GPU Upgrade

[Petherwin]

Hi all,

I'm contemplating upgrading my current GTX 660ti and wanted to run my logic by you.

My monitor is a Dell U2412M running at 1920x1200 @60hz refresh rate. I have no plans to upgrade this at present.

The GPU is also connected to my 1080p tv via HDMI so that I can stream movies/tv shows from the PC.

In terms of gaming, nothing overly strenuous - GTA V, Euro Truck Sim 2, WoW, FM16, Guild Wars 2 are the main go to games.

All I want to do is run these types of game at max graphical settings to achieve 60fps. As the monitor is 60hz, I believe anything more than 60fps will be overkill?

Budget isn't an issue, but value for money is. Therefore, given this fps "ceiling" (for want of a better word) I would think the latest graphics cards such as a 980ti, Titan or Fury will just be over the top and unnecessary?

Therefore, I'm thinking a GTX 970 or R9 390 would be plenty of card for my needs, possibly favouring the 970 due to HDMI 2.0 (useful if I change my tv to 4k) and lower power draw.

I realise new architecture is on the horizon, so possibly a bad time to look to buy a new gpu, although any new cards may still be over the top for my needs?

Any and all thoughts appreciated.


For context, I run an i5 3570k Ivybridge, Asus P8Z77-V LX mobo, 8GB DDR3 RAM with an SSD for programs. It's a good chip and I doubt I'd upgrade it for at least another 12 months.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The R9 390 is the better card and increasingly from what I see it will be the better DX12 card. However,since you want HDMI2.0 and WoW has tended to favour Nvidia last time I checked,perhaps the GTX970 might be better in some ways,but it's weird memory controller design like your GTX660TI and my GTX660 might also be an issue to as time progresses when Maxwell moves to second rung status.

However,with Polaris and Pascal launching during the summer I might advise you to hold off for a while first.

[Petherwin]

Ah yes, I was forgetting DX12.

I'd probably gain more from that than holding out for a card with HDMI 2.0 that I may never actually need.

Thank you.

[EndlessWaves]

The GTX 660Ti is still a fast card, I'm guessing somewhere around 370 levels and other than, perhaps, GTA V, it shouldn't be struggling to get 60fps on the games you've listed. A 390 isn't going to be that big an upgrade. Twice as fast, maybe 2.5x

If it is seriously struggling I'd be looking for a problem somewhere.

[Boon72]

i have an old HD6950 which needs to be updated, i've been looking at the same kind of update but i'm holding off for the new card info before making my decision.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The GTX660TI has the same segmented memory controller as my GTX660 which has the last 512mb of RAM accessed using a 64 bit memory controller,so I can see why their might be issues at times.

[LeBron85]

Sapphire R9 390 is you best bet.