Is my i7 950 enough?

[anderswhk]

It's about time I upgrade my EVGA GTX580 SC, but is the rest of my system up to the task of modern gaming?

i7 950
12 gig 1600mhz ram
Asus Sabertooth X58 motherboard

I build the rig back in early 2011 the same week the EVGA card came out. It's starting to show it's age in games.

Can I just buy a new card, dump it in, and not have the rest of my system bottleneck it? I am not looking for absolute min/max, just being able to play modern games at a respectable FPS.

 

[razerg]

Which GPU do you plan to upgrade to? That 950 seems fine still, like 12GB of ram.

 

[anderswhk]

Honestly, I have no idea about modern graphics cards. But probably something equilivant to a modern 570. Im looking for "bang for your buck", and pref Nvidia. A fast card, but not flagship models.

 

[Eximo]

GTX580 can comfortably be compared to a GTX960 in performance. So $200 to get equivalent performance at greatly reduced power requirements.

GTX970 would be the next step up at ~$300-330

i7-950 is plenty fast for modern gaming, particularly when overclocked.

 

[razerg]

Yes exactly, if you want to go even cheaper take 750Ti, it's still a solid one though i think 960 will go with that i7 a bit better.

 

[anderswhk]

GTX580 can comfortably be compared to a GTX960 in performance. So $200 to get equivalent performance at greatly reduced power requirements.

GTX970 would be the next step up at ~$300-330

i7-950 is plenty fast for modern gaming, particularly when overclocked.

My current card only has 1.5 GB of ram. Is that why I am having trouble with modern games? I keep reading about "recommended specs" and 3 GB of ram is always listed..

 

[subversive27]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

Check out the chart. It's generally not worth the cost to upgrade unless the new item is a few tiers higher.

 

[razerg]

GPUs use vram, and yes, that might be the problem. There are also several different factors. Those recommended requirements are usually over then what they really are, like on systemrequirementslab or gamedebate.

 

[anderswhk]

I am def looking for something faster, not equilivant. So I guess 970 is what I am after. What about brand? Anything I should avoid?

 

[razerg]

I like Asus' and EVGA's GPUs, in this case i would take the Asus' one, they run cool and quiet. Though i don't think any other brand is generally 'bad'.

 

[anderswhk]

thanks a lot everyone