Upgrade advice 5850 and 2560x1440 resolution

[FallenCow]

Hoping to get everyone's advice here as I've been out of the GPU game for a while and don't want to purchase if they're about to release a new generation or have mid cycle refresh within the next 2 months.

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU:
i5-2500K Sandy Bridge overclocked to 3.8ghz
8gb ram
128gb Crucial M4

II. Current Graphics Card:
AMD 5850

III. Display Resolution:
2560x1440

IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:
Corsair TX750

V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):
Silverstone FT-02 Air Cooled

Purchase Details:

I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.
$250-300 USD

II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?
Quiet cooling solutions preferred

III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?
No

IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?
No

V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?
Bioshock Infinite is the main reason I'm thinking about upgrading. It's not unplayable with the current card but i wouldn't mind it being smoother.
I have mostly older games that I still need to play- Mass Effect, Witcher series, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3. Might be interested in some newer games as I might move away from the consoles and back into PC gaming.
Prefer to play on higher detail settings.

VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?
Sure, if possible.

Additional Notes
I have one of those Korean brand 27" monitors, which isn't completely compatible with my current card, the 5850. The monitor does not pick up the video signal when booting. This makes it a pain the ass when I need to get into the BIOS or anything outside of Windows. Card has to be 100% compatible with this type of monitor.

 

[Arachnotronic]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121656

 

[zaydq]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121656

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125414

A 660ti? Are you kidding? At that price range and that resolution, he should be looking at the 7950, which is cheaper, comes with great bundled games, and will be able to handle the 1440p res for a while.

Let alone the 7950 is a better overclocker.

 

[FallenCow]

^ Reading reviews on that card now. Which of the two is the better bang for the buck- AMD or Nvidia. I keep thinking $200-300 is the sweet spot for bang for buck especially when overclocking like the old days. Is that still true?

 

[zaydq]

7950 hands down. They both perform comparably, but the 7950 is a much better overclocker, with better memory bandwidth. Theres not many reasons left to pick a 660ti over a 7950 unless you really want physx or nvidia's other unique software offerings.

Currently, AMD holds the crown for price/performance ratio.

 

[darckhart]

OP, have you tried swapping to a 24AWG dvi cable to alleviate your signal probs? something like item 2685 at monoprice.

i have a catleap 2b. if you intend on 120 Hz, i've had much better experience with nvidia cards than amd cards with this monitor.

if you plan on purchasing new, with your price range constraint, for amd, i'd recommend the sapphire 7950 2L version. for nvidia, i'd recommend the evga 660 Ti SC. i'd recommend buying used though. we all have different eyecandy settings requirements, but at this res and knowing what i personally like, i'd really be recommending you look at a tier above these cards.

 

[FallenCow]

Is the Gigabyte the best version of the 7950 to get for overclocking or does the brand not matter?

 

[Rezist]

You'd probably need to splurge to a 670 to get the 256bit bus on the nVidia side some are around 340-350ish with MIR.

 

[FallenCow]

OP, have you tried swapping to a 24AWG dvi cable to alleviate your signal probs? something like item 2685 at monoprice.

i have a catleap 2b. if you intend on 120 Hz, i've had much better experience with nvidia cards than amd cards with this monitor.

if you plan on purchasing new, with your price range constraint, for amd, i'd recommend the sapphire 7950 2L version. for nvidia, i'd recommend the evga 660 Ti SC. i'd recommend buying used though. we all have different eyecandy settings requirements, but at this res and knowing what i personally like, i'd really be recommending you look at a tier above these cards.

I actually haven't tried that suggestion. I've been using the DVI cable that came with the monitor. It's the version made by Hazro. Any idea if there's a way to overclock this thing to 120 hz?

I'm leaning towards the 7950 since I'm a sucker for price/performance ratio. Looking at used cards as well, so can't be as picky. Is it worth it to get the sapphire 7950 2L?

$269 after $20 MIR on Newegg for the saphhire. very tempting!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006

 

[zaydq]

Gigabye, sapphire and msi have all proven to be fair overclockers. Check out the 7950 owners thread to get an idea. I know as of late, the gigabyte and sapphire cards have been popular in there. I, and many other early adopters, can attest to the msi ones, but it seems their pricing is not competetive anymore.

 

[FallenCow]

Looks like I waited too long to pull the trigger on the Sapphire. Sold out now unfortunately.

 

[Termie]

Looks like I waited too long to pull the trigger on the Sapphire. Sold out now unfortunately.

Set up an alert to let you know when it's back in stock. They've had it at that price off and on for weeks.

And yes, that's the card to buy. Not only does it come with Bioshock (your reason for upgrading), but it's also one of the best 7950s out there.

Oh, goodness...I hope Sapphire isn't replacing the 2L model with this 4L model: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202030

If you're in a rush, that model will do, but it will be louder.

 

[cmdrdredd]

7950 or if you can find a good deal on a 7970.

 

[darckhart]

I actually haven't tried that suggestion. I've been using the DVI cable that came with the monitor. It's the version made by Hazro. Any idea if there's a way to overclock this thing to 120 hz?

I'm not familiar with the pcb in that model. Though the easiest way to check is to simply try to drive it at 120 Hz and see what happens. =)

I'm leaning towards the 7950 since I'm a sucker for price/performance ratio. Looking at used cards as well, so can't be as picky. Is it worth it to get the sapphire 7950 2L?

If you do choose AMD, then yes, get then sapphire 2L version. unlocked voltage. fairly quiet. new just gets you the game bundle.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

7950 or a 7970, the GTX cards are not really intended for 1440p. Sure they work, just the 79xx series cards work better at that res.

 

[Riceninja]

Set up an alert to let you know when it's back in stock. They've had it at that price off and on for weeks.

And yes, that's the card to buy. Not only does it come with Bioshock (your reason for upgrading), but it's also one of the best 7950s out there.

Oh, goodness...I hope Sapphire isn't replacing the 2L model with this 4L model: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202030

If you're in a rush, that model will do, but it will be louder.

i'm glad i bought the 2L last night, after much debate. the 4L doesn't look as good. OP should wait for 2L to come back in stock.

 

[TY-1]

I've been a Nvidia user for the past decade or so, but if I had to build a new system for myself right now, or upgrade my GPU, I would probably go AMD. They just have the better bang-for-buck cards right now and if you're looking to spend only $300 at most then you'll do better looking at AMD's 7950.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

7950 and oc it

 

[cmdrdredd]

I will be honest, anything short of a Titan requires more than one GPU for me to be content with the frame rate at 2560x1440.

That is me though because a lot of games look too good to turn down settings.

 

[UNhooked]

Lot of peeps selling 7970 close to $300 mark

 

[Keromyaou]

I agree with cmdrdredd. 2560x1440 is a tough nuts to crack. At this moment you need to invest considerable amount of money (one Titan or two gtx680s) to run the games well at this resolution. HD7970GH is OK but at this moment there are some issues about crossfire configurations (we need to wait for the improved drivers from AMD that they said would be released in July). If you don't want to spend a lot of money for this resolution, you had better wait for the next generation cards (such as gtx780 or HD8970; But you need to understand that even then these high-end cards will cost you $500-650 next year. You just can't get a satisfactory card for $300 at this resolution for a while). However, it will be next year. So you have to wait one year for them. If you want something right now to play current games OK without spending a lot, the only choice is HD7970GH, I think. You can get one HD7970GH now as a stop-gap and upgrade to GTX780 or HD8970 next year after selling it. But if you consider crossfire it down the road, you had better wait to read the reviews of the new driver in July that they promised to release.