help picking gpu

[Will Gustafson]

Hello I have a computer that i am aiming to build soon with these parts on part picker already purchased:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3FRXP
case: corsair 500r
mobo: asus maximus vi hero
cpu: i5-4670
ram: gskill trident x 2x8gb 1600mhz ddr3
ssd: samsung 840 pro series 256gb

I am now looking for a great gpu but am new to all of this really and would like some help picking it out. I have already thought with my own research that a geforce gtx 760 would be the best bang for my buck and fitting my budget well. however, my friend says to get a 770 instead. Is it worth the extra 80ish dollars for that upgrade? Also whichever you recommend, what things should i look for when picking the exact one i need? thanks in advance!

 

[damric]

What monitor resolution and refresh rate?

 

[Will Gustafson]

I still havent picked out a monitor yet. should i be doing that first?

 

[geofelt]

A GTX760 would be OK.
But, gaming usually is more graphics dependent than CPU.
It is appropriate to budget 2x the cpu cost for your graphics card. A GTX 770 would be more appropriate for any single monitor.

 

[damric]

Yes. Then you pick a card that can run it at that resolution and at the max FPS according to the refresh rate.

So for example you want to play Battlefield 4, and your monitor is 60Hz 1080p.

You pick the card that can at least do 60 FPS since your monitor is 60Hz, which in this case looks like a GTX 780.

 

[Will Gustafson]

ok thanks I heard that i shouldnt bottle neck things so reallly should i spend that much more on a gpu than a processor? Will that not be hindering the gpu with a lower end cpu?

 

[damric]

Not really. You can't avoid dips in performance (minimum FPS) altogether, but having faster CPU/RAM helps. That i5 4670 is almost as good as it gets anyway.

A higher end GPU will allow you to play in higher resolution, with increased detail settings, higher average FPS, and higher maximum FPS, but it will still get the same performance dips (minimum FPS) in choked up areas of games.

 

[Will Gustafson]

so im thinking about springing for the 780. i see from newegg.com that a lot of people like evga so i may choose them for it as well. is there anything else i should look at when deciding?

 

[damric]

Look at warranty, overall build quality of the pcb, quality of the cooler/shroud, and the base clocks (some are factory overclocked).

Also price, rebate, and game bundle.

You decided what resolution and refresh rate monitor?

 

[Will Gustafson]

well i am torn between http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236331
OR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236385

I am planning on http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130951 for the gpu

which monitor would be best or should i find a different one?

 

[damric]

Personally, if I was going for a GTX 780, I'd want a higher resolution monitor, like 1440p.

But if you want the lower res monitor, you can spend less on GPU and get like GTX 770 or even GTX 760

When I buy monitors, I buy really nice ones, the best I can afford at the time, because you can always upgrade or add another GPU in SLI/Crossfire.

 

[Maciek Fulton]

well i am torn between http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236331
OR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236385

I am planning on http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130951 for the gpu

which monitor would be best or should i find a different one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500311 has the best performance out of all the 780s

And I would go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236385, that's a nice response rate(1ms) and Asus makes great monitors, but that one seems to have the edge and is a tad cheaper.

 

[damric]

I have all ASUS monitors now I used to be a viewsonic fan, but they let me down.

 

[Will Gustafson]

Actually for the monitor im thinking just this one now and still with the 780 i linked above

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313

 

[Type75]

I would suggest as good as you can get. While looking over your parts, you dont have a mechanical hard drive. A 250GB SSD wont last long, it would work well for pictures and OS but for performance I suggest a 500GB mechanical hard drive atleast.

 

[damric]

I guess my pcs with only SSDs for years are ready crap out? Nope. they are barely 15% into the lifecycle.

 

[Rationale]

I generally budget the CPU to 50% of the cost of the GPU, and the monitor to the same cost as the GPU (since both are similarly important to graphics).

 

[Rationale]

I guess my pcs with only SSDs for years are ready crap out? Nope. they are barely 15% into the lifecycle.

I think he meant 250GB would fill up fast, not that it would wear out. SSDs now can last nearly as long as HDDs.

 

[Will Gustafson]

ok well i am kinda set on the evga one i linked above for the gpu but maybe ill wait to get a really nice monitor that pairs well with it like stated earlier. maybe even spring for a 27 incher. i might get a HDD later when i need it but not interested in it for now thanks though for looking out.

 

[Type75]

I guess my pcs with only SSDs for years are ready crap out? Nope. they are barely 15% into the lifecycle.

I think he meant 250GB would fill up fast, not that it would wear out. SSDs now can last nearly as long as HDDs.

Thanks, thats what i meant. 250GB fills up fast if you consider OS is about 30GB, a couple games could be 100GB, Leaving 120GB. Not much room for anything else.

 

[damric]

I guess my pcs with only SSDs for years are ready crap out? Nope. they are barely 15% into the lifecycle.

I think he meant 250GB would fill up fast, not that it would wear out. SSDs now can last nearly as long as HDDs.

How many games are you playing at once?

 

[Rationale]

I guess my pcs with only SSDs for years are ready crap out? Nope. they are barely 15% into the lifecycle.

I think he meant 250GB would fill up fast, not that it would wear out. SSDs now can last nearly as long as HDDs.

How many games are you playing at once?

Thing is, if he has slow internet it doesn't necessarily matter how many games he's playing at once. It can take me 20+ hours to download one game assuming it's not very big, and around here nobody really offers faster internet. I tend to keep the ones I like installed, even if that means 10-15 are installed at one time.
That's why I still buy disk media when available.

Still, I suspect he'd be fine with a 250GB SSD and maybe another slow, cheaper 250GB HDD for storage, even in the worst case scenario.

 

[damric]

Come to think of it, of all the computers in my house I think we only have one conventional HDD and it's only 320GB. I guess we put a lot of bulk crap on the cloud.

 

[Maciek Fulton]

Come to think of it, of all the computers in my house I think we only have one conventional HDD and it's only 320GB. I guess we put a lot of bulk crap on the cloud.

Maybe going with a hybrid would be a good idea, with games being close to 50gb now (Stupid uncompressed audio) a 500gb HDD for some games might be a good idea.

 

[Rationale]

Come to think of it, of all the computers in my house I think we only have one conventional HDD and it's only 320GB. I guess we put a lot of bulk crap on the cloud.

Maybe going with a hybrid would be a good idea, with games being close to 50gb now (Stupid uncompressed audio) a 500gb HDD for some games might be a good idea.

Well, "games" aren't really 50GB. There are only 1 or 2 that size, and those are due to port issues. Most games are still 6-10GB.