PC Video Cards

[Gummy01 10]

Alright, so Xmas is coming up and every other year I like gifting myself with an upgrade to my setup.  This year?  Video.

 

I am currently running a Radeon HD 6950, and find with a few games I have to bump down the settings on them as it swoons under the pressure and just can't keep up.  I keep having to run off my CPU instead of GPU on Planetside 2 due to this...

 

Motherboard, Harddrives, and everything else is 2013 and newer....any suggestions folks?  I can support PCI Express 3.0.

 

If you can provide pricing as well, it would be totally awesome!  Now, price is of no factor, as long as it is below 500.  That is kind of my budget limit.

 

 

[MajesticHF 3]

GTX 970.

 

GTX 980, but that's reaching your limit.

 

Might want to consider your CPU though. You might experience some bottlenecks with higher-end cards.

[Gummy01 10]

@[member='MajesticHF'] - Thank you man!

 

What would you recommend for down the CPU lineup?  I am seriously considering upping my budget to 800...

[Lord Baker 28]

I'm wondering the same thing! My laptop is now getting to old for the games coming out. Yeah its a lap top but its not bad at all! The Graphics Card and the CPU is getting dated. Now that I'm out the Marine Corps and I can settle down and stick to one spot rather than moving all the time, with deployments and training schedules, It's time to upgrade to a desktop. But my big focus will be the CPU and GPU, everything else will be easy. Right now I have a G 670M and its no longer cutting it was well as I want it to, It still preforms well for a mobile unit but I want more! Like Gummy01 asked, Whats a good GPU and a CPU that has a descent price? it doesn't have to be top of the line, just up-to-date. So if anything else this is kinda a BUMP

[plaxus 89]

$800?  two 970's?

[Gummy01 10]

@[member='Lord Baker'] - I have a friend up here in AK who has an ancient old laptop - one of those dust-proof, waterproof, drop-proof, ten pound or so cases?

 

Most of his stuff (with some modifications to the casing) has been modded to fix and fit into his laptop.  It is a crazy good laptop, and as a side effect, he has stuck with the dust, water, drop-proofing for it.  In a nutshell, it is a beast.

 

@[member='plaxus'] - Any particular reason as to why two would be beneficial?

[MajesticHF 3]

@[member='Gummy01'] - What's your current CPU? If you upgrade the CPU, you might have to upgrade the motherboard as well.

[mrmaccarsten 13]

What is the cheapest setup to run planetside at ultra.

[Gummy01 10]

@[member='mrmaccarsten'] - Oh gosh.  So much ditto in this.  I am eagerly waiting to see if anyone has an suggestions to this MacCarsten.

 

Possibly the following?

 

 

• CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K
• CPU Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
• Motherboard: ASUS Z97 Pro
• Video Card (SLI): EVGA GeForce GTX 970 
• Video Card (SLI): EVGA GeForce GTX 970
• RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB
• HDD: Western Digital 1TB 
• Case: NZXT Source 220 
• Power Supply: Antec HCP-1000W Platinum
• Optical Drive: Samsung 24X SATA
• Monitor: ASUS PB287Q 28″ 4K 
• Operating System: Windows 8.1

 Grand Total: $2,450-$2,550

[MajesticHF 3]

Great build for anything you want to throw at it. 

 

Will max out any modern titles at 2560x1440, though I would recommend a single GTX 980 for now, then get another one in the future when prices drop. GTX 980 prices are so high right now, wouldn't be the best bang for the buck to buy two at the same time right now.

 

You could get 16GB of RAM if you want; 8GB is enough for average user, but you can never go wrong with having more.

 

I included a Blu-Ray drive in case you watch Blu-Rays. If not, you can just get a simple CD+DVD reader/writer for like $15.

 

You can save around $50 - $100 by taking advantage of mail-in rebates and using multiple retailers. Not sure if it would be worth the extra hassle, but something I'd like to keep floating in the air in case you're one of the people who like to save as much money as possible.

 

You can also save more money by reusing parts from your current build. RAM, hard drives, optical drives would be the things I would reuse.

 

I picked the parts with a black & white color scheme in mind and chose from a single retailer to keep shipping easier on your end.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 93.3 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($89.90 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($126.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($130.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer  ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor  ($469.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2332.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-19 22:09 EST-0500

 

 

Or you can go for an AIO water cooler to get rid of the bulkiness of an air cooler.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($126.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($130.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer  ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor  ($469.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2342.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-19 22:10 EST-0500

 

Edited November 20, 2014 by MajesticHF

[MajesticHF 3]

You don't have to buy a completely new build though considering some of yourcurrent parts are still pretty new.

 

You can upgrade the 6950 to something like the GTX 970. You might experience bottlenecks depeing on your current CPU. If your CPU causes a bottleneck, you will have to upgrade the CPU, and if you upgrade the CPU, you might have to get a new motherboard along with it.

Edited November 20, 2014 by MajesticHF

[mrmaccarsten 13]

Thanks for suggestions guys :D

[MajesticHF 3]

@mrmaccarslen - im not trying to be rude, but why are you thread hijacking. if you have questions, i advise you create your own thread.

Edited November 20, 2014 by MajesticHF

[Skid 311]

heres a tip, dont waste your money on intel.

[terminatorjim6300 40]

i would recommend going with amd cards, about as powerfull as nvidia yet less power hungry, also WAY better heat managment, i have seen alot of nvidia cards burn up. i have been eyeing this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121803&cm_re=asus_radeon_r9-280X-_-14-121-803-_-Product

Edited January 3, 2015 by jimmycool630

[Bromance 1,657]

@[member='jimmycool630']

To each his own for preference but your statement is wrong. The new AMD cards can't be overclocked do to heat unless you water cool. Been stated since release. Wattage usage has gone down across the board.

The NVIDIA issues you speak of I haven't heard those rumors yet. If people are having issues it is from over clocking and/or not keeping them clean. Parts require maintenance, can't just pop it in and run the shit out of stuff for a year then wonder why your PC turned into a bond fire.

[terminatorjim6300 40]

i have seen overclocked AMD cards for sale on newegg (check the link) and my card has never gotten above 55 Celsius. In case you didnt know i am runing a R9-270X

[Bromance 1,657]

@jimmycool630

 

Did you read the reviews? First page except one where overheating issues, plus 3 star average. You made my point even clearer that AMD cards shouldn't be OC'ed. It is do to the "turbo" speed under load ramping up the clocks and the older larger die set for manufacturing. 

 

Don't get me wrong, generally speaking AMD is the best bang for your dollar by far over Intel and Nvidia but they come with their own cost elsewhere and of course depends on your system as a whole and what your trying to accomplish (IE: games you play/want to play and software/programs you need or want to run). 

 

For MOST games an AMD system (CPU, chipset and GPU) will cost a few $100 less and perform just as well (rare, but it can perform better) as a Intel/Nvidia system.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Bromance

[terminatorjim6300 40]

I personally dont overclock GPU's. I read recently an article Radeon R9-280X vs Geforce 970 GTX and basiclly the geforce is only better for super high resolutions. the radeon was better for lower ones like i run

[Friskies 7]

Alright, so Xmas is coming up and every other year I like gifting myself with an upgrade to my setup.  This year?  Video.

 

I am currently running a Radeon HD 6950, and find with a few games I have to bump down the settings on them as it swoons under the pressure and just can't keep up.  I keep having to run off my CPU instead of GPU on Planetside 2 due to this...

 

Motherboard, Harddrives, and everything else is 2013 and newer....any suggestions folks?  I can support PCI Express 3.0.

 

If you can provide pricing as well, it would be totally awesome!  Now, price is of no factor, as long as it is below 500.  That is kind of my budget limit.

The GeForce GTX 970 is the best card on the market for the price as of now. If you can get a good deal maybe go with the 780Ti which I believe is around $500 depending on the site.