Looking for a good GPU that will last

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topeira

Member
May 19, 2011
77
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the ever exsiting question is what GPU to buy when upgrading.
what i am looking for is a GPU that can run games on my specific requirements from a PC game, and will last long enough into the future of the new current gen console ported games. games like Shadows of mordor, Watch dogs, The division, AC:unity etc etc.

my requirements from a visual fidelity arent that high -
im always running games on 1680X1050, i dont care that much about high AA and high resolutions shadows and anything over 40fps is fine by me. gaming on 30-60 fps is prefectly fine. dont need over 60fps.
i DO care about texture resolutions, lighting effects and post processing effects, HBAO, draw distance etc.

also i've always went with ATIs cards. my current card is 6870 1GB and it seems like this card will be outdated by the end of the year since its below the minimum specs of "shadows of mordor" and might not do THAT well with watch dogs, but who knows.

now i dont know if i should switch to Nvidia for the first time in my life... they are more expensive but maybe there is something they do better besides HBAO+ and the new fancy AA technique...

SO, long story short -
i wanna upgrade. i dont know if i should go Nvidia or AMD.
considering my requirements from games and where games might be heading in the future i dont know if i should aim for 7950 3GB kinda card or maybe a lesser card will be enough?

p.s. what is the difference between the r9 2XX series and the 7XXX series? like R9 270x and 7950, for example?

p.p.s - will the upcoming DX12 boost performance on AMDs cards as well , whenever it comes out....?

thanks ;)


p.p.p.s - my current hardware is i7-4770 and 8GB ram. windows 7 x64
 
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nicuwork

Member
Feb 13, 2014
25
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if you continue to play on that resolution, 1600x1050 , the R9 270 is more than enough and i think it will serve very good with future games at least 2 years.
You have low standards but still own a a high end PC...maybe it's not for games

People will recommend you to buy TOP end cards...but they just don't realise you play at 1600x1050 resolution, and that doesn't require high end cards.... witch are ment to play on full hd/ultra hd resolution where you need +3gb video memory
 
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spinejam

spinejam

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2005
3,503
1
81
Looks like you hang-on to your hardware for some time so, buy either a gtx780 or R9 290 custom cooled card and it will probably outlast your monitor over the next 5 years. :)
 
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nicuwork

Member
Feb 13, 2014
25
0
0
i think no one can answer so bad as "spinejam". It's like you buy a Enzo Ferrari and you run it into city... waste of money
 
Yuriman

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
5,530
141
106
My best judgement is to put your 6870 up in the classifieds and get a GTX760 or a 270x/280/7950 (depending on what you can find the best deal on). You should be good for at least 2 years, perhaps more if you don't get a nicer screen.

EDIT: 2xx are rebrands of the 7xxx, largely. Bonaire and Hawaii are GCN 1.1 and have a few new features, your best bet is to read the 290x review on here.

HD7790 = 260X = 896 shaders (Bonaire)
HD7850 = 265 = 1024 shaders (Pitcairn)
HD7870 = 270 & 270x = 1280 shaders (Pitcairn)
HD7950 = 280 = 1792 shaders (Tahiti)
HD7970 = 280x = 2048 shaders (Tahiti)
R290 = 2560 shaders (Hawaii)
R290x = 2816 shaders (Hawaii)
 
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Silverforce11

Lifer
Feb 19, 2009
10,457
10
76
Anything beyond a R280X or GTX770 class is completely and utterly overkill for your resolution and for a long time to come.

I dunno why you wouldnt upgrade the monitor?
 
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UaVaj

Golden Member
Nov 16, 2012
1,546
0
76
"will last" and "future proofing" is an epic fail/fallacy especially when it comes to bleeding edge technology. so unless you are going out and buying 4 of the latest and greatest. stop worrying about it.

just buy what you need to get the job done today. when a new game come in the future and the current hardware is not sufficient. upgrade to what needs to get the done again. repeat.

life is too short to worrying about future proofing bleeding edge technology. you are better off killing those brain cells toward stock investing.
 
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Spjut

Senior member
Apr 9, 2011
931
160
106
If you don't intend to upgrade again in a long time, I'd say Nvidia is the safest choice. Nvidia supports their older products for much longer than AMD.
 
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topeira

Member
May 19, 2011
77
0
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thanks for all the answers, guys.

thing is - my 42inch TV works best with my computer monitor on a res of 1680X1050. also im usually sitting about 10 feet from the screen. i barely see a difference in AA and higher res and that's why i prefer playing on that res with higher frame rate. i just wouldnt notice the difference if i played on 1080p.

my current 6870 card is an old car but up until today it plays ALL games to answer my requirements. BF4, AC4.... everything. that is what i call a future proof card to fit my standards.

am i wrong to expect all games in the next 6 years or so (the life cycle of PS4\XB1) to have about the same system requirements? that was the case with the 360 and PS3. every game in the past 8 years had the same system requirements. no need to upgrade.
i want a card that will out perform the consoles' cards with enough headroom so i can only assume i wouldnt need to upgrade for at least 4 years.
am i wrong?!
what do you think about this.

which is better - the nvidia's 760 or nvidia's 670 or AMD's 270 or AMD's 7950?
 
Attic

Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
4,282
2
76
I wouldn't overcomplicate it.

You have used AMD in the past, you like em. You are not an ultramax 100fps or bust type mentality and you game at 1680x1050.

AMD R9 270. It's more powerful than whats in either Xbox1 or PS4. It's not very expensive at ~170-180.

If you want to have more breathing room then go with a 280x for $300bux which is overkill today.
 
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topeira

Member
May 19, 2011
77
0
0
Attic said:
I wouldn't overcomplicate it.

You have used AMD in the past, you like em. You are not an ultramax 100fps or bust type mentality and you game at 1680x1050.

AMD R9 270. It's more powerful than whats in either Xbox1 or PS4. It's not very expensive at ~170-180.

If you want to have more breathing room then go with a 280x for $300bux which is overkill today.
Click to expand...

1) i have no allegiance with AMD. i dont mind switching. i really dont. it's jsut a question of if i should.
it kinda seems like nvidia gets a lot of support from devs andd vica versa. looks like there are a lot mroe games that uses Nvidia's tech than AMDs.
doesnt it mean its a good idea to switch sides?

2) - how does higher vram help in games? do i need more than 2GB vram in my card?!

3) i asked this in the OP - when DX12 comes out in whenever, will it mean that both nvidia AND amd benefit from it?

4) i have a 650w PSU. if i upgrade my GPU to a card like you suggested (760gtx or 270 or something like that) will the PSU hold? what else will i need to buy?
 
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Attic

Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
4,282
2
76
Yep, you buy what is the best value. From what i've seen now that crypto currency rush has died down, AMD offers better value across most price points.

At 1680x1050 you wont need more than 2gb ram today. Tommorow is anybodies guess, but to be safer you may want to go with a 280x which gives you 3gb ram and much faster performance or a GTX770 with 4gb. More VRAM lets you run higher resolution textures and/or AA. For midrange today and tommorow I think 2gb is fine particularly at your resolution. More vram requires a faster card to put it to effective use.

Personally I wouldn't expect anything sub $200 to last for 4 years, but I don't like to compromise too much on game settings.

DX12 is too far away to base a GPU decision on it today. It will be better than DX11 and it's going to be put to use in games by early mid 2015 is my best guess. GPU's being sold as DX12 may start to come out by end of this year. Whenever DX12 comes out, it will benefit both amd and nvidia, but only if you have a dx12 card which aren't available now.
 
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Maximilian

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,604
15
81
Pick up a cheap R9 280X. Theyre all over the place now that mining altcoins has gone belly up.

I recently upgraded from an HD5850, my requirement was something cheap that is twice as fast or more and the 280X meets those requirements.
 
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1stezekiel

Member
Feb 25, 2008
151
0
71
i have an r9 270 ... i use it with a 46" sony at 1920x1080 ... i can tell you, it's more the enough. yes im referring to single gpu, i have a pair, but used a single 270 for a while.
 
Attic

Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
4,282
2
76
1stezekiel said:
i have an r9 270 ... i use it with a 46" sony at 1920x1080 ... i can tell you, it's more the enough. yes im referring to single gpu, i have a pair, but used a single 270 for a while.
Click to expand...

I've done the same and found a 270 wasn't enough on graphically intense titles.

This is subjective and i'm likely more demanding than most.

The 270 played most games at Medium/high details locked to 60fps locked using vsync. I found it could not do Very High details locked to 60fps in games like bioshock/tomb raider.
 
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tential

Diamond Member
May 13, 2008
7,348
642
121
Depends on how much you want to spend.

At such a low resolution though, you'll be fine with any card that is 200+. That includes the R9 270 which dips in lower than 200.

The best choice is all dependent on the sales going on, your location/retailers, and whether you are willing to buy used.

Attic said:
I've done the same and found a 270 wasn't enough on graphically intense titles.

This is subjective and i'm likely more demanding than most.

The 270 played most games at Medium/high details locked to 60fps locked using vsync. I found it could not do Very High details locked to 60fps in games like bioshock/tomb raider.
Click to expand...


OP has a i7 4770k and is playing at a lower resolution. I think he's in a slightly different situation than you are. Also, he wants between 30-60 FPS and doesn't need 60+ fps for vsync.
 
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Wild Thing

Wild Thing

Member
Apr 9, 2014
155
0
0
With that CPU an R9 290 would be the best if you want the rig to be good for more than just 2 years.
Get one with non standard cooling and enjoy the extra 1GB of VRAM as well.
 
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nicuwork

Member
Feb 13, 2014
25
0
0
i saw somwhere, that directx12 is developed by microsoft and nvidia, and will support nvidia cards gtx4xx and amd hd 7xxx.
You say you want a good card to last you for years, but you don't need too much details or fps...i guess you mean by that after those years have past ? than go for a 290x or gtx 780.
In present you will have 60+ fps at Ultra details in any game.
It will be waste of money since we've seen how technology comes.
You will never benefit from all GPU power at that resolution, and you will regret when a mid card, after 2-3 generations, will perform faster than your Top card.
Now a low-mid card like hd7790 performs much better than a older high end card...

With settings that you mention in your first post, a gtx 760 is more than enough.

Take this for example, i play bf4 1920x1080 ultra settings with gtx660 / q6600 (3.2ghz) / 4gb ram ddr2 at 35-55 fps.
 
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