Which GPU should I get for first gaming build?

[Shrubpig]

Hello anandtech members, I am looking into building my first gaming rig. I have picked out all of my parts, but I am wanting to know which GPU should I get? I am thinking about getting the Gigabyte HD 7870, but I'm not sure about other ones. I kind of have a budget of around 250-350 dollars.
Here are some of the specs:
Intel Core i5-3570k
ASRock z77 extreme 4
8GB of G.Skill sniper RAM @ 1600mhz
And my monitor resolution will be 1920x1080
I want to mainly play games like BF3, Skyrim, and other Online FPS games.
Thanks for the input in advance!
-Shrub

 

[Jaydip]

Check this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127667
7950 may not be the best for BF3 or Skyrim but within ur budget this the best buy.

 

[Shrubpig]

Yeah, I though about the 7950's, but I didn't see that one! thanks for the advice

 

[borisvodofsky]

If you are serious about BF3, you might want to consider 3770k.

But you aught to realize, it's the ONLY game out there that currently benefits from the 3770k over the 3570k

 

[Shrubpig]

How would the 3770k benefit it? They're not much different, it only has more cache and hyperthreading, there's no real difference in performance

 

[Sable]

How would the 3770k benefit it? They're not much different, it only has more cache and hyperthreading, there's no real difference in performance

I think BF3 is pretty well threaded when playing multiplayer so HT is of some benefit. There's a thread about it in the CPU forum.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2249262

 

[J.Dre]

7970 is good.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

It is a huge diff in bf3. Even a 2600k would better a 3570kin bf3

 

[Shrubpig]

7970 is good.

I know, but that is way out of my price range

 

[RussianSensation]

It is a huge diff in bf3. Even a 2600k would better a 3570kin bf3

3570 @ 4.5ghz + GTX670 OC > Any CPU in the entire world + HD7950 for Battlefield 3.

The CPU bottlenecks in BF3 everyone talks about where they want > 50 FPS minimums only come into play with dual-GPU setup or more.

HD7950/HD7970/GTX670 have no chance of getting those framerates on their own, which means the GPU is the limiting component.

In this case, $80 is worth it to spend for GTX670 OC such as the Gigabyte Windforce and the CPU comes secondary.

A single GTX670 won't even break 40 FPS in BF3 minimums, so this CPU limitation of 3570K everyone is jumping over is not worth talking about in this case if the budget permits upgrading the CPU or the GPU only: GTX670 is the smarter upgrade in this case imo since for BF3 it's a lot faster to begin with.

If there is one key game where GTX670 is head and shoulders above HD7950, BF3 is that game. Of course HD7950 can be overclocked to HD7970 speeds but it still won't catch a GTX670OC/680 at this game at 1080P/1200P.

 

[Shrubpig]

Those results seem somewhat.....flawed. The hd 7870 would get WAY more than 30 fps at 1080p. It'd get average ~55 fps. Especially if you OC'd it, you could get upwards of 60.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Those results seem somewhat.....flawed. The hd 7870 would get WAY more than 30 fps at 1080p. It'd get average ~55 fps. Especially if you OC'd it, you could get upwards of 60.

There is no flaw, in multiplayer the performance is hindered because of the multitude of things going on in the map.

 

[ShintaiDK]

GTX670 and keep the 3570K.

 

[Shrubpig]

Thanks for all the input guys I think I'm gonna go with the Gigabyte GTX 670. Again, thanks

 

[Dark Shroud]

Check this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127667
7950 may not be the best for BF3 or Skyrim but within ur budget this the best buy.

AMD fixed Skyrim in the latest drivers.

But yes that MSI model is the best to recommend for 7950s.