Should I keep My GTX 970?

[IInuyasha74]

Hello Everyone,

Recently I decided to upgrade my system with a faster graphics card, replacing my older AMD Radeon GTX 7850. I purchased a used GTX 780, which increased my performance in games, but no where near what it should have. Thinking the card was damaged, I sent it to EVGA under warranty and was given a GTX 970 in return. Excellent boost in performance right? Well, I tested this card to and found the performance didn't increase at all.

Eventually, I found out the PCI-E controller inside of my i7-3770k was damaged and would only operate in an PCI-E 3.0 x4 connection. Because the thermal paste I used on the top of the CPU left the markings illegible, Intel decided that the CPU was physically damaged refused to replace it under warranty.

So now I need to decide what to do with my system. I can't afford to build a new system just now or buy a new CPU to resolve the issue. I can keep the GTX 970, but currently its performance is capped at around that of a GTX 680 at best. Or, I can sell the GPU, get all my money back out of it and go back to using my AMD Radeon 7850.

What do you think?

 

[Reaper_7799]

Sell it and go back to the 7850, if you're capped at 4x there's no point in keeping it if it produces the same performance. Use the money towards a new cpu. I would really try to fight that with intel too, how old is the chip?

 

[IInuyasha74]

Well I did consider selling off my CPU and motherboard:

CPU: i7-3770k
GPU: Asus P8Z77-V Pro

and then going for a new system, but this i7 still outperforms all of the Core i5 CPUs on the market, and basically just falls a small performance drop behind the Haswell Core i7-4790k after overclocking. The CPU works perfectly fine out side of the PCI-E controller, so it still has a lot to offer outside of high-end gaming. The sad thing is that you can buy these CPUs now for about $150 on Ebay, and financially it just doesn't work out to a happy ending. I've only had the thing for a little over 2 years now.

I'm trying to argue with Intel but I got a feeling they are going to use this as an excuse not to. They probably figure if they don't fix it for me I'll be forced to go buy a new system, but sinking at least $400 into a new CPU and motherboard just doesn't sound appealing with my hardware only being 2 years old.

 

[Reaper_7799]

No doubt, that's a shame, sorry to hear. I would be all over their azz though if I were in your position and it really wasn't you that caused the damage and they are trying to say that you did. But that's just me and it may not work regardless, after all it is up to them in the end whether they honor it or not but that would leave a bad taste in my mouth as well.

You could always keep the 970 and save up for another 3770K cause they are still strong chips, I know it sucks having to dish out another $150 but that i7 will still stay strong for a number of years with a 970 and even a higher end card in the long run. It would at least be less than springing for new mb and chip.

 

[IInuyasha74]

Well you know that is worth considering. $150 isn't terrible, and I actually have all the spare parts I need to build a second computer. Including a spare 4 GB of DDR3, another Z77 motherboard, a capable power supply (though, granted, a low-quality one), spare case, spare hard drives, etc. etc.

I hadn't bothered looking for another processor because I have an ultra-low end Celeron G530 I planned to put in it, but figured no one really needs that computer right now, so it is in pieces. If I bought a replacement i7-3770k to fix this situation, I could toss this one into that system and essentially have another high-end computer forever (because really, when will this not be fast enough for office work, web browsing, watching videos, etc.? Never.)

That is actually probably the best idea of what to do here, and one I hadn't considered really. Thanks.

 

[Reaper_7799]

No problem, that's probably the route I'd take if they really wont end up honoring RMA for your chip. The other comp that doesn't need it for graphics will probably last you ten years lol.