Question about upgrading Radeon HD 6970

[fslateef]

Hi,

I built a gaming PC long long time ago and then stopped playing for around 3+ years. Now I am thinking about playing games on PC again.

Fired-up my dusty PC and thinking that Radeon HD 6970 won't be enough now to play latest games on 1080p resolution with reasonable graphics. Is that assumption true? Or this card is still good enough?

Also if I somehow buy another 6970 HD and use crossfire then it that will be good? Don't have much budget to spend currently. Though I am concern about my 775W power-supply as that might be just enough to support 2 6970s.

So is there any other graphics card option where I replace my existing 6970 HD with something much better for latest games (but not costly; looking to spend less than 80 GBP ideally).

And is my current PC configuration besides Graphics will be enough for new games? As I am coming back to PC gaming after a long time so very rusty about this knowledge.

My PC config is: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T (overclocked using air cooling); 8 GB DDR3 (1600MHz CL7); 256GB M4 SSD; Gigabyte FX motherboard with 2 graphics support; 775W power-supply.

Please suggest me what to upgrade to OR is that ok setup and good enough still?

Thanks

 

[Faux_Grey]

Hi, it should be alright to play most games on low settings.
CPU is quite dated.. but the 6 cores will help out.

Wouldn't bother with crossfire at all.


I'd give it a try, but depending on the games you want to play and what resolution your screen is, you might need a new system.

Both your CPU and GPU are 6+ years old.

The Phenom X6 scores a similar 3Dmark performance to a Pentium G4400.

The 6970 scores a similar 3Dmark performance of a GTX-750.

 

[herrwizo]

If 80 GBP is your upgrade limit, then stick with 6970, as nothing in that price range can't touch it in terms of performance. The card is still viable for 1080p gaming, as long as you are willing to lower the details to medium in most cases.

I would advise against Crossfire - uses way too much power, generates too much heat and causes microstuttering in games. If you need a real upgrade, the lowest I would go is Radeon RX470 - or even better RX480 or Nvidia GTX 1060. But they cost way more - RX470 starts at 170 GBP. RX480 starts at 200, and Nvidia 1060 starts at 190 GBP for 3GB, and 230 GBP for 6GB version (3GB would be perfectly fine for 1080p).

 

[RobCrezz]

A graphics card upgrade will allow you to play most things at a decent level, but your CPU will limit it to the mid range.

 

[fslateef]

Hi, it should be alright to play most games on low settings.
CPU is quite dated.. but the 6 cores will help out.

Wouldn't bother with crossfire at all.


I'd give it a try, but depending on the games you want to play and what resolution your screen is, you might need a new system.

Both your CPU and GPU are 6+ years old.

The Phenom X6 scores a similar 3Dmark performance to a Pentium G4400.

The 6970 scores a similar 3Dmark performance of a GTX-750.

My processor is Phenom II X6 (not first generation Phenom), is that will be good enough then?

 

[fslateef]

Also I am thinking about Radeon HD 7970 which is around 85GBP used. But seems like that won't help unless I upgrade my CPU?

BTW its phenom II X6 (not Phenom).

 

[herrwizo]

7970 is an excellent idea, in fact. A very decent upgrade. And yes, it will help, a lot. More than CPU upgrade, in any case.

 

[fslateef]

7970 is an excellent idea, in fact. A very decent upgrade. And yes, it will help, a lot. More than CPU upgrade, in any case.

Thanks for clarification.

And is HD 7970 - DX12 card? Or there is no such issue of using DX11 card for latest game needed later DX versions?

 

[herrwizo]

7970 supports DX12 according to AMD, all you need is the latest drivers. But don't worry over that - DX11 will stay with us for quite some time.

 

[cdrkf]

7970 is dx12 capable. Hd6970 is not. Currently all dx12 also have dx11 mode so shouldn't be a problem on your current card, but moving forward dx12 only games are likely to become a thing, in which case they won't work on your current card.

Also, hd6000 series cards no longer get driver updates which could cause you issues with new games. I think the 7970 would be a great upgrade for 80 quid.

One final thing, a phenom II x6 is still a capable gaming processor. A friend of mine is running star citizen (a very demanding, in development space game which hammers hardware) on a 1055t without issue (yes there are faster options but the difference isn't huge, the gpu is more important usually).

 

[simon12]

I recently upgraded my 6950 to a 7970 (just because my brother won 2 on ebay) and it gave a great boot to gaming performance which I didn't expect as I thought my Phenom II x4 would hold everything back. For example fallout for went from barely playable on any settings to runs very well on high with occasional lags.

 

[fslateef]

I recently upgraded my 6950 to a 7970 (just because my brother won 2 on ebay) and it gave a great boot to gaming performance which I didn't expect as I thought my Phenom II x4 would hold everything back. For example fallout for went from barely playable on any settings to runs very well on high with occasional lags.

Thanks for the feedback

 

[fslateef]

Just an update: I bought a used R9 280X 3GB (which I think is bit better than normal 7970 HD as its the GHz version, right?)

Hopefully this will give me the boost I needed now. Going to buy stream subscription now

Thanks

 

[cdrkf]

Just an update: I bought a used R9 280X 3GB (which I think is bit better than normal 7970 HD as its the GHz version, right?)

Hopefully this will give me the boost I needed now. Going to buy stream subscription now

Thanks

The 280X is pretty similar to the 7970 GHZ, and both are a tad faster than the original 7970. I game on a 280 (no X- essentially a 7950 boost) and it handles everything I throw at it a 1080p on medium to high settings. That's with an FX8320 cpu (which I'd guess is similar performance in games to that Phenom II you've got).

Let us know how you get on

 

[fslateef]

Just an update: I bought a used R9 280X 3GB (which I think is bit better than normal 7970 HD as its the GHz version, right?)

Hopefully this will give me the boost I needed now. Going to buy stream subscription now

Thanks

The 280X is pretty similar to the 7970 GHZ, and both are a tad faster than the original 7970. I game on a 280 (no X- essentially a 7950 boost) and it handles everything I throw at it a 1080p on medium to high settings. That's with an FX8320 cpu (which I'd guess is similar performance in games to that Phenom II you've got).

Let us know how you get on

Thanks for giving me more satisfaction. Now on to getting games (downloads); though found out after buying that in 60 GBP around more from what I spent on R9 280X ... I could have gotten 290X (so a bit disheartened but then also other hand thinks that after that going over budget for 290X then might be again 50 to 60 more, I could get any other better card ...

So seems like its all good then with 280X purchase. As next upgrade whenever I do (probably after more than 1 to 2 years) I would have to buy new CPU/Motherboard then Graphics

 

[RobCrezz]

If it makes you feel better, your Phenom II would probably have held back the performance of the 290x, so you may not have seen much difference. Plus most of the 290x's run very hot and loud.

 

[fslateef]

If it makes you feel better, your Phenom II would probably have held back the performance of the 290x, so you may not have seen much difference. Plus most of the 290x's run very hot and loud.

Good to know. Now I can fully relax As PC is not an option for me to upgrade currently.