably.
[QUOTE=ramirez!;46932950]If you go with a Radeon card, you're going to be really pushing it with a 450w PSU. I've got an 8350/290x combo, but even when I was running on a 965/290x I was getting occasional shutdowns and restarts running on a 630w PSU.[/QUOTE]
A 600W supply is more than enough for a system like that, you just had a trash PSU
So my psu is fine for a gtx 970? And my cpu too?
In that case, does anyone know anything of inno3ds gtx 970? Its really hard to find any reviews or opinions on it, but id prefer to buy that one cos its smaller and cheaper than the msi and gigabyte 970s.
Heres the info on inno3d
[URL="http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b3103/inno3d-gtx-970-herculez-x2-oc.html"]http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b3103/inno3d-gtx-970-herculez-x2-oc.html[/URL]
and here compared it to gigabyte 970
[URL="http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b3050/gigabyte-gtx-970-g1-gaming.html"]http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b3050/gigabyte-gtx-970-g1-gaming.html[/URL]
If i understood anything of those numbers id compare them myself lol
[QUOTE=ClaBrendon;46932923]what?
i think you're mistaken here.
yes, some games are console ports, but many are still heavy hitters in PC power, just look at recent games.[/QUOTE]
Look at the Xbox 360/PS3 era. What PC games came out that were way ahead, in terms of hardware demands, than those console games? Very few. That's how it's going to be in the new console generation era. It's not that all PC games are ports. It's that the higher the specs that are required, the lower the profit, since you'll lose sales. So most game developers develop their tech for the lowest common denominator- the consoles. And if you're developing games at that level anyways, why go to the trouble of doing all new work just to develop a PC only version?
There will always be a small group of PC game developers who push the envelope, and if you're into those kinds of games yes you'll need more powerful hardware. But if you [i]are[/i] into those games then you already know this. People who are trying to squeeze life out of Phenom IIs are not people who play cutting edge games, or they wouldn't still be using a Phenom II.
[QUOTE=Rixxz2;46933013]A 600W supply is more than enough for a system like that, you just had a trash PSU[/QUOTE]
It was a two month old XFX XTR 650w gold-rated unit, so I mean, I guess that [i]could[/i] have been the problem.
[QUOTE=~Kiwi~v2;46931608]What are [B]you[/B] on about.
AMD hasn't been relevant except for making more cores a thing since the Athlon/Phenom 2s and the bulldozer architecture was a clear example of them being irrelevant.
I know quite a few people who've had a FX8350, they don't run CSGO that great, they don't run Arma 3 that well at all, and Dragon Age Inquisition is frankily going to piss on it and still run sub par.[/QUOTE]
Ooh a useless anecdote, I have one too: my FX6300 can run CSGO at 200< fps if I don't cap it at 60.
[QUOTE=Trekintosh;46932494]I had no idea. I thought it meant what it sounded like; a wrinkly old dog's scrotum. How would a society evolve to think that's a good thing?[/QUOTE]
Because dogs lick their bollocks all the time so they must be really good
It's January 2015, 3 years ago takes us to Jan 2012:
not counting dual GPUs or extreme edition CPUs
Top CPU you'd have- i7 2700k
Top GPU(Nvidia)- GTX 580
So if you were gaming on that setup today would you feel you're good for today's games on highest settings at 1080p? Yeah, IF you were gaming on console level games all this time. Otherwise you'd probably have upgraded at least the videocard by now, and most likely the entire mb/CPU/GPU/ram guts of that computer for PC specific games like DA Inquisition.
Now project that into the future. A GTX 970 is looking really great right now, but in Jan 2018?
So what are you saying cecil, is it a waste of money for me to get a strong gpu like 970 and i should buy a more mediocre one or..?
I just want a good gpu to make newer games run on at least high in 1080p with a good framerate(which is above 60 right?). But if my cpu/mobo is not very good i dunno if its worth investing in an expensive gpu now if i still need a new pc/bigg upgrade in the next year or two.
Man this is driving me nuts
[QUOTE=Spagetto;46933706]So what are you saying cecil, is it a waste of money for me to get a strong gpu like 970 and i should buy a more mediocre one or..?
I just want a good gpu to make newer games run on at least high in 1080p with a good framerate(which is above 60 right?). But if my cpu/mobo is not very good i dunno if its worth investing in an expensive gpu now if i still need a new pc/bigg upgrade in the next year or two.
Man this is driving me nuts[/QUOTE]
The one, sure-fire thing you can learn here is that some games depend on both your CPU and your graphics card equally, and some games depend mostly on your graphics card. That old Phenom might bottleneck you in some instances and in others, you'll be fine. Cecil is implying that no matter what you get now, it's going to be outdated in a few years, but he's doing it in a rather bleak and unrealistic manner. Personally, I'm siding with Kiwi and Rixx here, you're better off getting an Intel CPU and a new motherboard to match before you upgrade your graphics card, as Intel has been very well-known for their single-threaded performance and great power efficiency compared to AMD for the last three or five years.
And, at the absolute least, get a 500W PSU. 450W is cutting it a little too close for comfort for a gaming system in this day and age, especially if you plan on overclocking in the future.
[QUOTE=Spagetto;46933706]So what are you saying cecil, is it a waste of money for me to get a strong gpu like 970 and i should buy a more mediocre one or..?
I just want a good gpu to make newer games run on at least high in 1080p with a good framerate(which is above 60 right?). But if my cpu/mobo is not very good i dunno if its worth investing in an expensive gpu now if i still need a new pc/bigg upgrade in the next year or two.
Man this is driving me nuts[/QUOTE]
If you do decide to spend on a GPU, the 970 should keep you going for quite some time. It's capable of running games at 60+fps at 1440p all day long.
It's never a waste of money to buy a strong GPU, as long as your CPU is also relatively a strong performer.
[QUOTE=Spagetto;46933706]So what are you saying cecil, is it a waste of money for me to get a strong gpu like 970 and i should buy a more mediocre one or..?
I just want a good gpu to make newer games run on at least high in 1080p with a good framerate(which is above 60 right?). But if my cpu/mobo is not very good i dunno if its worth investing in an expensive gpu now if i still need a new pc/bigg upgrade in the next year or two.
Man this is driving me nuts[/QUOTE]
I had same problem few days ago, couldn't decide, ended up just cutting all the hassle and ordering ASUS 970.
[QUOTE=ramirez!;46933234]It was a two month old XFX XTR 650w gold-rated unit, so I mean, I guess that [i]could[/i] have been the problem.[/QUOTE]
Yes, there was obviously something wrong with it
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;46933597]It's January 2015, 3 years ago takes us to Jan 2012:
not counting dual GPUs or extreme edition CPUs
Top CPU you'd have- i7 2700k
Top GPU(Nvidia)- GTX 580
So if you were gaming on that setup today would you feel you're good for today's games on highest settings at 1080p? Yeah, IF you were gaming on console level games all this time. Otherwise you'd probably have upgraded at least the videocard by now, and most likely the entire mb/CPU/GPU/ram guts of that computer for PC specific games like DA Inquisition.
Now project that into the future. A GTX 970 is looking really great right now, but in Jan 2018?[/QUOTE]
The GTX 580 is still good for high to very high gaming, and an i7 2600k would be able to max any game that's CPU bound. What the hell are you on about?
[QUOTE=Spagetto;46933706]So what are you saying cecil, is it a waste of money for me to get a strong gpu like 970 and i should buy a more mediocre one or..?
I just want a good gpu to make newer games run on at least high in 1080p with a good framerate(which is above 60 right?). But if my cpu/mobo is not very good i dunno if its worth investing in an expensive gpu now if i still need a new pc/bigg upgrade in the next year or two.
Man this is driving me nuts[/QUOTE]
What I'm saying is forget about trying to future proof what you buy. Buy what you know you need today, not for what you think you'll need tomorrow. A lot can change between now and then, and components get faster and cheaper. You'll get better performance and for less if you upgrade as needed over time, rather than just buy a bunch of expensive stuff now and use that for years.
So, with that philosophy, I'd say get a new videocard that can give you the game performance you're looking for. Even if your CPU holds it back a little, so what? When the day comes that your CPU can no longer run the games you play at a decent framerate, that's when you upgrade the CPU/motherboard/RAM, then bring your videocard to the new system.
I'd say buy a 970. Don't overthink it, just pick it up. Price/performance it's going to do you the best, and if your CPU/Mobo isn't quite up to snuff for it (which it's not THAT bad) then just take the 970 with you when you upgrade that, as cecil said.
Yes, thats probably what ill do then. Now i just have to decide whether to get the inno3d 970 or msi 970, the latter is more popular and more trustworthy but the former is cheaper and smaller so i wouldnt have to buy a new case..If anyone knows anything about the inno3d then some recommendations would be nice(whether its shite and i should ignore it, or if its alright)
Otherwise thanks for the help guise </3
[QUOTE=Spagetto;46937809]Yes, thats probably what ill do then. Now i just have to decide whether to get the inno3d 970 or msi 970, the latter is more popular and more trustworthy but the former is cheaper and smaller so i wouldnt have to buy a new case..If anyone knows anything about the inno3d then some recommendations would be nice(whether its shite and i should ignore it, or if its alright)
Otherwise thanks for the help guise </3[/QUOTE]
Can you provide links to each model? Most people here are familiar with MSI's variants of the GTX 970, but I'm pretty sure Inno3D isn't as well known because they only sell their graphics cards in the UK and Europe.
As i posted here earlier heres inno3d 970
[URL="http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b3103/inno3d-gtx-970-herculez-x2-oc.html"]http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b3103/inno3d-gtx-970-herculez-x2-oc.html[/URL]
and here compared it to msi 970
[URL="http://www.msi.com/product/vga/GTX-970-GAMING-4G.html#hero-specification"]http://www.msi.com/product/vga/GTX-970-GAMING-4G.html#hero-specification[/URL]
[QUOTE=Spagetto;46939509]As i posted here earlier heres inno3d 970
[URL="http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b3103/inno3d-gtx-970-herculez-x2-oc.html"]http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b3103/inno3d-gtx-970-herculez-x2-oc.html[/URL]
and here compared it to msi 970
[URL="http://www.msi.com/product/vga/GTX-970-GAMING-4G.html#hero-specification"]http://www.msi.com/product/vga/GTX-970-GAMING-4G.html#hero-specification[/URL][/QUOTE]
The Inno3D model is just a hair faster than the MSI model's "silent mode", but MSI wins out if you switch to gaming or OC mode. However, these are the out-of-the-box values, and don't mean a lot if you plan to overclock your graphics card at some point so you can push it beyond these limits. If the Inno3D model fits in your case and is a little cheaper, I say go for it.
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