GPU/upgrade recommendations

[ltk_1997]

I want to upgrade my computer, looking for some recommendations. My main constraint is price, I'm not able to spend any more than $320 CAD (about $240 USD).

I have bought parts from ncix.com, amazon.ca, ebay.ca and otvtech.ca (local) in the past.

I use it mostly for gaming at 1080p. Fallout, Skyrim, GTA, Farming Simulator, Minecraft etc. I don't overclock at all.

Current system specs:

Intel Core i5 - 3470S
ASUS P8Z77-V LK
8GB RAM (4x2GB)
Radeon HD 5850 1GB
Samsung 850 EVO 250GB
1000W power supply

I'm looking at an EVGA GeForce 1050 Ti SC: https://www.amazon.ca/EVGA-GeForce-GAMING-Support-04G-P4-6253-KR/dp/B01MF7EQJZ/

Also planning on adding more RAM, probably 16GB more for a total of 20GB. My thinking is since my motherboard supports up to 32GB, I'll max out two slots right now and then add another 16GB some time down the road.

Probably this RAM: https://www.amazon.ca/Kingston-HyperX-1866MHz-HX318C10FBK2-16/dp/B00J8E8Y5C

Are there upgrades that I should look at instead of video card/RAM? Is there a better video card in that price range I should look at? Or spend the full amount on the video card and skip the RAM for now? Anywhere else I should be looking for parts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Valantar]

If all you do is play games, you don't need to add more RAM. 8GB is still sufficient for the vast majority of it. More than 16GB would be utter overkill, regardless what your motherboard supports. If your spec sheet is typed correctly (4x2GB), you don't have any free memory slots anyway, requiring you to remove your current RAM for any upgrade. If it's misspelled (i.e. you have 2x4GB, you could add another 2x4GB for a total of 16, but in terms of bang for your buck, you'd be better off putting as much money as possible into your GPU upgrade. If you want to check this out, pause a game you play, alt+tab out and open task manager. I bet you'll be around 6GB of memory usage - at least that's where I hover with my 8GB and a bazillion background apps.

As for the GPU, I'd recommend looking at an RX 480 (whether 4GB or 8GB doesn't really matter at 1080p), as that gets you 90-100% of the performance of a GTX 1060 for (usually) noticeably less money. Not to mention that it trounces the GTX 1050Ti across the board.

If you still want to buy more RAM (I'm not going to physically stop you, but you don't need it), the Radeon RX 470 can often be found at comparable prices to the GTX 1050Ti, and again performs far better.

Kind of off-topic, but I have to ask: why do you have a 1000W PSU in that PC? :O It can't possibly draw more than 300W running Furmark and OCCT. Which model is it, and when did you buy it?

 

[DaveSimmons]

I agree on staying with 8 GB RAM. Spend the money on a faster GPU instead. I slightly favor nvidia so if the budget allows I'd get a 1060 6GB, but the 480 8GB is a good choice too.

 

[sm625]

Put the entire $320 CAD into a GTX1060. Dont buy a 1050. The gap between those two cards is just too big.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I agree, 470, 480, or 1060 for the gpu. 480 and 1060 are close in performance. 470 is a bit slower, but usually cheaper. You might want to see if you can overclock your cpu to the highest turbo bin on all cores as well.

 

[ltk_1997]

If all you do is play games, you don't need to add more RAM. 8GB is still sufficient for the vast majority of it. More than 16GB would be utter overkill, regardless what your motherboard supports. If your spec sheet is typed correctly (4x2GB), you don't have any free memory slots anyway, requiring you to remove your current RAM for any upgrade. If it's misspelled (i.e. you have 2x4GB, you could add another 2x4GB for a total of 16, but in terms of bang for your buck, you'd be better off putting as much money as possible into your GPU upgrade. If you want to check this out, pause a game you play, alt+tab out and open task manager. I bet you'll be around 6GB of memory usage - at least that's where I hover with my 8GB and a bazillion background apps.

As for the GPU, I'd recommend looking at an RX 480 (whether 4GB or 8GB doesn't really matter at 1080p), as that gets you 90-100% of the performance of a GTX 1060 for (usually) noticeably less money. Not to mention that it trounces the GTX 1050Ti across the board.

If you still want to buy more RAM (I'm not going to physically stop you, but you don't need it), the Radeon RX 470 can often be found at comparable prices to the GTX 1050Ti, and again performs far better.

Kind of off-topic, but I have to ask: why do you have a 1000W PSU in that PC? :O It can't possibly draw more than 300W running Furmark and OCCT. Which model is it, and when did you buy it?

Okay, definitely seeing the trend here. I'll skip the RAM upgrade and buy a nicer graphics card. It looks like the 480s are only about $20-30 cheaper than the 1060s and I have a friend that highly recommends EVGA hardware, so I think I'm going to pick this one up: http://www.ncix.com/detail/evga-geforce-gtx-1060-gaming-28-133579.htm

As for the PSU, it's a PC Power and Cooling Silencer 910W. To be honest, when I built the system originally in 2009 I think I read too many PC Gamer "extreme gaming pc" builds. That's the only thing that could explain the PSU and insanely huge ATCS 840 full tower case.

 

[lehtv]

That EVGA card is alright given how little power GTX 1060 consumes, but there's nothing special about EVGA hardware. Most other brands have equivalent hardware under the hood and better cooling solutions, especially in the GTX 1000 generation (see EVGA's VRM temperature fiasco), with the possible exception of the upcoming GTX 1080 Ti iCX cards.

EVGA's strength is customer service and warranty, not so much the hardware itself.

What monitor do you have?

 

[ltk_1997]

I have an LG W2353V-PF as my main display. Is there a video card brand you would recommend over EVGA? There are not many 6GB 1060s in my price range, would you recommend the 3GB model instead?

Or buy a 480? There are MSI and XFX 8GB models that are in my price range.

 

[lehtv]

@ltk_1997 I would buy RX 470 or RX 480 because of FreeSync support. The monitor would be my next upgrade. With an NVIDIA card you're stuck with regular 75Hz or 144Hz mode, or you have to pay something like $100 extra for a 144Hz GSync monitor (which makes no sense). For me, GSync (its extra cost and poor monitor selection) is a major downside of buying NVIDIA these days. FreeSync and GSync are such useful features that AMD has a clear edge there in terms of value for money, and this applies to anyone who currently uses a cheap 60Hz monitor for gaming.

Asus ROG Strix RX 470 8GB $215 after rebate @ Vuugo (+ shipping)
MSI RX 480 4GB Gaming X $266 after rebate and shipping @ NCIX
MSI RX 480 8GB Gaming X $296 after rebate and shipping @ NCIX

The Strix RX 470 runs very cool and not too loud (see techpowerup). The Gaming X cards run a bit warmer but are even quieter (see techpowerup).

I skipped the 4GB RX 470 models because the difference compared to that Asus 8GB card was just $10. For RX 480 I went straight to the mid-priced Gaming X cards because while the cheaper cards work fine, they're honestly pretty noisy. I would rather have the Asus RX 470 8GB than a cheaply cooled and slightly more expensive RX 480 4GB.

Even the RX 470 is about 140% faster than HD5850 1GB (3DMark FireStrike). The RX 480 is another 15% faster (but 24% more expensive for the 4GB model, 38% more for the 8GB model!), so not a meaningful difference between the two considering what you're upgrading from. (Obviously, that difference will still affect graphics settings and/or fps a little bit.) So, final recommendation: RX 470 Strix, save the rest of your budget towards a new 75Hz or 144Hz FreeSync monitor.

Contrast the RX 470 with the GTX 1050 Ti you were planning to buy - the cheapest GTX 1050 Ti is $180, just 16% less, but it performs 31% worse in FireStrike, 27% worse in Crysis 3 and 14% worse in BF4 (gpuboss). And no FreeSync support. Given that you have an oversized power supply and GTX 1050 Ti's only advantage is low power draw, it makes no sense.

Also, note that RX 500 series is coming out pretty soon (essentially a 400 series refresh, hopefully not a dud in terms of performance gains).

After the monitor upgrade, I'd aim to upgrade the CPU to AMD Ryzen 5 hexacore, or perhaps the equivalent next-gen Ryzen in a year from now. Why not just upgrade the current platform with 16GB DDR3 and possibly a used i7, you might ask? Well, DDR3 is a near-obsolete technology with no new sockets to support it. It only makes sense if you can find a used fast 2x8GB kit at a cheap price. If you buy new, it's best to go straight to 2x8GB DDR4 (preferably 3000+ MHz) which will last almost another decade's worth of CPU sockets (hopefully).

Another point is the futility of upgrading from 4 cores to 4 cores + HT in an age where 6c/12t processors are becoming affordable. The best strategy for a platform upgrade would be AMD Ryzen 5 1600(X) (or its next gen equivalent) which is a 6c/12t processor that costs the same as an i5 4c/4t processor and performs the same per core per GHz. That, combined with an affordable ($100) B350 chipset board and 3000MHz RAM - this will last for ages before needing another upgrade, and without breaking the bank.

 

[Valantar]

*snip*

OP, take note: That right there is some of the most well-reasoned, balanced and thorough advice you could possibly get. Seconded on all points. Period.

 

[ltk_1997]

Thank you for the in-depth post, it helped to clear up several questions I had.

[snip]

Asus ROG Strix RX 470 8GB $215 after rebate @ Vuugo (+ shipping)
MSI RX 480 4GB Gaming X $266 after rebate and shipping @ NCIX
MSI RX 480 8GB Gaming X $296 after rebate and shipping @ NCIX

[snip]

So, final recommendation: RX 470 Strix, save the rest of your budget towards a new 75Hz or 144Hz FreeSync monitor.

I have never ordered from Vuugo, just looked into them and I think I want to stick with sites I'm more comfortable with. Which means the list would look more like this:

Asus ROG Strix RX 470 8GB $250 after shipping @ Amazon.ca
MSI RX 480 4GB Gaming X $266 after rebate and shipping @ NCIX
MSI RX 480 8GB Gaming X $296 after rebate and shipping @ NCIX

At those prices, would you still recommend the 470 or should I pick up one of the 480s instead?

 

[lehtv]

At those prices, RX 480. But, there's also Asus Strix RX 470 4GB OC $215 after rebate @ NCIX. Same price as the 8GB model from Vuugo, but 4GB VRAM isn't an issue since RX 470 isn't fast enough to actually benefit from more than 4GB (and the same is true, to a slightly lesser extent, of RX 480). Technically, in certain games it's possible to run Ultra settings where allocated VRAM skyrockets to 5-6GB, but fps would plummet even with an 8GB card. You're better off running whatever settings get you to 60 fps.