Question Buy a new video card or build a new system?

[Baelzar]

I'm wondering whether I should buy a new video card or just build a new system. And/Or upgrade my memory. Or...or or or. This will be used for gaming, but nothing bleeding edge, no ultra settings. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, for instance. Buying ASAP in USA, no brand preference, just best bang for the buck. Thanks!

My current specs:
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4690K CPU @ 3.50GHz
MOTHERBOARD
ASRock Z97 Extreme4
MEMORY
Installed Memory 16384 MB
8GB of Team Group Inc. Model ZEUS-1600 DDR3 [PC3-10600]
8GB of Corsair Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 DDR3 [PC3-10600]
VIDEO CARD
Video Adapter ASUS R9 280 Series
Video Processor AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x679A)
PCI ID 0x1002 / 0x679A - Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] / Tahiti PRO [Radeon HD 7950]
Memory 3072 MBytes
MONITORS
Monitor #1 Model BenQ 241VW
Monitor ID BNQ76F6
Display Size 24.2" (52 cm x 33 cm)
Horizontal Frequency 30-83 kHz
Vertical Frequency 56-76 Hz
Supported Resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz - Aspect Ratio 16:10
Monitor #2 AOC V22 Model F22
Monitor ID AOC2200
Display Size 21.1" (47 cm x 26 cm)
Horizontal Frequency 30-83 kHz
Vertical Frequency 50-75 Hz
Current Resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz

 

[aigomorla]

*eats popcorn while counting how many people are going to make him get a 4k card for his 1920x1200 @ 60hz max resolution*

While i do that, i will give my thoughts.
Anything you do at this point will be a wash.
Reason being you have such an old system its DDR3 based, that almost any modern gpu you throw on it will get bottle necked.
However the GPU you have is very old at the same time, so almost any gpu that is recommended in this thread will be a major improvement.

So i ask another question for your question..
How soon are you intending to upgrade your monitor and what monitor was in the class you can afford?
That should help fine tune all these answers.

If you intend to keep that monitor for as long as possible, til the next ice age, then i would probably go with whatever is the cheapest so when you donate your system to someone, you can donate it with the video card. Something like a GTX 1060 or a RX580 will still be overpowered for the resolution you run and will give you great performance and not really dent your wallet, unless its a clip wallet.

If you intend to upgrade the monitor to a 144hz or a 1440p, then you will probably need to go up more into the 1660/5700XT territory, however it will come at a cost of being bottlenecked. But again, at 1200p you wont need to worry about it much because were talking about 180fps vs 210fps depending on the game engine. (but you can definitely take this gpu with you on the next build)

Or if you want to enjoy all the bells and whistles, you can go buck wild, and yes it does make a difference between going full out options and no options, but again, you will probably need a new system and monitor and it will not only put a dent but a hole in your wallet and will most likely dent your bank account as well. (i have a lot of dents in my poor bank account, insurance wont cover my claims anymore sacasm)

 

[TheVrolok]

I'm going to piggy back on this one, too. I've been out of the hardware game since I built this system in 2013. I'm a shadow of the previous gamer I was (real life, wife, kid, job, etc.) but I'd still like to be able to play a bit here and there when I can. System is in the sig, looking for some insight on what a good bang for the buck GPU upgrade would be. Don't want to change anything else about the system. I'll probably build a brand new system from the ground up in 1-2 years, just looking for something to extend for now and play some of my backlog.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Do you use all three 1920x1200 monitors in Surround Gaming? If so, then you need 3x 1080P/1200P horsepower for your replacement GPU, which is awfully close to the needs of 4K resolution.

Surprised that you've gotten along with a GTX 670 FTW for that long. Don't those only have 2GB VRAM?

I would probably recommend an RX 5700 XT, because:
1) It supports Eyefinity Gaming (surround)
2) It can do 1440P and nearly 4K, with some settings turned down.
3) It leads in its price-point for performance/$.

You might not want AMD though, for various reasons. The drivers, especially on Navi, have been rocky, but they've smoothed out most of the edges. The new Adrenaline 2020 drivers are really nice overall, and have some nice gaming-specific features.

Edit: If for some reason your heart is set on NVidia cards, then consider the RTX 2070 Super and RTX 2080 Super, depending on budget.

 

[TheVrolok]

Do you use all three 1920x1200 monitors in Surround Gaming? If so, then you need 3x 1080P/1200P horsepower for your replacement GPU, which is awfully close to the needs of 4K resolution.

Surprised that you've gotten along with a GTX 670 FTW for that long. Don't those only have 2GB VRAM?

I would probably recommend an RX 5700 XT, because:
1) It supports Eyefinity Gaming (surround)
2) It can do 1440P and nearly 4K, with some settings turned down.
3) It leads in its price-point for performance/$.

You might not want AMD though, for various reasons. The drivers, especially on Navi, have been rocky, but they've smoothed out most of the edges. The new Adrenaline 2020 drivers are really nice overall, and have some nice gaming-specific features.

Edit: If for some reason your heart is set on NVidia cards, then consider the RTX 2070 Super and RTX 2080 Super, depending on budget.

I only game on one of the monitors at 1200p, so don't need to render for all 3.

Honestly, I've gotten along with the 670 FTW for so long because I don't really game that much on my PC and when I have, it hasn't been anything incredibly intense graphically (Dota2, Battletech, etc.). There's quite a bit sitting in my backlog because I still have this 670 (The Witcher 3, ME: A, quite a few others).

I've really become a casual gamer for the most part, but would be nice to be able to catch up a little bit on the back log when I do have some down time here and there. I suppose I could just wait 6-12 months and build a new system - I've spent all my "fun money recently" but would have no problem dropping 2-3k on a new system in 6-12m when I redo my office.

Maybe I'm talking myself into just waiting and building a new system? Or, I dunno, if I'm not going to be sufficiently bottlenecked, maybe I just get the GPU and put off an entirely new system for a few years? I'm actually shocked I've survived on this one for 7 years now.

 

[maddogmcgee]

Get a decent GPU and an ssd. If you are not happy with performance then you can upgrade buy a new system and use them.

 

[blckgrffn]

I only game on one of the monitors at 1200p, so don't need to render for all 3.

Honestly, I've gotten along with the 670 FTW for so long because I don't really game that much on my PC and when I have, it hasn't been anything incredibly intense graphically (Dota2, Battletech, etc.). There's quite a bit sitting in my backlog because I still have this 670 (The Witcher 3, ME: A, quite a few others).

I've really become a casual gamer for the most part, but would be nice to be able to catch up a little bit on the back log when I do have some down time here and there. I suppose I could just wait 6-12 months and build a new system - I've spent all my "fun money recently" but would have no problem dropping 2-3k on a new system in 6-12m when I redo my office.

Maybe I'm talking myself into just waiting and building a new system? Or, I dunno, if I'm not going to be sufficiently bottlenecked, maybe I just get the GPU and put off an entirely new system for a few years? I'm actually shocked I've survived on this one for 7 years now.

That 670 card (architecture) is somewhat infamous for how poorly it aged.

You'll get big speed ups in non-optimized (anything recent) titles upgrading the GPU for sure.

I'd suggest a 1660ti or a 2060S as cards good enough to carry forward like the previous poster mentioned.

A used 1070 or 1060 6GB or similar if found for the right price. If you were willing to try AMD for a few months, RX580 or 570 would still be a huuuuge upgrade and run ~$100 to $130 and probably bring that if you sell when building the next PC. You want the RX5xx generation to best support your multi-monitor setup as AMD made some improvements on those fronts compared to the RX4xx series in terms of power usage.