Upgrade from a XFX HD-695A-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 to Nvidia GPU

[PreyTheSun]

I am currently running a XFX HD-695A-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 and it's going on 4 years old. Still runs great, but I wanted to upgrade to an Nvidia card, since I like the direction they're going in. Can anyone suggest a card of equal or better measure from Nivida that would fit into a ASUS Crosshair IB Formula AM3 AMD 890FX S from Nvidia, ? Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

I get ALL of my parts and upgrade from Newegg.com

 

[Sakkura]

A GTX]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487024]GTX 750 Ti[/url] would be a small upgrade, with very low power consumption and a reasonable price.
A GTX]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127756]GTX 660[/url] is a little faster for a little more money.
And a GTX]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745]GTX 760[/url] is much faster, the first really major upgrade over your 6950.

Of course you can go even higher, but the 760 is a good card for 1080p.

 

[PreyTheSun]

A GTX]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487024]GTX 750 Ti[/url] would be a small upgrade, with very low power consumption and a reasonable price.
A GTX]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127756]GTX 660[/url] is a little faster for a little more money.
And a GTX]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127745]GTX 760[/url] is much faster, the first really major upgrade over your 6950.

Of course you can go even higher, but the 760 is a good card for 1080p.

Okay, the GTX 760 sounds like a worthy and excellent investment to switch to Nvidia, . What company do you recommend for the GTX's? I've always liked EVGA, but are there betters ones out there? Also, if I have an AMD CPU, will that interfere with the GTX's performance/stability/drivers or functionality at all?

I have a 750W pwr supply from XFX and my CPU is from XFX as well, just with an AMD chip-set.

Thanks again, Sakkura!

 

[Sakkura]

EVGA is probably the best brand for Nvidia cards, but MSI is fine too. And that MSI GTX 760 seemed like the best deal on Newegg.

There is no problem in combining an AMD CPU with an Nvidia graphics card.

 

[PreyTheSun]

EVGA is probably the best brand for Nvidia cards, but MSI is fine too. And that MSI GTX 760 seemed like the best deal on Newegg.

There is no problem in combining an AMD CPU with an Nvidia graphics card.

You've been a big help in making my future decision much better and more solid. Thanks so much again for your help, Sakkura!! Oh and that MSI or EVGA GeForce GTX 760 will fit in the motherboard I have? "ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX S"

 

[Sakkura]

Yeah either card will fit the motherboard fine. The newer generations of cards support PCI-Express 3.0, while your motherboard only has PCI-Express 2.0 slots. But 3.0 and 2.0 is fully compatible, and 2.0 is not going to limit these cards in any way.

 

[PreyTheSun]

Yeah either card will fit the motherboard fine. The newer generations of cards support PCI-Express 3.0, while your motherboard only has PCI-Express 2.0 slots. But 3.0 and 2.0 is fully compatible, and 2.0 is not going to limit these cards in any way.

Sakkura, sorry to revisit this but I have one more question. What is the "Night & Day" difference between PCI 3.0 and 2.0? Is there any reason to fret over the fact that the new GTX 760 will be dumbed-down to 2.0 and not working at it's full capacity because of the motherboard?

Thanks again, !

 

[Sakkura]

PCIe 3.0 provides twice as much bandwidth as PCIe 2.0.

It's just that most current cards, including the GTX 760, don't need more bandwidth than PCIe 2.0 provides. So it makes pretty much no difference if the slot is 3.0 or 2.0.