"upgrade" to 7970 3gb or GTX 770 4gb from GTX 670 2gb for 1440p gaming?

[poohbear]

Hey all, I purchased a Dell Ultrasharp U2711 for a great price used, and i'm debating if I need to upgrade from my GTX 670 with a measly 2gb VRAM to really enjoy gaming @ 1440p. I know for certain Skyrim with mods exceeds 2gb to the point that my GTX 670 2gb @ 1080p would stutter if I played too long, and GPU-Z confirms it uses all 2048mb of VRAM, but other games never exceeded 1.5-1.7gb of VRAM.

So, I wanna sell my GTX 670 and get a card that's a little more powerful with more VRAM to avoid VRAM issues with current and future games, so I'm looking @ a Gigabyte 7970 1GHZ Edition with 3GB ($400 here in Canada) or a Gigabyte GTX 770 with 4gb ($470 here in Canada), I'm getting gigabyte cause I love their aftermarket near silent cooler. The $70 is a considerable price difference IMO (especially when I get TombRaider & Bioshock with the 7970), but is it justified?

What do you guys recommend? I mostly play these games:

-Shogun 2: Total War
-BF3
-Crysis 3
-Skyrim with graphics mods

Also, how much can I expect to get for my Gigabyte GTX 670 these days? Thanks!

 

[Durvelle27]

Do you have a budget if not then i would say a GTX 780 as those really want be a big upgrade from what you already have. But if your just looking to get a new card just for more VRAM than i don't think its worth it but either would be fine for that.

 

[blackened23]

Neither of those cards will be a real upgrade from what you currently have. They're faster, but not by a margin large enough to make it worthwhile.

 

[poohbear]

I understand they're not a big upgrade, but I need more VRAM, so that's all im left with. I figure if I sell my GTX 670 it won't be much of a price difference.

or are u saying @ 1440p a GTX 670 is enough?

 

[blackened23]

You don't need more than 2GB for 1440p. I play at 2560x1600, and used 680 SLI for nearly a year at that resolution.

 

[tweakboy]

1440p all you need is a 660 Ti . whats the point of spending all this cash on video cards but you dont play @ 1080p ,,,,, so just grab a 660 Ti I promise it will fly at that resolution, gl

 

[poohbear]

You don't need more than 2GB for 1440p. I play at 2560x1600, and used 680 SLI for nearly a year at that resolution.

What games did u play & what settings did u have? I wanna max them out WITHOUT AA.

 

[Shmee]

I would wait for the next gen cards if possible.

 

[blackened23]

What games did u play & what settings did u have? I wanna max them out WITHOUT AA.

I played nearly everything with either 2X MSAA or FXAA with high or very high settings. That being said, don't expect to max games out with a single card. You don't need to, and it won't affect the final graphical quality most of the time. A lot of games have "overkill" graphical settings which cause dramatic framerate hits but don't seem to affect graphics an awful lot. I never had VRAM issues either. VRAM is only an issue if you outright mod a game to excessive levels. This has also been benchmarked by plenty of websites in the past (between 2/4GB GTX 680 cards) and there was really no appreciable difference in functionality - trust me, you'll be fine with 2GB. Once you enter surround, then you'll want more VRAM.

**That being said, games this fall may be more demanding due to next generation consoles and ports. And then I could see a case for more VRAM, but I would get a better GPU upgrade to accompany it. If you buy one of those cards now, you will get the same performance with minimal benefit.

 

[cmdrdredd]

What games did u play & what settings did u have? I wanna max them out WITHOUT AA.

Then you need SLi. No single card maxes everything at that resolution.

 

[rgallant]

it's really hard to pick a vid. card upgrade now days.

-having unknown new ports coming shortly , will they really much more demanding , about the same ,killers needing min. of a gtx 780 for 2560 res. @ vh or ultra.
-mostly I never see a big difference in the eye candy with only 1.5 gb vram , turn down one setting and I'm fine but incoming ports might might have more basic features that do make a noticeable difference with lots of vram and more horse power.

I'll wait it out , but sli is still a option for you either another gtx 670 or baby sli with gtx 760's 4gb if you want it now.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_760_sli_review,8.html

edit-post 9 & 10 got in before me if this post seems out of place

 

[Carfax83]

A GTX 770 is about 20% or so faster than your 670. Not sure if that's worth the upgrade, but since you will be selling your GTX 670, you won't pay full price for the GTX 770 anyway.

If all you play is Skyrim, then a GTX 770 with 4GB could be worth it..

 

[blackened23]

^That's not an entirely bad point. Skyrim with mods can eat up VRAM, although in it's vanilla form you won't need more than 2GB.

I'd say if you can sell your card and get a 7970/770 for a minimal cost -- let's say, 100$ or so -- that wouldn't be an entirely bad proposition. You will get a slight performance boost, but it honestly won't be noticeable most of the time - if you want a noticeable performance increase you'd have to get SLI or a GTX 780. Just don't expect any immediate benefits from the added VRAM (aside from skyrim with mods), although the additional VRAM will ensure you're in the best position to enjoy future games this holiday season.

 

[Carfax83]

^That's not an entirely bad point. Skyrim with mods can eat up VRAM, although in it's vanilla form you won't need more than 2GB.

I'd say if you can sell your card and get a 7970/770 for a minimal cost -- let's say, 100$ or so -- that wouldn't be an entirely bad proposition. You will get a slight performance boost, but it honestly won't be noticeable most of the time - if you want a noticeable performance increase you'd have to get SLI or a GTX 780. Just don't expect any immediate benefits from the added VRAM (aside from skyrim with mods), although the additional VRAM will ensure you're in the best position to enjoy future games this holiday season.

A GTX 780 would be the best option for him, but I can understand being hesitant about the price, since the card is 650 USD.

A stock GTX 770 is on average 20% (some games are more or less than 20%) faster than a stock GTX 670 according to Anandtech's review, which I think is definitely noticeable. Most of the time, you need a 10% increase or so for it to be noticeable.

But by the time you overclock it, you're looking at roughly 30% faster on average, which would definitely be very noticeable...

 

[poohbear]

hmmmmm. but the gtx 770 4gb is so much more expensive than a 7970 1ghz edition with 3gb, so would a 7970 be the other option if i'm pressed for money?

I understand in winter with the next gen games coming out 2gb might be paltry, but by then the next gen video cards will also be out from AMD, so in that regards it'd be best to wait for those vid cards and decide then. for now, with Skyrim which is my favorite game, i need to decide between the 7970 or a gtx 770 4gb, and neither are looking that good.
what

wait a minute, what about a GTX 760 with 4gb? would that be a downgrade or would that basically be a cheaper gtx 670 with 4gb?

 

[blackened23]

hmmmmm. but the gtx 770 4gb is so much more expensive than a 7970 1ghz edition with 3gb, so would a 7970 be the other option if i'm pressed for money?

I understand in winter with the next gen games coming out 2gb might be paltry, but by then the next gen video cards will also be out from AMD, so in that regards it'd be best to wait for those vid cards and decide then. for now, with Skyrim which is my favorite game, i need to decide between the 7970 or a gtx 770 4gb, and neither are looking that good.
what

wait a minute, what about a GTX 760 with 4gb? would that be a downgrade or would that basically be a cheaper gtx 670 with 4gb?

GTX 760 is a downgrade except in terms of VRAM (for the 4GB version), which will not give you any immediate benefits unless you mod games excessively. I'd agree that neither 7970 or the GTX 770 are great options for an upgrade, it may be best to wait. You really will be fine I think at 2560 resolution with only 2GB, future games may use more but if you're upgrading -- why not go for a card that gives you an immediate "oomph" in GPU power? If you go for the 770 there will be a slight increase but it won't be mind blowing and may not be noticeable. I think the best upgrade would be a 780 and if that's beyond your budget, it may be better to wait. 2GB will be okay for now.

 

[poohbear]

well i'm gonna wait and see when i get monitor how well it all plays out. The ONLY game i'd be upgrading to 3-4gb is Skyrim with mods, but its my favorite game. in which case the GTX 760 4gb might actually be the route to go....

btw how much does a GTX 670 go for used these days?

 

[Carfax83]

btw how much does a GTX 670 go for used these days?

Whenever I'm selling used computer parts, I always use eBay and Amazon as a reference for how much my asking price should be.

So after checking eBay and Amazon, it seems used 670s are selling for anywhere from the mid 200s to mid 300s depending on the condition and whether it comes with the box and accessories.

Also, how quickly you want to be rid of it will also be a factor in the selling price.

 

[Elfear]

OP - I think a heavily overclocked 7970 would be great for your needs. I tested Skyrim with a bunch of mods at 1600p and my 7970 was very playable. You'd have to check if the Gigabyte card you're looking at has unlocked voltage or not.

The 7970Ghz and the 770 trade blows overall so you'd have to pony up another $100-120 over the 7970 for the 4GB 770 which isn't worth it IMO. You'll have to decide whether the extra Skyrim mods are worth spending money now on a card with more vram.

Another option would be to buy a used one.

 

[raghu78]

OP if you want a new card now and only for VRAM reasons get a HD 7950 and overclock it. you can get cards for as low as USD 285 (with 4 games)

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-79503GB

at the same clocks HD 7950 is 5% slower than HD 7970. a HD 7950 at 1100 - 1125 mhz matches HD 7970 Ghz(1050 mhz). average overclocks are in the region of 1100 - 1150 mhz. should be on par with a GTX 670(1250 Mhz) in games like crysis 3, farcry 3, metro last light. but in GE games like tombraider, hitman, sleeping dogs you will see significant perf improvement.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/07/02/msi_n760_tf_2gd5oc_gtx_760_overclocking_review/5

if you ware willing to wait for 3 months i would say the HD 9950 is your best bet. at stock it should beat the HD 7970 Ghz / GTX 770 and have more OC headroom. think about it.

 

[poohbear]

thanks guys! lots of good options in this thread! Best thing to do is wait till i get my U2711, try it with my gtx 670, and then decide from there. I think i might just wait for the next gen cards before making a move!

Raghu78, NCIX is selling the 7950 Gigabyte OC @ 900mhz for only $310, are you saying if i overclock it to 1ghz i'd get similar performance to a 7970 1GHZ edition? That would be awesome and i'd be getting my 3gb of RAM!

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=67546&vpn=GV-R795WF3-3GD&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1213

 

[raghu78]

thanks guys! lots of good options in this thread! Best thing to do is wait till i get my U2711, try it with my gtx 670, and then decide from there. I think i might just wait for the next gen cards before making a move!

Raghu78, NCIX is selling the 7950 Gigabyte OC @ 900mhz for only $310, are you saying if i overclock it to 1ghz i'd get similar performance to a 7970 1GHZ edition? That would be awesome and i'd be getting my 3gb of RAM!

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=67546&vpn=GV-R795WF3-3GD&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1213

the latest Gigabyte HD 7950 cards come with 1.25v and run at 1 ghz boost clocks out of the box. should be on par with HD 7970(925 Mhz) out of the box. but they are also voltage locked. mostly you should be able to overclock to 1100 - 1125 mhz at stock voltage and be on par with HD 7970 Ghz(1050 mhz). you could go higher if you get lucky. some cards do 1200 mhz at stock voltage of 1.25v.

 

[ocre]

wait. You really should wait. Save up your cash and wait.

I think its really shaping up to be a blow out Q4. If AMD can get their new line up out, its gonna be a fierce holiday season.

Wait......

 

[blackened23]

thanks guys! lots of good options in this thread! Best thing to do is wait till i get my U2711, try it with my gtx 670, and then decide from there. I think i might just wait for the next gen cards before making a move!

Raghu78, NCIX is selling the 7950 Gigabyte OC @ 900mhz for only $310, are you saying if i overclock it to 1ghz i'd get similar performance to a 7970 1GHZ edition? That would be awesome and i'd be getting my 3gb of RAM!

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=67546&vpn=GV-R795WF3-3GD&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1213

I'd have to differ with anyone suggesting an upgrade to a 7950.....Not that I have anything against the 7950, it's a great card. But, believe me when I say that you are fine with 2GB currently. I've played at that resolution extensively, you won't have issues.

The thing is, if you upgrade solely for the VRAM, that means you're spending money to not get a performance increase in 99% of your games. That would make it a questionable purchase in my mind.......If anything, I would wait until October or so and see what AMD has to offer. AMD will presumably offer new SKUs with better performance for the same current pricing structure, and that may also mean that nvidia will lower the prices on their cards as well. I think waiting would be the best option. Why spend a ton of money if you're not going to get a huge framerate increase, you know? That's essentially what you're doing if you're only upgrading VRAM.

 

[guskline]

I have 2 EVGA GTX 670 FTWs in SLI in rig below and they are FAST eventhough 2 Gigs Vram. I run every game at 2560 x 1440