Which one of these graphic cards is compatible with my PC?

[Tech L0ver]

Hello guys,

I am confused about upgrading my GPU from Power color HD7730 to a new GPU and I dunno which one I can choose between:

- ASUS STRIX-GTX970-DC20C-4GD5 Graphics Cards STRIX-GTX970-DC20C-4GD5

- Gigabyte AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB GDDR5 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card GV-R929WF3-4GD

- Sapphire Radeon VAPOR-X R9 280X 3 GB GDDR5 DVI-I/DVI-D/HDMI/DP TRI-X with Boost PCI-Express Graphics Card 11221-20-20G

- Gigabyte GTX 960 Overclocked 4 GB GDDR5 Graphics Card GV-N960WF2OC-4GD

I am also confused that the cards may bottleneck with my other PC specs or not, my PC specs are:

CPU:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30GHz

Motherboard:
Gigabyte H61M-S2P

RAM:
4 gb DDR3 667MHZ

Hard disc:
Western Digital 1 TB

Monitor:
Samsung S19B150 18.5 inches Max Resolution: 1366 x 768 @ 59 Hz

Also what is the recommended PSU for each of them?? although i have 400W PSU built in my case but i am thinking to change it anyways.
PS: My priority to upgrade is the GPU first and any upgrade will be soon in future.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You would need a new PSU for any of those graphics cards. They should also ALL work with your current motherboard slot but whether they will fit in your case is another story. Honestly, for 768p resolution, any of them would be fine. What is your case model?

I'd recommend you get a PSU based on the card model according to this:

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm



And make sure it's a tier 1 or 2 unit as listed here:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html



Tier 3 units don't tend to last long when used with gaming cards or overclocked systems. Tier 4 and 5 units should just be avoided altogether.

 

[turbopiki]

Get GTX 960 and another 4gb of ram. Also i think you will need new PSU if yours is bad quality. Other 3 card wont even work with 400w PSU

What is your PSU model

 

[Tech L0ver]

My Case is long and big enough to add a long GPU with no problem.

Also i am going to change my PSU to be compatible with the new GPU, the most important thing none of them will bottleneck with my other specs?

 

[Darkbreeze]

There's no such thing as a PSU bottleneck. The term doesn't apply to power supplies. It's also unlikely to apply to the GPU in this case. You'd have to get a very, very weak card in order for the GPU to be the bottleneck with an i3. The i3 bottlenecking the GPU is a possibility, but is unlikely unless you go with a very large card. Even the GTX 980 has been run with the i3-4360 without any noticeable issues as seen here:

http://www.techspot.com/review/943-best-value-desktop-cpu/


Since your CPU is a bit weaker than that i3, I'd say the cards you have selected should probably work fine, or at least good enough, with the cards you've listed.

 

[Tech L0ver]

I am getting great answers till now, but can anyone suggest me how to choose the GPU?? I mean which one will be better:

XFX , Gigabyte , Sapphire, EVGA, Asus of the 4 cards?
please answer with a link from amazon to buy using it.

 

[Jomari Gonzales]

MSI GTX 970 best card price/performance currently: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GTX-970-4G-Graphics/dp/B00NN0GEXQ

it's gonna be OVERKILL for your current resolution, if you will upgrade to a 1080p in the near future, im pretty sure you will be very happy

and i agree with everyone that you need a better PSU, get one from Seasonic or XFX. plus another 4GB of ram is necessart if you want to play AAA titles

 

[turbopiki]

I am getting great answers till now, but can anyone suggest me how to choose the GPU?? I mean which one will be better:

XFX , Gigabyte , Sapphire, EVGA, Asus of the 4 cards?
please answer with a link from amazon to buy using it.

Any of them would be great.

I would get this one http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SC6HAS4/?tag=pcpapi-20 its the cheapest (few ithers cost 200$ aswell) and it has the highest core clock

 

[Darkbreeze]

Honestly, the GTX 970 and R9 290 are probably not a good fit for that Sandy Bridge i3. If it was a Haswell Refresh i3, it might pass, but I think the pairing would be too severely off for them to be a good match. The 280x or GTX 960 would be your best bets unless you're planning to upgrade the CPU and motherboard in the near future, in which case, the GTX 970 or R9 290 WOULD be better choices , if you're planning to move up to a higher tiered CPU.

I'd personally choose the R9 280x over the GTX 960, as it beats it in most titles and at most resolutions, has about 20% better performance when crossfired than the 960 does in SLI and is about the same price. It's also a good fit for your i3.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Vapor-X Video Card ($235.59 @ Amazon)
Total: $235.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-09 04:23 EDT-0400

 

[Tech L0ver]

So You guys suggest AMD over Nvidia in this case?

If so which one will be the best of those:

Sapphire Radeon VAPOR-X R9 290 4GB GDDR5 DUAL DVI-D/HDMI/DP TRI-X OC Version PCI-Express Graphics Card 11227-04-40G

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-VAPOR-X-PCI-Express-Graphics-11227-04-40G/dp/B00JJJW4Z2/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1434077394&sr=1-6&keywords=r9+290

or

MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G Graphics Cards

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GTX-970-4G-Graphics/dp/B00NN0GEXQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1434077451&sr=1-2&keywords=gtx+970+4gb

or

Sapphire Radeon VAPOR-X R9 280X 3 GB GDDR5 DVI-I/DVI-D/HDMI/DP TRI-X with Boost PCI-Express Graphics Card 11221-20-20G

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-VAPOR-X-PCI-Express-Graphics-11221-20-20G/dp/B00RXA5G5O/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1434077685&sr=1-4&keywords=280x

and also which PSU will be the best for each of these cards:

XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Modular PSU ATX 650 Energy Star Certified Power Supply P1-650B-BEFX

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Single-Modular-Certified-P1750BBEFX/dp/B00B88Z314/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1434078014&sr=1-1&keywords=XFX+Pro+series+Black+edition


or

EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GS 80 Plus Gold Rated, Fully Modular ATX 12V/EPS 12V ECO Mode Power Supply 220-GS-0650-V1

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K85X2AW/ref=twister_B00NAQB7S0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


Or I have to make a deeper search??

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Darkbreeze]

For your CPU the Sapphire R9 280x is probably the best fit. If you plan to upgrade the CPU and motherboard within the next year, then I'd go with either the GTX 970 or R9 290 and just deal with the bottleneck you'll probably have by lowering settings a bit until you upgrade.

Otherwise, I wouldn't go any higher than a 280x or GTX 960.

 

[Tech L0ver]

I can understand that if i picked the Sapphire R9 280x , I can play games at a higher lever or graphics than GTX 970 or R9 290 due to the bottleneck that happens with my other specs?

 

[Darkbreeze]

No, you could not. The 970 and 290 will always allow for a higher quality level of gameplay, however, with that older Sandy bridge i3, a bottleneck is likely to cause some issues with performance and fps. Stuttering and other problems are possible, even likely. Especially on newer titles. If you want to run a bigger card like the 970, 290 or higher, I'd suggest a new cpu and motherboard. If you plan to get those at some point, then go with the bigger card and turn settings down until then to compensate.

Even an i5 or i7 of the same socket type as your i3 would probably improve things dramatically with a bigger, or any, GPU.

 

[maxalge]

I can understand that if i picked the Sapphire R9 280x , I can play games at a higher lever or graphics than GTX 970 or R9 290 due to the bottleneck that happens with my other specs?

Your plan should be this, IF you want to have a decent gaming system:

a new power supply + gpu + 4 more gb of ram.

a 970 would be a great choice, all you would need is a good 500w power supply.
If you want the 290 then you would need a 650w power supply.

a 1080p monitor

afterwards upgrade the cpu to an i5 like the 3570, or 3470.

very nice gaming pc

 

[Tech L0ver]

Ok i think i will pick the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G with EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GS 80 Plus PSU, Will this be ok?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Both are great choices.