Upgrading from Radeon HD 6850 to EVGA GTX 970...what to expect?

[Matter2003]

Getting ready to upgrade to a GTX 970(model with the 1216 MHz core clock) from a Radeon HD 6850...how much firepower should I expect to add?

I know it depends on my other components as well...

Running with an i7-2600K overclocked to 4.3Ghz, which increases its Passmark score by about 2,000 over standard clock, scoring just below a stock i7-6700K processor...which tells me I still have a pretty strong CPU...

Memory is 8 GB of Ripjaws 1600 G.Skill...I have an additional 8 GB of the same memory I could install but haven't yet as it doesn't seem necessary...

MB is an ASUS P-877-V which I got because my AS-Rock boards kept needing to be replaced every 3-4 months(went through 4 boards in under a year...will never buy an AS-Rock product again)...never had a single issue with this board...

Cooled with a Tuniq Tower 120 extreme...

Also just replaced my old 19" Hyundai B90 8ms monitor which had a max resolution of 1280x1024 with a 24" LG 5ms monitor with max resolution of 1920x1080...

Should I be able to play pretty much every game in max/ultra settings?

 

[coozie7]

Yes.

Couple of extra points:
The GTX970 likes good, clean power, if the installed power supply is getting on a bit, consider changing it as well, no need to go overboard, 600 Watts from a good maker/series will be more than enough, if the case is a little cramped, a modular unit will keep the wiring clutter to a minimum and help airflow.
If the memory is available, drop it in, you won't do any harm and if you often have several programs open at once it'll make the system a little more responsive.
Before adding the GTX970, update the motherboard BIOS, some older 'boards don't like these new fangled parts. 😉
When swapping from AMD/ATI to Nvidia, it's a good idea to use something like Display Driver Uninstaller in Safe Mode to fully
clear out the old drivers/software before installing the latest WHQL drivers directly from the Nvidia website.

 

[Matter2003]

Yes.

Couple of extra points:
The GTX970 likes good, clean power, if the installed power supply is getting on a bit, consider changing it as well, no need to go overboard, 600 Watts from a good maker/series will be more than enough, if the case is a little cramped, a modular unit will keep the wiring clutter to a minimum and help airflow.
If the memory is available, drop it in, you won't do any harm and if you often have several programs open at once it'll make the system a little more responsive.
Before adding the GTX970, update the motherboard BIOS, some older 'boards don't like these new fangled parts. 😉
When swapping from AMD/ATI to Nvidia, it's a good idea to use something like Display Driver Uninstaller in Safe Mode to fully
clear out the old drivers/software before installing the latest WHQL drivers directly from the Nvidia website.

Thanks for the reply....will definitely use that to uninstall old drivers...and will check the BIOS for updates.

I'll stick the memory in also.

For the power supply I have a relatively new OCZ 500W PSU...from what I am seeing it appears the GTX 970 actually pulls less power than the 6850..(108W versus 131W) but I will keep an eye on that...if need be I can upgrade the PSU again....

 

[Reodoc]

HI Matter,

I am curious as to how you got along installing your GTX 970.

I just ordered an MSI GTX 970 which will be replacing my 2 AMD 6950s.

I'm hoping for a clean swap =)

C.