Trying to understand the decision; new card or no?

[Senpuu]

Well, as the title says, I'm a bit lost. I recently started playing WoW again after an 8 year hiatus. I was content enough with my system for that, but then after a day or so of play my computer began to freeze. I figured it was my card (560Ti) and downloaded some monitoring software. It was overheating, so I set the fan to max first. That didn't fix my problem alone, so I cranked the A/C to lower the ambient and that sufficed for a bandaid. But I don't want the higher electric bill and I'm unhappy with a cold apartment, so I started trying to undervolt my card, thinking that might let me keep more reasonable temps and still play. But my card was already running at 1.0V and wouldn't even stay stable at 0.95 for long, so I quickly ditched the idea of running cooler like that. My only other thought would be that there is poor thermal contact between the gpu and heatsink and that reseating it with new thermal paste might help. I'm open to any advise on how to accomplish my goal of not running my A/C to play my dumb game.

In spending some time thinking about this, I began to consider simply replacing my card too. And I started to get drawn into the new generation video card hype. But spending $300+ on a card doesn't work for me either atm. So, it would have to be the low end cards. I really don't know what I want to do about things at the moment, but I know I hate running the A/C like I am and it frankly feels damned ridiculous to babysit my card like this. I'm okay with my apartment being 26-28°C if need be in the summer and I want my card to be able to live and function in those conditions as well.

So, do I buy a new card? How does my aging 560Ti stack up against the low end of the new generation? I know the RX460/470 info isn't out yet, but is there sufficient information to make a comparison? Would something like a 4GB 460 be expected to run WoW Legion at max settings for 1080p gaming in 28°C ambient? That is honestly probably the most taxing use case scenario in the foreseeable future...

 

[nurturedhate]

First, I'd go the disassemble, clean it, new paste, reassemble route first as it seems money is tight. Actually, have you checked to see how much dust is stuck in it yet?

As for the second part about a new card it would be best to know what your current system is.

 

[mohit9206]

I would suggest a gtx 950 card which can be had under $150. Should be more than enough for WoW.

 

[boozzer]

470 will give you at the very least 80% of the 480 performance for around 150$? that is my best guess.

470 is rumored at july 29th for a release date or early august. not much longer of a wait, especially since you keep your cards for years at a time.

 

[Senpuu]

Yeah, I did check for dust and run some canned air into it to evict some bunnies when I first had the problem. I was hoping there might be some other avenues to go down before dissecting the card, but if not then oh well.

My rig is getting a bit old now, but it still feels snappy. I built it with the release of the nehalem architecture and haven't changed much since.

i7 920, ASUS P6T Deluxe, nV Zotac 560ti, 12GB DDR3 1600, 800W PS, Samsung 830 128gb SSD, 1920x1200 TN monitor, Win10

Thanks

 

[Headfoot]

The new low end cards would destroy your 560 ti. The RX470 should be coming very soon and if it really is $150 as rumored it would be a very attractive card. I would NOT buy a gtx 950.

 

[Sonikku]

I'm wondering if the 470 will be priced higher than $150 due in part to the nutter butters demand of the 480. Maybe $150 was the plan. Now we could see them debuting for $170.

 

[R0H1T]

I'm wondering if the 470 will be priced higher than $150 due in part to the nutter butters demand of the 480. Maybe $150 was the plan. Now we could see them debuting for $170.

Custom cards should cost ~170$ & probably be worth it, anything more would get you into the 480 territory; of course it all depends on the GPU supply & retailer gouging.

 

[Senpuu]

I would suggest a gtx 950 card which can be had under $150. Should be more than enough for WoW.

I don't have any interest in buying last generation at this point given the gains available from this latest jump to 16nm. It seems my 560Ti isn't too far beheind the curve of a 950 either. Also, WoW has gained a graphical update with Legion and a 950 will not give me good frames on max settings at 1900x1200.

470 will give you at the very least 80% of the 480 performance for around 150$? that is my best guess.

470 is rumored at July 29th for a release date or early august. not much longer of a wait, especially since you keep your cards for years at a time.

Yeah, I don't game nearly enough to switch cards too often, but I like to have something that is somewhat capable if a title piques my interest. The 470 sounds like it could hit a sweet spot for me if it can deliver that kind of performance as cheap as $150.

 

[crazzy.heartz]

You can also buy the full 480 chip for $199 which will provide better future proofing for newer game versions..

 

[Sonikku]

You can also buy the full 480 chip for $199

Oh yeah? And where can I do that? :hmm:

 

[Zstream]

Oh yeah? And where can I do that? :hmm:

A friend just purchased his from Microcenter - Well the 8GB version that is.

 

[crazzy.heartz]

Oh yeah? And where can I do that? :hmm:

Availability will b a problem for both. I bookmarked this the day 480 launched and have not seen them in stock, @ MRP, till date..

http://m.newegg.com/ProductListisFirstin=false&description=YdkjcamblBCokl7WloNqkxbxKEXCayCmn02jJagM4s4%253d&storeid=1&categoryid=-1&nodeid=7709&storetype=2&subcategoryid=48&brandid=-1&nvalue=100007709&showseealldeals=False&itemcount=0&issubcategory=true&level=3&InnerKeyword=Rx+480&GPU||Radeon+RX+400+Series=600007299||601203818||100007709+601203818

Not sure when they come and go.. Number of reviews keep increasing though..

Still, would recommend you to buy the full chip instead of a cut down version.

Quantity for 470s would be limited than a 480 as they build up inventory overtime from 480s @ less than 100% operational capacity.

Not sure if this would increase or decrease the ASIC quality of the chip though.

Ideally the quality should b higher as they disable the non working parts of the chip and you only get functional parts..

 

[Senpuu]

You can also buy the full 480 chip for $199 which will provide better future proofing for newer game versions..

I guess that's not such a bad price point, but I've heard some unsettling things about power draw on that card. I'm definitely curious about the 470 as it stands now though. If I can get the thermals under control on my old card, I might just limp along until price and availability are more palatable.

 

[Wall Street]

I find it funny that the conversation switched to new video cards. Why not fix a $5 problem (new thermal paste and taking the card apart for a through cleaning) with a $150 solution (new GPU)?

 

[boozzer]

I find it funny that the conversation switched to new video cards. Why not fix a $5 problem (new thermal paste and taking the card apart for a through cleaning) with a $150 solution (new GPU)?

it is a 560 ti, about time for him to get a new gpu.

 

[Rifter]

First, I'd go the disassemble, clean it, new paste, reassemble route first as it seems money is tight. Actually, have you checked to see how much dust is stuck in it yet?

This, i had to remove coolers and repaste both of my 460's 3-4 years into their lifespan. Otherwise i was having same issues as you with overheating.

The fan on one 460 eventually died but the other is still running nicely at 70c Max temp under full load.

 

[Silverforce11]

WoW 60 fps 1080p is pretty easy for modern GPUs.

However, definitely clean your GPU out, remove all the dust, clean off the thermal paste and give it a new one. Should be as good as new.

 

[Senpuu]

I find it funny that the conversation switched to new video cards. Why not fix a $5 problem (new thermal paste and taking the card apart for a through cleaning) with a $150 solution (new GPU)?

...because that was part of my op and my thread title, and has justification within my following posts? I appreciate the new card info and advice.

And I have thermal paste at home and I plan on trying to fix the problem that way, as has already been mentioned a number of times as well. By me in my op as well. I don't at all understand the purpose of your comment.

 

[Senpuu]

WoW 60 fps 1080p is pretty easy for modern GPUs.

However, definitely clean your GPU out, remove all the dust, clean off the thermal paste and give it a new one. Should be as good as new.

That's good to hear. I've heard the gfx update and additional gfx options plus farther draw distance with this new xpac has added some considerable load with everything turned on though. I'd like to be able to do that.

 

[crazzy.heartz]

I guess that's not such a bad price point, but I've heard some unsettling things about power draw on that card. I'm definitely curious about the 470 as it stands now though. If I can get the thermals under control on my old card, I might just limp along until price and availability are more palatable.

You need not worry. They fixed that power draw issue within a week. By the time you end up purchasing the card, they'd have improved performance by another 5%. It never stops.

Sapphire Nitro+ will be launching on 29'th, for $210. Nitro only version should cost even less.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10511/sapphire-announces-nitro-radeon-rx-480

This is one sweet looking card.

Here are the benchmarks for 4GB version: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3098...480-review-polaris-rethought-and-refined.html

 

[zinfamous]

I guess that's not such a bad price point, but I've heard some unsettling things about power draw on that card. I'm definitely curious about the 470 as it stands now though. If I can get the thermals under control on my old card, I might just limp along until price and availability are more palatable.

the 480 power draw is fixed and not a problem.

You should look into the 470 when they are released, as others are saying and I don't see any reason to look into past generations if you want a new card--certainly not a 950 that will perform like a dog in any new game.

Look at the 480/nv 1060 (1060 starts at $250 though and doubtful what you want to pay) if you can find a deal.

I don't know when the 1050 will be out from nVidia, but it might be worth looking into if they decide to price them competitively with AMD. the 1060 has a cool shallow, ITX-sized card that strikes me as a cool design and makes me think that a 1050 version of this design would be even better and more power/heat efficient.

AMD's current generation sees better gains with DX12 (the future and today) and much better gains with Vulkan (no idea how much of the future that will be). nVidia performs well here, but not quite as well as AMD. nVidia still tends to win out on most DX11 titles (the past, and still current titles).

Take home is that a 470 is your most likely target and maybe whatever happens with the 1050. Those cards will crush any games you currently play if WoW is representative of that. And with a 470, you could pick up something like Doom and under Vulkan, very likely push 70+ FPS at 1080 on max settings.

 

[sze5003]

Check if you have a microcenter and see if they are still stocking a reference 4gb rx480. It will do great for you at 1080p for the games you play.

The 470 should launch the 29th I think, but knowing how this launch has been overall, who knows when you can get one.

 

[eddman]

I have a 560 Ti too and am planning to upgrade to a 1060 or 480.

If those two cards are outside of your budget, wait for 470 and 1050(and Ti?) to drop. The performance increase over 560 Ti should be considerably sizable.

WoW is not a demanding game at all. Those cards should be able to achieve above 60 framerates at 1920 x 1080 easily.

 

[grant2]

I figured it was my card (560Ti) and downloaded some monitoring software. It was overheating, so I set the fan to max first. That didn't fix my problem alone,

re-applying thermal paste to your card should be a 30-minute affair. If it works, then you'll have saved some money + gained the satisfaction of tinkering with your toy.

Assuming your card is like every other card i've seen, you should need:

- a regular sized screwdriver (to get the card out of your computer) and a slightly smaller screwdriver (to remove the heatsink/fan)
- a little container to hold your screws so they don't run away
- a soft cloth + rubbing alcohol to clean off the chip + heat sink
- replacement thermal paste. the smallest container you can buy will be enough

the operation is about as simple as it gets. There's plenty of theories out there about the pattern to apply the thermal paste, you are welcome to research, but unless you really screw it up the differences between them all will be minimal. (Personally, I'd go for "put a dot in the middle and let the heatsink pressure spread it out" tactic.)

If you reapply paste, clean the fan/heatsink, and the card is still overheating then I guess it's broken somehow... but all you've lost is some time + $5 in paste.

You can always buy another card later if things don't work out.

good luck!