Upgrade to a 4930k or a GTX 780 Ti?

Dave3000

Golden Member
Jan 10, 2011
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I right now have an i7-4820k and a GTX 680 for a CPU and video card. I want better performance at 1920x1080 in Crysis 3 and BF4 and I plan on buying Batman Arkham Origins, the upcoming Watch Dogs, and ACIV. I'm going to wait until the GTX 780ti is released to stores before I decide to either go for a GTX 780 FTW, GTX 780ti, or an R9 290x. Would upgrading to a faster video card like the ones I mentioned be a better upgrade for gaming than upgrading to an i7-4930k?
 

Grooveriding

Diamond Member
Dec 25, 2008
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Yes GPU would deliver a big increase, while CPU would do next to nothing. If you were using an i5 I'd recommend an upgrade to an i7 for BF4, but you already have an i7 so a new GPU is a no brainer.
 

blackened23

Diamond Member
Jul 26, 2011
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It depends entirely on the game. I'd say for 1080p and those games which you specifically mention, a GPU upgrade will do you FAR more good than a CPU upgrade. The 4820k will basically be equivalent to the 4930k or pretty darn close in those two games, while the GPU differences will be much more dramatic.

This depends entirely on the game though - a lot of MOBAs, MMOs, and RTS games are very CPU dependent. But of course it sounds like you're more into AAA action games. And for those you'll want a GPU as opposed to a CPU.
 

5150Joker

Diamond Member
Feb 6, 2002
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www.techinferno.com
780 Ti for sure, you'll get a much more significant boost in framerate and it'll have enough power left over to use at higher resolution or AA should you desire it. If you do go with the Ti, I'd opt for the 6 GB version.
 

BrightCandle

Diamond Member
Mar 15, 2007
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Neither upgrade is going to be worth the money you would spec IMO. Getting a faster GPU is certainly going to most often net you the most performance gain, but going from a 680 to a 780 isn't a massive upgrade (25% on average faster). I think actually you might find a second 680 would bring you more performance for less money than any other option.
 

Dave3000

Golden Member
Jan 10, 2011
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That's for the reference stock clocks for the GTX 780. Some factory overclocked 780's can be up to 35-37% faster that my slightly factory oc'd GTX 680 (1019Mhz). I would not upgrade to a normal clocked GTX 780 from my GTX 680 and would want something at least a little faster, that's why I was considering the cards I mentioned. I also prefer single-GPU setups.
 

Gikaseixas

Platinum Member
Jul 1, 2004
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780Ti for sure. You'll get higher performance and be able to use ultra settings
 

MrK6

Diamond Member
Aug 9, 2004
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see if you can find a 2nd GTX 680 used, an run SLI
This, if your PSU can handle it. Better yet, overclock your current CPU and GPU to max and wait for 20nm. The GTX 780 Ti (and definitely not the 4930K) is not going to really change your gameplay experience. The long of it: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/R9_290X/27.html
That's the most recent rankings, which puts a Titan at about 25% faster than a stock GTX 680 at 1080p in most games. We're assuming that the GTX 780 will be faster than the Titan, most likely in the range of 10%. So you're looking at maybe 35% advantage, assuming they overclock the same. GTX 680's go for less than half the price a 780 Ti will go for, and SLI will give you on average ~80% more performance instead of 35%. Note that multi-GPU brings its own issue, but nvidia's support for SLI is good. Another thing to consider would be to upgrade your monitor to a sharper resolution (1440p, 1600p).
 

exar333

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2004
8,518
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91
I right now have an i7-4820k and a GTX 680 for a CPU and video card. I want better performance at 1920x1080 in Crysis 3 and BF4 and I plan on buying Batman Arkham Origins, the upcoming Watch Dogs, and ACIV. I'm going to wait until the GTX 780ti is released to stores before I decide to either go for a GTX 780 FTW, GTX 780ti, or an R9 290x. Would upgrading to a faster video card like the ones I mentioned be a better upgrade for gaming than upgrading to an i7-4930k?

What is your 4820k running at? Is it OCd?
 

Aithos

Member
Oct 9, 2013
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There is almost no difference between those CPUs in gaming. If you look at the review for the Ivy-E chips (here on Anandtech) you will see that the flagship Ivy-E doesn't even beat the i5-4670k by any significant margin for gaming. However, an EVGA 780 classified (that you overclock) or a 780ti (preferably overclocked) will crush your 680 for gaming performance. That's your best upgrade by far, which you go with depends on how comfortable you are with overclocking and what your budget is.
 

moonbogg

Lifer
Jan 8, 2011
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What operating system are you using? I got a massive boost going from windows 7 to 8.1 and I'd highly suggest you try 8.1 for BF4.
 

nrok45

Member
Sep 3, 2008
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At 1080p resolution your current cpu / gpu combo is fine. For more performance at the lowest cost I would say sli another gtx 680 in your system. If sli isnt an option, selling your gtx 680 and adding some cash in for a 780 / 780 ti would be a decent option imo.
 

guskline

Diamond Member
Apr 17, 2006
5,338
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Adam I love the way you think:cool:. Too bad he didn't get your tri titan setup!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

For what its worth my GTX670s in SLI in rig 1 below with the 3930kOC'd really run fast in BF4 with the resolution at 2560 x 1440.

If money is not an object the gpu upgrade makes the most sense.
 
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