GPU Upgrade from 260 GTX to Radeon R9 270x

[whitebellybuttonfluff]

Hi there,

i have recently had the chance to built my first rig (mainly with used parts):

Mainboard: P8P67 EVO * REV 3.0
PSU: BeQuiet L8-CM 630W
CPU: i5 2400 4x 3.10GHz - 3.40GHZ
Ram: Corsair XMS3 6 GB DDR3-1333
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-1
DVD/HDDx2/SSD ...
GPU: ENGTX260 Glaciator Plus/HTDI/896MD3

I have compared lots of benchmarks and reviews and came to the conclusion the R9 270x Gigabyte Windforce X3 would be the best fit.

The thing bothering me is, most of the games i play run and look fine with the current configuration and adapted settings in 1080p (min. 45 fps did measure some with fraps). (Skyrim, Shadow Warrior, Sleeping Dogs, Castlevania LoS, Sanctum 2, Borderlands 2, Dark Souls PtDE, Trine 2, Hawken Online ...)

I don't play a lot on PC, too many games on X360, 3DS, Wii, Vita and restricted time keep me from it. Still PC Games are the most immersive ones i have played so far. So - would you say a R9 270X would be good boost and reasonable upgrade that would be still of some use in 2 years or so? Might some new R9 model or other series pop up soon? *Considering you will probably play only Hawken Online, Dark Souls PtDE, Dark Souls 2, Deus Ex H.Rev., Grid 2, MGS Rising in near future probably for the next year ...

I did even consider getting a R9 290 but those stock coolers are just insanely bad + twice the power of a R9 270x but twice the price. A R9 280x which is somewhat in the middle makes to sense to me.

Side mark: monies are not tight

Thanks in advance for offering me your advice and attention.


*added 1pic for lulz at last:
http://i.imgur.com/GmFcZxC.jpg

 

[airplanegeek]

why not get a ivy bridge or haswell system?

 

[whitebellybuttonfluff]

why not get a ivy bridge or haswell system?

because i got the i5 2400 for 73€ + cooler for free :/

 

[TheIronDUke]

A 270x is okay but a r9 280x is a lot better and might last you one more year. I have a gigabyte r9 280x and it is an amazing card. Also your CPU is old, you might want to do a complete upgrade now or later down the road. 2nd generation Intel Cpu's were great but now they are old. Also, how much did all the parts of your system cost used, just curious.

 

[patrick47018]

I agree with your conclusion on the 280X being the mid-upper range and really good value, go with the Gigabyte 280X or, the Sapphire Vapor-X or Toxic.

 

[airplanegeek]

all cpus come with a stock heatsink

 

[patrick47018]

all cpus come with a stock heatsink

Not all do, and maybe he means an aftermarket cooler.

 

[airplanegeek]

all cpus come with a stock heatsink

Not all do, and maybe he means an aftermarket cooler.

well almost all mainstream cpus

 

[jk47_99]

Your system seems quite balanced, maybe you might want to wait until the next gen of graphics cards come out next year on 20nm. You are not playing any big AAA titles like Crysis 3 or BF4 which might make good use of a better card.

At that point we might have DDR4 and the next PCI revision, so it would be worthwhile doing a bigger upgrade. The jump from Sandy bridge to Haswell wasn't that big.

With only 1 1080p monitor, all a R9 270x will do is turn up the eye candy a bit. Unless the monitor refreshes at 120hz you won't see much difference as you will be capped at 60 fps anyway.

 

[whitebellybuttonfluff]

Also your CPU is old, you might want to do a complete upgrade now or later down the road. 2nd generation Intel Cpu's were great but now they are old. Also, how much did all the parts of your system cost used, just curious.

Hmmm you mean the i5 2400 is too old in terms of not enough power in 2-3 years?

Scratching somewhat @the 400€ mark (mostly bought on ebay/2nd hand-trade).

73 cpu+cooler; 27 mobo; 20 gtx 260
35 6gb-ram; 30 1tb hdd1; 28 1,5tb hdd2
40 64gb s830 ssd; 80 psu (new); 36 case (new)
15 dvd (new); ~ 20 thermal paste, fans, cable ...

-

At that point we might have DDR4 and the next PCI revision, so it would be worthwhile doing a bigger upgrade. The jump from Sandy bridge to Haswell wasn't that big.

With only 1 1080p monitor, all a R9 270x will do is turn up the eye candy a bit. Unless the monitor refreshes at 120hz you won't see much difference as you will be capped at 60 fps anyway.

Thanks i will look into that. 🙂

 

[Immaculate]

If your cool with 45fps then a 270X will do great for you. If you play Crysis 3 on HIGH you will get some dips but other games will do fine, BF4 will do fine.

If you can get this card get it.. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/his-video-card-h270xqmt2g2

Or any of the Sapphire ones Toxic/Vapor/Dual-X

 

[Avro Arrow]

I see it this way. If you're already happy with what you have, wait. Prices are always falling and the longer you wait, the lower the price will be. Don't ever buy something until you actually need it. You say that the GTX 260 is giving you nice frame rates at 1080p for all the games you play? Then why change it? Why spend money that you don't have to? I say, stick with what you have until it isn't good anymore.