Need help with choosing a new VideoCard

[NadSter]

Hi Guys,

I need some help upgrading my current Video Card.

Those are my PC specs:

CPU: Intel Core i5 3550 3.3 Ghz 6mb L3

MotherBoard: Asus P8H61-M LE USB 3 DDR3 1333 PCI-E

Memory: 8 GB 1333

Monitor: Dell U2414h (1920x1080)

Power supply: Antec Basiq 550W Active PFC
(Sharkoon T9 Value)

My current video card is Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB DDR5,

My budget is around $250-$300

I'm not sure what's my limitation when getting a new video card for an older motherboard and CPU, your advise is appreciated

BTW: Its mainly for gaming (GTA 5 mostly)

The 2 cards i had in mind are

Sapphire Radeon R9 280 DUAL-X BOOST OC 3GB GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DP PCI-E


Asus GTX750Ti 4GB STRIX OC DirectCU II GDDR5 DVI HDMI DP PCI-E

Which one is better, and can my PC run with any of those ?

Thank you !

 

[Silverforce11]

Within your budget, at the lower end of it, nothing matches R290 which often appear ~$240.

At the upper end, I recommend getting the 970, but it may be above your $300 limit.

Without an OC on the CPU, your PSU should be able to handle R290, and easier on the 970.

Both R290/970 handle GTA V very well.

Edit: I would avoid 750Ti, its very low end and unsuitable for serious gaming (heck, I'm not sure its even an upgrade from your 7850!). Definitely not for GTA V or newer titles. Also I would avoid 960, 280/X class because the 960 lacks the vram and the 280/X is in no mans land on price compare to R290.

Edit2: Compare the cards you want for GTA V, the 750Ti is simply too slow so forget about it.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gta_v_pc_graphics_performance_review,5.html

 

[Techhog]

The 750 Ti is actually slower than your current card, and while the 280 is faster, it's not by a whole lot. 280X is the absolute MINIMUM you should upgrade to, but you really should be looking at the 290, 290X, and GTX 970. Note that you won't be able to max it out with any of these cards at 1080p+60FPS, but you won't have to sacrifice much actual fidelity.

 

[TemjinGold]

Go with the R290. If you do OC your cpu, use the savings to get a better PSU.

 

[NadSter]

Thanks for the help guys,

Lets say im gonna scratch some more cash, can my PC actually handle R290/970?

Without upgrading anything else ?

 

[raghu78]

The best card for you below USD 300 is R9 290. Get the Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X. excellent cooler with low temps and noise.

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003623l

 

[raghu78]

Thanks for the help guys,

Lets say im gonna scratch some more cash, can my PC actually handle R290/970?

Without upgrading anything else ?

yeah the Antec Basic VP550P is a decent PSU with 540W on +12v (45A). thats enough to power a R9 290 and core i5 overclocked.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Antec/VP550P/9.html

 

[MeldarthX]

290 ranges from 240.....would be best upgrade and you'll seriously see a difference. I went from 7870 LE to 290.........*lets say my LE was a beast and would OC to 1200* I've barely OC the 290 to 1100 and nice difference......

 

[Leyawiin]

GTX 970. The lower end models are coming in around $300 and you'll have no worries about the power supply. Plus its faster in the game than an R9 290.

 

[96Firebird]

You can get this Gigabyte GTX 970 WF3 for $295 after 10% off coupon code (ILUVNEWEGGGTX) and $20MIR. That is, if you don't mind rebates. Comes with Witcher 3 as well. If you don't want the game, you can probably sell the code for ~$25.

Pretty good price for a 970...

 

[therealnickdanger]

yeah the Antec Basic VP550P is a decent PSU with 540W on +12v (45A). thats enough to power a R9 290 and core i5 overclocked.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Antec/VP550P/9.html

I should be, but I had a similar SLI/CF-certified 550W PSU on a 3570K (stock) and the system wouldn't boot with my 290 Wind Force. I also have several SSDs and HDDs running. A new 850W PSU solved my problem.

 

[96Firebird]

yeah the Antec Basic VP550P is a decent PSU with 540W on +12v (45A). thats enough to power a R9 290 and core i5 overclocked.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Antec/VP550P/9.html

I'm not sure if that is the PSU the OP has, since it looks like his budget is in USD but the VP550P is not sold in the states. He might have the Antec BP550 instead, which has 444W (37A) on +12V. Would probably be enough for a stock 290(X), but like therealnickdanger alluded to, you just never know...

Edit - However, people over at JonnyGuru forums claim the BP550 only is only 32A on the +12V, so who knows.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

You can get this Gigabyte GTX 970 WF3 for $295 after 10% off coupon code (ILUVNEWEGGGTX) and $20MIR. That is, if you don't mind rebates. Comes with Witcher 3 as well. If you don't want the game, you can probably sell the code for ~$25.

Pretty good price for a 970...

That's a good deal, a meaningful upgrade, and should work fine with the PSU. Nice work there firebird

 

[Fallen Kell]

If you have a working card at this moment, you are so much better off waiting 2 months for the cards that are most certain to be announced in/around Computex (June) to coincide with Microsoft's impending release of Win10. Even if you are not in the market for the new cards, the old ones will almost certainly drop in price.

 

[RussianSensation]

GTX 970. The lower end models are coming in around $300 and you'll have no worries about the power supply. Plus its faster in the game than an R9 290.

GTX970 and R9 290 are so close in this game, it's hard to imagine how paying $50-60 is worth it here. XFX R9 290 with lifetime warranty is only $240.

Also, this is one of those games where FPS figures are deceiving. GTX980 is beating R9 290X in FPS but it actually has a worse FCAT rating and has more stutters.

His PSU is more than enough. GTX970 is a far worse deal in this game than the R9 290 as far as bang for the buck goes. However, if the OP does intend to play TW3 as well, then I would recommend the Gigabyte 970 for $295.

Can't really go wrong with either card. Since TW3 is one of my most anticipated games, I'd go for the Gigabyte card.

 

[MongGrel]

GTX970 and R9 290 are so close in this game, it's hard to imagine how paying $50-60 is worth it here. XFX R9 290 with lifetime warranty is only $240.

Also, this is one of those games where FPS figures are deceiving. GTX980 is beating R9 290X in FPS but it actually has a worse FCAT rating and has more stutters.

His PSU is more than enough. GTX970 is a far worse deal in this game than the R9 290 as far as bang for the buck goes. However, if the OP does intend to play TW3 as well, then I would recommend the Gigabyte 970 for $295.

Can't really go wrong with either card. Since TW3 is one of my most anticipated games, I'd go for the Gigabyte card.

+1, if you feel the need to atm I guess.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I don't know why you guys are doing the card comparisons at 2560x1440 when the poster has clearly stated his monitor is 1920x1080. The choice in terms of performance becomes a lot more clear at that resolution. The only question then is it worth the price especially with new cards being announced in a month.

 

[RussianSensation]

I don't know why you guys are doing the card comparisons at 2560x1440 when the poster has clearly stated his monitor is 1920x1080. The choice in terms of performance becomes a lot more clear at that resolution. The only question then is it worth the price especially with new cards being announced in a month.

We were talking about GTA V and FCAT testing was done at 1440p. If I could find FCAT testing at 1080P, I would have linked it. Right now the Gigabyte GTX970 for $295 is a great choice, as well as the R9 290 XFX for $240. Can't go wrong with either of those cards. I would lean towards the GeForce since it also comes with TW3 and overclocked to 1.5Ghz, I would give the 970 the edge in GTA V over the R9 290 OC, but we'd really need FCAT testing for this game since clearly even when GTX980 offers higher fps than 290X, its frame times are worse and less consistent.

 

[Leyawiin]

GTX970 is a far worse deal in this game than the R9 290

Oh please. Hyperbole much? I had an XFX R9 290 (stock speed - 947 mhz) paired with a gold rated Seasonic X560. That's as low as I would personally go. You also have no idea of the age of the OP's Antec Basiq (which would be marginal in the long run best case scenario). 80W difference between the two while gaming could make all the difference. I know AMD always overstates the power supply requirements of their cards. 750W may not be needed, but I doubt its overstated by 200W. You'll either spend an extra $40-$50 on a more efficient card or another $80 for a stouter power supply. Take your pick. Oh, I'll also remind you:

Monitor: Dell U2414h (1920x1080)

 

[TemjinGold]

The OP is not OCing anything from the looks of it and his parts are pretty power efficient. x560 may be the lowest you would personally go but it doesn't mean his Antec can't safely handle a 290. Even if the psu is aged some, I don't see how a stock 290 on that cpu is going to push his psu.

 

[sarfraz khan]

Hi Guys,

I need some help upgrading my current Video Card.

Those are my PC specs:

CPU: Intel Core i5 3550 3.3 Ghz 6mb L3

MotherBoard: Asus P8H61-M LE USB 3 DDR3 1333 PCI-E

Memory: 8 GB 1333

Monitor: Dell U2414h (1920x1080)

Power supply: Antec Basiq 550W Active PFC
(Sharkoon T9 Value)

My current video card is Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB DDR5,

My budget is around $250-$300

I'm not sure what's my limitation when getting a new video card for an older motherboard and CPU, your advise is appreciated

BTW: Its mainly for gaming (GTA 5 mostly)

The 2 cards i had in mind are

Sapphire Radeon R9 280 DUAL-X BOOST OC 3GB GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DP PCI-E


Asus GTX750Ti 4GB STRIX OC DirectCU II GDDR5 DVI HDMI DP PCI-E

Which one is better, and can my PC run with any of those ?

Thank you !

r9 280 is way better than gtx 750 ti . running gta 5 on r9 280 will give you a lot of fun

 

[raghu78]

Excellent deal on Sapphire R9 290X Tri-X at USD 300(280 after mail in rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202145

 

[RussianSensation]

Oh please. Hyperbole much? I had an XFX R9 290 (stock speed - 947 mhz) paired with a gold rated Seasonic X560. That's as low as I would personally go. You also have no idea of the age of the OP's Antec Basiq (which would be marginal in the long run best case scenario). 80W difference between the two while gaming could make all the difference. I know AMD always overstates the power supply requirements of their cards. 750W may not be needed, but I doubt its overstated by 200W. You'll either spend an extra $40-$50 on a more efficient card or another $80 for a stouter power supply. Take your pick. Oh, I'll also remind you:

1. Did you read my recommendations in this thread? I didn't single out the R9 290 as the ultimate winner. I actually made a case for Gigabyte GTX970 for the overall pick. However, as far as price/performance specifically for GTA V, R9 290 beats 970 in bang for the buck.

2. The 750W rating AMD provides is bullocks. It's to account for $30-40 OEM PSUs / no name units. This whole PSU aging thing is also overrated. My nearly 7 year old Corsair HX520 W powered my i7 860 @ 3.9ghz + HD7970 @ 1.2Ghz. Do you think the OP's i5 uses anywhere near the power of the i7 860 @ 3.9Ghz? Not even close!

As far as power usage goes, you are being too conservative. i7 3820 + R9 290 is well below 400W.

http://techreport.com/review/25602/amd-radeon-r9-290-graphics-card-reviewed/2

AT even uses an overclocked 6-core i7 4960X and still the total system's power with an R9 290X comes in below 400W

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9059/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-titan-x-review/16

TechSpot uses Intel Core i7-5960X (3.0GHz) and R9 290X. Total system power usage doesn't approach 350W.

http://www.techspot.com/review/977-nvidia-geforce-gtx-titan-x/page9.html

Hardware Canucks used Intel i7 4930K @ 4.7GHz and their at the wall ratings were:

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...ia-geforce-gtx-980-performance-review-12.html

That's 4 reviews that all prove you do not need > 500W power supply for a Core i7 OC and R9 290X system. The OP though has a stock i5. So it's absolutely possible to run his system on an Antec 550W PSU.

Excellent deal on Sapphire R9 290X Tri-X at USD 300(280 after mail in rebate)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202145

I think the Gigabyte 970 is a better deal right now because even if we assign a $20 value for TW3, that makes it a $275 card. You get 3 year warranty vs. 2 on the Sapphire and lower power usage. It's hard to make a case for the 290X on those terms. The R9 290 wins on price/performance but the R9 290X basically loses in power usage and warranty and isn't really much faster in GTA V. Also, one can argue that a less experienced user will be able to overclock the 970 with less effort, that 970 will have better resale value and that with his stock non-K i5, there will be a lower CPU driver overhead vs. the 290X.

 

[DigDog]

i would go with whatever russian sensation said to do.