370, 750TI, 950 or wait for 16nm.

[Rannar]

I'm on an i3 4160 HD4400 right now and feel strong desire to upgrade to Radeon 370 142€, Geforce 750 TI Gainward GS 140€, Geforce 950 or wait for 16nm gpus.

Do not want to go over 110W TDP so 380 and 285 are unfortunately out.
Price performance wise 370 seems the best but is 3,5 years old technology. 750 TI GS might not last long and 950 is a bit too expensive compared to 370.
Should i wait for 16nm gpus or upgrade right now?

I do not spend much time gaming anymore but am still interested in Fallout 4, MGS 5, Witcher 3 and new Deus Ex.

NB! 1€=1,1$ and budget is up to 200€/220$

 

[Silverforce11]

You aren't going to play those titles well at 1080p with the GPUs you mentioned. Maybe on low settings.

So perhaps save up and spend around $300-400 when 16nm GPUs arrive, it should give you a lot better bang for your buck. I feel like the 370/750Ti is just too weak and would be an utter waste of $$ for gamers who want to play latest titles.

 

[DownTheSky]

Your best bet is to try the 2nd hand market for a 7970/280x. I wouldn't recommend those GPUs you mentioned to anyone for gaming. Like Silverforce said anything lower would be an utter waste. Why the TDP limitation?

If you have to go nvidia wait for deals on a 4gb 960.

 

[NTMBK]

Wait for 16nm.

 

[Rannar]

Why the TDP limitation?

Artificial reason. My old GPU+ CPU had 164W combined. Would like to have more efficient combo this time
I have mITX case that can take full lenght cards

PSU is an old Seasonic S12 500W. Took it over from old build.

 

[f2bnp]

Any of these cards are far superior to HD4400. I'd go with either R7 370 or GTX 950. However, they aren't top performing in the slightest and you'll certainly be forced to upgrade relatively soon if you want to keep playing the latest releases.

Way I see it, your best bet is to grab one of these cards and as soon as the 16nm cards hit the market and you find a good deal, you snatch it and sell the previous card.
Better yet, you may look into 2nd hand and find a 2GB 7850/7870 for quite a bit less than what R9 270 and R7 370 go for these days and then follow the above tactic. Friend of mine is playing through MGS5 with his 7870 and FX 6300 and most of his settings are on High (some Extra High) and he is enjoying mostly 60fps gameplay, with some drops due to his AMD CPU.

 

[Seba]

You aren't going to play those titles well at 1080p with the GPUs you mentioned. Maybe on low settings.

But with his current HD Graphics 4400 he will not be able to play those titles at all. Big difference (bigger than between playing at lower or at higher settings).

 

[Silverforce11]

Yeah true, when your budget is low, you're stuck in a hard place trying to AAA gaming titles at release.

Definitely go with used GPU, like 7950 (it doesn't use that much power gaming), can probably grab one for dirt cheap. A few months ago my old 7950 was rocking it in Witcher 3 on custom settings and max texture quality, ~45fps avg at 1080p while the game was looking almost identical to High.

That's the kind of GPU grunt that OP needs to enjoy these games.

 

[Rannar]

But with his current HD Graphics 4400 he will not be able to play those titles at all. Big difference (bigger than between playing at lower or at higher settings).

I had 750 which i sold in summer anticipating 950 but did not find that a good deal at release.
I play on 1080p and prefer native rez with lower details if needed. Not other way- cant stand upscaling.

 

[happy medium]

gtx 950 is your best choice

 

[ShintaiDK]

16nm GPUs are far away. So if you need now, buy now.

 

[Charlie98]

Artificial reason. My old GPU+ CPU had 164W combined. Would like to have more efficient combo this time

GPU horsepower requires, well... electrical power. If you are limiting your GPU selection to an arbitrary watt limit, you are limiting your ability to game, particularly in modern titles.

Although they have 'gamer' versions, I don't consider the GTX750/950, et al, to be anything but a basic GPU, but, again, it just depends on your expectations.

 

[LTC8K6]

I'm tempted to suggest a 5675C processor, if he could find one.

That would give a nice graphics boost now, plus set him up for later with a 4 core processor when he buys a discreet 16nm card.

But it's unrealistic unless he can get a 5675C for a reasonable price.

 

[Seba]

I had 750 which i sold in summer anticipating 950 but did not find that a good deal at release.
I play on 1080p and prefer native rez with lower details if needed. Not other way- cant stand upscaling.

A GTX 750 Ti will make little sense as an upgrade, since you had a GTX 750.

And if you want an Nvidia card better than GTX 750 Ti, then the next step up worth considering is GTX 960 (4GB version if it is not too expensive compared to 2GB version in your country). It has much better price/performance ratio than GTX 950 (again, unless you have very different prices there).

Next generation of graphics card may be delayed and on top of that you have the risk that the cards in your budget (200 EUR) will not be released until later on, so this strategy could turn in a very long wait for you, with only the integrated graphics to use in the meantime. Also, your CPU could bottleneck some much more powerful cards (as Pascal and Arctic Island are expected to be).

 

[happy medium]

gtx 950 @ 1080p.. with a little overclock is right up there with a gtx960

for 139$ shipped is not a bad deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487156&cm_re=gtx_950-_-14-487-156-_-Product

and with a good overclock will be faster than a 960..more than enough for 1080p gaming

 

[Seba]

What is the point of comparing an overclocked GTX 950 to a non-overclocked GTX 960? GTX 960 can be overclocked, too.

Also, that GTX 950 includes shipping in USA, not in Estonia.

 

[happy medium]

What is the point of comparing an overclocked GTX 950 to a non-overclocked GTX 960? GTX 960 can be overclocked, too.

Also, that GTX 950 includes shipping in USA, not in Estonia.

The point is you can get gtx960 performance from a gtx950 for 40$ less.
and use less power.

A gtx950 is a good option over a gtx750ti.

A 960 is way out of his price range also.

 

[Leyawiin]

You should be able to get at least medium settings out of an i3 and a GTX 950 @ 1080p in most current, released games. Of course it won't be 60 FPS all the time, but it'll be quite playable. As for one's that haven't released their system requirements yet (Dues Ex), saying you can or can't with that pair is just speculation.

 

[Seba]

The point is you can get gtx960 performance from a gtx950 for 40$ less.
and use less power.

No, you don't. Because you can overclock the GTX 960 card.

Also, a GTX 960 is not "way out of his price range" of 200 euro. In the worst case, it is a little over budged. Here is a GTX 960 2GB for 197 euro, and here a GTX 960 4GB for 219 euro. I am not familiar with Estonian shops, so probably there are better deals.

 

[happy medium]

No, you don't. Because you can overclock the GTX 960 card.

Also, a GTX 960 is not "way out of his price range" of 200 euro. In the worst case, it is a little over budged. Here is a GTX 960 2GB for 197 euro, and here a GTX 960 4GB for 219 euro. I am not familiar with Estonian shops, so probably there are better deals.

I'm not the OP.....
I just bought a gtx960 4gb G1 gamer, for 170$. My second choice was a gtx950 SSC for 140$.

He seems to want lower power consumption and something a bit cheaper, that's why I suggested the 950.

 

[Rannar]

Thx for advice. I saw a very good deal for slightly used 270x and went with that. Sapphire dual x for 135 eur. 950 Prices start from 169 eur. Will check temps and if neseccary try to undervolt to get lower power consumtion. Will hold me over until Zen and Arctic island, Pascal.

 

[Seba]

By comparison with prices for other cards, 135 euro for R9 270X was a good deal, but R9 270X will perform worse than GTX 960 in the games that you said you are interested in.

Your initial <110W TDP requirement was because of your power supply?

 

[Rannar]

By comparison with prices for other cards, 135 euro for R9 270X was a good deal, but R9 270X will perform worse than GTX 960 in the games that you said you are interested in.

Your initial <110W TDP requirement was because of your power supply?

It will be slower and i considered 960 but too expencive for what it offers-around 200 eur here.
I have an old Seasonic 500w psu- with not very strong 12v lines but it should handle it. No real reason for 110W TDP other than mITX case and wish for powerefficiency.