Push me off the fence

[revaew]

I am looking to upgrade my GPU. I am looking to buy pretty much asap, with a flexible budget of ~$400. I want what ever will give me the best results for my habits. I pretty much only use my desktop to game. Everything else I use my laptop/phone/tablet.

I play mostly BF3, crysis 3, skyrim, ARMA, etc, and I want the best performance I can get for my budget. I can't say I am content playing games on anything less than at least high. I wish I could enjoy myself playing at lower settings but alas, I cannot. Therefore I want something that will let me max out games at 1920×1080. Right now I have an HD 7770 and I really want "up my game" if you will.

I have looked at/read many things on this site and others but I have gotten differing results. I read the GPU hierarchy chart and look at many many many different benchmarks. some benchmarks have the GTX670 above the HD 7970 GHz edition while others have the 7970 higher than the GTX680 in 90% of games. I have read that the GTX670 and the 7970 have basically the same performance. My goal is that I can play on max settings with around 60 FPS targeted, and the different benchmarks are almost counter intuitive.

I realize that all of these cards I am talking about are very close in performance. That extra 7% perforcmance matters to me a bit, especially if the price is right (example: $100 for 5% and/or going from 55FPS to 62FPS increase isn't really worth it). Also, I am very divided on the issue of AMD vs Nvidia as far as the whole PhysX is concerned. On one hand, maybe 5 games I would actually play use it, but on the other I have read that in the future it will really start getting implemented heavily. so there lies my biggest concern partially. Assuming the GTX 670 was less powerful than the 7970 would it be worth paying the same amount, for less power, but gain the PhysX? Or does PhysX not matter that much like I am inclined to believe given that it is in like 3 games?

As far as longevity is concerned, I am not really planning on keeping this specific GPU for more than 2 years. I might end up getting a second card to SLI/CFX a few months down the road depending on what my gameplay is like. But I do have the reservations as far as stuttering is concerned when using dual GPU's, so I am also taking this into consideration. Also, AMD cards come with 2 free games that I was planning on buying anyway, so that puts things into Nvidia's court to try and woo me =)


My system specs are:

AMD-FX8150
16 gb Coirsar RAM
HD 7770
Coirsair 750tx PSU
Gigabyte 970

( i also am contemplating upgrading to an ASrock extreme 4 and an i5-3570k to get into overclocking and such)

 

[4745454b]

I don't see a lot of games using GPU accelerated PhysX. If it was going to take off it would have already. Remember that AMD got the 7 series a great driver update so any review that shows the GTX670 close to the 7970 is probably using the older drivers. Overall I would get the 7970 if you can. Can top the GTX680 while costing less. 670 isn't a bad card but if you can afford the 7970 why bother?

 

[bigcyco1]

Buying Considerations

Like most tech products, graphics cards are segmented by price. Expensive cards tend to be more capable; and less expensive ones usually offer lower performance, consume less power, and are smaller in size (and so fit into a greater range of PC cases).

$400 and Up

The highest-priced cards deliver the strongest graphics performance, but they're also more power hungry. Both Nvidia and AMD have released a new generation of GPUs that are more power-efficient than their predecessors, but you'll still want a good 550-watt power supply to run these types of cards. At the extreme high end are dual-GPU cards, such as Nvidia's GTX 690. You can expect to spend close to $1000 for one of these.

One Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970GHz should be able to run most games at high frame rates on 1080p monitors with settings at very high. Some games may show frame rate stuttering at ultra detail levels, so you'll need to test each game. If you have a high-end, 30-inch display running at 2560 by 1600, you'll need to manage your detail settings more carefully, unless you have a dual-GPU card, like the GTX 690, or are willing to install two discrete graphics cards.


$300 to $375

Cards in this category include the Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 and the AMD Radeon HD 7950. They offer performance that is nearly as good as that of the high-end models, but at a more modest price. If you stick with a 1080p or 1920 by 1200 display with one of these cards, you should be in good shape.
$200 to $300

At this level you may have to start making some sacrifices in detail settings. For GPUs such as the AMD Radeon HD 7850/7870, that means running at "high" rather than at "very high" detail level, and it almost certainly means disabling antialiasing.

 

[clutchc]

If you've researched as much as you say, then you are probably aware that some games are tuned to play better with Nvidia, some better with AMD. At the high end you are looking at, it really comes down to a personal choice. I have put together quite a few builds for others with both brands and have never noticed PhysX (or the lack thereof) making any difference. But maybe I'm just not observant enough. If you are considering dual cards in the future, I would give the edge slightly to Nvidia. That, and I prefer their control panel to CCC. Again, just a personal preference.

As far as micro-stutter, with those high end cards, it shouldn't rear its ugly head very often if at all. I used to have a coulpe mid-range AMDs that would display M-S in certain games. But my 2 x GTX 570s have never displayed any M-S that I could notice. Again, some folks are more sensitive to M-S than others.

 

[revaew]

If you've researched as much as you say, then you are probably aware that some games are tuned to play better with Nvidia, some better with AMD. At the high end you are looking at, it really comes down to a personal choice. I have put together quite a few builds for others with both brands and have never noticed PhysX (or the lack thereof) making any difference. But maybe I'm just not observant enough. If you are considering dual cards in the future, I would give the edge slightly to Nvidia. That, and I prefer their control panel to CCC. Again, just a personal preference.

As far as micro-stutter, with those high end cards, it shouldn't rear its ugly head very often if at all. I used to have a coulpe mid-range AMDs that would display M-S in certain games. But my 2 x GTX 570s have never displayed any M-S that I could notice. Again, some folks are more sensitive to M-S than others.

I am aware that some games are tuned better for certain brands. That being said, I am trying to move away from Consoles and play purely on PC, so I was looking at an over-arching theme per se.

I don't see a lot of games using GPU accelerated PhysX. If it was going to take off it would have already. Remember that AMD got the 7 series a great driver update so any review that shows the GTX670 close to the 7970 is probably using the older drivers. Overall I would get the 7970 if you can. Can top the GTX680 while costing less. 670 isn't a bad card but if you can afford the 7970 why bother?

If what you say about the drivers is true, then that helps me out greatly. I think you might be right about PhysX, I just have a bad habit of wanting everything at the same time unfortunately.

 

[clutchc]

I am trying to move away from Consoles and play purely on PC, so I was looking at an over-arching theme per se.

Man, you don't need that huge of a card to upgrade from console graphics 😉
That will be like going from a Scion IQ to a Porsche.

 

[revaew]

Man, you don't need that huge of a card to upgrade from console graphics 😉
That will be like going from a Scion IQ to a Porsche.

I realize this Haha. But the reason I want to leave console space is because I want to be able to have said Porsche. But it is no fun to own a Porsche but keep it in your garage, you need to drive it around and go really fast =)


Also, looking at the 7970, I can't really tell a difference between these 2 cards? Both in the price range I'm looking at, but i don't see why one is and extra $30

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150586

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413



thanks

 

[4745454b]

The XFX DD card has higher clocks on the memory. I would get the Gigabyte one as the cooler looks big and might overclock higher. Might want to double check that however before you buy.

 

[Soda-88]

I'd get 7950 or 7970, then sell the 7770 and the CPU and buy the 8350.

 

[revaew]

The XFX DD card has higher clocks on the memory. I would get the Gigabyte one as the cooler looks big and might overclock higher. Might want to double check that however before you buy.

Doesn't Gigabyte lock the voltage or something? I am very interested in overclocking so this could be a problem i assume. This thread seems to imply that voltages are indeed locked.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/387687-33-overclock-gigabyte-7970-display-drivers-crash

 

[bigcyco1]

The 7970 i would buy is the Sapphire 7970 Vapor-X 3GB Version.

 

[revaew]

The 7970 i would buy is the Sapphire 7970 Vapor-X 3GB Version.

Thats on the very upper tier of my price range. plus its out of stock and I am looking to upgrade sooner rather than later.

 

[bigcyco1]

Thats on the very upper tier of my price range. plus its out of stock and I am looking to upgrade sooner rather than later.

Yeah it's always out of stock it will be restocked soon. You could always get a 7950 or GTX 670 😉

 

[revaew]

Yeah it's always out of stock it will be restocked soon. You could always get a 7950 or GTX 670 😉

If i am paying the 400 for a 670, I might as well pay 400 for a 7970 and get the free games. Is it true that gigabyte locks voltages though? The gigabyte windforce one seems decent.

 

[bigcyco1]

If i am paying the 400 for a 670, I might as well pay 400 for a 7970 and get the free games. Is it true that gigabyte locks voltages though? The gigabyte windforce one seems decent.

The voltage was locked on my friends gigabyte 7970 so i think they do lock it. 🙁 it's still a decent card though.

 

[revaew]

The voltage was locked on my friends gigabyte 7970 so i think they do lock it. 🙁 it's still a decent card though.

The fact that it has a locked voltage is kind of disappointing. I'm thinking It might just be beter to get the XFX one. It's a shame to waste such a cooler on the Gigabyte card =/

 

[4745454b]

Your telling me. Whats the point of using a cooler like that if you won't allow OCing. Or limited OCing. I could buy one as I'm not an OCer but if you wanted to do it you'd want a card that allows voltage control.