Need help please for GPU upgrade path.

[PC Master Race]

Ok so I currently have an HD 7850 on a Z97X motherboard with an Intel Core i5 4690K CPU. Remember I am in Canada so hardware prices are a bit to allot high here compared to the States. So my options are as follows ...

- put another HD 7850 for CFX for $130 ... (Best Value ?) SOLD OUT
- get a brand new HD 6970 for $150 and go CFX latter on
- get a Refurbished Sapphire Dual X HD 7970 for $210 (Leaning toward this option)
- get a Referbished Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7970 GHz Edition for $250
Which option do you guys think is best or do you have any other ideas ? Thanx in advance.

 

[fralexandr]

the 6970 isn't really an upgrade. It performs about the same as a 7850 but isn't as efficient.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1061?vs=1076

the 7970 is the best of those options.
7850 CF is likely to be VRAM limited in newer games.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1032?vs=1076
7970 vs 7850

AMDs next gen should be coming out in the next several months if you want to wait.

 

[steve wilson]

I've never done crossfire, but there seems to be a lot of hassle and problems with it. Sometimes you have to wait quite a while for driver updates for certain games. I know it has got better over the last couple of years, but it still seems to me that a single card is much better solution, unless you are going for really high performance.

 

[PC Master Race]

I've never done crossfire, but there seems to be a lot of hassle and problems with it. Sometimes you have to wait quite a while for driver updates for certain games. I know it has got better over the last couple of years, but it still seems to me that a single card is much better solution, unless you are going for really high performance.

I ran CFX HD 7850s before but my at the time mobo and AMD Phenom II CPU were a major bottleneck. In games that were not CPU dependent and scaled well in CFX like Metro 2033 I saw almost 100% positive scaling.

 

[RussianSensation]

Ok so I currently have an HD 7850 on a Z97X motherboard with an Intel Core i5 4690K CPU. Remember I am in Canada so hardware prices are a bit to allot high here compared to the States. So my options are as follows ...

- put another HD 7850 for CFX for $130 ... (Best Value ?)
- get a brand new HD 6970 for $150 and go CFX latter on
- get a Refurbished Sapphire Dual X HD 7970 for $210 and go CFX latter on
- get a Referbished Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7970 GHz Edition for $250
Which option do you guys think is best or do you have any other ideas ? Thanx in advance.

None of those.

$300 CDN XFX R9 290 with lifetime warranty
$340 CDN MSI CDN Gaming R9 290X

If you want a budget upgrade, sell your 7850 and pick up a used $160 or less HD7970/7970Ghz edition to hold you over for 12 months or so while you save up more money.

 

[PC Master Race]

None of those.

$300 CDN XFX R9 290 with lifetime warranty
$340 CDN MSI CDN Gaming R9 290X

If you want a budget upgrade, sell your 7850 and pick up a used $160 or less HD7970/7970Ghz edition to hold you over for 12 months or so while you save up more money.

$300 is outta budget for me and I don't do (MIR) nonsense. I rather a place holder for now and see how well the new Radeon cards do so I guess I am going to pick up a second HD 7850 for now @ $130 seems like the best value for money.

 

[RussianSensation]

$300 is outta budget for me and I don't do (MIR) nonsense. I rather a place holder for now and see how well the new Radeon cards do so I guess I am going to pick up a second HD 7850 for now @ $130 seems like the best value for money.

I would sell the 7850 and get a used 7970 and overclock it. Dual 7850s is a CF stuttering mess, not to mention 2GB of VRAM is a major limitation at 1080P in Titanfall, AC Unity, Evolve, Wolfenstein NWO, Dead Rising 3, Shadow of Mordor. I presume you intend to use this setup for at least 12 months and games will only start getting more demanding. Also $130 for a 7850 is a horrible value. I've seen HD7970 for $150-160 CDN in Toronto on Kijiji.

CF over the bridge (non XDMA) with last gen mid-range cards is a bad idea and it's even a worse idea with 2GB cards.

 

[raghu78]

$300 is outta budget for me and I don't do (MIR) nonsense. I rather a place holder for now and see how well the new Radeon cards do so I guess I am going to pick up a second HD 7850 for now @ $130 seems like the best value for money.

going CF on HD 7850 is a really bad idea. 2GB is basically a definite no for 1080p gaming. Games like AC Unity, Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor, Lords of the Fallen, Evolve have proven that 3GB is the minimum and 4GB is ideal for 1080p.

the R7 265 is a rebranded HD 7850.

http://www.sweclockers.com/recension/19976-gigabyte-geforce-gtx-960-g1-gaming/6#pagehead

you can see R9 280 with 3GB is 40% faster on avg than R7 265 aka HD 7850. Given how the latest games like AC Unity, Farcry 4, Metal Gear Solid V, Evolve and many others are just not working with Crossfire its a bad choice especially with the 2GB limitations of HD 7850. On avg CF will scale 1.5x - 1.6x and you still are faced with microstuttering, frame latency problems, CF completely not working in many recent games and not to forget the 2GB VRAM limit on the HD 7850. Games like Farcy 4 and AC Unity are close to 4 months past launch and still do not have CF support. I agree that Ubisoft is to blame but it does not matter as your money is wasted and you don't get the expected perf.

so definitely I advise you to sell the HD 7850 for around 100 bucks and go with R9 280 3GB

http://www.ncix.com/detail/xfx-radeon-r9-280-933mhz-cd-95214-1229.htm

I would sell the 7850 and get a used 7970 and overclock it. Dual 7850s is a CF stuttering mess, not to mention 2GB of VRAM is a major limitation at 1080P in Titanfall, AC Unity, Evolve, Wolfenstein NWO, Dead Rising 3, Shadow of Mordor. I presume you intend to use this setup for at least 12 months and games will only start getting more demanding. Also $130 for a 7850 is a horrible value. I've seen HD7970 for $150-160 CDN in Toronto on Kijiji.

CF over the bridge (non XDMA) with last gen mid-range cards is a bad idea and it's even a worse idea with 2GB cards.

very well said.

 

[PC Master Race]

I would sell the 7850 and get a used 7970 and overclock it.

A 7970 Ghz Edition would be nice but I rather save the money for now and get the HD 7850 CFX going as a place holder for $130. I will not buy second hand from Kijiji because there is no warranty or product replacement option.

Dual 7850s is a CF stuttering mess

I ran CFX HD 7850s in the past but it was on an AMD rig so it had a huge CPU bottleneck. It was smooth though and I did not see any microstuttering issues.

not to mention 2GB of VRAM is a major limitation at 1080P in Titanfall, AC Unity, Evolve, Wolfenstein NWO, Dead Rising 3, Shadow of Mordor.

Out of those games I am only interested in Wolfenstien. Turning off AA in that game will smooth things out.

I presume you intend to use this setup for at least 12 months and games will only start getting more demanding.

Perhaps less than 12 months depending on when the new Radeon cards drop. With Newegg IPR I am covered for 1 year for just $16 bucks.

Also $130 for a 7850 is a horrible value. I've seen HD7970 for $150-160 CDN in Toronto on Kijiji.

I will never buy used electronics without a warranty/IPR plan.

CF over the bridge (non XDMA) with last gen mid-range cards is a bad idea and it's even a worse idea with 2GB cards.

That's not in my experience with CFX.

 

[PC Master Race]

going CF on HD 7850 is a really bad idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO0RzwPKEl0

 

[Makaveli]

GIGABYTE GV-R929OC-4GD Radeon R9 290 4GB

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-computer-com...90/1050509816?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

$200 CDN!

And RS is right i'm seeing 7970 cards in between $150-$175 don't spend $250 on one.

 

[PC Master Race]

GIGABYTE GV-R929OC-4GD Radeon R9 290 4GB

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-computer-com...90/1050509816?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

$200 CDN!

And RS is right i'm seeing 7970 cards in between $150-$175 don't spend $250 on one.

That 290 might have been abused as a mining card. Also both cards do not come with a warranty or IPR plan so they are a no go.

 

[Makaveli]

That 290 might have been abused as a mining card. Also both cards do not come with a warranty or IPR plan so they are a no go.

I agree with your last point.

However any used radeon you buy may have been used for mining, and you will only know if the owner mentions it to you. So if that is a big issue for you i'm not sure how you will make the decision because you only have the word of the seller as proof.

 

[_UP_]

Well, I've had a few mined cards, and the only real issue is the fans. If you put on a G10 plus some AIO cooler, you should be more than ok. But I honestly don't think that you can beat that price/perf ratio.

 

[Makaveli]

Well, I've had a few mined cards, and the only real issue is the fans. If you put on a G10 plus some AIO cooler, you should be more than ok. But I honestly don't think that you can beat that price/perf ratio.

I have that setup on my card and I recommend it also.

The only time I keep a stock cooling solution on is when I don't have time to go to the store to replace it with something better or when i'm waiting for someone to release an after market cooler.

 

[Nhirlathothep]

If u play at 1080p 60hz a single 7970ghz is the perfect choice.

I had 2 crossfire config and i tell u to avoid em if u easily can.

But this price it s way too hi for a 7970ghz/280x.

Take it used at 150$.

 

[_UP_]

Let me add to what I wrote before.
If you live in GTA, then a quick look on Kijiji shows quite a few 290s and 290x's for under $300.
If you go for an Asus, I know that in the US their warranty leaves a lot to be desired, but from what I hear (never had to RMA their stuff before) from quite a few people, their service centre is in Markham and their warranty is by serial number, so you'll be able to use it if you need to.

 

[taltamir]

I would sell the 7850 and get a used 7970 and overclock it. Dual 7850s is a CF stuttering mess, not to mention 2GB of VRAM is a major limitation at 1080P in Titanfall, AC Unity, Evolve, Wolfenstein NWO, Dead Rising 3, Shadow of Mordor. I presume you intend to use this setup for at least 12 months and games will only start getting more demanding. Also $130 for a 7850 is a horrible value. I've seen HD7970 for $150-160 CDN in Toronto on Kijiji.

CF over the bridge (non XDMA) with last gen mid-range cards is a bad idea and it's even a worse idea with 2GB cards.

listen to russian, he gave out good advice here

BTW, I remember hearing somewhere that CF/SLI wastes some extra vram and that you need more to compensate. Is that true?

 

[PC Master Race]

I agree with your last point.

However any used radeon you buy may have been used for mining, and you will only know if the owner mentions it to you. So if that is a big issue for you i'm not sure how you will make the decision because you only have the word of the seller as proof.

That's why I will only buy computers electronics from reputable retailers such as Newegg, Memory Express, NCIX etc because they will back up what they sell you.

 

[ocre]

This is the best route

GIGABYTE GV-R929OC-4GD Radeon R9 290 4GB

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-computer-com...90/1050509816?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

$200 CDN!

And RS is right i'm seeing 7970 cards in between $150-$175 don't spend $250 on one.

Really consider it.

If not, get at least a 7970. It doesn't have to be ghz, you can always overclock.

 

[PC Master Race]

listen to russian, he gave out good advice here

He gave out crappy advice. I speak from experience when i say that CFX HD 7850s are good because I have ran CFX HD 7850s in the past and the Russian is just repeating some misinformation he heard.

lBTW, I remember hearing somewhere that CF/SLI wastes some extra vram and that you need more to compensate. Is that true?

Not in my experience. The only card I know of that wastes Ram is the 970.

 

[PC Master Race]

This is the best route



Really consider it.

If not, get at least a 7970. It doesn't have to be ghz, you can always overclock.

Used GPU that might have been mined on and comes with no Warranty or IPR plan ... no thanx I will stick to Newegg.ca and pay the $16 bucks for a 1 year instant product replacement plan.

 

[jackstar7]

Seems like you already made up your mind. Good luck with purchase.

 

[DownTheSky]

GIGABYTE GV-R929OC-4GD Radeon R9 290 4GB

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-computer-com...90/1050509816?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

$200 CDN!

And RS is right i'm seeing 7970 cards in between $150-$175 don't spend $250 on one.

I thought gigabyte has transferable warranty.

 

[PC Master Race]

Seems like you already made up your mind. Good luck with purchase.

Thanx but I won't need any luck because I will purchase a 1 Year Instant Product Replacement plan from Newegg which guarantees I am covered no matter what.