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Thread: What should i upgrade?

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    Oh Crumbs.... Biscuit's Avatar
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    What should i upgrade?

    Hi Guys,

    I quite like my PC, its pretty quiet, its pretty nippy and it plays games ok BUT i have started to get that itch when you just want to get something new.

    The full specs are in my drop down box <-over there.

    Should i just upgrade the graphics card? If so which is likely to be best bang for buck in BF3 gaming at 1080p (possibly higher in the near future)? Reviews seem to favour the Nvidia cards in this game but they seem to come at quite a premium (as usual) over their AMD counter parts.
    Im not massively bothered about the cost of a card, id rather not spend much past £300 but i would like it to be as quiet as possible and see a significant boost in performance compared to my aging 5870.

    I reckon i will be getting involved with borderlands 2, is that likely to change matters at all?

    Or is it just time to give up with AMD and switch over to intel z77/i5k etc?

  2. #2
    Headless Chicken Terbinator's Avatar
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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    I think you're in an odd position tbh.

    Your CPU and GPU are no slouches, but i think by upgrading the GPU you'll see immediate returns and less so with the CPU. The PII will probably bottle-neck any card you buy compared to the benchmark Intel equivalent, but you're still going to be comfortably over the 60FPS barrier.

    £300 is a decent budget to play around with though. £300 can net you a 7970 or if you wanted to save some dosh you could get a 7950 for around £220. The next card up from these are the 680's at Aria for £360 - £380. As for BF3, a quick look at the Hexus charts form the GTX 660 review shows the 7950 rolling around GTX 580 performance - or slower than a GTX 660. Obviously you'll have to decide what games you're going to be playing and make a decision off that but for the £40 difference between a 660 and a 7950 - my money is with the latter.

    As for Borderlands 2, i will say the PhysX effects are fantastic but here are some rough performance figures:
    GPU
    CPU

    Edit: I should mention that 670's can be had for under £300 which perform near 680 levels for the most part.
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    for all intents it seems to be the same card minus some gays name on it and a shielded cover ? with OEM added to it - GoNz0.

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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    Well, if you are happy to pay the full £300 then the GTX 670 is going to give you excellent performance in BF3 and BL2.

    A 670 should practically double performance over a 5870, although it is possible that your CPU may slightly affect that.
    http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/511?vs=598

    If you only have £300 you don't want to blow that on a CPU+MB.

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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    No if its going to be worthwhile i can spend i5/z77 and GPU money, im just not 100% sure that it is.

    Which brand with a custom cooler is likely to be the quietest without sacrificing cooling performance?
    Im kinda tempted to get a stock HSF model and buy the Arctic Hybrid watercooler so that not too much heat is dumped in my case.

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    Headless Chicken Terbinator's Avatar
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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    Quote Originally Posted by Biscuit View Post
    No if its going to be worthwhile i can spend i5/z77 and GPU money, im just not 100% sure that it is.

    Which brand with a custom cooler is likely to be the quietest without sacrificing cooling performance?
    Im kinda tempted to get a stock HSF model and buy the Arctic Hybrid watercooler so that not too much heat is dumped in my case.
    Most people say the Asus DC II one are the quietest, although there is probably not much in it between most non-ref coolers with similar fan profiles.
    Kalniel: "Nice review Tarinder - would it be possible to get a picture of the case when the components are installed (with the side off obviously)?"
    CAT-THE-FIFTH: "The Antec 300 is a case which has an understated and clean appearance which many people like. Not everyone is into e-peen looking computers which look like a cross between the imagination of a hyperactive 10 year old and a Frog."
    TKPeters: "Off to AVForum better Deal - £20+Vat for Free Shipping @ Scan"
    for all intents it seems to be the same card minus some gays name on it and a shielded cover ? with OEM added to it - GoNz0.

  7. #6
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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    I would say the best deal is currently this model:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0080DXPH...SIN=B0080DXPHO
    Ebuyer also offer it for the same price.

    http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/geforc...-32475-16.html

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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    Quote Originally Posted by Biscuit View Post
    No if its going to be worthwhile i can spend i5/z77 and GPU money, im just not 100% sure that it is.

    Which brand with a custom cooler is likely to be the quietest without sacrificing cooling performance?
    Im kinda tempted to get a stock HSF model and buy the Arctic Hybrid watercooler so that not too much heat is dumped in my case.
    Buy the GPU first and then you will know if you need to upgrade the CPU as well.

  10. #8
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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    Quote Originally Posted by Willzzz View Post
    I would say the best deal is currently this model:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0080DXPH...SIN=B0080DXPHO
    Ebuyer also offer it for the same price.

    http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/geforc...-32475-16.html
    One of the other advantages of going to Gigabyte is they have a blue PCB which fits in with the blue theme going on in my case

    I did look at that GPU yesterday, and its little brother on the 660Ti
    http://www.scan.co.uk/products/16-08...-w-borderlands

    But i feel like im swinging towards the 670 at the moment...

    I think it probs would be sensible to wait till im set up with the new GPU before i decide to do a full wack upgrade on everything.

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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    The 670 is better value imo as long as you are happy to spend the extra.
    I can see the 660 Ti is tempting since you actually want the game, although I'm sure you can pick up borderlands 2 for around £15.

  12. #10
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    I'd personally be sitting tight for Vishera reviews. They're meant to be released around the same time as desktop Trinity, and in his recent Geil memory review Tarinder dropped a massive hint that Trinity launch is pretty damn close.

    As to a new GPU, I think you'd be mad to get either the 7970 or the GTX680, when the 7950/GTX670 can be overclocked to the same or better performance quite comfortably. From what I've picked up the AMD cards are currently slightly more consistent in terms of game-to-game performance, whereas the nvidia cards are more game-dependent.

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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    But if the games are BF3 and BL2 then Nvidia definitely has the edge.

  15. #12
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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    I'd personally be sitting tight for Vishera reviews. They're meant to be released around the same time as desktop Trinity, and in his recent Geil memory review Tarinder dropped a massive hint that Trinity launch is pretty damn close.
    There have been these hints for so bloody long now its getting quite tiring though! Hexus are generally pretty reliable though so i will give it at least till early October.

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    As to a new GPU, I think you'd be mad to get either the 7970 or the GTX680, when the 7950/GTX670 can be overclocked to the same or better performance quite comfortably. From what I've picked up the AMD cards are currently slightly more consistent in terms of game-to-game performance, whereas the nvidia cards are more game-dependent.
    I had heard that too which is why i threw the question out there. Thing is...

    Quote Originally Posted by Willzzz View Post
    But if the games are BF3 and BL2 then Nvidia definitely has the edge.
    They are going to be the main games and i cant see a GTX670 being particularly BAD in other games, just slightly worse than the red team equivalent.

    Only thing im thinkng about the gigabyte cooler is that it will dump a lot of air into the case instead of exausting it, with my H100 being an exaust and therefore reliant on a fairly low ambient case temperature im concerned it might force it to run at higher speeds more often.

  16. #13
    Headless Chicken Terbinator's Avatar
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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    Quote Originally Posted by Biscuit View Post

    Only thing im thinkng about the gigabyte cooler is that it will dump a lot of air into the case instead of exausting it, with my H100 being an exaust and therefore reliant on a fairly low ambient case temperature im concerned it might force it to run at higher speeds more often.
    I don't think you'll notice any change in a 650D tbh.
    Kalniel: "Nice review Tarinder - would it be possible to get a picture of the case when the components are installed (with the side off obviously)?"
    CAT-THE-FIFTH: "The Antec 300 is a case which has an understated and clean appearance which many people like. Not everyone is into e-peen looking computers which look like a cross between the imagination of a hyperactive 10 year old and a Frog."
    TKPeters: "Off to AVForum better Deal - £20+Vat for Free Shipping @ Scan"
    for all intents it seems to be the same card minus some gays name on it and a shielded cover ? with OEM added to it - GoNz0.

  17. #14
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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    Well save a chunk of cash and get a blower model then

    http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-g...44-2x-dl-dvi-d

  18. #15
    Headless Chicken Terbinator's Avatar
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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    Probably not the best idea given the way the boost works.
    Kalniel: "Nice review Tarinder - would it be possible to get a picture of the case when the components are installed (with the side off obviously)?"
    CAT-THE-FIFTH: "The Antec 300 is a case which has an understated and clean appearance which many people like. Not everyone is into e-peen looking computers which look like a cross between the imagination of a hyperactive 10 year old and a Frog."
    TKPeters: "Off to AVForum better Deal - £20+Vat for Free Shipping @ Scan"
    for all intents it seems to be the same card minus some gays name on it and a shielded cover ? with OEM added to it - GoNz0.

  19. #16
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    Re: What should i upgrade?

    Get another second hand 5870 - they are like £55 on fleabay. Done.
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