New graphic card, eventually new cpu.. help me out!

[Mr Cardoso]

Hello everyone,

I'm planning to upgrade my graphic card this Christmas and i currently have a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660  and planning to upgrade to a 970 or something, it's a bit expensive but i guess i'll decide between the feedback!

Also this is my CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3550 CPU @ 3.30GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.3GHz

So any recommendations about it as well? i7 in the future?

Thanks in advance!

 

[KevinP]

If the 970 is too pricey, you could always go for a 4GB 960, which is still pretty good. As for your CPU, if you're upgrading opt for an unlocked version, so you can OC that bad boy in the future if you feel you need to. If you're not looking to spend that much money, maybe a 4770K or similar. 

I'm sure Mr @Zeito would be able to provide better info

 

[Mclovininin]

Ive got the i5 4690k and it is more than enough to play arma at 60 FPS+, but if you are going to be rendering or multitasking alot in the future then maybe invest in the i7.

 

[Sam Jones]

I got a GTX 960 (2GB) turning up tomorrow, will let ya know how it is

 

[Zeito]

@Mr. Cardoso in an nutshell you want to futureproof yourself as much as possibly. the 970 is a great card and will be fine. As or i5/i7. I would say get the i7. You might not put it to full use at the moment, but you dont want to get the i5, then find out in a couple of years you ideally need an i7 and have to replace again. I you really cant afford to stretch to the I7, then it's important you get an UNLOCKED I5 processor. These models end in 'k' and it allows you to easily overclock it, so you can eek out as much power from the chip as possible.

Unfotunately, I dont know what hardware availability or where's good for stuff locally in portugal, but have a look at computer companies, you might be able to get an I5+mobo combo for a good price. You will need a new Mobo if you replace your CPU for a newer generation one as the pinout is different.

 

[Ronnie Pickering]

i7 is better.
i5 is better bang for the buck.

this is probably a gaming PC, id recommend getting the i5 and spending the savings on a better GPU.

I slightly disagree on 'futureproof'@Zeito

You will not be futureproof. If you want futureproof, take the most i5 4690k at lower possible price and bundle it with a high end graphics card. Then when new tier of upgrades appear, you can easily upgrade if you feel the need to use more. But do not be mistaken games that will be utilizing 4 cores at 100% and more will not appear until 3-4 years from now.

 

[Mr Cardoso]

Bumping this thread because i decided to go for the GTX 970, but they are so many versions i don't know what to pick! Help me out

I don't know how to overclock the card, but i'm sure i don't want to to avoid problems but feel free to recommend!

 

[KevinP]

Bumping this thread because i decided to go for the GTX 970, but they are so many versions i don't know what to pick! Help me out

I don't know how to overclock the card, but i'm sure i don't want to to avoid problems but feel free to recommend!

Some form of EVGA, MSi, Gigabyte or Asus varient. See what you can find on a cheeky cyber Monday sale.

 

[Mr Cardoso]

Some form of EVGA, MSi, Gigabyte or Asus varient. See what you can find on a cheeky cyber Monday sale.

Is this a good one?

• Motor Gráfico
  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

• Standard Bus
  PCI Express 3.0

• Memória de Vídeo
  GDDR5 4GB

• Velocidade do Relógio
  GPU Boost Clock : 1178 MHz
  GPU Base Clock : 1051 MHz

• CUDA Core
  1664

• Relógio de Memória
  7010 MHz ( GDDR5 )

• Interface de Memória
  256-bit

• Resolução
  Digital Max Resolution:4096x2160

• Interface
  Saída DVI : Sim x 1 (DVI-I), Sim x 1 (DVI-D)
  Saída HDMI : Sim x 1 (HDMI 2.0)
  Display Port : Sim x 1 (Regular DP)
  Suporte HDCP : Sim

• Consumo Energético
  Até 225W1 additional 8 pin PCIe power required

• Software
  ASUS GPU Tweak & Driver

• Dimensões
  11 " x 5.5 " x 1.57 " Polegadas
  28 x 14 x4 Centímetros

Sorry for the portuguese but i guess you can tell each point and what they mean.

I've been watching reviews and MSI and EVGA coem always first before ASUS for example :x

 

[Ronnie Pickering]

The msi ones are the best in my opinion

 

[Mr Cardoso]

The msi ones are the best in my opinion

When you replied, i already was watching comparissons and this MSI card seems very good! I found one for 239£!!


MSI GeForce GTX970 TWINFROZR V Gaming 4G OC 4GB GDDR5 (PCI-E) 912-V316-008

 

[KevinP]

When you replied, i already was watching comparissons and this MSI card seems very good! I found one for 239£!!


MSI GeForce GTX970 TWINFROZR V Gaming 4G OC 4GB GDDR5 (PCI-E) 912-V316-008

Nice 

 

[Zeito]

When you replied, i already was watching comparissons and this MSI card seems very good! I found one for 239£!!


MSI GeForce GTX970 TWINFROZR V Gaming 4G OC 4GB GDDR5 (PCI-E) 912-V316-008

MSI with TwinFrozr, or ASUS Strix would be my preferred options. I have the MSI TwinFrozr 980Ti and it's very very quiet.

As for overclocking Cardoso, dont worry about that -t he card will come with an ample enough factory overclock, and MSI provide an app that can let you overclock it further but it's pretty much not needed.

 

[Mr Cardoso]

Thanks for all the feedback! I'll get a new card soon

 

[SGT Owen]

Thanks for all the feedback! I'll get a new card soon

I've recently also upgraded my pc (a month or two ago)

I originally put the Asus Strix 970 in and it was great, but for future proofing and other reasons, I threw a MSI 980ti in there.

If I were you, I'd also double check to make sure that nothing else in your PC will bottleneck the card, cpu should be fine if you get the i5/i7 - But you also need to think about factors like the capacity of the Power Supply.

Also, make sure it will fit in the case

Thanks,

Owen

EDIT: Arma, as you probably already know if pretty CPU heavy, it might be worth investing more in a CPU rather than a GPU.  Just something to consider.

 

[KevinP]

Is this a good one?

• Motor Gráfico
  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

• Standard Bus
  PCI Express 3.0

• Memória de Vídeo
  GDDR5 4GB

• Velocidade do Relógio
  GPU Boost Clock : 1178 MHz
  GPU Base Clock : 1051 MHz

• CUDA Core
  1664

• Relógio de Memória
  7010 MHz ( GDDR5 )

• Interface de Memória
  256-bit

• Resolução
  Digital Max Resolution:4096x2160

• Interface
  Saída DVI : Sim x 1 (DVI-I), Sim x 1 (DVI-D)
  Saída HDMI : Sim x 1 (HDMI 2.0)
  Display Port : Sim x 1 (Regular DP)
  Suporte HDCP : Sim

• Consumo Energético
  Até 225W1 additional 8 pin PCIe power required

• Software
  ASUS GPU Tweak & Driver

• Dimensões
  11 " x 5.5 " x 1.57 " Polegadas
  28 x 14 x4 Centímetros

Sorry for the portuguese but i guess you can tell each point and what they mean.

I've been watching reviews and MSI and EVGA coem always first before ASUS for example :x

Only saw this now.. but I guess your questions have been answered. If you were going for the strix it is a beautiful looking card, as well as performance being good. I hear they stay quite cool whilst operating as well.

Edit: No need to apologise for the Portuguese on the specs, I visit there one or twice a year . Beautiful county btw.