Upgrading from a 7970...

[sketchus]

Hi all,

I currently have a 7970 GFX card running in my PC. I used to have two, but one is, unfortunately, fried.

I tended to game at pretty high resolutions (1440p+), and obviously this isn't that feasible anymore.

I'm willing to upgrade now, I'm just wondering where is the best place I should go from here? I'm not particularly fussed about staying with AMD, I can't say it doesn't sting when I see some of the features that Nvidia provide, that I'm missing out on, however that's not a deal breaker either.

Rest of rig is:

ASUS ROG VII HERO
1TB HDD
Corsair HX 750W
12GB Ram
100GB SS

Budget is flexible.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Attic]

What processor?

Contingent on a very fast i5 or a 4770k or 4790k under your hood:

If you don't intend to OC GPU i'd reccomend selling 7970 and going crossfire with 2x290 Sapphire Tri-x.

 

[n0x1ous]

If you must get something now - R9 290 (or 290 CF) is the best bang for the buck and a decent upgrade from your 7970, especially when overclocked.

If you can wait a little longer. Nvidia's GM204 based GTX 800 series are expected by November.

 

[sketchus]

What processor?

Contingent on a very fast i5 or a 4770k or 4790k under your hood:

If you don't intend to OC GPU i'd reccomend selling 7970 and going crossfire with 2x290 Sapphire Tri-x.

I'm an idiot. I have a 4790k.

I am considering waiting to hear about the 800 series but I heard that what we know so far is disappointing?

 

[Techhog]

You should wait. There's no point in upgrading from a 7970 right now. I suppose buying a second 7970/R9 280X is an option, though.

 

[toughtrasher]

I'd vouch for an R9 290 upgrade. Said it over and over again that it's a solid card for your money.

 

[Makaveli]

You should wait. There's no point in upgrading from a 7970 right now. I suppose buying a second 7970/R9 280X is an option, though.

+1

 

[slayernine]

I'm in the same boat as OP. I have 1440p monitor and 7970 and I think I'm at the same conclusion as this thread which is that I should wait for new stuff.

FYI I can't do SLI, I'm running a 4771 + 7970 in a very tight m-itx case. I hope power efficiency improves as well as the ability to run higher resolutions more efficiently in the next generation of graphics cards.

 

[Attic]

I'm an idiot. I have a 4790k.

I am considering waiting to hear about the 800 series but I heard that what we know so far is disappointing?

Waiting can't hurt. The 880 looks exciting to me, but it won't touch a 290 xfire setup and it will likely be nearly as expensive at release as 290 xfire is now.

A 7970 xfire will be faster than a single 880 based on what I'm seeing. So unless you have budget for two 880's i'd go for 290 xfire now and most likely later.

If budget is available for 2x 880 then i'd definitely wait, otherwise i'd recommend upgrading 290 xfire whenever you want.

 

[RussianSensation]

Besides 780Ti at 1200mhz overclock, there is really nothing worth the upgrade IMO. If your 7970 is not a reference card, overclock it to 1150mhz+ to hold you over. A lot of upcoming games have all gotten delayed: Dragon Age Inquisition to November, BF4 Hardline to next year, Witcher 3 is Feb 2015. What's the point on upgrading right now with no next generation PC games out yet? There is plenty of time to wait for Maxwell GM204.

If there is a particular game you play often right now, maybe sell the 7970 and pick up 2x after market 290s on EBay? That would be a worthwhile upgrade if you don't want to wait.

 

[Techhog]

Besides 780Ti at 1200mhz overclock, there is really nothing worth the upgrade IMO. If your 7970 is not a reference card, overclock it to 1150mhz+ to hold you over. A lot of upcoming games have all gotten delayed: Dragon Age Inquisition to November, BF4 Hardline to next year, Witcher 3 is Feb 2015. What's the point on upgrading right now with no next generation PC games out yet? There is plenty of time to wait for Maxwell GM204.

If there is a particular game you play often right now, maybe sell the 7970 and pick up 2x after market 290s on EBay? That would be a worthwhile upgrade if you don't want to wait.

Don't give advice about "safe" overclocks that "anyone" can reach. There's no guarantee that it can clock that high, and even if it seemingly can it might be silently unstable anyway.

 

[sketchus]

You've convinced me guys, I'll wait to hear more about the new Nvidia cards. Obviously there's always something on the horizon but it at least makes sense to. Should be a decent increase by then

I actually have installed an Artic Xtreme Cooler too soo I could push the clocks, somewhat.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

With the horsepower required to run current games and so many upcoming games being delayed I would wait for nvidia and amd to both release new cards before making a decision.

 

[HurleyBird]

Wait for 20nm, or at least the new generation of 28nm cards.

 

[alcoholbob]

Don't give advice about "safe" overclocks that "anyone" can reach. There's no guarantee that it can clock that high, and even if it seemingly can it might be silently unstable anyway.

Also Kepler cards might be "stable" at a certain clock but the particular chip you have might leak power so even if you don't get artifacts at 1200MHz it might not hold that overclock for more than 30 seconds anyway before the TDP limiter kicks in.

My 780 SC can hit 1220MHz with no problems. The issue is even with 106% power target and 105C temp target it can only hold the overclock for less than a minute of gaming. Sustained speed ends up dropping to around 950-1000MHz. Previously I had a Titan that could hold 1140MHz all day. So no two cards are equal.

 

[RussianSensation]

Don't give advice about "safe" overclocks that "anyone" can reach. There's no guarantee that it can clock that high, and even if it seemingly can it might be silently unstable anyway.

Overclocking is worth for the OP to try since at worst he goes back to stock, otherwise he gets more performance to hold him over. BTW, many people listened to me and got cards like MSI TwinFrozr 7950 and beat 680/7970GE in performance, saving hundreds. So yes, overclocking while not guaranteed, should be a consideration. Overclocking is what separates noobs from PC enthusiasts. It doesn't take much skill to put together a stock PC. I have ran every single GPU overclocked and for the last 10 years 24/7 either gaming/distributed computing or mining. I have never had any GPU fail except the fan on 1 of my cards is starting to have issues.

So many 7970 cards could hit 1150mhz on 1.20-1.25V. That's even lower than the avg overclock on such a card. A lot could do 1175-1200 at 1.225V.

 

[RussianSensation]

My 780 SC can hit 1220MHz with no problems. The issue is even with 106% power target and 105C temp target it can only hold the overclock for less than a minute of gaming. Sustained speed ends up dropping to around 950-1000MHz. Previously I had a Titan that could hold 1140MHz all day. So no two cards are equal.

Still better than no overclock. Also you are not comparing apples to apples. Arctic Extreme OP installed is way better than SC's cooler and 7970 can overvolt to 1.3V but your card is voltage locked. Completely different environment for his and your card, not to mention 7970 has always been a more consistent/predictable overclocker than a 780 since it doesn't have Dynamic Vcore or dynamic Boost clocks.

 

[n47h4n96]

Hello all,

Sketchus, I see you've mentioned you have 12GB RAM, I do recommend installing an even number of modules if you already haven't since your mobo supports dual-channel architechture.

Upon the GFX card, no one has asked what you require from your GFX card, for all I know you could be playing online poker haha. What GFX heavy programs (inc games) are you running? also at what resolution?

 

[sketchus]

I have 4 sticks, 2x4 and 2x2.


In terms of usage I use it for pretty heavy duty gaming. Whenever I can I push the resolution up to at least 1440p. It bothers me that I can't ubersample The Witcher 2 anymore haha

 

[RussianSensation]

I have 4 sticks, 2x4 and 2x2.


In terms of usage I use it for pretty heavy duty gaming. Whenever I can I push the resolution up to at least 1440p. It bothers me that I can't ubersample The Witcher 2 anymore haha

Sounds like a never ending thirst for more GPU power . Even if you get 2x 780Ti to get UberSampling with Witcher 2, they might fail at UberSampling in Witcher 3 and you'll want to sell them and get 880s. The only way someone like you can be satisfied is if you upgrade every time some new game overwhelms your GPUs. If you got the budget for it, you can get 2x 780Ghz editions/ R9 290s, then next year upgrade again. If you want to keep your new cards for 2-3 years with no upgrading, I say wait for 800 series and just buy 2x 870s if they are not too cut down from the 880.

 

[sketchus]

I'll have to overclock my GPU some more I think, I have barely touched it since getting the new cooler so there's sure to be some leeway there.

I am torn though. I'd probably go for two R9 290s in any other case, but I was planning to give Nvidia a go. I know their price to performance isn't generally as good, but I do find if any other manufacturer is going to have driver problems etc, it'll be AMD. But it might just be a case of the grass is greener etc.

 

[Attic]

Hmmm... with the 4790k I'd recommend you go over the top with GPU performance. If you are the guy that wan'ts Ubersampling with Witcher 2, you'll want Uber Sampling with Witcher 3 , right? What's better than UberSampling?, ubersampling at 60fps lock.

The 4790k is a monster, might as well kick in the jams at 60fps mins at 1440p with few worries about maxing everything. 1x880,... nope, 290 xfire,... close.

So I'd put sights on 2x880(ti) and 295x2+290x and get Evga 1300w G2 Gold Rated PSU. This will also give you good shot at pushing 120hz monitor at 1440p if you have one or want one. The 295x2+290x is the Great White Buffalo for Socket 1150 with 2x8 PCI express 3.0 slots.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Obviously grab 2 295x2s! :awe:I would wait for the 880 though and if it isn't what you need then go for the 295x2 once it is cheaper. Seems to be a great card from people that own it.

 

[bryanW1995]

I'll have to overclock my GPU some more I think, I have barely touched it since getting the new cooler so there's sure to be some leeway there.

I am torn though. I'd probably go for two R9 290s in any other case, but I was planning to give Nvidia a go. I know their price to performance isn't generally as good, but I do find if any other manufacturer is going to have driver problems etc, it'll be AMD. But it might just be a case of the grass is greener etc.

I've been almost exactly split between AMD and Nvidia over the years. I currently have 1 of each in fact. I've had some issues with both, but neither stands out for me in a driver/reliability standpoint. Having said that, I've never run sli or Xfire, and I hear that Nvidia generally has better drivers in that area.

 

[sketchus]

That's what I've heard, although I think AMD are improving in that area.

Also, I may as well ask this now, I got the pictures back from Sapphire regarding my broken 7970. Unfortunately I'm not covered with warranty as I suspected it got damaged while moving house.

That sucks but here's what they sent me:

I assume that's unrepairable?

Cheers.