Can i upgrade to a gtx 970?

[suka23]

With a z87 gryphon, can i upgrade from my gtx 660 to a gtx 970? And if yes, should I? Wich one, assuming I have multiple options (my gtx 660 is an Asus Direct cu II 2gb and I dont have any experience with any other manufacturers)?

 

[Lucias OKeefe]

Well, yes.

But what is your PSU, CPU, and your expectations?

The motherboard is fairly irrelevant.

 

[suka23]

Well, yes.

But what is your PSU, CPU, and your expectations?

The motherboard is fairly irrelevant.

Hum, I'm not sure about my PSU, but the gtx 660 required power is 140 and the 970 is 145. Its not really a problem I think (?).
About the CPU, I have an i5 4570 3,2 ghz.

 

[zarugal]

So long as you have a full-size PCI-e slot on your motherboard you can upgrade, and you do if you currently have a GTX660. The rest of your specs are fine.

As to which model, I would advise any of these three: Asus Strix, Gigabyte G1, and MSI Twin Frozr.

The MSI has great performance and OC ability, but lacks a backplate so sags quite a bit.

The Gigabyte is insane for OC'ing, but the cooler/radiator on it is really big, so you'll need to make sure you have space for it.

The Asus isn't as good to OC as the Gigabyte, but better than the MSI. It's out-the-box performance isn't as high as the MSI, but is on a par with the Gigabyte - but it does have a backplate.

Any of the three are great cards though, I'm talking about minute differences.

 

[suka23]

So long as you have a full-size PCI-e slot on your motherboard you can upgrade, and you do if you currently have a GTX660. The rest of your specs are fine.

As to which model, I would advise any of these three: Asus Strix, Gigabyte G1, and MSI Twin Frozr.

The MSI has great performance and OC ability, but lacks a backplate so sags quite a bit.

The Gigabyte is insane for OC'ing, but the cooler/radiator on it is really big, so you'll need to make sure you have space for it.

The Asus isn't as good to OC as the Gigabyte, but better than the MSI. It's out-the-box performance isn't as high as the MSI, but is on a par with the Gigabyte - but it does have a backplate.

Any of the three are great cards though, I'm talking about minute differences.

Awesome to hear that. I was inclined for the Gigabyte but I didnt have any special reason. Now I do 😛
Aparently, gtx 970 has 10.5 inches length and 660 has 9.5, what I think its a 2.5cm increase, and the height is the same. It should fit in.

 

[boosted1g]

What is your PSU, NVidia recommends a 600w psu for the GTX-970 (the numbers listed above where just for the graphics card.
If you don't have a quality brand psu you can take whatever number is on the sticker and slash off 25-40% and that is your real number.

Also what is your cpu? If you have a Pentium or a FM2 socket AMD then that 970 is going to bottlenecked so badly by your cpu that you might as well just get a 960.

 

[zarugal]

Awesome to hear that. I was inclined for the Gigabyte but I didnt have any special reason. Now I do 😛
Aparently, gtx 970 has 10.5 inches length and 660 has 9.5, what I think its a 2.5cm increase, and the height is the same. It should fit in.

The Gigabyte G1 has a length of just over 12 inches, so you will need to measure inside your case 😛

 

[madmatt30]

Most of the factory oc 970's can draw up to 200w or so (don't know where the 145w came from)
A decent 500w PSU is plenty.

 

[suka23]

What is your PSU, NVidia recommends a 600w psu for the GTX-970 (the numbers listed above where just for the graphics card.
If you don't have a quality brand psu you can take whatever number is on the sticker and slash off 25-40% and that is your real number.

Also what is your cpu? If you have a Pentium or a FM2 socket AMD then that 970 is going to bottlenecked so badly by your cpu that you might as well just get a 960.

I already answered my CPU. and about the PSU, its not a problem, i'll make sure of it

 

[suka23]

Most of the factory oc 970's can draw up to 200w or so (don't know where the 145w came from)
A decent 500w PSU is plenty.

It came from nvidia's main website. The card itself (not oc version i think) needs 145w, and its recomended to have at least a 500w psu. I think mine is 600w, but as I said before, its not a problem, i'll make sure of it

 

[suka23]

Awesome to hear that. I was inclined for the Gigabyte but I didnt have any special reason. Now I do 😛
Aparently, gtx 970 has 10.5 inches length and 660 has 9.5, what I think its a 2.5cm increase, and the height is the same. It should fit in.

The Gigabyte G1 has a length of just over 12 inches, so you will need to measure inside your case 😛

wow, i think i'll need a bigger case. Thanks for the heads up anyway, my case is a cooler master k380, and the max length is 11 inches i think. I'll have to analyze that later, after I get the money, wich should take a while. (I was making sure I could upgrade to a 970 without having to upgrade the motherboard and cpu, and yes, im aware that if its not a 1 month deadline, better graphic cards are gona come out)