Upgrading PC for Witcher 3

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hedshotx

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Jan 30, 2012
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So as the title says, I'm looking to upgrade my PC for the first time after building it in early 2012. After all, 3 years is a decent enough amount of time to upgrade some parts right? My main goal is to be able to play Witcher 3 in 1080p with pretty maxed settings (AA discrepant), and be a fairly future proof card. I have a good ol 2GB Radeon 6950 that honestly still handles things alright in the upper Mid-High Range, but it's just starting to get its butt kicked. Been doing some Skyrim Mods and with ENB / Ultra Textures / 1080+P, I can hardly handle 25fps at the moment. What is the best bang for your buck card that can handle Witcher 3 right now? I know the rec specs say a GTX 770 or R9 290 but what do you guys think? I know that Nvidia cards have some extra features for certain games, witcher 3 being one of them with the hair effects etc, but I also know that the card isn't an actual 4GB card and I'v heard that the .5 VRAm allocation ends up making some games stutter. But then other websites say it does better than the 290. I know there is also the GTX 970 and the 290x, and I just don't really know what to go for. 300$ is my absolutely threshhold, though I honestly would rather stay around 250.

Two more things: I know Nvidia is doing the Witcher 3 promotion that gets you the free game download with GPUs, so that would be a plus. Also, with the 300 series cards coming out within the next month or so, would it be better to wait til they release so that current card prices drop? Or will the prices not really change with the release?

Can also sell my 6950 for hopefully 50 or 60 bucks so that would help alleviate the cost.

Current specs:

AsRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
I5 2500k OC'd to 3.8mhz
2Gb AMD Radeon 6950
8GB GSKill RipJaws X Series DDR3 1600
OCZ ZS 750W
Rosewill Challenger U3 Mid Tower
 
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When the R9 3xx series release, I predict that Nvidia will release the GTX 980 ti, so there won't be a significant price drop. Plus, the Witcher 3 will be optimized for Nvidia GPUs so if you can, I would recommend the GTX 970. Thats a bit out of your budget, but you can alleviate the cost by selling that RADEON 6950. Plus it wont be a bottleneck and will boost your performance by quite a bit.

Newegg is offering this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127832&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
 
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Yeah you guys are pretty much on the same page as I am. I guess what was really dissuading me from the 970 is A. the 3.5 GB over the 4GB of the 290 / 290x, and B. Different sites seem to contradict each other as to whether the 970 or 290x is a stronger card. Most seem to say the 290x is stronger but runs hot.

Do you guys still think the 970 is a better card to go for than the 290x? The 980 does look sweet but thats like another $100 :/
 
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At 1080, the 970 is the faster card. You should only look at the 290X if you are playing at lot higher then 1080. Even at eyefinity 1080 the stock 970 is only 3% slower then the 290X, and that's with the memory "issue". Considering the better thermal and power profile of the 970, it's the better card as long as the prices are similar.
 
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Would you consider 1440p a lot higher? And have you guys heard of the stuttering problem I mentioned earlier in reference to the 970? Idk if thats widespread or even if its true.

Lastly, do you think the 970 is the best bang for your buck when it comes to GPU's right now? I know GPU's have a tendency to dramatically jump in price as you move up tiers in terms of power. Is this a good card to pick as far as cost goes or do you think that its not worth the extra money over say a cheaper 960 or 280x etc
 
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I've read reviews on Newegg that the GTX 970 tends to stutter while playing 1440p while others have said that it will not. I've also read that if you use the displayport then there will not be any stuttering. The GTX 970 is absolutely the best bang for the buck right now, on par with the R9 290x plus it is cheaper.

The GTX 970 will offer almost twice as much performance than the GTX 960: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-970-vs-GeForce-GTX-960
 
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Gotcha. 970 it sounds then. Hopefully that will allow Geralt's luscious locks to flow in Tressfx 😛.

You guys don't think card prices will drop tho when their successors launch over the next month though?
 
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imo, no i dont think it will drop significantly because when the R9 3xx series comes out, Nvidia will release GTX 980 ti.
 
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I'd believe Toms, Anand, Techpowerup, etc over some guy's newegg review. Odds are he is just repeating stuff he heard with his limited understanding.

Last rumor I heard is the 380 and above are new cards, while those below are yet again rebadges. This means you'll see some prices change at the 980 and above level, but the 970 will probably remain where it is as it will still be battling with the 290/X in 3xx form.
 
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Sounds good you guys. These seems to be the best deals I can find right now on the 970.

http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?sdtid=7811743&SID=2bc2fa3e8b8247b483c614c022efb09d&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&itemnumber=N82E16814125685

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133564&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Would you guys say to bite on one of these? It's 295 total AR which is 5 less than my max, which isn't great but I'm having trouble finding 970s that are under 300. Finding a few 290xs for $280, but 970 is harder to find.

Also will those fit in my tower and work with my mobo? I'm reading that apparently the gigabyte card doesn't have a back plate and bends a little which is kinda scary to me :S.

Lastly, while looking for 970 deals, I came across this thread by accident.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2153146/2500-run-pcie-x16.html

Does my i5 2500k not supportr pci-e 3.0? Will it hinder performance???
 
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