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Deschain
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Anon

Graphics Card Upgrade

I currently have a MSI GTX 460 Hawk @ 822mhz and a AMD 955be processor @ 3.7.

I was just wondering, what would be the 'best' graphics card I could get, before I start to bottleneck this processor ?

Thanks

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

I would guess that as long as you are sticking to a single GPU solution, your CPU should not be too much of a bottleneck. I have a CPU about as old as yours (Intel Core i7-920 2.66 GHz quad-core), and I am starting to think about rebuilding when Haswell hits.

Unfortunately AMD CPUs took a dive and actually had worse performance when the Bulldozer chips replaced the Phenom II chips. Piledriver (just released) now can equal the performance of the Phenom II X6. Intel, meanwhile, has continued to push on with shrinking their fabs and adding features and speed, so they have a sizeable advantage in the CPU department.

tl;dr you're probably good for another 12 months on that CPU--buy whatever you want for a GPU.

Current GPUs are ranked here: »www.tomshardware.com/rev ··· 7-7.html

Current CPUs are ranked here: »techreport.com/review/23 ··· y-cpus/8

Deschain
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Anon

Thanks Kris - that's really good information.

So if I was to get a 560ti 448 core, for example, would that be a marked upgrade over my 460 ?

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Click for full size
I put together this chart comparing the GTX 460 to the GTX 560Ti 448 core and the GTX 670 using the following benchmark sites:

»www.videocardbenchmark.n ··· pus.html
»www.hwcompare.com/

I didn't include the GTX 660 because, while it is faster in some cases, it's actually slower than the 560 Ti 448 core when it comes to pixel rate. I consider the GTX 670 to be the next "true step up" to the 56Ti 448core, so I included that for reference.

Raible
join:2008-01-23
Plainfield, IN

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Just my 2 cents, but I would consider a move from a 460 to 560Ti to be a pretty small step. Is there something about your current card you're not happy with?

Ghastlyone
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join:2009-01-07
Nashville, TN

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I've got a 448core 560ti Classified currently. It's basically a 570 (minus one shader core) but with much higher overclock ability. There are people out there that have squeezed 950+mhz core clocks out of these things. I've been running 925mhz for awhile.

But yeah, it would be a pretty nice upgrade for you.
Ghastlyone

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said by Raible:

Just my 2 cents, but I would consider a move from a 460 to 560Ti to be a pretty small step. Is there something about your current card you're not happy with?

]

If he was going to a regular 560, then yes, I agree.

But a 448core 560ti would be a large upgrade.

Deschain
@virginmedia.com

Deschain

Anon

Thanks all.

I was thinking:

»www.overclockers.co.uk/s ··· A&tool=3
»www.overclockers.co.uk/s ··· S&tool=3

or even

»www.xosa.co.uk/palit-gef ··· ded.html

Thoughts? Alternately, is there an ATI equivalent ?

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

I favor EVGA.

The Radeon 7850 is slightly faster (~10%ish), and costs about $5 more.

»www.hwcompare.com/12038/ ··· hd-7850/

The Radeon 7870 is decisively faster, but also is one step up in price point.

»www.hwcompare.com/12193/ ··· hd-7870/

Both are significantly cheaper than the GTX 670, which is the full Nvidia step up from the 448 core. The equivalent to the 670 is the Radeon 7950.
Deschain
join:2012-12-13
Blighty

1 edit

Deschain

Member

Ok, I am confused....

I have been looking at the prices of the Radeon selection and have found that 7870 range is around the same price as the 560ti 448 and the 7850 range is around £30-£40 cheaper.

How can this be?

Also, it seems that the 7850 and 7870 have 2gb vram, as apposed to 1.28gb on the 560.

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

The GTX 560 is obsolete by one generation, that's why prices are screwy on it.

The current gen of AMD Radeons is the 7000 series; the current gen of Nvidia GTXs is the 600 series.
Deschain
join:2012-12-13
Blighty

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I think im going to go down the AMD route this time. What are the drivers like - I've heard some bad things about them.

Also, if someone wouldnt mind, from a budget of £180, could you pick me out the best option from the AMD range from:

www.overclockers.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk

Thanks for all your help

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

I've had issues with WoW playing nice with my Radeon 7970, but my difficulties are limited to that game (and seem to be partially resolved with the latest beta drivers). All my other DX11 games work perfectly.

In contrast, I've had issues with Nvidia drivers using a GTX 580 with just about any game under DX11, AVP, DE:HR, etc. would cause the display driver to crash.

It's really hit or miss with the drivers from both sides, but I believe they tend to iron the bugs out eventually.

IMO, driver issues aside, AMD is reigning at the super-high-resolution end (above 1920x1080) and in the low-to-mid end. Nvidia owns the mid-to-high-end market and tends to provide more refined power (good OC and the new turbo boost).

With a budget of £180, you're looking at either a Radeon 7850 or possibly a Radeon 7870 on sale or with MIR.
Deschain
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Blighty

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But Kris, with so many options within the 7850 & 7570 ranges, different speeds, mhz, cores, etc - how are you supposed to decide ?

Krisnatharok
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Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Well post the ones that look the most attractive to you and we'll let you know what you think. I don't have the time to do your shopping for you, but if you pick out a handful (not more than 5) we can provide feedback.

I prefer EVGA for customer service, MSI's are supposed to OC very well but have iffy customer service, Sapphires perform great but have horrible customer service, ASUS and Gigabyte are solid picks across the board.

Hope that helps.
Deschain
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Blighty

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OK. Sorry - I know what may have come accross as wanting you to do my job for me, lol.

Im a bit internet restricted at work here, so I will compile a list when I get home.

Thanks

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

The cores should be the same among all the 7850s and then among all the 7870s. The difference in clock speeds just means that it is factory overclocked ("factory OC'd"). These tend to cost more and may be binned better at factory among the brands known for OCing (like MSI or EVGA), but among the mainstream makes just means they adjusted clockspeed, something you can do for free with the MSI Afterburner option.

There may be some different flavors that have more VRAM as well, and cost more. Only select this option if you ever plan on going Crossfire (multiple GPUs of the same make/model) or multi-monitor/high-resolution (above 1920x1080).

Hope that helps, and don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions on the subject.
Deschain
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Blighty

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So, the ones I am looking at are:

»www.overclockers.co.uk/s ··· X-052-HS
»www.overclockers.co.uk/s ··· X-154-MS
»www.scan.co.uk/products/ ··· hdmi-mdp

Or at a push

»www.scan.co.uk/products/ ··· hdmi-mdp

Thoughts?

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

I'd go for either of the MSI cards--the Twin FROZRs are supposedly very good. Buy what you can afford.
Deschain
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Blighty

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Thanks Kris. I went with the MSI HD7850. Arrives tomorrow

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Let us know how you like it. It should be a nice step up from the 460.

TRU
join:2005-07-21
Michigan

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said by Krisnatharok:

I prefer EVGA for customer service, MSI's are supposed to OC very well but have iffy customer service, Sapphires perform great but have horrible customer service, ASUS and Gigabyte are solid picks across the board.

Hope that helps.

Hey Kris, what do you think of Galaxy?

Krisnatharok
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Krisnatharok

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Heard nothing for or against. I've seen them sold at Best Buy and Microcenter, but they don't seem to be a mainstream enthusiast brand.
Deschain
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Blighty

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Damn! It isn't coming until Monday now. Looks like the weekend with my old 460 still

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Waiting is the worst part.
Deschain
join:2012-12-13
Blighty

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I've already downloaded the AMD drivers and have them in a folder on my desktop. I've also downloaded Driversweeper, as I've been told this is neccesary to do when swapping brands of GPUs?

HURRY UP MONDAY!

Ghastlyone
Premium Member
join:2009-01-07
Nashville, TN

Ghastlyone

Premium Member

You don't need to run programs like Driver Sweeper anymore now days.

Drivers are clean installed, with all previous versions deleted. At least that's the way EVGA/Nvidia does.
Deschain
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Blighty

Deschain

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So you don't even have to uninstall the old drivers through Control Panel / Devices ?

Ghastlyone
Premium Member
join:2009-01-07
Nashville, TN

Ghastlyone

Premium Member

Since you're going from Nvidia to AMD though, I'm not 100% certain. But I'd just uninstall the Nvidia drivers through your control panel and then do a clean install on the AMD drivers. You should be good to go. I wouldn't even bother with Driver Sweeper.

McBrain
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join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

I had to use Driver Fusion to get rid of my old AMD drivers...it could have been an isolated issue with me, but I definitely had old drivers still on my machine after I downloaded the newest 12.11 beta11 drivers.