GPU upgrade help

[gooniin]

I'm looking to upgrade from my sapphire 7850 2GB. Right now i have my eyes set on a GTX 970 and was wondering if the card will work well with this build

Mobo - Gigabyte 78LMT-USB3
PSU- Rosewill HIVE 80 plus bronze 750w
RAM - 12gb
CPU - AMD FX 8320 OC to 4.4ghz

Also was looking at a GTX 960 4GB and a 280x 3GB and wanted to know which on of these two cards are better? I mainly want to know which one is better for things like modding skyrim with ENB's and playing witcher 3 in 1080p 60fps

 

[graand]

280x is superior than 960 but it is inferior against 970. So get the 970. your psu can handle your gpu at ease, still have plenty of extras actually.

 

[Martell1977]

As you figured the 970 is the most powerful of what you mentioned. Going down from there would be the 280X then the 960. I recommend getting the best your budget will allow, but that is how they fall in order of power 970>280X>960,

 

[gooniin]

even a 960 4GB is weaker then a 280x? Interesting what about an OC 960 4GB? i wouldn't mind getting another AMD card but i hear they run really hot and use up too much power was hoping the 960 4GB could equal it in power if i OC it

 

[graand]

even a 960 4GB is weaker then a 280x? Interesting what about an OC 960 4GB? i wouldn't mind getting another AMD card but i hear they run really hot and use up too much power was hoping the 960 4GB could equal it in power if i OC it

Ocing 960 to beat the 280x? Sounds good if you really wanna get the 960 over the 280x but keep in mind that you can still oc that 280x and will beat the 960 in no brainer way. Youre right again, amd cards run hot but if you have a good air flow, thats cool, dont have a good air flow? Get the referrence card of 280x instead. anyway, Id get the ASUS 960 strix over any 280x, Id personally rather go clean and green.

 

[gooniin]

It's still kind of a hard decision but i'll figure out something. How do you feel these cards will do on a heavily modded skyrim with ENB's with 50-60fps or withcer 3 with high settings in 60fps both 1080p?

 

[graand]

It's still kind of a hard decision but i'll figure out something. How do you feel these cards will do on a heavily modded skyrim with ENB's with 50-60fps or withcer 3 with high settings in 60fps both 1080p?

They`ll do jus fine.

 

[gooniin]

just saw that a regular r9 290 is about 20$ more then an 280x should i go for the 290 it might run a lot hotter

 

[graand]

If youre going to r9 290, get the 970 instead, 290 and the 280x cant really say which one is hotter but one thing for sure, those cards run really hot

 

[gooniin]

Alright man thank you for the help if i have anymore questions i'll be back

 

[Martell1977]

just saw that a regular r9 290 is about 20$ more then an 280x should i go for the 290 it might run a lot hotter

They do consume more power but if you get a non-reference cooler, heat isn't much of an issue. The 290 is a very strong card and if that's as high as the budget goes, it's a better option than the 960. The 970 trades blows with the 290X, with the 970 winning most of the time depending on the resolution. If the 290 is close to the 280X in price and budget allows, I'd grab the 290.

 

[graand]

be our guest

 

[gooniin]

Sorry about my knowledge but what exactly is a non-reference cooler for a 290 is it some kind of special card?

 

[graand]

most non referece cards have higher clocks and performs better than reference cards. reference cards with reference coolers have their exhaust from the back. which means it wont be spilling hot air around your system. non reference coolers spill hot air all over your system and you will much likely notice temperature difference of about 10-15 on reference vs non reference cooler.

final verdict :
if you have a case without much airflow, then you should get a card with a reference cooler.
if you have a case with good airflow, then get a non reference one.

 

[Martell1977]

Sorry about my knowledge but what exactly is a non-reference cooler for a 290 is it some kind of special card?

The 290's reference cooler has a single fan on one end of the card and it blows the heat out of the back. The non reference designs vary, some have 2 fans others 3. The reference design can be loud and not as efficient than the aftermarket non reference ones. The 290 was a hot and loud card at launch, but once the brands like Sapphire and ASUS started using their own cooler designs, heat is not really an issue and they are much quieter.