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would this graphics card upgrade make sense for my PC?
Got currently following setup:
RAM: 8GB
OS: Windows 7
Graphics card: AM Radeon HD 6800
CPU: i5-3570K
I consider updating my graphics card, since it's already about 4 years old, and I have the feeling that it is the slowest part of my system. Geforce GTX 970 seems to be a decent upgrade. I'm not rich or anything, so I can afford that card, but have to think it over a bit to make sure it's worth it
Any suggestions or opinions?
Thanks.
Oh, also there seem to be a lot of versions of it available, like from MSI, Palit or Inno3D. Can you suggest which one is the best?
Let's play Fallen Earth (blind, 300 episodes)
Let's play Guild Wars 2 (blind, 45 episodes)
Comments
Yes, a graphics card update makes sense for your system. Do you overclock your CPU? I would hope you do, and I would hope you have at decent air cooler on it. You can gain some performance by overclocking. It might help in some games, but your video card is definitely behind by a couple generations.
As for which card will perform best on your budget, I'm not one to know that. I just look at benchmarks for games I play or would be interested in to help me decide what card works best on my budget.
I couldn't say which brand is better since they basically use the same components and just throw different coolers on the cards. Personally, I go for a cooler with two fans in case one dies. I also don't like the extra noise produced by the centrifugal fans I've used in the past.
The performance/value gets only worse with increasing price tag.
R280(X) is probably the best buy you can get.
if your concerned about penny pinching, you are right. If you are concerned about smooth gameplay and higher frame rates (which is why you want to upgrade, right?) then absolutely not. The 970 is the better buy for higher frame rates when using Anti Aliasing. It is more power efficient as well.
There is no need to be worried about performance unless you plan on playing on resolutions such as 2160p or something like that. That is only reason to get high-end/extreme performance cards. It is only about resolution you intend to play on. So unless that isn't OPs intent, more expensive card would be waste of money.
If you have a single panel, for any "normal" use, R280 provides very solid, more then sufficient performance.
You are correct. Nvidia GTX 970 is crazy good for the price. You should look no further.
When choosing manufacturers, it's really about the cooling efficiency, noise and general reputation of the manufacturer.
You can't go wrong with Asus or Gigabyte. MSI is OK. I'm not sure about Palit and Inno3d quality.
Yes it would.
The question is if your psu can handle it or not.
GTX970 also requires 2x6 pin supplement connectors, and minimum 500w system power.
What else do you have in your system? In particular, what power supply and what case?
Also, what SSD do you have, if any? If you don't have one, I think that should be a higher priority than a video card upgrade.
Also, have you run into any situations where your old video card simply isn't good enough? You can tell if the video card is the problem by turning off anti-aliasing and seeing if that makes your frame rate jump. If it doesn't, your GPU isn't limiting your performance.