Pls help me choose a better GPU

[gqtuazon]

Drop another $30 and grab yourself an HD6950, if possibly at all, the 2GB version.

Thanks. I'll take a look at that model. Is a PCI-e 2.1 going to work with my existing mother board? I believe mine is only 2.0.

 

[dndavis57]

You didn't say what monitor you have. If you have a 10-bits/channel monitor (only available on DisplayPort) and if photo editing is really important, I'd recommend a workstation graphics card capable of rendering 10-bits/channel color:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195096

Since you're thinking of upgrading your monitor, Dell has some reasonably priced 10-bit premium panels that come color-calibrated from the factory. The NEC monitors, from what I've read, outdo the Dells in image quality and come close to the almighty expensive Eizo monitors.

Most of the video editing software that makes significant use of the GPU is oriented toward CUDA, but the lowest-end CUDA card is about 3X the price of the FirePro:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133353

If all this blows too big a hole in the budget, I'd recommend an nVidia card like the 550ti for optimal performance with CUDA-aware software. Some of the Fermi gaming cards advertise "Deep Color" or something to that effect, which is nVidia jargon for 10-bit color.

 

[gqtuazon]

I was able to upgrade PSU with the 550w OCZ with no problem. I purchased a Geforce GTX 560Ti that has two cooling fans here in Japan. I don't think this particular version is available in the U.S. Anyway, I would like to ask how far can I overclock this GPU? I currently have it at 945 core clock, 1890 shader clock, 2000Mhz memory clock using MSI afterburner. Is this decent or too high? The standard setting was 835 core clock and 1670 shader clock. Using the MSI Kombustor the GPU temp peaked at 70 deg C at 76% fan speed. Computer case temp peaked at 40 deg C. I'm not sure if this is good or bad. I have not installed the SSD card since I might install that on my laptop first. My hard drive is the slowest now at 5.9 windows experience.

 

[happy medium]

950 to 1050 core is the best most people get. Are you at stock voltage?

 

[gqtuazon]

950 to 1050 core is the best most people get. Are you at stock voltage?

Yes. I'm not sure what voltage to set it on. Thanks again Happy.