Building new comp, keep or upgrade GPU(s)

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
Im going to be going to a haswell system when they are available. I will go with either a unlocked i5 or whatever they are called CPU and overclock it to the max.

What my issue is i dont know what to do with my GPU's, i was hoping that the next gen would be out by the time i upgrade but thats not looking like its going to be the case.

So should i keep my current OC SLI 460's or upgrade?

Budget would be $300-400, it doesnt seem like i can get a good upgrade over what i currently have for that price which i find very hard to believe because thats what i paid for both my 460's 2 years ago. So it looks like in 2 years tech has not advancced at all.

So what would AT do? keep or upgrade and if upgrade to what?

I want to start researching this now so i can find out which cards have good power phases and OC ability and whatnot.
 

FalseChristian

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2002
3,322
0
71
Hello. I currently have 2 eVGA GTX 460 1GB overclocked to 827/1654/4200 and I can play Crysis 3 quite well but at my 'low' 1680x1050 resolution. I can only use 2x AA, though.

I just upgraded to 2 eVGA 2GB GTX 660 SLI and, wow, what a difference!

The GTX 460 1GB is only held back by it's small frame-buffer. If it had 2GB I would have not upgraded until the GTX 860 comes out.
 

MGF Derp

Member
Dec 23, 2011
25
0
61
I guarantee you would see a performance increase from something like a 7970 which is in that 300-400 dollar range.
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
I guarantee you would see a performance increase from something like a 7970 which is in that 300-400 dollar range.

I know ive been doing serious research into something like a 7970 the only thing is im not sure its enough of a performance increase to justify the cost. Most GPU upgrades i have done over the years have been double or better performance which a 7970 wont offer me.

Im thinking it would be a smarter move to wait with current GPU's till end of year and re-evaluate then or early next year, its just upgrading whole comp and keeping GPU's seems kinda like a waste lol.
 

DooKey

Golden Member
Nov 9, 2005
1,811
458
136
I would go with a 7950 or GTX 670. Lower cost for close to the same increase in performance of a 7970 vs GTX 460 SLI.
 

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,635
2,206
146
That's funny, Rifter, you are approaching your upgrade from the other direction as me. I had 2 460s in SLI (poor implementation on my part though) and am going to a single 7970. My system is even older than yours but I still feel GPU upgrade is the best move right now. Looking at your system specs it might be advantageous for you to do the GPU trade first, also. I don't think your 930 should be doing to badly in most games?
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
The CPU is not bad by any means, still turns out great performance. But its hot, and eats power. Plus Haswell will offer a good platform for years to come if AVX2 takes off. I just build the Girlfriend a i5 34xx series ivy and my cpu outperform it still.

Looking at power draw for some of the newer CPU's and then even lower with Haswell i cant help but be thinking i can obtain the same performance or better for 1/3 the power. Perhaps im getting greener in my old age i dunno, or im worried my NH-D14 is going to snap my motherboard like a toothpick sooner or later :)

Thanks for giving me the idea of GPU first crash thats actually a very good idea and i might just do that. Then wait out the USB3 bug with the first intel chipset stepping and then jump on haswell at the end if the year. Seems like a logical idea.
 

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,635
2,206
146
Well, I'm never one to wait just for the sake of waiting, just like to look at the system and decide which upgrade will net the most dramatic result for the money. I thought unless you went really high end you wouldn't see much difference from your 930 except in benchmarks, and that can be disappointing after dropping ~$400-600 on a new CPU, mobo etc.

I didn't realize power consumption was one of your major concerns. Perhaps a GTX 680 would be more appropriate, since it uses less power than the 7970? I didn't consider power too much in my decision, electricity is cheap where I live and mostly hydroelectric, too.