Need advice on a GPU and a few other things.

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MentalIlness

MentalIlness

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2009
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Right now, I am still using a XFX HD 6870. I am looking to upgrade the GPU. I have always used AMD mostly, but have no problem with Nvidia. So either recommendation is fine.

I was actually looking at the HD 7870 tier performance. The PC is using a AMD 8120 / H80. I really don't need to upgrade the CPU right now, it should be fine for another 6-12 months hopefully. But a few other items takes priority over a CPU. My power supply is a Corsair TX750. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

The games will be Bioshock Infinite, COD Series, Far Cry 3, Battlefield 3, and all the Crysis games as well as games like Starcraft II and Diablo III. And probably new games as well that is not yet launched.

The PC has 8 gig of 1600 Gskill http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345 So I should be good on that. The monitor, well...TV is a 40" LED SHARP AQUOS Quattron at 1080P.

I am somewhat interested in 3D.....so how is AMD on 3D or what is required ? Also I have the same question concerning Nvidia 3D.

Like I said, I was initially looking at GTX660/HD7870 tier cards. Am I looking at the right performance level ? Or would something more just cause the 8120 to be a bottleneck ? I can spend exactly $300 on a GPU.

My favorite GPU brands are....EVGA and ASUS. I have only had those before, and a XFX card. All other companies, really dont know anything about.

Thanks for any help....:ninja:

EDIT: I will be buying the GPU this week in Rockville MD at Microcenter. But if there is a better deal at like Newegg, I have no problem ordering from there.
 
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Durvelle27

Durvelle27

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Jun 3, 2012
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With a budget of $300 you might as well get a HD 7950. I love my HD 7870 but it can't max all games at 1080p just most. I have mines OC'd at 1200/1450 which outperforms a stock HD 7950 and even some GTX 660 TI's but if i had the chance i would replace it with a HD 7950 and oc.


SAPPHIRE 100352-3L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card $289.99 AR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202026


or you can find a HD 7970 used for around $300
 
MentalIlness

MentalIlness

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2009
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Well, to be honest...overclocking the GPU really dont interest me right now. But if I decided to down the road, would the 8120 be any type of bottleneck ?

The HD 6870 I have now, has never even been overclocked by 1mhz the entire two years of owning it. I do however, overclock CPU's.

Right now, the CPU is at 4.2Ghz. It will do 4.4 though.

I know it dont make since to overclock one and not the other, but hey...its me.:biggrin:

EDIT: Since I wont be overclocking the GPU...would a reference card be good ? Or is there a reason to stay away from reference cards ?
 
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Durvelle27

Durvelle27

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Jun 3, 2012
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MentalIlness said:
Well, to be honest...overclocking the GPU really dont interest me right now. But if I decided to down the road, would the 8120 be any type of bottleneck ?

The HD 6870 I have now, has never even been overclocked by 1mhz the entire two years of owning it. I do however, overclock CPU's.
Click to expand...

Is your CPU OC'd as in some CPU intensive games you might get a slight bottleneck but in others you won't. I came from a FX 4100 to a 8120 to a 8320
 
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Durvelle27

Durvelle27

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Jun 3, 2012
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StarCraft II and Diablo III are the only games mentioned that will get a slight bottleneck when gaming
 
MentalIlness

MentalIlness

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Nov 22, 2009
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Durvelle27 said:
StarCraft II and Diablo III are the only games mentioned that will get a slight bottleneck when gaming
Click to expand...

Aight, thats good. I should get decent frame rates with those games anyway..right ? I mean, I dont need 60fps, As long as there is no skipping.
 
MentalIlness

MentalIlness

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2009
2,383
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Lavans said:
If you can't spend more than $300, these two will probably be your best bet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814162120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202030

They trade blows in most tests. The real question is how important is PhysX to you, and how much do you tweak your drivers?
Click to expand...

No, I dont care about Physics, But I am interested in 3D however.

Who is better at 3D...AMD or NVIDIA ? My wife is kind of pushing for a 3D setup. :)

EDIT: I can spend more than $300...I would just prefer not to. Unless there is a killer deal. :)
 
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Lavans

Lavans

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Sep 21, 2010
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This is a video that explains the AMD side of it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-MPnCGWWlo
This one explains the Nvidia side of it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37hWzy5SGw0

Edit: One thing to note that the videos didn't go over is that both solutions also allow for red/blue glasses, in which case 120hz monitors aren't required.

It will require some beefy hardware for 1080p gaming though, something that a single HD7950 or GTX660 won't be able to do with newer games.

If anti-aliasing is a big deal for you, and you don't mind tweaking drivers, then you might want to look at Nvidia. They offer far more AA modes and methods than AMD does.

Honestly, with the way the GPUs are now, there's not much sense is getting anything faster than a HD7950 or GTX660Ti if you're working with a budget. Once you start moving passed those two cards, you're spending more and more money for less and less gain in performance.
 
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MentalIlness

MentalIlness

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2009
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Well, the 3D will be used primarily for movies. Is the hardware for 3D still needed if I watch the 3D movies from my Blu-ray drive ? Since it is evident with this class of cards that games will struggle at 1080P...then it is going to have to wait. So yea, for movies only then.

Is anything specific required for movies being watched off of my PC in 3D ?

And yes, I love my AA.
 
Lavans

Lavans

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Sep 21, 2010
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If you want it for just 3d movies, then it shouldn't matter what brand you go as long as you're using a movie player that can output 3d. AFAIK, both Roxio Cineplayer and Corel WinDVD can render 3d movies, and I'm sure there's more out there. Though I don't know they require a 3d capable display in order to do so.

As far as AA goes, if you don't mind doing driver tweaks, then Nvidia is definitely the way to go. Not only does it offer similar performance for the same price or better and has far more extensive AA modes, but also allows for PhysX in the games that utilize advanced hardware PhysX features.
 
Durvelle27

Durvelle27

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Jun 3, 2012
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MentalIlness said:
Well, the 3D will be used primarily for movies. Is the hardware for 3D still needed if I watch the 3D movies from my Blu-ray drive ? Since it is evident with this class of cards that games will struggle at 1080P...then it is going to have to wait. So yea, for movies only then.

Is anything specific required for movies being watched off of my PC in 3D ?

And yes, I love my AA.
Click to expand...

Do you have a 3D display
 
Y

yepp

Senior member
Jul 30, 2006
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With the games you mentioned and the fact you won't overclock the GPU, get a factory overclocked 660 Ti. Or wait for the 760 Ti to see if it falls within your budget.
 
ronss

ronss

Member
May 25, 2003
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1100T in 3DMark Vantage, the 3D performance is 11.8% higher and CPU score is 17.1% more than the fx-8120
In StreetFighter IV and FINAL FANTASY XIV, 1100Ts is also 8.6% and 13.6% higher than FX-8120.

if you went with intel, such as 2500, 2600,, 3570, these you can overcock with the k models, and would be even higher than the 1100t, probably not close

i run my 3570k at 4.1 ghz all the time with my h100i corsair liquid cooler..never a temp problem.

the fx 8120 will run most of the cards, just not as fast as the faster cpus that are out there...

my amd phenom II,S tha i have will run a gtx 680, just don,t expect the scores that i would get from the 3570k i have
 
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