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Gigabyte 7970 ghz edition or evga 680+ 4gb with backplate

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Back in 1998 I bought a Geforce2 MX400 64MB and paired with with my Pentium 1 233mhz with 64MB of system ram. My CPU was 233mhz and I overclocked my video card to 233mhz core. In Quake 3 arena, I got 25-30fps at max settings at 1600x1200, and 25-30fps at 640x480 with minimum settings, because my video card was so incredibly bottlenecked by my CPU.

I feel like putting a 680+ with an 8200 would be analogous.

EDIT: The only way it might possibly make sense is if you some reason (business computer, limited software licenses, etc.) you weren't able to change your motherboard or Windows installation. In that case I'd say either stick with your 7770 or get an HD7850 to tide you over and start pooling money to build a second system.
 
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thstahler said:
Only thing on the 680 that I am not sure is a limitation is the 256 bit memory bandwidth vs the 384 on the AMD.
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Its immaterial when you're on a 1600x900 screen. The only time it may be relevant is if you move to a 2560x1600 screen or higher (multi-monitor).
 
Why are you going through this much trouble to help a thick head that don't attend to reason?

If he's fixed on any of those cards both are a bad pick based on his system and/or resolution.
 
Imouto said:
Why are you going through this much trouble to help a thick head that don't attend to reason?

If he's fixed on any of those cards both are a bad pick based on his system and/or resolution.
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Well, I wouldn't word it like that but he may be under the impression that CPU and other components don't matter as long as the GPU can compensate - this was actually true a number of years ago, IIRC during the voodoo2 era practically every game was GPU limited. You could throw a V2 into a system with a 2-3 year old CPU and be just fine. However, those days are obviously long gone. System balance matters much more now, so the best approach is to combine a good cpu with a good GPU. IMO. Now, if the OP ignores that and still gets a 4GB card for 1600*900, it's on him. Numerous posters have told him it's a waste 😉 It's his money, so if he wants to put it to questionable use....well...I don't really care.
 
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To assume that I am "Trolling" or otherwise being a prick just because I otherwise can be, Is not only completely wrong, but quite inappropriate. I am merely try to get the best system I can for my cash at hand. You can think whatever you want though. But I mean no one any disrespect.
 
You may be able to get a good deal on a cheap Z77 board + i5. If I remember correctly, they (microcenter) had sales on Z77 + i5/7 combos, anyone know if that's still going on? I think the i5 would be better than the 8350, and price may be similar as well.
 
Yuriman said:
Is this the card you're looking at? http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-D...=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

For that amount of money, I would instead do this:

ASROCK Z77 Extreme4: http://www.amazon.com/LGA1155-CrossF...rds=asrock+z77 $135

Intel Core i5 3570K: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i5-...=ATVPDKIKX0DER - $210

2x 4GB Samsung DDR3 1600: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147225 $80

MSI Radeon HD7850 2GB: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-DisplayPor...=radeon+hd7850 $180

^ All of that will cost approximately the same as a single GTX680+ 4GB, but overall your system may be as much as twice as fast in the games you want to play. You could sell the HD7770, Q8200, motherboard and ram and make back around $300. With that difference you could get an HD7950 or even an HD7970 instead of the HD7850 to pair with the 3570K for the same amount of money you're willing to drop now.
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Yuriman got a point but if you can't sell your stuff or don't wanna sell for some reason get the 7970 Ghz since it's cheaper and faster.
 
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BOOM:

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx

You can actually get an i5-3570k + Z77 motherboard for around 2 hundy. That's a hell of a deal, your microcenter should have tons of stock as well. Not only is this cheaper than the 8350 combo, but will be a much better balanced, better performer. You can also use your existing DDR3-1333.

You can get the Z77A-G41 motherboard with an i5-3570k CPU for only 215$ at microcenter. That's a hell of a deal IMHO. And then you'll have enough money left over for a great GPU. It won't be a 680 or 7970, but trust me - you will be more than fine.
 
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Just go for a TITAN, since you obviously don't want to listen to reason from the people here on these forums.
 
RaistlinZ said:
Just go for a TITAN, since you obviously don't want to listen to reason from the people here on these forums.
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Don't be rude. He's come around to what everyone was telling him earlier - to get a better balanced system. It appears that's exactly what he's doing - read up on his latest posts. 🙂
 
blackened23 said:
BOOM:

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx

You can actually get an i5-3570k + Z77 motherboard for around 2 hundy. That's a hell of a deal, your microcenter should have tons of stock as well. Not only is this cheaper than the 8350 combo, but will be a much better balanced, better performer. You can also use your existing DDR3-1333.

You can get the Z77A-G41 motherboard with an i5-3570k CPU for only 215$ at microcenter. That's a hell of a deal IMHO. And then you'll have enough money left over for a great GPU. It won't be a 680 or 7970, but trust me - you will be more than fine.
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Agree on what he says. 7950 or 7870 would be fine for your resolution.
 
thstahler said:
Okay, Another idea would be to get an AMD 4.0ghz 8350 Black Edition processor, this motherboard:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/398235/M5A97_R20_Socket_AM3_ATX_AMD_Motherboard

I could still utilize my 8GB of DDR3 1333 And to then get either a 7950 for $271 or a 660ti for $258. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Wait, does your board use DDR2 or DDR3? I just assumed socket 775 was all DDR2. If it's DDR2, you'll need new RAM whether you go with the 8350 or the 3570K. If you have DDR3, that cuts $80 out of the total system cost that I posted above - or if you have a Microcenter nearby, you can do it even cheaper.

There's a case to be made for either chip, but you can see which I picked based on my signature. 😛
 
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How does this sound.

Either 3570 i5 or AMD 8350 and motherboard for about $200-$240
Extra 8GB DDR3 RAM for $58 Maxing my system to 16GB of RAM
And either a 660ti for $238 or a 7870 LE for $249.

What would you go with out of that for best performance?
 
thstahler said:
How does this sound.

Either 3570 i5 or AMD 8350 and motherboard for about $200-$240
Extra 8GB DDR3 RAM for $58 Maxing my system to 16GB of RAM
And either a 660ti for $238 or a 7870 LE for $249.

What would you go with out of that for best performance?
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The first choice (i5-3570(k) sounds perfect - as mentioned the 3570 is a better overall performer for games than the 8350. Now the GPU is really up to you, but keep in mind that WoW and WoT runs better on nvidia usually - although games go back and forth depending on title. I guess it really depends on which titles you play the most. If you're a die-hard WoW player that would create a strong argument for the 660ti, whereas if you just play it casually you can go with an AMD card which is overall a better value and performs just as well across all titles. The GPU choice is a toss-up depending on what titles you value you the most - W.R.T the CPU however, the i5 is the clear winner here IMHO. For gaming, especially CPU bound gaming, it's a better performer than the FX.
 
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So, Is i5 faster than 8350 then overall? And the 7870 is the xt version. Does that change anything? Will the 660ti or the 7870 xt which is much better than a regular 7870, be better?
 
thstahler said:
So, Is i5 faster than 8350 then overall?
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Yes. For games there's no question, the 3570k or non-k is definitely better.

And the 7870 is the xt version. Does that change anything? Will the 660ti or the 7870 xt which is much better than a regular 7870, be better?
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Yes. The XT version is definitely much better than the vanilla 7870.The 7870XT and 660ti are roughly the same speed overall. I suspect the XT may OC a bit better, but I could be wrong on that. Now there are some titles that heavily lean towards one architecture, but to answer the question you can go either way here and be 100% fine. They're roughly the same speed.

Here's a review of the XT card you mention:

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...iti-le-graphics-card-review-introduction.html
 
With the 660ti, Will that be enough for my 1600x900 resolution to max out all games on Ultra? Or will a 7870XT be better for such? Guess I am just worried about the 192 Bandwidth of the 660ti.
 
Thanks Guys, You are seriously the best! I ended up getting an i5 3570k, a MSI Z77A-G41 Motherboard, an additional 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 660ti video card, all for only slightly more than what the 7970 or 680 would have cost me. Plus, I can now sell my old MB, Processor, Video Cards, And RAM to make up the difference. Kick Ass!!! So now my system will be as follows

Intel i5 3570k
16GB DDR3 1333 RAM
660ti Video Card
OCZ EliteXStream 1,000w Power Supply
Sabrent 4 Port USB 3.0 Card

YAY!!! I'm not in the stone age anymore! YabbaDabbaDo LOL
 
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