What shall I upgrade to?

[rhysneville]

Hi,
I'm getting paid in about 15 days and I think I want to upgrade my GPU.
Here are my current specs:
CPU - Intel i7 2600 @3.40GHz
GPU - EVGA NVIDIA GTX 660 Ti
RAM - 8GB (Speed: PC3-10600 MB/sec,Type: DDR3-1333)
Motherboard - MSI Z77A-G45
PSU - OCZ-ZS650W-UK ATX 650w PSU
HDD - 2TB (Interface: SATA, Rotational Speed: 5400 RPM)
Blu ray disk drive


I'm looking to spend £300 at most but I would rather spend around £200..
I think I'd prefer a NVIDIA GTX card because they're doing a Splinter Cell Blacklist promo and I'm psyched for that game!
However, if you think I should get a ATI card, please say why.

I saw a promo for a GTX card which had Blacklist and a copy of double agent and something else, anyone know where this was?


Also, this is a little irrelavent but I'm also looking for a portable storage device e.g a external Hard Drive or a USB memory stick!
Anyone got any reccommendations? I'd probably use it to record from bandicam so it would record better and when I get a car I'd get a USB stereo so I could plug in the USB drive and listen to music. I'd probably want around 300GB of space so yeah I'd probably go for an external hard drive, any recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[quilciri]

With your motherboard, you'll see the largest performance boost from a 2nd 660ti running in SLI with the one you already have.

As far as portable storage, do you have any old internal hard drives that have enough capacity for your needs? If so, you can buy a HDD enclosure for ~$25 to turn your old HDD into an external. If it's a 3.5" HDD, you'll also need a power adapter to plug into your cigarette lighter (another $5-10). Enclosures for 2.5" laptop HDD's can usually get enough power from USB alone.

 

[rhysneville]

With your motherboard, you'll see the largest performance boost from a 2nd 660ti running in SLI with the one you already have.

As far as portable storage, do you have any old internal hard drives that have enough capacity for your needs? If so, you can buy a HDD enclosure for ~$30 to turn your old HDD into an external.

Thank you!
That's what I had in mind anyway, a 2nd EVGA 660 ti!
I don't think I do I'm afraid, although I probably do but I don't mind paying £30 for a 500GB external drive!
Any known problems with external drives? (I would be running it on a 3.0 USB on my pc)

 

[drewhoo]

With your motherboard, you'll see the largest performance boost from a 2nd 660ti running in SLI with the one you already have.

As far as portable storage, do you have any old internal hard drives that have enough capacity for your needs? If so, you can buy a HDD enclosure for ~$30 to turn your old HDD into an external.

Thank you!
That's what I had in mind anyway, a 2nd EVGA 660 ti!
I don't think I do I'm afraid, although I probably do but I don't mind paying £30 for a 500GB external drive!
Any known problems with external drives? (I would be running it on a 3.0 USB on my pc)

A lot of external drives are 5400/5900 RPM drives, so they're slow. For starters, look for one that specifies 7200RPM. If you're plugging it into your car, durability is paramount. I would look for either an SSD or a 2.5" HDD with some serious padding/protective case.

 

[rhysneville]

With your motherboard, you'll see the largest performance boost from a 2nd 660ti running in SLI with the one you already have.

As far as portable storage, do you have any old internal hard drives that have enough capacity for your needs? If so, you can buy a HDD enclosure for ~$30 to turn your old HDD into an external.

Thank you!
That's what I had in mind anyway, a 2nd EVGA 660 ti!
I don't think I do I'm afraid, although I probably do but I don't mind paying £30 for a 500GB external drive!
Any known problems with external drives? (I would be running it on a 3.0 USB on my pc)

A lot of external drives are 5400/5900 RPM drives, so they're slow. For starters, look for one that specifies 7200RPM. If you're plugging it into your car, durability is paramount. I would look for either an SSD or a 2.5" HDD with some serious padding/protective case.

I wouldn't just leave it hanging around haha, I'd get a holder for it so it would stay still and fit nicely, hopefully haha!

Do you agree with getting a 2nd 660 ti?

 

[drewhoo]

Adding a 2nd 660 Ti is certainly the most bang for your buck option at this point. Slapping an SLI in your system might not be the best long term investment, though. Having two GPUs means having an additional point of failure. It also means you will be very close (perhaps exceeding) to the rated wattage of your PSU.

It would be worthwhile to research the PSU model you have and make sure that 650W that is advertised is 100% true. I hear there is sometimes there is a trick to how OCZ "rates" their models.

Additionally, the 660 Ti requires two 6-pin power connectors. That PSU model only has two 6-pin connectors, which are currently occupied by your current GPU. Perhaps there is a workaround of which I am unaware?

If not, the upgrade would cost you a new $100 PSU plus a $275 GPU. If you were to put the same amount of money toward a 770, you might see a lesser performance increase, but you'd have a new part and only a single point possible of failure. And I bet the 660 Ti would fetch something decent on Craigslist.

 

[rhysneville]

Adding a 2nd 660 Ti is certainly the most bang for your buck option at this point. Slapping an SLI in your system might not be the best long term investment, though. Having two GPUs means having an additional point of failure. It also means you will be very close (perhaps exceeding) to the rated wattage of your PSU.

It would be worthwhile to research the PSU model you have and make sure that 650W that is advertised is 100% true. I hear there is sometimes there is a trick to how OCZ "rates" their models.

Additionally, the 660 Ti requires two 6-pin power connectors. That PSU model only has two 6-pin connectors, which are currently occupied by your current GPU. Perhaps there is a workaround of which I am unaware?

If not, the upgrade would cost you a new $100 PSU plus a $275 GPU. If you were to put the same amount of money toward a 770, you might see a lesser performance increase, but you'd have a new part and only a single point possible of failure. And I bet the 660 Ti would fetch something decent on Craigslist.

I've had a look around and someone said they run 660 ti SLI on a 600w OCZ PSU, and someone else said they've benchmarked SLI 660 Ti's and never saw the power consumption go over 400w!

About the additional point of failure though, if one broke I'd still have another one!
But i'm not sure about the power connectors, I have no idea what they are not going to lie!

 

[rhysneville]

Adding a 2nd 660 Ti is certainly the most bang for your buck option at this point. Slapping an SLI in your system might not be the best long term investment, though. Having two GPUs means having an additional point of failure. It also means you will be very close (perhaps exceeding) to the rated wattage of your PSU.

It would be worthwhile to research the PSU model you have and make sure that 650W that is advertised is 100% true. I hear there is sometimes there is a trick to how OCZ "rates" their models.

Additionally, the 660 Ti requires two 6-pin power connectors. That PSU model only has two 6-pin connectors, which are currently occupied by your current GPU. Perhaps there is a workaround of which I am unaware?

If not, the upgrade would cost you a new $100 PSU plus a $275 GPU. If you were to put the same amount of money toward a 770, you might see a lesser performance increase, but you'd have a new part and only a single point possible of failure. And I bet the 660 Ti would fetch something decent on Craigslist.

I've had a look around and someone said they run 660 ti SLI on a 600w OCZ PSU, and someone else said they've benchmarked SLI 660 Ti's and never saw the power consumption go over 400w!

About the additional point of failure though, if one broke I'd still have another one!
But i'm not sure about the power connectors, I have no idea what they are not going to lie!

 

[drewhoo]

Basically that PSU only has enough PCIe power connectors for one 660 Ti. I am wondering if there may be an adapter cord (I'm out of my element at this point) that would allow you to repurpose one connector to become a 6pin PCIe cord. I don't think that's how it works, though.

 

[quilciri]

You don't need a new PSU. You unit has a single 46a 12v rail (552w), which is plenty for two 660ti's (they draw ~150w each under full load).

You *will* need a couple of 6 pin pci-e splitters; they'll run about $5.

 

[drewhoo]

You don't need a new PSU. You unit has a single 46a 12v rail (552w), which is plenty for two 660ti's (they draw ~150w under full load).

You *will* need a couple of 6 pin pci-e splitters; they'll run about $5.

Ah, very cool! So such a workaround does exist: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812198016&Tpk=6%20pin%20pci-e%20splitters&IsVirtualParent=1

 

[rhysneville]

You don't need a new PSU. You unit has a single 46a 12v rail (552w), which is plenty for two 660ti's (they draw ~150w each under full load).

You *will* need a couple of 6 pin pci-e splitters; they'll run about $5.

Thank you, made me worry less haha!

 

[quilciri]

There's a decent chance the 660ti you buy will come with one splitter (if you buy new).

Make sure to buy the same make/model of 660ti for best results. Nvidia is a bit more restricted in viable card pairings than AMD.

 

[rhysneville]

There's a decent chance the 660ti you buy will come with one splitter (if you buy new).

Make sure to buy the same make/model of 660ti for best results. Nvidia is a bit more restricted in viable card pairings than AMD.

I have already bought a 660 Ti brand new in the past so I might already have one, i'll have to check!
Yep, an EVGA 660 ti 2gb