New GPU for a new rig

[merlinfist]

Hello,
Love the site, should have joined a long time ago, its time to update the rig, so far I am looking at http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-134-OE

for the mother board and cpu (basically i5 3570k clocked at 4.6 with 16gib ram already got a 700watt psu and a full size case.

My question is two fold, I play the likes of skyrim, civ, strategy games and fps on a 1080p screen, using a old e6700 and a gtx460 soc gigabyte card, a lot of cpu bottle neck these days.

So I think the mobo and cpu choice is sound, but its all comes down to the gpu now.

Should I spend £300 and get the best I can (always been a nvidia child, so am a little biased) or go down the road of a mid range £150-£200. Would I see a difference between a 670 vs a 680? (now thrice fold question).

Any advice would help as I seem to be at a cross roads.

 

[bigshootr8]

The only game that is really highly demanding on a graphics card is Skyrim. In some cases those who run addons/texture packs/mods will use up video ram pretty quickly. However, in question between the 680 and the 670 I would say that there is a very small difference between the two. You will get added performance with the 680 the cuda core count is higher. At most you would see a 10 FPS increase in some areas but nothing really to warrant the extra cost for going to a 680. The better value is the 670. I would pick up a 7970 ghz edition before picking up a 680

 

[lunyone]

I'd go with a 7950 GPU for around $260ish if you have to tighten the budget, but the GTX 670 is a smarter purchase than the GTX 680, IMHO.

 

[bigshootr8]

Well he isn't looking at cards in the United States he is looking at European prices sir.

 

[popatim]

the 660Ti might be the best bang for the buck in the nvida GPU world right now.

 

[DarkSable]

^Nope. The bandwidth causes problems if he ever goes SLI or runs higher-end games on a large resolution. 670 is still where it's at.

 

[bigshootr8]

I agree if its between the 670 and the 680 I would say the 670 you get near the same performance and you save a pretty penny in the process.

 

[muppetlol]

Get the 670 since your a nvidia fanboy

 

[jessterman21]

the 660Ti might be the best bang for the buck in the nvida GPU world right now.

No, it's not - the GTX 660 is. And if you wait a week or two, one should drop to $199 or so.

Can't deny the GTX 670 is amazing, though. Even though it's a better deal than the GTX 680, it still costs too much - should be priced about $300 for the performance bump over the GTX 660.

 

[Mousemonkey]

^Nope. The bandwidth causes problems if he ever goes SLI or runs higher-end games on a large resolution. 670 is still where it's at.

Such as? I only ask because I'm running SLi'd 660Ti's and I haven't seen any problems, so what problems am I supposed to be seeing?

 

[jessterman21]

Such as? I only ask because I'm running SLi'd 660Ti's and I haven't seen any problems, so what problems am I supposed to be seeing?

+1

The only disadvantage I've seen anywhere was in Tom's review that tested the bandwidth limitations and found a larger performance dropoff when enabling 4x and especially 8x MSAA. Nvidia's incredible performance in games has completely changed my mind on the 192-bit bus issue.

 

[merlinfist]

Some good feedback here, thanks all. Think the 670 has got it for me, might wait a few weeks see if the price comes down.

 

[bigshootr8]

It could very well drop but it is unclear if because the holiday sales typically bring prices down and then they go up for a few months before dropping again because of something new or because of age.

 

[sam_p_lay]

I'd definitely vote GTX670 since you can afford it, though +1 to jester about the GTX660 being the absolute best value. In Britain, the best warranties come from EVGA - three years standard, extended to five or ten years if you register your details within 30 days of purchase. Something to keep in mind if your card dies in 8 years or something, EVGA will replace it with its future equivalent. Second best is PNY with three years and then Gigabyte with three, but from date of manufacture. Some good retailers:

scan.co.uk
dabs.com
aria.co.uk
ebuyer.com
novatech.co.uk

 

[bigshootr8]

Warranty and customer service are another thing EVGA is amazing with both as you said PNY is a bit iffy and I know for sure Gigabyte is meh! 4 week turn around on a card that goes bad no thank you! Well at least that is what its like in the states.

 

[sam_p_lay]

What's the problem with PNY? Same as Gigabyte with being slow for replacements?

 

[bigshootr8]

They gave me a hassle with a 8800gt that I had it wasn't beyond its warranty but because I had a mail in rebate with the card they wouldn't take my card back and fix it. Pretty dumb stuff I'm sure its quite possible there PR has improved since then but I wouldn't go with them. And kind of the same thing with Gigabyte only reason I have there version of the 670 is because of how highly rated it is by people. Otherwise I would of had a EVGA or ASUS Card.

 

[sam_p_lay]

So rebate voids warranty with PNY? That's messed up.

 

[bigshootr8]

I have no idea if that is still the case but that is what happened with me. I felt kicked in the go nads at the time I had switched to team RED ATi and went with a 4770 great little card. I eventually came back to Nvidia with my 2x 560 Ti's and now 670. But it just goes to show that customer service and care are very important things. ASUS I feel does a great job with there monitor support but I'm not sure with there graphic cards if they could reach out to the graphic side of things with the energy they do with there monitors they would rival EVGA but at this point EVGA Customer service numero uno.

 

[sam_p_lay]

Yeah my next card will be EVGA for that reason (including warranty). The fact that the card could die after eight years and EVGA would replace it with its 2021 equivalent is awesome.

 

[bigshootr8]

indeed sure there cards may not be the quietest may not overclock the highest or even be the coolest but you know down the line evga will have your back most deff!

 

[Mousemonkey]

indeed sure there cards may not be the quietest may not overclock the highest or even be the coolest but you know down the line evga will have your back most deff!

People used to say that about BFG until they went under, just a thought.

 

[bigshootr8]

God bringing out the super old companies Loved BFG by the way a shame what happened to them but certainly you couldn't think that of EVGA they have been around for longer and I can't see them falling under that trap. Unless companies start providing what they do best support in the graphic card market I just don't see it.

 

[sam_p_lay]

What trap? Also could you rephrase that last sentence? 🙂

 

[bigshootr8]

Well what I mean is that I don't see them going under because they position themselves quite well for consumers to purchase there products it became harder for BFG to become profitable in the end. Basically I'm saying that if companies like asus who have a service called ARR which means when your monitor goes bad they will replace it you send it in and as you send it in they send you one back that would be better then what EVGA does or what viewsonic used to do with there monitors they would send you a new one and when you got the new one you put the old one in the box and sent it back for free if I'm not mistaken. I'm saying that because companies have yet to match them in terms of service they will be around for a long time going forward.