Need Help Picking a good GPU

[alleriaq]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week (the closer the better) BUDGET RANGE: about $340

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming Playing Starcraft 2, Dota 2 and League of Legends Mainly occasionally GW2 and Skyrim

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: my GPU is so outdated its not even worth mentioning, PSU 700W (new)

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: MOBO: ASRock G31M-S
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 8200
RAM: 4gb (not sure what brand)
Planning to eventually get newer components when i have the $$$

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Centrecom, Australia

PARTS PREFERENCES: Any Reliable brand/Card

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: whats SLI and whats Crossfire...

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440x900 i may be getting a new monitor soon with higher RES

 

[bigshootr8]

What you end up with is a car going 100 miles an hour with no brakes it will hit a wall eventually. Basically what you end up with is a bottleneck something that holds you back because of your CPU's deficiency which is why I suggested something middle line because the higher end cards will need more CPU power to really boast there power.

 

[alleriaq]

how much would a CPU be? (one that would be suitable)

 

[bigshootr8]

Well i5's normally hover around 200-230 for the unlocked ones. And the lowest I've seen for the lower ones being around 170-180. The unlocked ones being more powerful of course. And you need to factor in motherboard cost I would say in the ballpark of 130 dollars plus ram 40 dollars for 8 gigs of memory. So given the higher cost of CPU 230 it comes to around 400 dollars for a system overhaul at the moment. Keep in mind this being in the states it costs a lot for components down under I hear you would also want a power supply so closer towards 500 I suppose then.

 

[alleriaq]

isnt a 700W psu enough?

 

[bigshootr8]

It should be yes I would say you would be fine with that so you could subtract that which power supply do you currently have?

 

[alleriaq]

Thermaltake TR2 Bronze 700W

 

[ASHISH65]

More than enough.

 

[bigshootr8]

I've heard bad things about Thermaltake TR2's but you seem to be doing okay. And yea it supplies enough power.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153129

 

[MANOFKRYPTONAK]

IF I were you I would start saving for a whole new PC. An i5 with a z77 mobo, 7970 8 gigs of ram dont need a new gpu or a new case. All together about 750 and that should game for a long while. and youre half way there!

 

[bigshootr8]

You need to keep in mind that he lives in Australia and things are mad expensive down there. I would upgrade as well yes but when hes ready hes ready I would upgrade within the next year and a half with the current setup he has.

 

[alleriaq]

im planning to get the GPU now and upgrade the rest of the parts later since my gpu is pretty much had it. its extremely loud.

 

[bigshootr8]

Of course which may be due to heat a lot of modern graphic cards have sensors that will turn up the fan speed as the temps rise. You could use something like afterburner to monitor this and to change speeds of the fan.

 

[pit_1209]

im planning to get the GPU now and upgrade the rest of the parts later since my gpu is pretty much had it. its extremely loud.

Rigth now your cpu will be a bottleneck but as you have stated earlier you will upgrade all of your build later so I didn´t complaint and the best part to upgrade in the first place is the gpu if you got a good PSu.