Upgrading GPU to best my current system will allow..

[nathan323323]

I want to get a new GPU, one that will hopefully allow me to run Battlefield 4 and other similar/new games as maxed out as possible. Just getting properly into PC gaming

My budget is open, as long as I don't have to spend on better hardware to support it, looking of the best my current system will allow.
I've been looking at the Gigabyte GTX 770, not sure if I could squeeze in something more high end though..

I'd appreciate any help. Please let me know if I've left any crucial info off the following list.
Thanks!

PSU: Earthwatts 650
Cooling: Freezer Pro 7 Rev.2
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 1024 MB
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 (6.1) Home Premium Edition 64-bit Service Pack 1 (Build 7601) (DirectX Version 11.0)

Processor: Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield @ 2.67GHz
Chipset: Northbridge- Intel DMI Host Bridge rev. 11
Southbridge - Intel P55 rev. 05
Memory: DDR3 4GB Dual Channel

 

[MeldarthX]

what's your budget? honestly if you're looking for BF4 maxed - 770 price range.....I'd be looking at 280X *same speed as the 770 but cheaper* or the 290 about slightly more than 770 to the same price but faster......

Plus there is mantle which works well

 

[RussianSensation]

Welcome to AT nathan.

If you want to buy now, there are really only 2 good options - R9 280X and R9 290.

R9 280X provides the best bang for the buck. Diamond R9 280X is only $240 after rebates and is at least as fast as the 770 for a lot less $. The Diamond card is just a rebadged HIS IceQ which has an excellent GPU cooler.

770 4GB makes no sense either since an after-market card like XFX R9 290 is $375 after 7% off and $30 rebate. After-market 290 = R9 290X and trades blows with the $600-700 780Ti:

The move from 280X to an after-market R 290 will net you approximately a 30% increase in performance at 1080/1200p. If you don't mind going used, there have been excellent deals on $300 MSI Gaming R9 290 or Sapphire Tri-X R9 290 on Ebay.

 

[nathan323323]

Thanks for the reply.

I thought mantle only works on AMD processors?

I have no budget, I just want the very best my system will allow for.

 

[RussianSensation]

Thanks for the reply.

I thought mantle only works on AMD processors?

I have no budget, I just want the very best my system will allow for.

No, Mantle has nothing to do with AMD processors. It's just a different API that has a lower overhead for Intel/AMD CPU that runs on HD7000/R9 cards. The benchmarks I linked are without Mantle. If your motherboard has dual PCI Express slots, then you can get dual R9 290s. If you only have 1 slot, then R9 295X2 is the best card for BF5. However, I didn't recommend either option since your CPU would severely limit their performance.

If you don't have a budget, then buy a new system with an i7 4790K and EVGA Classified KINGPIN Edition 780 Ti Tri-SLI.

 

[Spjut]

Yeah, if it's mainly for Battlefield 4, definitely get an AMD card (HD 7000 or R7/R9 200). Mantle makes a huge difference for older/slower CPUs.

 

[Barfo]

You should also consider adding another 4 GB of RAM.

 

[DooKey]

What resolution is your monitor and are you overclocking the cpu? If you are running less than 1080p and not overclocking your processor I would recommend you save some money and buy a R9 270.

 

[Stuka87]

As somebody with an older CPU that plays BF4, I would also highly advise you go with an AMD card. And really for your CPU, going to anything faster than a 7950 is a bit of a waste. I am using a Phenom II at 4GHz and it cannot keep the GPU busy all the time. I get frame drops that are entirely related to CPU, even with Mantle.

Which BTW Mantle gives me almost double the frame rate compared to DirectX 11 in BF4.

Oh, and more RAM for sure. I went from 4GB to 12GB because BF was consuming every last byte of RAM that I had when there was only about 2.5GB for it to use (Windows uses 1-1.5 on average).