Upgrading from AMD Radeon HD 7700

[Chris Simmons]

Hi all,

I have just bought GTA V and now realise I need a new GPU as it is looking terrible currently.

My PC Specs are http://notes.io/YiY ( + Corsair CX 600W power supply)

Any recommendation on which card would suit? I am looking at around the £200 mark, some I have seen are:

http://bit.ly/1Egc1Z8 or http://bit.ly/1DX8eOb or other???

I am UK based and any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

 

[renz496]

290 will eat 960 alive. 290 compete more with 970. i think your PSU should be fine although Corsair CX series are not really that good.

 

[Chris Simmons]

290 will eat 960 alive. 290 compete more with 970. i think your PSU should be fine although Corsair CX series are not really that good.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Will the 290 be ok with all my other PC specs???

 

[renz496]

probably there will be bottleneck. you can OC your CPU but i'm not sure if that CX600 will be able to handle 290 and overclocked CPU. probably it can but i can't guarantee that.

 

[Chris Simmons]

probably there will be bottleneck. you can OC your CPU but i'm not sure if that CX600 will be able to handle 290 and overclocked CPU. probably it can but i can't guarantee that.

Thanks - much appreciated!

 

[sizzling]

Another problem you have is 4gb ram, you really should upgrade to 8gb.

 

[Chris Simmons]

Another problem you have is 4gb ram, you really should upgrade to 8gb.

I have 10gb of ram I think the reference to 4gb is to do with my current GPU?

 

[azzazel_99]

I would def get a gtx 970. They run ALOT cooler and use ALOT less energy so the psu you have now should be fine. Its not the best from corsair but should be good. Infact i believe the 970 is CHEAPER than the 290 by about $10-$20.

 

[azzazel_99]

Here you go for an idea on how much butter then 290 is. The 970 is actually more on par with the 290X. The 970 beats the 290 and 290X in pretty much all these tests.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/25.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/9.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/6.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/10.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/12.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/14.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/16.html

Get the strix 970 from asus for $339 with a FREE backplate AND Free game
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487076&cm_re=gtx_970-_-14-487-076-_-Product

OR

Get a regular 290 with no game and nothing special. Its cheaper but also slower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202143&cm_re=290-_-14-202-143-_-Product

 

[Chris Simmons]

Here you go for an idea on how much butter then 290 is. The 970 is actually more on par with the 290X http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/25.html

Thanks,

they look quite a bit more expensive in the UK: https://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=gtx+970

I will likely be buying from ebuyer.co.uk what would be best for around £200?

 

[Chris Simmons]

Here you go for an idea on how much butter then 290 is. The 970 is actually more on par with the 290X. The 970 beats the 290 and 290X in pretty much all these tests.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/25.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/9.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/6.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/10.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/12.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/14.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/16.html

Get the strix 970 from asus for $339 with a FREE backplate AND Free game
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487076&cm_re=gtx_970-_-14-487-076-_-Product

OR

Get a regular 290 with no game and nothing special. Its cheaper but also slower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202143&cm_re=290-_-14-202-143-_-Product

GeForce GTX 970 4GB too expensive in the UK also, I dont want to go much over £200 if I can help it.

 

[Chris Simmons]

I am still tempted by: http://www.ebuyer.com/614543-asus-r9-290-directcu-ii-4gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-r9290-dc2oc-4gd5

But just want to make sure there is nothing better for the same amount of money on that site.

Really appreciate all your help!

 

[madmatt30]

^ there is definitely nothing better at that price point in the UK mate.

Is your board the m5a99 r2??

If so consider overclocking the 6300 too mate.

The card is £7 cheaper on amazon BTW

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HOW1Q46/?tag=pcp0f-21

If you're running the stock amd CPU cooler consider adding this


http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00E5YNXWY/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1429450366&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=aidos&dpPl=1&dpID=51QXmZcqz1L&ref=plSrch

 

[madmatt30]

BTW - how is your 10gb ram made up ??
If you're running an odd number of sticks then your losing dual channel mode which impacts memory throughput.

 

[Chris Simmons]

^ there is definitely nothing better at that price point in the UK mate.

Is your board the m5a99 r2??

If so consider overclocking the 6300 too mate.

The card is £7 cheaper on amazon BTW

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HOW1Q46/?tag=pcp0f-21

If you're running the stock amd CPU cooler consider adding this


http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00E5YNXWY/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1429450366&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=aidos&dpPl=1&dpID=51QXmZcqz1L&ref=plSrch

Thanks mate,

My board is:

Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 990X Socket AM3+ 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard

Thanks for heads up on Amazon, yes I am using the stock AMD cooler so will pick up your suggestion also - I take it i would need some new heat paste stuff?

I have 2x Corsair Vengeance 4GB sticks and 2x 1gb cheapo stick from an old PC build (rubbish pic: http://i58.tinypic.com/xclpoj.jpg)


I have never overclocked before and have no idea where to start - would my PSU be ok to do that with new GPU?

Thanks for help

 

[azzazel_99]

I would remove the two odd ball 2x 1 gb sticks.

 

[Chris Simmons]

I would remove the two odd ball 2x 1 gb sticks.

OK will do - thanks

 

[Chris Simmons]

I went for it:

- Asus AMD Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC Graphics Card (4GB, GDDR5, PCI Express 3.0)
- Raijintek 0P105246
- Arctic Cooling MX-4 4g Thermal Compound

Thanks for all your help guys

 

[madmatt30]

^ good stuff mate - you didn't really need the MX 4 as the raijintek paste is good enough.
That 290 is a huge upgrade!!

As the guy above said remove those 2 x 1gb sticks - they are likely slowing down your system if anything.

Then run cpu -z & ensure you're running dual channel mode & your 4gb sticks are running the correct speed.

A la

If your ram is 1600 it should be showing frequency of 800mhz
1333=666
1866=933

 

[madmatt30]

Also when you get your new 290 GPU - use the top blue pci-express slot nearest the CPU mate.

 

[Michael Etheridge]

To want a justifiable upgrade from the 7770 that DirectX 12 will compliment. I would venture for nothing lower than a R7 260X and higher than a GTX 960. 4GB of system memory is enough as long as gaming is the only application open. Most games rely on dedicated memory on the GPU itself in which 2GB is enough for 1080p gaming.

 

[Chris Simmons]

^ good stuff mate - you didn't really need the MX 4 as the raijintek paste is good enough.
That 290 is a huge upgrade!!

As the guy above said remove those 2 x 1gb sticks - they are likely slowing down your system if anything.

Then run cpu -z & ensure you're running dual channel mode & your 4gb sticks are running the correct speed.

A la

If your ram is 1600 it should be showing frequency of 800mhz
1333=666
1866=933

Thanks agian mate - so the raijintek comes with paste?

 

[madmatt30]

^ good stuff mate - you didn't really need the MX 4 as the raijintek paste is good enough.
That 290 is a huge upgrade!!

As the guy above said remove those 2 x 1gb sticks - they are likely slowing down your system if anything.

Then run cpu -z & ensure you're running dual channel mode & your 4gb sticks are running the correct speed.

A la

If your ram is 1600 it should be showing frequency of 800mhz
1333=666
1866=933

Thanks agian mate - so the raijintek comes with paste?

yes mate,its also a decent silver based one - is it as good as the mx4?? I dont know but its very likely about the same.
if you can cancel the mx4 do so,if you cant Id use it anyway.& dont go mental with the whole lot,you want a garden pea sized blob in the centre of the cpu & dont bother spreading it.

& people will tell you to clean the cpu surface before with alcohol to which Ill say dont bother.
Just get a bank card & some tissue paper & scrape as much of the amd pink stuff off as you can with the card onto the tissue - a dull finish on the cpu before you apply the new stuff is absolutely fine.

 

[Chris Simmons]

^ good stuff mate - you didn't really need the MX 4 as the raijintek paste is good enough.
That 290 is a huge upgrade!!

As the guy above said remove those 2 x 1gb sticks - they are likely slowing down your system if anything.

Then run cpu -z & ensure you're running dual channel mode & your 4gb sticks are running the correct speed.

A la

If your ram is 1600 it should be showing frequency of 800mhz
1333=666
1866=933

Thanks agian mate - so the raijintek comes with paste?

yes mate,its also a decent silver based one - is it as good as the mx4?? I dont know but its very likely about the same.
if you can cancel the mx4 do so,if you cant Id use it anyway.& dont go mental with the whole lot,you want a garden pea sized blob in the centre of the cpu & dont bother spreading it.

& people will tell you to clean the cpu surface before with alcohol to which Ill say dont bother.
Just get a bank card & some tissue paper & scrape as much of the amd pink stuff off as you can with the card onto the tissue - a dull finish on the cpu before you apply the new stuff is absolutely fine.

Brilliant thanks mate - I have cancelled the paste order. I have the Isopropanol anyway so will use that to clean off paste.

Thanks for all your help, its very much appreciated!

 

[Chris Simmons]

^ good stuff mate - you didn't really need the MX 4 as the raijintek paste is good enough.
That 290 is a huge upgrade!!

As the guy above said remove those 2 x 1gb sticks - they are likely slowing down your system if anything.

Then run cpu -z & ensure you're running dual channel mode & your 4gb sticks are running the correct speed.

A la

If your ram is 1600 it should be showing frequency of 800mhz
1333=666
1866=933

This is what cpu-z is showing me:

This is the memory I have:

2 x Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz

Does this look correct?