Question looking to replace my 2x AMD radeon HD6770 crossfire cards

[MCasteel]

i am starting to have some trouble with newer games and my current graphics cards (2x amd radeon hd6770 crossfires) and just want to make sure to choose a new card or cards that are compatible with my current system.
looking to spend $100 to $300 hopefully.
my system specs are listed below...
computer: Model : SYX-P8Z68-VLE
Chassis : Desktop
Mainboard : SYX-P8Z68-V LE
BIOS : AMI (OEM) 9901 02/28/2012
Total Memory : 16GB DIMM DDR3
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz (4C 8T 3.81GHz, 3.8GHz IMC, 4x 256kB L2, 8MB L3)
Memory Controller : ASUS Core (Sandy Bridge) DRAM Controller 100MHz, 2x 8GB DIMM DDR3 1.6GHz/1.33GHz 128-bit
Video System:
Monitor/Panel : ACI VE247 (1920x1080, 24.0")
Video Adapter : 2x AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series (SM5.0 850MHz, 2GB DDR5 4.8GHz 128-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)
Graphics Processor:
Compute Shader Processor : 2x AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series (850MHz, 2GB DDR5 4.8GHz 128-bit)

Operating System:
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

also what are your thoughts on keeping crossfire / sli? or going to a single graphics card?

 

[Chrushop]

Wooeeee you're old school my friend. you want the best single GPU you can afford

 

[sizzling]

A 1060/580 or better if in budget will be a huge upgrade. However if your psu is as old as the rest of the system you may want to consider upgrading that too. While a single gpu will take much less power than your current setup a 8-10 year old psu is well past its prime and if it did fail could damage other parts including your new psu.

 

[Chrushop]

was just in a game sorry, I'm guessing you're after something secondhand? I cant speak to your region, but you might want to switch over to Nvidia 960 series or better if possible, otherwise try and nab a Radeon 570. I'm guessing you're only after 1080p high graphics, 60fps+, so shouldn't be too hard to sort that I strongly suggest ditching any thoughts of crossfire / dual gpu set-ups, i.e. 2 x 7870s, 7950s won't give you good results. Don't bother buying a single 7970 either, it's just too old at this point

 

[MCasteel]

thanks for the tips and advise guys. the particular game that has started my problems is "Battletech", and while my setup seems to run the game, the gpu's get pretty hot, like 60 to 87 degrees C and they heat up pretty quickly with this game, also it has started randomly freezing up for several seconds then goes to black screen, and you have to kill it with task mgr or reboot. but just was advised today by the games dev help desk that they advise a min gpu of Radeon HD 5870 or better. so now my follow up question would be what Nvidia card would be equal or better? as im going to try and find something as best i can afford, but it needs to work with my pcie 2.0 x16 slots on my main board...

 

[mdd1963]

a 1060 (6 GB) is a fine card, I've used mine two years and loved it every minute....

The 2600K today only roughly matches an R3/1200 in gaming performance, so, potential frame rates could be cut in half if using newest /best GPUS. (i.e., 60 fps compared to 120 fps) Not the same thing as 'unplayable' as many 2600K owners still know.

 

[MCasteel]

what about brand / mfg's? which ones have a good reputation now days? my old gpu cards were made by XFX / pine studios, and it seems they are low tier now? maybe they always were...

 

[MCasteel]

Wooeeee you're old school AF my friend. you want the best single GPU you can afford

FYI, yeah i got my system around 2011-2012 ish? spent about 4k then, i was trying to get as good a system as i could afford at the time and that would last me as long as possible and be upgradable.
just so yall will know, im disabled due to several medical conditions and my computer is one of my coping mechanism's, when im feeling bad (most of the time) i bury my head in my computer games so that i dont dwell on the pain, and it helps alot. but that being said i am in no position to spend that kind of money again, as that was back pay from my SS settlement. anyways i need to keep my current rig going as long as possible with upgrading separate parts, eg new gpu etc.
sorry i get long winded sometimes, thanks for all the tips and info again

 

[UltraCloud]

I built mine around the same timeframe with 2600k and hd 6970 gpu, OS on 128gb ssd, 16gb ram 850w psu. Recently decided it was time for a stopgap upgrade until next build (probably when ryzen 3 comes out in summer, depending) So I got a used sapphire rx580 off ebay for $150, a 32in 1440p 75hz freesync isp monitor for $250, and a crucial mx500 500gb ssd for $30 (after $50 instant rebate) and upped the slight OC on the 2600k from 3.8 to 4.3. Overall its quite a nice upgrade and my reasoning was all of the things purchased will be carried over to the next system (I'll upgrade the gpu eventually, the monitor is so much nicer than my old 23" TN one though took some getting used to because its HUGE, the colors on isp panel are so much more vivid its really noticeable in everday use, and it would be cpu bound for now if I bought a 144hz anyway).

The ssd for temp games, never noticed a loading problem on 1tb hdd for games until getting warhammer 2 a month ago, the loading times rendered it basically unplayable to me, around 2-5 minutes to starting map, and 1-2 minutes per battle. The ssd solved all of this, its about 10-20 seconds at most now.

$400+ is a little over your stated range, however, I'd say to seriously consider a new monitor with a graphic upgrade in tandem if you can find an affordable solution because the visual difference will be that much more noticeable, and freesync is pretty nice too. (or g-sync if you go nvidia but then the monitor price goes way up)

A 1060/580 or better if in budget will be a huge upgrade. However if your psu is as old as the rest of the system you may want to consider upgrading that too. While a single gpu will take much less power than your current setup a 8-10 year old psu is well past its prime and if it did fail could damage other parts including your new psu.

It's been working like a champ for years but now I'm having doubts about the longevity considering your remarks about psus only lasting 8-10 years. Is my system at serious risk unless I replace the psu immediately? I really don't want to throw anymore money into this build hoping it lasts until the next. My psu is corsair HX850w if it matters. As for bad psu damaging other parts, thats what happened with my first comp the psu died and took out the mb, all the drives, RAM, the only thing salvagable was the gpu I think..

 

[Chrushop]

If you're asking what Nvidia card can take on a Radeon HD 5870 - then you could grab a 1050ti - a 1080p medium/high settings budget GPU, you can even get the tricked out ASUS Strix version for an absolute steal and it will blow an HD 5870 completely out of the water. Brand new and really cheap

A friend of mine is running an AMD tri-core CPU thing with a 1050ti and playing GTA V on it, enjoying himself plenty before people start saying you need a 6GB video card, of course your CPU can handle a bigger badder GPU and a GTX 1160TI would be your dream card I imagine

 

[sizzling]

It’s a good quality psu but psu components do deteriorate with age and usage. While it’s probably still ok it is impossible to know how much life is left in it. Personally at 8-10 I just think it’s safer to retire the psu.

 

[richk1853]

OP you still have a capable gaming PC besides those ancient GPUs. Look on the used market. Plenty of RX 580s/1060s for the cheap thanks to the Bitcoin crash. Once you hit gtx 1070 territory things get pricey.
Heck I just grabbed yesterday a 4gb RX 570 for $75 USD for one of my PC builds, it's similar to a GTX 1060 3gb in performance.

 

[UltraCloud]

It’s a good quality psu but psu components do deteriorate with age and usage. While it’s probably still ok it is impossible to know how much life is left in it. Personally at 8-10 I just think it’s safer to retire the psu.

OK thanks for the advice I think I'll risk a few more months since I'll be doing a new build soon but its good to know about life expectancy of psu being less than a decade

 

[MCasteel]

ok cool, so much good info guys! Thanks again
i found an Geforce GTX 1050Ti 4GB ROG Strix OC Edition that i can afford, think im going with it

 

[richk1853]

ok cool, so much good info guys! Thanks again
i found an Geforce GTX 1050Ti 4GB ROG Strix OC Edition that i can afford, think im going with it

lol your PC is basically an older but still fast Ferrari that refuses to shift past 2nd gear because of those ancient 6670's lol