Requesting Help: Looking To Upgrade From GTX 460 SLI

[Valadir]

Hello All,

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I'm currently running 2 Geforce GTX 460's (1GB) in SLI. I've been happy with the performance aside from certain titles (Battlefield 3, COH:2 and some others) not being able to be ran at the highest of settings without severely low frames. I'm running on a 24-inch monitor at 1920x1080. I also drive a secondary 17-inch monitor for misc applications.

I've been looking into the Geforce GTX 760 but I'm just unsure if it would be the best choice. One article I read said it would be around a 66% performance increase over my current setup. Unfortunately i don't have the link to that article. I was also in a toss up between the 2GB/4GB versions. My budget does play a factor which is why I was leaning towards the 760. I don't plan to upgrade to a larger monitor with a higher resolution any time soon and I know that more VRAM is beneficial in driving higher resolutions but I was also under the impression that the new game titles coming out are supposed to make more use of onboard VRAM. I could be mistaken though.

So please, any suggestions are more than welcome. I will say that I generally prefer Nvidia but I'm open to any suggestions. Thank you again for your time.

 

[Jimzz]

2 to 3Gb should be fine for a good while at 1080.

The 760 or or 7950 should be fine and stay in the $250ish range.


7950 for $250 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202026

760 for $266 shipped with triple fans
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125466

 

[Face2Face]

Doesn't a GTX 460 1GB SLI match GTX 570/580 Performance or close to it? I would think going to a GTX 760 would be a small increase performance wise. What's your budget?

 

[Valadir]

Face2Face thanks for the reply. I wasn't aware of that.

Currently, I'd have to say between $200-300. Would a single 760 be comparable or slightly better than my current 460 SLI setup? I figured the increase in cores, etc would be significantly noticeable. I guess not though. If it were comparable or slightly better than I'd be in almost the same spot and eventually upgrade to a 760 SLI setup or would getting something like a 770 be a better idea?

 

[Face2Face]

Face2Face thanks for the reply. I wasn't aware of that.

Currently, I'd have to say between $200-300. Would a single 760 be comparable or slightly better than my current 460 SLI setup? I figured the increase in cores, etc would be significantly noticeable. I guess not though. If it were comparable or slightly better than I'd be in almost the same spot and eventually upgrade to a 760 SLI setup or would getting something like a 770 be a better idea?

After doing some more research, A single 760 is faster than a GTX 580 in most games, so overall it would be faster than two GTX 460's in SLI and use less power and expel less heat as well.

Good review by Loyd Case http://www.tested.com/tech/pcs/456558-tested-nvidia-geforce-gtx-760-video-card/

Don't worry about core count - The 6 series and up use different architecture, so there core count is not equal to the 5 and 4 series. I think as everyone would agree with buying a single faster card now is better than buying two slower cards. However, I don't think the GTX 770 is a great value @ $400. If you wanted something faster than the GTX 760 in your price range, then an AMD 7970 @ $300 would be a better option. If you don't mind overclocking then a AMD 7950 @ $250 would be your best bet for the price IMO. If you must have Nvidia, then a GTX 760 @ $250 would be your best bet for your budget.

 

[tweakboy]

670 GTX, gl

 

[stahlhart]

Hello All,

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I'm currently running 2 Geforce GTX 460's (1GB) in SLI. I've been happy with the performance aside from certain titles (Battlefield 3, COH:2 and some others) not being able to be ran at the highest of settings without severely low frames. I'm running on a 24-inch monitor at 1920x1080. I also drive a secondary 17-inch monitor for misc applications.

I've been looking into the Geforce GTX 760 but I'm just unsure if it would be the best choice. One article I read said it would be around a 66% performance increase over my current setup. Unfortunately i don't have the link to that article. I was also in a toss up between the 2GB/4GB versions. My budget does play a factor which is why I was leaning towards the 760. I don't plan to upgrade to a larger monitor with a higher resolution any time soon and I know that more VRAM is beneficial in driving higher resolutions but I was also under the impression that the new game titles coming out are supposed to make more use of onboard VRAM. I could be mistaken though.

So please, any suggestions are more than welcome. I will say that I generally prefer Nvidia but I'm open to any suggestions. Thank you again for your time.

Welcome to the AnandTech forums...

 

[caution]

GTX760 is damn good value, these days. Go the extra mile for a nice one with an aftermarket silent cooler

 

[tweakboy]

I say grab a 670 single card. See how you like it and if you think you need more then you can purchase SLI. gl

 

[homercles337]

Oddly, i just upgraded from 2 x 460s (1GB) in SLI to a 780. Pretty massive boost in performance, but i have only played Skyrim since the install.

 

[Valadir]

Thanks for the welcome stahlhart and the additional reply Face2Face. And thank you caution and homercles337.

homercles337 - If I could afford upgrading to a 780, I totally would. I'm envious of you right now.

After debating and doing budgeting, I'm currently looking at this card. Does it seem like a good choice? I've decided not to go with the 4GB model. Since I've used EVGA products several times, I trust them but I was also looking at a Gigabyte and an ASUS model that both have aftermarket coolers. I've used plenty of ASUS motherboards but never graphics cards. No experience with Gigabyte but I've heard good things.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130932

Face2Face: I'm inexperienced when it comes to overclocking unfortunately. Granted with the right research, etc. I'd probably be able to get the hang of it, I'm just not sure if I want to go that route.

I have a power supply rated at 1000watts but it is a Thermaltake which from opinions I've read on various sites, isn't the greatest of brands but assuming it rating is correct. Would that be sufficient power for an SLI setup of 760s? If I purchase this card today, which more than likely I will, I plan to SLI down the road.

I want to say thank you again to everyone for their replies and their future replies. It's nice to be able to so easily acquire advice like this.

 

[Face2Face]

Not sure of the power supply model you have, but the higher-end Thermaltake's PSU are pretty good. Most I believe, are made by CWT and would be more than enough for two GTX 760's. The card you selected is a very nice one for the money. If you do plan on going SLI, I may argue it's better to go with a External exhaust cards vs. the open air ACX cooler you chose, because all of the heat created by the video cards will be expelled out the rear of the case. If you decide to go with two ACX cards then I would recommend having a case with exceptional air flow, because two GTX 760 will dissipate a lot of heat into your case.

 

[Valadir]

One again, something I didn't consider Face2Face. Very good point.

Oops! I was mistaken. I was thinking of a different computer I built.

This is my power supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817152044

This is my current case that I regret purchasing but I'll be changing it down the line:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375947,00.asp

I used 2000RPM fans. 1 pulling in from the front, 1 blowing up from the bottom, 1 blowing in on the side, 2 on top blowing up and out of the case and I have the Corsair H50 on my processor with double fans on the back.

 

[Face2Face]

One again, something I didn't consider Face2Face. Very good point.

Oops! I was mistaken. I was thinking of a different computer I built.

This is my power supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817152044

This is my current case that I regret purchasing but I'll be changing it down the line:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375947,00.asp

I used 2000RPM fans. 1 pulling in from the front, 1 blowing up from the bottom, 1 blowing in on the side, 2 on top blowing up and out of the case and I have the Corsair H50 on my processor with double fans on the back.

Power supply is fine, and your case with all of those fans should be sufficient for running two cards in SLI. Personally I would go with the EE cards for SLI, but you may want someone else to chime in with more experience in the matter.. :hmm:

 

[Valadir]

Thanks again Face2Face. I'm considering those now because of the good point you made earlier.

Hey Face2Face just curious on what your opinion is regarding the 2GB or 4GB version. They don't have a superclocked version of the 4GB that I've seen. Perhaps that's intentional. Do you feel that 4GB would be useful in the long run, if I'm only gaming at 1080 and with the intention of getting a second 760 down the line? If that last part regarding SLI even plays a factor.

 

[tweakboy]

grab a 670 and get rid of the 460's. gl

 

[Gloomy]

Hello, welcome to the forums. I'll try to answer your last question as best I can.

First let me preface by saying I wouldn't pay extra for 4GB in your situation. It won't make a difference.

VRAM allows your video card fast access to game assets. If the card didn't have any VRAM on board, it would have to store and access these assets from system memory, which is much, much slower. It's important to note that, if you're ever constrained by VRAM, your performance will not taper off smoothly as if you were increasing the game's settings. It will just tank, and become unplayable, if it doesn't crash (Skyrim, for example, will just crash if it runs out of VRAM).

This creates an interesting scenario: if you have enough VRAM, adding more won't affect your performance. But if you don't, you can't even play the game without reducing settings (texture quality, resolution, AF and AA settings consume more VRAM as they increase, with texture quality consuming the most).

All that said, 2GB is enough for now and for some time to come, I'd say.

 

[Valadir]

Thank you for the welcome Gloomy and thank you for the reply. Thanks to these forums and everyone's advice. I pulled the trigger and got this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130934

I'll be selling my 460 SLI setup to a co-worker as soon this baby arrives. Can't wait to get a second one down the line but I know I'll be happy with just the one. I know I sound like a broken record but thank you all again for all the input/advice.

I'll definitely be sticking around these forums and popping in to help others as you all have done for me.

 

[Face2Face]

I agree with Gloomy. The only reason I would like more vram is for Skyrim. With the current mods I have installed, I am seeing 2.8GB of vram usage in certain areas @ 1080P with 4XAA. Looks like you bought a sweet card, I hope you enjoy it when it comes in.

 

[ocre]

After doing some more research, A single 760 is faster than a GTX 580 in most games, so overall it would be faster than two GTX 460's in SLI and use less power and expel less heat as well.

Good review by Loyd Case http://www.tested.com/tech/pcs/456558-tested-nvidia-geforce-gtx-760-video-card/

Don't worry about core count - The 6 series and up use different architecture, so there core count is not equal to the 5 and 4 series. I think as everyone would agree with buying a single faster card now is better than buying two slower cards. However, I don't think the GTX 770 is a great value @ $400. If you wanted something faster than the GTX 760 in your price range, then an AMD 7970 @ $300 would be a better option. If you don't mind overclocking then a AMD 7950 @ $250 would be your best bet for the price IMO. If you must have Nvidia, then a GTX 760 @ $250 would be your best bet for your budget.

wow thanks for the link!!!
I think the 760 is a nice gpu for sure. I have been on the fence for so long now. I got this 560 448 core (EVGA superclocked) very early 2012 for an extremely good price (back then): 180$. Since it overclocks to 880mhz, i have been on the fence for an upgrade for so long.

I just havent seen many reviewers throw in older cards like the 448core but now that i seen this i am thinking, i really do need to upgrade but where would i go? In some games the 760 is way higher but in others the difference would be very small. I figure with my overclock i am between a 570 and 580 in performance and for now i am running 1080.

hmmmmm

 

[Face2Face]

wow thanks for the link!!!
I think the 760 is a nice gpu for sure. I have been on the fence for so long now. I got this 560 448 core (EVGA superclocked) very early 2012 for an extremely good price (back then): 180$. Since it overclocks to 880mhz, i have been on the fence for an upgrade for so long.

I just havent seen many reviewers throw in older cards like the 448core but now that i seen this i am thinking, WOW i really do need to upgrade.

Funny, I have a MSI TF3 560Ti 448 that is out for RMA right now. I was also glad to see how this card performed next to some the newer cards in this benchmark. With a 880Mhz overclock you should be sitting right next to a GTX 580 in performance. My card would do 900Mhz and I hoping the new one will do the same or more. The card is showing it's age, but IMO it's still a viable card until next generation @ 1080p. I got mine for $110 not long ago and it's going in my friend's machine soon - Coming from a 9800GT, I think he will be pleased.

 

[ocre]

so did you use your 560 448 core much? how does it compare to the 7950? I would think mostly a small bump up. I am talking about experience wise. Like gaming on the 7950 vs the 560 448core. To tell you the truth, i am very surprised at how well my old gpu does at 1080. I really am impressed with how its held up.

So compared to current cards, the 880mhz 560 448 core would be close to a vanilla gtx 660? Thats my figuring. The thing i have noticed with my GPU is while i may not have super high average frame rates, the minimums are usually very decent. I know my GPU isnt up to date, but the ~$300 or below options havent been compelling enough for me yet. I have eye balled the 7950 since launch but i really dont think the step up would have enough oomph for me.

 

[Face2Face]

I haven't done any really good comparisons yet except for 3Dmark11 and I haven't hard the card that long. In 3Dmark11 the overclocked 560Ti 448 ran something like 6-7K in the graphics score and my current 7950 will run in the 11K range. I hope to have some time when I get it back from RMA until it goes into my friend's system. I think your estimate is accurate on being comparable to a GTX 660 once overclocked. It wouldn't be that big of an upgrade going from a GTX 560 ti 448 OC to a Stock 7950 800/1250. But since my card is game stable @ 1250/1750 the difference would be pretty big. Maybe I will start a thread on some benchmarks between the two when I get it back.

 

[ocre]

that would be great. hopefully you can get a couple games benchmarked at least. I think the info would be valuable to some anyway. Not so much interested in synthetics though. But i would love to see some games with OC vs OC: 448core vs 7950

 

[Silverforce11]

Its not just the raw power, its the 1gb vram from these older cards and that's just not enough to run games maxed even at 1080p.