Looking to upgrade my graphics card.

[kurisu7885]

So a couple months down the load I'm looking int oupgraded my graphics card.

 

Now my current system is only a couple months old, which I got after my previous once kicked the bucket. What happened to the previous sytem was that the graphics card I previousl got required 350 watts, and the power supply was 250 watts, for after a few months of that loadm y poor computer gave up the ghost.

 

I went and paid the money for a gaming rated tower with a beefy 700 watt power supply.

 

In any case ,here's the card I'm looking into whi uses 550 watts of power(if I tried this in my old system it probably would have exploded)

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/EVGA---GeForce-GTX-680-2GB-GDDR5-PCI-Express-3.0-Graphics-Card/5066433.p?id=1218609329626&skuId=5066433#tab=specifications

 

I'm trying ot be extremely careful here as ,well, this machine did cost a good chunk of change and I do want to at least minimize the risk of killing it. Fortunately it's under warranty, but I do want ot avoid taking it in.

[Spell]

That's not the best choice.
1. Nvidia has always the lower price/performance ratio.
2. That's a gpu with a noisy fan, probably reference design.
3. The next console-generation(Playstation, XBox..) are based on AMD hardware(CPU&GPU)

My advice is a (custom)HD7970, HD7950 or HD7870
examples:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125439

[kurisu7885]

Well, 380 bucks is a better price I suppose, though I rarely hear good things about Radeon, unless that's just ATI.

[Spell]

ATI doesn't exist anymore, it's now part of AMD.

[Slammer64]

My suggestion would be to order online, you'll get it cheaper that way, two, I recommend the GTX 670 series cards from nVidia, you get almost as much from a 670 as from a 680 and it's much cheaper to boot. Thry looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500242 And while the PS4 may have AMD/ATI, doesn't mean that it'll be any better, after all they are using hardware especially adapted for the PS4.

[kurisu7885]

My suggestion would be to order online, you'll get it cheaper that way, two, I recommend the GTX 670 series cards from nVidia, you get almost as much from a 670 as from a 680 and it's much cheaper to boot. Thry looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500242 And while the PS4 may have AMD/ATI, doesn't mean that it'll be any better, after all they are using hardware especially adapted for the PS4.

 

Well I was mostly scoping at the 680 as I was using the Can You Tun it Tool form System Requirements Lab and the 680 was what it recommended.

 

As for ordering online, I'd read a good number of horror stories regarding online shipping.

[Spell]

And while the PS4 may have AMD/ATI, doesn't mean that it'll be any better, after all they are using hardware especially adapted for the PS4.

 

You're kidding or you have no clue.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/03/11/tomb-raider-patch-provides-hair-care-for-nvidia-users/

 

However Slammer64's GTX670-advice is also good if you really want a Nvidia-gpu .

 

 

[Slammer64]

 Well Spell, I can provide numerous examples of ATI FAIL too   As as for shipping, I've NEVER had a problem with Newegg, been using them for 7-8 years now.

[kurisu7885]

Well low cost is a selling point ,but it's a down the raod thing anyway, I don't have the money for a new GPU just yet.

[AwfulArchdemon]

I use a GEFORCE GTX 660, and I can do anything at all. No matter how high my graphics settings are, I can't seem to lose any FPS. $200 is what I payed for it at Best buy (in store). Should do just fine.

ps. My comp. is an Alienware, however, but this graphics card has it's own processing power. Oh, and I simply used my Geek Squad Tech Support to uprade my graphics card. Took an hour and a half.

[ritualclarity]

My suggestion would be to order online, you'll get it cheaper that way, two, I recommend the GTX 670 series cards from nVidia, you get almost as much from a 670 as from a 680 and it's much cheaper to boot. Thry looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500242 And while the PS4 may have AMD/ATI, doesn't mean that it'll be any better, after all they are using hardware especially adapted for the PS4.

 

 

And while the PS4 may have AMD/ATI, doesn't mean that it'll be any better, after all they are using hardware especially adapted for the PS4.

 

You're kidding or you have no clue.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/03/11/tomb-raider-patch-provides-hair-care-for-nvidia-users/

 

However Slammer64's GTX670-advice is also good if you really want a Nvidia-gpu .

 

 

 Well Spell, I can provide numerous examples of ATI FAIL too   As as for shipping, I've NEVER had a problem with Newegg, been using them for 7-8 years now.

I agree with all the above posted quotes.

I also use the GTX670 after great research and talking with some gamer friends of mine in RL. Has not dissappointed me one bit. I also had a 7870 but not too happy with it.

The only reason for going 680 is if you have some vary particular requirement that excludes the 670 version and I can't think of any. Oh, I run three 24 full HD monitors from Asus on this card as well. It takes everything I throw at it without one complaint.

[AwfulArchdemon]

ritualclarity

I agree with all the above posted quotes.

I also use the GTX670 after great research and talking with some gamer friends of mine in RL. Has not dissappointed me one bit. I also had a 7870 but not too happy with it.

The only reason for going 680 is if you have some vary particular requirement that excludes the 670 version and I can't think of any. Oh, I run three 24 full HD monitors from Asus on this card as well. It takes everything I throw at it without one complaint.

Impressive! That's something I'd certainly like to try!

[HanPL]

I wanted to upgrade my graphic card (currently GTX 560 Ti OC ) but all my friends who work in PC industry said to wait till nex generation of cards will show up then buy new video card since there is really no point of buying new one now.

[ritualclarity]

ritualclarity

I agree with all the above posted quotes.

I also use the GTX670 after great research and talking with some gamer friends of mine in RL. Has not dissappointed me one bit. I also had a 7870 but not too happy with it.

The only reason for going 680 is if you have some vary particular requirement that excludes the 670 version and I can't think of any. Oh, I run three 24 full HD monitors from Asus on this card as well. It takes everything I throw at it without one complaint.

Impressive! That's something I'd certainly like to try!

Here is the monitor mount

http://www.microcenter.com/product/366261/Articulating_Triple_Monitor_Desk_Mount_13_-_27_LCD_TV-Monitor_Mount.

Not the best on the market but reasonable price for a true triple monitor system. However if you plan different orientations to your monitors you would be better off with three single monitor mounts. Also many games have some issue scaling to the triple monitor and graphic to run all during gaming is massive. I run a single monitor during games and use the triple monitors for work and other play. Several web pages. Office, email etc all open at the same time. Very useful indeed.

 

I wanted to upgrade my graphic card (currently GTX 560 Ti OC ) but all my friends who work in PC industry said to wait till nex generation of cards will show up then buy new video card since there is really no point of buying new one now.

Yes I agree to a point. If your old card is just plan bad wait. When the new cards come out they cause a drop in prices on all the lower priced cards. This could cause the 560 to drop in price. However beware some models of graphic cards sell out and are no longer produced. If you are looking for a top card be prepared to buy the first sales you get an chance. The 660s and 670's should be available in normal flavors. Overclock and special memory etc cards might not be available. Think of it as a free sale. Also keep an eye on the prices. Sometimes the prices drop just right before the release of a new model of any tech. If there are a large amount of product on the market they ( the manufacture companies) drop the prices or give steep rebates to sell the "glut" of the product otherwise the product can sit on the shelf for a long time because many people will be going to buy the newer model for a few bucks more. I got a SSD for almost half price right before they introduced the new model. Later the price went back up. Just some FYI

[AwfulArchdemon]

@ritualclarity, I got this error when I checked that link for the monitor mount:

Server Error in '/' Application.

 

 

The resource cannot be found.

Description: HTTP 404. The resource you are looking for (or one of its dependencies) could have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.  Please review the following URL and make sure that it is spelled correctly.

Requested URL: /product/366261/Articulating_Triple_Monitor_Desk_Mount_13_-_27_LCD_TV-Monitor_Mount.
 

[ritualclarity]

@ritualclarity, I got this error when I checked that link for the monitor mount:

Server Error in '/' Application.

 

 

The resource cannot be found.

Description: HTTP 404. The resource you are looking for (or one of its dependencies) could have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.  Please review the following URL and make sure that it is spelled correctly.

Requested URL: /product/366261/Articulating_Triple_Monitor_Desk_Mount_13_-_27_LCD_TV-Monitor_Mount.

 

 

http://www.microcenter.com/product/366261/Articulating_Triple_Monitor_Desk_Mount_13_-_27_LCD_TV-Monitor_Mount

 

I guess they change the pages every few weeks. Didn't know that. If it changes again (it currently works) go to www.microcenter.com look for "monitor mounts" and then select SIIG in the left side. There will be several monitor mounts but should only be one mount that has 3 27'' monitor mounts. Hope that helps.

 

It isn't the best one on the market but reasonable quality. A little pain in the a$$ to set up and occassionally I have to readjust the monitors slightly because some "light" or space occurs between them. but not bad overall for the price. You really need a very stable table or desk to mount this on because shake can make problems for the mount causeing some seperation between the monitors. Even with my desk as stable as it is it still causes some issues.

 

As mentioned before this would be for landscape monitor where all are the same direction. If you do various work like web and design you might op for the single mounts and give yourself variablitiy in hight and spacing of monitors to customize your work flow with the monitor size and orientation needed. I sort of wish I went with that option for I rarely run tripple screens in gaming (the FOV is a bitch to set up for many older games requireing custimizing ini files and such)

 

EDIT:

[canderes]

550/9800gtx/650/250 and up are all the same card pretty much and the memory bandwidth to pcie 16 for them is so high. I've been using 2x 550 in sli for about a year I never lag on anything and before that I had a 9800 gtx. There was almost no difference in performance when I had a single 9800 gtx vs a 550 except I wanted SLI and it was cheaper to just buy two 550s at the time than search for another 9800 gtx of the same make.

 

Even with one I never lagged on anything including Skyrim, DX HR, any Battle field, or Fallout 3/NV. The only thing I haven't been able try out is COD BO 2 because I haven't upgraded to windows 7/8. If you buy nvidia anything get a *50 model or above. I want to pickup Bioshock, but I'm holding off because its likely to need windows 7/8 for directx.

 

As for the power consumption thing I use a 700w supply and its enough for both cards. The stable current needed for a single card is 20-22 amps, so get a 2 or 3 rail supply with that on each if you want to be 100% that it will work. I've got a bunch of games that need windows 7/8, but I'm not bothering to upgrade os until the end of the year.

[GreyDeath]

well I'd like to chime in here as well, i hear a lot of bashing both for and against Nvidia and AMD graphics chipsets here, but i don't see too much in the way of what your system specs are?

 

meaning is your motherboard Nvidia based or AMD based as that is what will be of most use to you when you purchase a new card

also

what CPU are you using a standard CPU or is it a new core that incorporates an imbedded graphics chipset if so you may want to do some research on your BIOS to make certain that you can disable the graphics chipset IF NOT you will only be left with a brand of complimentary GPU technology and only within a certain range of card will be allowed .

also

what is your PCIE X rating ? is it a 1.0 2.0 8x or full 16x

also

to add to this point is what are your available PSU connectors available and what is the gross combined amount of amps pushed through your graphics card connectors as that plays a big importance to your system and what its available cards it supports

and probably the biggest important factor is

What brand of power supply do you actually have?

and lastly what is your DX rating 9.0/ 9.0c/10.0/10.1/11

 

i ask solely from experience i have seen psu's from companies like IBUYPOWER and Alienware where a stated 650watt and 850watt psu didn't push that rated power except in over-burn or full use and not in rated standby mode so in actuality the 650watt was pushing 515watt and the 850 was pushing 550watts in standby

those numbers aren't bad by today's standards but if you add in your fans and hard drives and sound card and cell phones and led's and tablets, and mp3 players and CPU and memory, and all the little things that people add to their pc's these days it eats up a lot of those available watts...

 

so lets start with the basics before we get into this grudge match between AMD and Nvidia as that is an old story that's been around since the beginning of the PC gaming system

 

motherboard name and rev. number

Intel chip-set or AMD

Power supply vendor name and model number

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...but to add to this in my own way ... i prefer active cores over simulated cores when it comes to graphics cards its been a long standing fact that if you wanted a graphics machine for gaming you go with AMD if you want a machine that crunches numbers you go with Intel, Intel however in the last 4-5 years has bumped up their gaming standards by purchasing Nvidia technologies where as AMD purchased ATI Technologies Intel machines are still a balls to the wall Number cruncher, I have always gone with XFX video cards hands down whether for an Nvidia chipset or ATI/AMD chipset due to their warranty and double lifetime guarantee knowing that if and when i see a card the receiver of that card will get the same respect and quality as the day i purchased it. and now i run only AMD and to add to this epidemic that is so overly ranted about ... Cuda cores and Stream processors are a big difference between what you want your system to do, it all comes down to the users preferences. but this remains stable and hard facts don't lie 

Bench testing and all the reports you see online about every card and memory and chipset out there and especially with windows experience index and rating is all set up on and derived from choice hardware NOT from store bought over the counter parts, you me and everyone else in the general gaming enterprise will never see those scores nor see them in our machines till we get first choice from the vendors or pay the premium prices for the first runs available to the global e-community so take those scores with a grain of salt. its like comparing a new hot-wheels car off the shelf to an original Red line available in 1970 in value and performance

[kurisu7885]

I don't even know hwo to get most of that information.

 

What I do know is I'm running a six core AMD processor with 16 gigs or RAM.

 

This system is only a couple months old, custom built, though I didn't do the building myself, a PC shop did that.

[GreyDeath]

ok hang on ill get you a tool that will do that other then your power supply.... the power supply you will physically need to open the case and write down what is printed on the power supply

[GreyDeath]

>http://www.majorgeek...wnload4181.html

once downloaded make a folder on your desktop and drop the program download into it and then extract it there:

once that is done open the program called EVEREST "Green Round Icon"

generate a report from the Report Wizard upper left tabbed selection

save report as html. and save to desktop

 

then just email me the report to jeffreynolds66@msn.com anyone else is free to do this as well just be sure to leave me your inform name so that i can make sure i give you the correct findings back

 

***also one other note*** when you run this wizard dont use the mouse or keyboard till the report clears as this will give a false memory info feedback

and this wizard takes less then 2 minutes to run through

also dont run music or videos in the background as well

 

just run the program and go get a cup of coffee by the time your done it will be done

 

nothing reported in this wizard that can be used against you ...this program is used for determining hardware related issues and drivers supported, updates and possible upgrade info and basic programs installed , I maintain a 100% customer feedback profile on over 400 websites and guarantee you nothing will be shared with anyone else . period

[GreyDeath]

did you get the download ok?

[GreyDeath]

currently running 6 Sync master 933's Samsung's from my aging XFX HD 6870 in eyefinity looking to upgrade them to 22's here in a month or so

 

[kurisu7885]

Um, al lthat link did was take me right back to this forum thread.....

[GreyDeath]

Hmm OK try that one

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

 

if that doesn't work paste this one to your browser

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html