Emptied My Coin Jar - Which Card to Buy?

[Leyawiin]

I'm tired of waiting - the 1GB on my GTX 460 isn't cutting it for some games on Ultra.

X4 980 BE @ 3.7 Ghz
8 GB RAM
640 GB WD HD
Win 7 64 Bit
1680x1050 monitor

Simple, modest system. I'm reasonably satisfied with the OC'd GTX 460 1GB (865 Mhz), but in more and more of my games it runs out of VRAM (verified with Afterburner). Performance will be fine for the first few minutes and then it begins to degrade, sometimes to the point of stuttering.

I've emptied by change jar after two years, tallied it at a Coin Star, and have enough to buy anything up to a GTX 670. The cheap option would be to get something like an MSI Twin Frozr II GTX 560 Ti 2GB. The more expensive option is of course the GTX 670. Any further upgrades to my system would be at least a year away. I only intend to buy Nvidia due to features I feel are important. I chose Amazon gift cards at the Coin Star, so Amazon only. Here's the two I was considering. Better cooling and lower noise is kind of a priority - so I'm unsure about GTX 670 reference cards:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

I have a smallish Lian Li case, so a 10 1/2 inch card is about as big as I can go. I'm tired of waiting for the GTX 650/660 btw, but I suppose I could hang on a bit longer if you guys think its coming soon.

 

[Don Karnage]

670 will be bottlenecked by your processor.

 

[blackened23]

Honestly i'd save up and buy a complete system upgrade rather than shifting bottlenecks.. Buying a new GPU won't mask the weak CPU.

 

[Xed]

I'd look at the gigabyte or asus 670 since amazon doesn't have the msi pe atm. It should still be a great card after you upgrade the rest of your system next year. It will be bottlenecked until then though.

 

[blckgrffn]

670 will be bottlenecked by your processor.

There is always a bottleneck. You'll be a poor bastard trying to remove "all" of the bottlenecks.

Is it unbalanced? I'll definitely grant you that. But the OP can always crank up settings and profile options until the limiter is the CPU.

If it really is the video card prompting the stuttering, then the BE should make it to Haswell or better.

@ OP: If you need Ultra settings, get the 670. I wouldn't play around with getting anything less if that is your goal. That should provide some ridiculous performance for your resolution.

 

[borisvodofsky]

I'm tired of waiting - the 1GB on my GTX 460 isn't cutting it for some games on Ultra.

X4 980 BE @ 3.7 Ghz
8 GB RAM
640 GB WD HD
Win 7 64 Bit
1680x1050 monitor

Simple, modest system. I'm reasonably satisfied with the OC'd GTX 460 1GB (865 Mhz), but in more and more of my games it runs out of VRAM (verified with Afterburner). Performance will be fine for the first few minutes and then it begins to degrade, sometimes to the point of stuttering.

I've emptied by change jar after two years, tallied it at a Coin Star, and have enough to buy anything up to a GTX 670. The cheap option would be to get something like an MSI Twin Frozr II GTX 560 Ti 2GB. The more expensive option is of course the GTX 670. Any further upgrades to my system would be at least a year away. I only intend to buy Nvidia due to features I feel are important. I chose Amazon gift cards at the Coin Star, so Amazon only. Here's the two I was considering. Better cooling and lower noise is kind of a priority - so I'm unsure about GTX 670 reference cards:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

I have a smallish Lian Li case, so a 10 1/2 inch card is about as big as I can go. I'm tired of waiting for the GTX 650/660 btw, but I suppose I could hang on a bit longer if you guys think its coming soon.

Your system is not Modest, it's ill-conceived !

You can get a 670 at this point, but you'll be cpu bottle-necked quite a bit in Battlefield 3 and Starcraft 2.

Is your motherboard up to the task of heavy overclocking? 4.3ghz would really help.

 

[blckgrffn]

Your system is not Modest, it's ill-conceived !

You can get a 670 at this point, but you'll be cpu bottle-necked quite a bit in Battlefield 3 and Starcraft 2.

Is your motherboard up to the task of heavy overclocking? 4.3ghz would really help.

Are those the games you are playing, OP?

It would probably time better spent seeing how high the L3 cache can go. Wasn't there just a post in the CPU forum about a 1045t with a 3 Ghz north bridge? That'd do wonders for frames, especially SC2.

 

[DrBoss]

MSI GTX 670 Power Edition (Twin Frozr IV cooler). For sale now at Newegg for $429.99

OR

I am selling an MSI Radeon 6950 2GB Twin Frozr III for $175. It would pair well with your current rig (likely no CPU bottleneck) and would be a cost effective upgrade to tide you over till you buy an entirely new rig. Sale thread here: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2249233&highlight=
Best bang for your buck. The R6950 is about 70% as powerful as a reference GTX670... for less than half the price.

 

[Don Karnage]

If you're dead set on a 670 i have a 2 week old EVGA for 360 shipped

 

[AnandThenMan]

Your CPU will hold you back but nothing terrible, get the 670 it will run nice in your system.

 

[blckgrffn]

If you're dead set on a 670 i have a 2 week old EVGA for 360 shipped

:thumbsup:

Sounds like a winner to me.

 

[AtenRa]

I'm tired of waiting - the 1GB on my GTX 460 isn't cutting it for some games on Ultra.

X4 980 BE @ 3.7 Ghz
8 GB RAM
640 GB WD HD
Win 7 64 Bit
1680x1050 monitor

What games do you play ??

 

[Leyawiin]

Your system is not Modest, it's ill-conceived !

You can get a 670 at this point, but you'll be cpu bottle-necked quite a bit in Battlefield 3 and Starcraft 2.

Is your motherboard up to the task of heavy overclocking? 4.3ghz would really help.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4A79T_Deluxe/

Its just a couple years old and put together on a budget. Here's the mobo. Best I could do with an OC is 4.0 Ghz (got a crappy X4 980 - stock voltage is 1.425!). The upgrades will have to be a step at a time. I could get a 1080p or 1920x1200 monitor this summer as well (got $550 in gift cards from all that change!). Can't really afford to dip into the checking account much - have a mortgage now.

My games are primarily RPGs from the last few years - no shooters. Current obsession is Skyrim (hence the problem with running out of VRAM on Ultra - have a few mods). Next game up is a free copy of Batman AC and Divinity 2 Dragon Knight Saga.

I'm not totally dissatisfied with the system as it is - just looking for a bit more "oomph" as I will get a better monitor this year.

 

[AtenRa]

Since you thinking of buying a 1080P+ monitor get the GTX670.

 

[Leyawiin]

Forgot to say thanks for the good FS offers guys - I am going to stick with Amazon since I have enough gift card $$ to pay for something with nothing out of pocket.

 

[lopri]

Since you've been on 460, 670 seems to be a logical upgrade. I would avoid the reference pcb/cooler, though. Getting a 560 is like going from 8800gt to 9800 gts.

But at the same time I can't help but stare at that 1680*1050 screen!

 

[Leyawiin]

But at the same time I can't help but stare at that 1680*1050 screen!

lol - point taken. I'll start monitor shopping as well right away! Birthday's in late July - I'll ask for more Amazon gift cards! I'll OC the X4 980 a bit and hopefully between that and the higher resolution (and game quality settings) it'll mask enough of its weaknesses to get another year out of it.

 

[rickon66]

It is too bad you are locked into Amazon, Newegg has the Gigabyte GTX 670 OC for $399. Amazon is stll doing a bit of price gouging on the GTX 670.

 

[Leyawiin]

It is too bad you are locked into Amazon, Newegg has the Gigabyte GTX 670 OC for $399. Amazon is stll doing a bit of price gouging on the GTX 670.

Little bit too large at 11". I had a GTX 260 with an Arctic Cooling Accelero on it in this case and at 11.5" it could barely be wedged in there. Don't want to go above 10.5" any more just for air flow's sake.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112130

I do have 140mm optional fan on the top lid so it does exhaust the heat pretty well. The reference GTX 670 is the perfect size - but I hear the construction is kind of flimsy and cheap and the fan can be loud.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

ASUS GTX 670 DCII is 10.7" and has an excellent cooler. Get the non-TOP, as it hasn't exhibited the issues that have plagued the overclocked version:

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-GeForce-G...words=asus+670

 

[borisvodofsky]

Are those the games you are playing, OP?

It would probably time better spent seeing how high the L3 cache can go. Wasn't there just a post in the CPU forum about a 1045t with a 3 Ghz north bridge? That'd do wonders for frames, especially SC2.

I play starcraft 2 at the lowest graphical setting at 2560x1600. At high settings I get too distracted by the specular lighting.

 

[borisvodofsky]

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4A79T_Deluxe/

Its just a couple years old and put together on a budget. Here's the mobo. Best I could do with an OC is 4.0 Ghz (got a crappy X4 980 - stock voltage is 1.425!). The upgrades will have to be a step at a time. I could get a 1080p or 1920x1200 monitor this summer as well (got $550 in gift cards from all that change!). Can't really afford to dip into the checking account much - have a mortgage now.

My games are primarily RPGs from the last few years - no shooters. Current obsession is Skyrim (hence the problem with running out of VRAM on Ultra - have a few mods). Next game up is a free copy of Batman AC and Divinity 2 Dragon Knight Saga.

I'm not totally dissatisfied with the system as it is - just looking for a bit more "oomph" as I will get a better monitor this year.

If you're serious into skyrim, an Intel sandy or ivy would really help.

 

[ShintaiDK]

+1 for the GTX 670. Then do a CPU/Mobo memory upgrade next year.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Little bit too large at 11". I had a GTX 260 with an Arctic Cooling Accelero on it in this case and at 11.5" it could barely be wedged in there. Don't want to go above 10.5" any more just for air flow's sake.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112130

I do have 140mm optional fan on the top lid so it does exhaust the heat pretty well. The reference GTX 670 is the perfect size - but I hear the construction is kind of flimsy and cheap and the fan can be loud.

Yup,the reference gtx670 cards do feel incredibly cheap,i have one zotac model and a msi feeling equally cheap,but i have set and forget them both in my case so not the end of the world for me.

Noisy just a little bit but as of lately i only game with my headphones on,so the only thing i might be hearing when i game is a droppd nuclear warhead maybe if we engaged into ww3 as the phones simply block out 95% of outside noise.

 

[BD231]

Yup,the reference gtx670 cards do feel incredibly cheap,i have one zotac model and a msi feeling equally cheap

You can always count on the video card industry to ensure every time you go out and buy a $4-500 dollar part you're not getting what you paid for, the coolers some companies use are utter sh t in every sense of the word and the *only* reason GPU's run so hot. Way to many frikin middle men and cheap components in this industry its disgusting, zero quality control just 3rd parties with GPU's supplied by folks who don't care where the chips go as long as they're getting their money.