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Desktop Upgrades
I currently have the following:
Intel i5 3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4Ghz CPU
16GB DDR3 (1600 I think)
Radeon 7970 w/3GB
Asrock H77M Motherboard
Dual 256GB SSD's
My question is this. I will be playing ESO and do play WoT, occasional WoW and whatever I come across that looks fun for a while.
Should I bother to upgrade from what I have? Dual video cards? New cpu & mobo? If so what would you recommend? If I was to break it down and start over what would you build? I could easily sell the used parts on ebay and use it towards the new build. Budget is not really a concern but lets not get silly and start slapping in $900 video cards and such.
Thanks in advance guys.
Comments
I have half the horsepower you currently own and can pretty much run everything on my end (Including Buggy-Unoptimized Alpha's). So unless you're an FPS addict, who really wants to run everything in full 60+FPS and on ULTRA settings. You already have quite the beast of a computer. If you really want to upgrade...
16GB to 32GB of ram (2400mhz) (Possible to go beyond)
i5 to i7 (I7 4930K)
Radeon to Nvidia (GeForce GTX 760) (Note - These are the most powerful setups you can buy with money (This is not a significant upgrade, and is clearly just a joke.)
Again you can pretty much destroy everything with what you have, the best card I own is a 7870-LE and that does everything for me. I tend to game on a e8400/450-GTS and even then I can still run most games. You don't want an upgrade, it sounds like you just want to blow some cash.
"You are all going to poop yourselves." BillMurphy
"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone."
And how is that an upgrade? Switching from one particular video card to another can be an upgrade, but just switching brand names for the sake of switching brand names is as likely to be a downgrade as an upgrade.
-----
My advice is, don't upgrade until there is some reason why your current rig isn't good enough anymore. Then the question of why your system isn't good enough anymore tells you what to upgrade. And if you get a few more years out of your system before you find some need to upgrade, then by the time you upgrade, you'll be able to get better hardware for cheaper than if you had upgraded today.
Nvidia is king of GPU's (Performance speaking) - Compare the flagship Radeon to a flagship Nvidia GPU and guess which ship sinks first.
Edit: It is my opinion and take on things, It really is no secret - Nvidia simply has more horsepower and is overall superior in terms of 'better' FPS.
hah yeah kinda, Mostly got used to upgrading every so often in the past and haven't done much of anything with this rig in quite a while except add a second SSD due to space restriction.
This has been the longest I have owned a main setup without changes since my Packard Bell 486 SX33
yeah I am that old.
Thanks guys I really appreciate the responses.
This post was invalid, and I simply lashed out at Quizzical without giving much thought into making this post- seconds after he made his post. Also...My Radeon to Nvidia comment was a joke between me and the OP. This was handled very poorly on my end. which was corrected by Quiz on PG.2
If you really want specifics: Radeon R9 270X to GeForce GTX 760 - Also you ignored the namebrand with I5 & I7 to which if you also want specifics the I5 he listed to a superior I7-4770k or beyond.
To me it sounds like you just wanted to poke at something
Had fun?
*Note* I'm not saying for the OP to switch from his current 7970 3GB card to the above suggested cards.* *However if you were to be upgrading from lets say a 9400-GT for example. Go with a Nvidia card as they sometimes shell out a couple more FPS (based off of benchmarks, nothing in stone) Just my view on it. Or go with R9 since it is significantly cheaper and offers near close to the performance the 760 shells out.
Both are great cards, and the above (Radeon To Nvidia) was just a bit of a joke since he already has a top card.
Going to an I7- 4770k would require a new motherboard. And all for what would be a very little gain. If he is just itching to spend money then it would be an upgrade, just not enough of one to make a difference.
Comparing the R9 270x to GTX 760 the 760 is slightly better, but certainly not worth switching to on brand name alone. If you are a total Nvidia fan and want to just buy those brands then thats fine, but saying they are superior based on name alone is just silly.
He asked if he should bother if he should upgrade with what he currently owns, and I responded without adding any specifics. The only reason I said the flagship 760 Nvidia card is superior to the Flagship R9 270 is better is simply because it simply is better. I agree that switching from what the OP currently has to these cards is not a wise choice as he already has a beast of a computer. The R9 270 is $80 cheaper and offers close to what the 760 offers in terms of power and 'IF' he wanted to upgrade, than the R9 would be the most cost effective choice.
I got a little upset and lashed out a little at Mr. special snowflake- both flagship cards have ups and downs and both are great cards in my opinion. Also if he wants to upgrade from an I5 than what would you recco? I suggested the obvious and if he was willing to blow money, which is what he replied.
I7 is the way to go.
There is nothing but sheer ignorance in this post.
As someone who owns a 7870-LE Tahiti and is a fan of ATI-Radeons he currently owns a Radeon 7970 w/3GB and switching to a GTX-760 would be a slight upgrade.
I was not seriously suggesting to go and upgrade for such a small gain. Nvidia cards are well known to shell out a couple more FPS than Radeon cards.
Ignorance? Humor Me More.
Chii "You don't want an upgrade, it sounds like you just want to blow some cash.
"
Reply "hah yeah kinda, Mostly got used to upgrading every so often in the past and haven't done much of anything with this rig in quite a while except add a second SSD due to space restriction."
You clearly missed the joke in the post, same with quiz.
The 7970 is faster than the 760. 7% ish give or take :P The difference you might be referring to is optimization differences between the cards drivers. (which usually go away over time)
Fu**kin Special Snowflakes, All of you.
Love you all.
Hope these posts helped you OP. That's why people like me lurk around for those in need of some additional information, don't be afraid to ask anymore questions.
I'll be here all day.
However, R9 290 is faster than GTX 760.
If GTX 760 being faster than R9 270X proves that switching from Radeon to NVidia is improvement, then by the same logic R9 290 being faster than GTX 760 proves that switching from NVidia to Radeon is also an improvement. Using your logic we can prove that switching video cards from one brand to another and back we can improve the video performance infinitely.
I'm not disagreeing with your claim that NVidia makes the fastests cards currently available. Only with your claim that it would somehow make all NVidia cards better than Radeon cards. There's no single best brand, and when buying you have to look at what both brands have to offer, then make a decision based on that.
EDIT: OP, your system look so good that it's hard to see any need to upgrade, especially for MMOs which usually don't use the latest graphic tricks anyway. If you have extra money, maybe you could consider buying a better monitor, keyboard, or mouse, or something like that.
Or maybe you could just spend it on something not related to computers at all. If you already get stable framerate of 60 in your games, and have SSD for fast loading times, upgrading now would be an overkill. And when you don't need an upgrade now, it's better not to upgrade for future since components will be cheaper and faster in the future.
EDIT 2: Or maybe you could buy some cooling system that makes a less noise to make your computer quieter if you feel an urge to open the case and start switching components around.
I love being a special snowflake... Makes me feel.... special
I never said the GTX 760 was faster than the Radeon R9 and the Radeon To Nvidia was just a joke, but then Quiz gets all serious and decides to step on me, and I failed to make a valid reply. I made a mistake and created a misunderstanding, Here is how I should of replied. I apologize deeply and this is just to end the morning, and go get me some morning tea.
"It was meant as a joke, and I wouldn't actually consider suggesting to the OP to upgrade from his current 7970-3GB card, as it wouldn't offer a significant performance boost and really would just be a waste of money. Overall both brand names are great, but as a proud Radeon-7870-LE owner if a card was to be suggested it would be the R9. However seeing as the OP has a top-dog card.
Moving On!"
Nvidia & Radeon both make great cards and the R9 is significantly cheaper but very close to what a GTX-760 offers in terms of power and speed. I would suggest a R9 over a GTX-760. (Major Misunderstanding, and my invalid quoted post above.) I think what I meant to say was like.... upgrading from a lets say 8800-GT to one of the two would be a superior choice, and sort of shined proudly on the GTX-760. But it came out nothing like that, for which I tried to make up for =(
It all came out wrong and it only got worse and worse after each post, but I hope this fixes a few things, as someone who is a proud owner of a Radeon 7870-LE and supports the Radeon line of cards.
*Reply 4Below*
I'm outdated on which card is a flagship as I thought the 270X was the latest Radeon card. I just decided to login and try and help the OP a little and tell him that he does not have to upgrade at all. Instead it turned into something that I don't have a passion for fighting against. I shared my personal opinion, from viewing many benchmarks and comparing many Radeon cards to a nvidia based cards.
To be honest - I really don't care...lol....I offered some upgrade solutions and that was it..... to which it was turned into something that has kept me on here longer than I intended to stay. I really was just telling the OP at how good his computer really was, and that no upgrades were needed. After all of the benchmarks iv seen (From my personal views) Nvidia cards shell out more FPS in specific games, and sometimes Radeon shells out more FPS in certain games.
In the end....nvidia cards shell out more FPS in MORE games. (My Personal Opinion) It is just what I think, that does not mean it's all true. You can say it's not true, but youtube benchmark videos say otherwise. Benchmarked videos really scream the real potential, while things written on paper sometimes do not show the full real picture.
They are both great brands, thanks for correcting me. I really mean it- I was just sharing what I believed. ^
I only quoted one, but I'll reply to all of your posts at once.
Well of course a relatively higher end GeForce card is faster than a relatively lower end Radeon card. And a relatively higher end Radeon card is faster than a relatively lower end GeForce card. For example, the Radeon R9 270 is faster than a GeForce GTX 650. But that proves nothing about Radeon vs GeForce in the abstract.
You say to compare the flagship cards. But neither the R9 270X nor the GeForce GTX 760 is the respective flagship card. Those would be the Radeon R9 290X and the GeForce GTX 780 Ti, respectively. Which of those two is faster only matters to people in the market to spend $600+ on a video card--meaning, it is irrelevant to most people.
Furthermore, whether the top Radeon card or the top GeForce card is faster goes back and forth. Today, the fastest GeForce card is faster, though not by much; a few months ago, the fastest Radeon card was faster. Nvidia is willing to go larger than AMD on die size, which means that the top Nvidia single GPU card is faster more often than not, but AMD has had some extended periods of having the fastest card, such as the 7 months between the launch of the Radeon HD 5870 and the GeForce GTX 680. If you count multi-GPU cards as a single card, AMD has had the fastest card a substantially greater fraction of the time.
Well this turned out more entertaining than I expected
In regards to the person asking if I needed a new monitor,
I am sure there is better than the one I have as I have had it for about 3-4 years and it was a lower priced one at about 320ish if I recall correctly. It is a larger sized one at 29" and I would not go lower than that due to the distance from my chair to where it sits and the condition of my eyesight.
I just noticed a nice one but not sure if it would be good for gaming. What do you guys think of this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=24-236-347
or is there another under $500 monitor you would recommend more in a 29+ size?
Again thanks for the advice guys.
Personally I wouldn't buy that monitor for gaming because it's ultra-widescreen (21:9). A normal 27 inch widescreen monitor (16:9) has about the same screen size as the screen is taller, and I find that it's better suited for MMOs to have a bit taller screen than to have a really wide screen.
But that's my personal opinion, and it's likely that many people here disagree.
I've always had the impression that Nvidia was the leader in pure speed, while AMD was the leader in bang for the buck. This is good though. Imagine what things would be like if there was only Nvidia, or only AMD. Gah. Only Intel.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Yes, competiton is always good. This is a poll we had on Vgchartz about which do people prefer between AMD / Nvidia. 66% choose AMD while only 33% choose Nvidia.
http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=169950