Keep i7-3770k, or upgrade GPU?

ChriffeR

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Sep 6, 2014
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Hey guys so I bought a 3770k and a gtx 960, the other day while I have my i5-2500k stored away. I can get my 2500k to 4.6ghz+ np and have reached 5ghz, and the temps are AMAZING. I swapped it to an i7 because I wanted to start streaming and for the future when games possible use an i7. I'm kinda not really digging the whole streaming situation and was wondering if I'd get more of a boost if I returned the CPU and got a better GPU, or keep the current set-up?
 
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Asus are solid. If there ever was a 'mule' Asus would be it. Gigabyte may be more of a racehorse comparatively but they are also louder and somewhat more finicky. Sapphire make the best AMD cards, EVGA makes the best nvidia cards (mostly) and no one can touch either for their service/warranty depts. For a gtx970/980 I'd do Asus, for a r9 290/290x I'd go Sapphire, for a gtx780/780ti I'd go Evga.
A better gpu is always going to be the better option. sandybridge i5 and any high end gpu will give better performance.
If you can return that whole lot and just get one good gpu to go along with the 2500k I'd do that, BIGTIME.

That cpu at stock is fast enough to keep up to any card playing any game. amd 290's are pretty affordable these days, some places are clearing out the older 780's
 

ChriffeR

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Sep 6, 2014
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Yeah, I just went with the i7, for the whole " I have a i7 ".. Some ignorance displayed on my end haha. Anyway I'll have the extra money towards a GPU, Would you recommend a GTX 770? I'm not sure if it's even much of a bump over a 960, I could grab a GTX 970 but worried about the memory leak issue.. R9 290x's are only $315-330 here, the R9 290's are $260.
 


IDK about ignorant. I bought a xeon for hyperthreading, I game quite a bit and didn't really need the hyperthreading, but it allows for some impressive encoding speeds, that's for sure.

970 memory leak isn't something to worry about,

The 770 is a pretty great card but for the price you can do much better.

The 290 is very close to the 770 pricewise but not performance wise.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1037?vs=1068

-note I am now an nvidia fan but would much rather tell you to get a 290.
 

Dylan Young

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Nov 14, 2014
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You can get one with an aftermarket cooler like the MSI Global R9 290X GAMING 4G
 

Karadjgne

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Asus are solid. If there ever was a 'mule' Asus would be it. Gigabyte may be more of a racehorse comparatively but they are also louder and somewhat more finicky. Sapphire make the best AMD cards, EVGA makes the best nvidia cards (mostly) and no one can touch either for their service/warranty depts. For a gtx970/980 I'd do Asus, for a r9 290/290x I'd go Sapphire, for a gtx780/780ti I'd go Evga.
 
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