[SOLVED] GPU Upgrade from 970 gtx

[Mark Dunstan]

Hello, I am currently thinking about upgrading my pc gpu to replace my current 970 gtx. I won't be able to get a new build pc for a while now, so was just hoping to be able to beef this rig up a bit. I play on a i5 4590, with a 550w corsair vs series psu, and was wondering what to buy to increase it, even if only a little as I want to get games looking as good as I can on my 1080p 60hz monitor. I play mostly Total War games on it.

I am torn between a number of choices, as I don't need it to be overkill, just a solid 60fps when all hell breaks lose on the battlefield (currently dropping to 40fps or lower in heavy battles.

The RX 580 or 590. The GTX 1060 or 1660 (and the ti variants) or maybe something beefier?

Thanks for your time.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Hello, I am currently thinking about upgrading my pc gpu to replace my current 970 gtx. I won't be able to get a new build pc for a while now, so was just hoping to be able to beef this rig up a bit. I play on a i5 4590, with a 550w corsair vs series psu, and was wondering what to buy to increase it, even if only a little as I want to get games looking as good as I can on my 1080p 60hz monitor. I play mostly Total War games on it.

I am torn between a number of choices, as I don't need it to be overkill, just a solid 60fps when all hell breaks lose on the battlefield (currently dropping to 40fps or lower in heavy battles.

The RX 580 or 590. The GTX 1060 or 1660 (and the ti variants) or maybe something beefier?

Thanks for your time.

Going to a RX580 or GTX 1060 6GB will be basically a lateral move from the 970.
https://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/2148?vs=2299 - 580 vs 970
https://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/2148?vs=2301 1060 6GB vs 970

You will need to go to at least a 1660, but as a more "future proof" 1080p 60Hz you will want a 1660 Super or RX 5600XT.

 

[k1nationIG]

Hello, I am currently thinking about upgrading my pc gpu to replace my current 970 gtx. I won't be able to get a new build pc for a while now, so was just hoping to be able to beef this rig up a bit. I play on a i5 4590, with a 550w corsair vs series psu, and was wondering what to buy to increase it, even if only a little as I want to get games looking as good as I can on my 1080p 60hz monitor. I play mostly Total War games on it.

I am torn between a number of choices, as I don't need it to be overkill, just a solid 60fps when all hell breaks lose on the battlefield (currently dropping to 40fps or lower in heavy battles.

The RX 580 or 590. The GTX 1060 or 1660 (and the ti variants) or maybe something beefier?

Thanks for your time.

the 1660 super will probably give you the best bang for your buck. I like the card a lot. You can probably expect a 1.25 to 1.5 times increase in FPS by buying the card and the Original MSRP is a 100$ cheaper so thats absurd imo

 

[Mark Dunstan]

Thanks, I shall try and get one of those then

 

[Mark Dunstan]

This one any good? Gigabyte NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1660 Super 6gb OC Turing? Or the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Super SC Ultra Graphics Card?

 

[k1nationIG]

This would probably be your best option
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...tx1660s_a6g_gaming_rog_strix_geforce_gtx.html

 

[jeremyj_83]

This one any good? Gigabyte NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1660 Super 6gb OC Turing? Or the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Super SC Ultra Graphics Card?

Here is a write up from TechPowerup about that card. https://www.techpowerup.com/review/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1660-super-gaming-pro-oc/37.html
Depending on how much you are going to pay for that will depend on if it is worth it or not. If you are paying $265 for it then it isn't worth it as spending $10 more for a 5600XT will net you another 10% performance.

 

[Mark Dunstan]

So, they are quite a lot more money here in the UK (we're talking mid £200 to low £300, I can get an MSI Radeon Rx 5600 XT Mech 6gb card for £30 cheaper than the Asus Rog Strix 1660 Super one and at a similar price to many 1660 supers. Should I just go 5600 XT?

 

[jeremyj_83]

So, they are quite a lot more money here in the UK (we're talking mid £200 to low £300, I can get an MSI Radeon Rx 5600 XT Mech 6gb card for £30 cheaper than the Asus Rog Strix 1660 Super one and at a similar price to many 1660 supers. Should I just go 5600 XT?

I would. The 5600xt is even faster than the 1660 Super.

 

[k1nationIG]

So, they are quite a lot more money here in the UK (we're talking mid £200 to low £300, I can get an MSI Radeon Rx 5600 XT Mech 6gb card for £30 cheaper than the Asus Rog Strix 1660 Super one and at a similar price to many 1660 supers. Should I just go 5600 XT?

A lot of people don't like amd gpu's because of their weird drivers including me. If we look at the facts though, the 5600xt is faster by 10-15% than the 1660 super. You can possibly look at an RTX 2060 for better performance than the 5600xt.

 

[Mark Dunstan]

Thanks for all your input guys, I've found a PNY GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB XLR8 Gaming Overclocked Edition Graphics gpu at a very good price so will go with that. Thanks again!

 

[Mark Dunstan]

Hey, I ended up buying the 2060, but I have windows 8.1 - there are no drivers to install for it (only 7 and 10) what should I do? I can't get windows 10, no cash left :/

 

[jeremyj_83]

Hey, I ended up buying the 2060, but I have windows 8.1 - there are no drivers to install for it (only 7 and 10) what should I do? I can't get windows 10, no cash left :/

You can still upgrade your system for free to Win 10. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...ill-upgrade-to-windows-10-for-free-heres-how/

 

[Mark Dunstan]

Cheers! I got nvidea experience and it says it is up to date for drivers, i think that program sorted it out. Will check out that free windows though, awesome!

 

[Mark Dunstan]

Heh, I think I should have gone with your 1660 Super idea - my fps have gone from 100 odd on extreme settings on Rome 2 Total War with the gtx 970 to 17 fps with the 2060 (cpu temps and usage is fine, gpu usage is sometimes hitting 90 but mostly staying much lower). Balls - £300 to make my games worse 🙁 Oh well, putting GTX 970 back in and guess will keep the 2060 in storage until I can afford a better motherboard, cpu and ram next year!

 

[SkyNetRising]

Reinstall Nvidia drivers with clean install option.
www.geforce.com

 

[Mark Dunstan]

Thanks, I've tried that, and uninstalled it, neither have worked :/ GPU sits at about 50% usage.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Thanks, I've tried that, and uninstalled it, neither have worked :/ GPU sits at about 50% usage.

What is odd is that your FPS should not have gotten worse with a faster card. Worst case it should have stayed the same. Could be an issue with Win 8.1 and having it run on generic drivers. Do the free upgrade to Win 10 and see if it improves.

 

[SkyNetRising]

GPU sits at about 50% usage.

During system being idle? Clean out cryptomalware from your system.

 

[Mark Dunstan]

Not idle, just gaming. I wonder could it be the new lead between my monitor and gpu? I had to get a DVI to HDMI cable to make this work on my monitor, perhaps though that only affects refresh rate?

Running benchmarks like Heaven shows it as 100+ fps...

 

[Mark Dunstan]

Uninstalling drivers from control panel seems to have helped - my gpu is now running at 100% and fps is good. Not sure what happened, but I am relieved!