Gpu upgrade advice

[satyer]

Hi guys! Im new to the forum and need some advice on an GPU upgrade.
So i was looking up for the GPU's i could afford at the moment and there are 2 options, either the GIGABYTE AMD RADEON R9 390 G1 GAMING, 8GB DDR5 or the ASUS GeForce GTX 970 Strix OC, 4GB DDR5 the price of the R9 390 in my country is 437 USD while the Asus gtx 970 is 494 USD.
I'm looking for an upgrade card to last me for atleast 2-3 years even more if possible, and i can't decide which one to go with.
Also i saw multiple reviews and benchmarks, and im kinda liking the R9 390 more coz the GTX 970 has that issue with 3.5gb+512MB VRAM and since i like to modd skyrim alot thats a bit of an issue for me atleast.
Update: I also found at one of my vendors that they have a Saphire R9 390 Tri-x OC edition but im afraid my psu can't handle it, some people told me that my psu could handle it but by no means to try and OC anything like my cpu or even more the gpu.
What do you guys suggest i should pick?
Cheers,

The following are my system specs:
Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
AMD FX-6350 Six-Core Processor black edition (custom cooler)
M5A99X EVO (Socket 942)
corsair vengeance 2x4gb 1600mhz
VTX HD 7870 Tahiti LE 2GB
Seagate 500GB + Western Digital 1TB
Thermaltake 630w +80 Smart
CASE: thermaltake V3 Black edition + 5 120x120mm cooling fans from cooler master.

 

[Countryside]

Hey Welcome to TPU, my recommendation is go with 390 and if possible Sapphire 390 nitro.

 

[satyer]

Hey Welcome to TPU, my recommendation is go with 390 and if possible Sapphire 390 nitro.

Thanks, but my fear of buying one of those gpu's is that if my PSU can handle it? 630W psu+80 certified enough to hold the sapphire 390 nitro? I saw on wendor site that the sapphire 390 nitro need a minimum of 700W psu while the 390 gigabyte g1 gaming 600W minimum. My thought are to buy the Saphire nitro 390 and then test the watt usage on system while on load. If the watt usage is above 400 then i should prolly swap for a better psu, wouldn't be smart to risk frying the pc.

 

[m&m's]

Get the GTX 970.

1- 630W should work with the R9 390, but your PSU will deteriorate rapidly (being often loaded to the max).
2- Your CPU is kind of weak and a bottleneck for both cards so you should overclock it and the R9 390 with an overlocked CPU would just be asking for trouble.
3- At stock speeds the R9 390 is about 5-7% faster @1080P than the GTX 970 but once overclocked they perform the same.
4- If you game at 1440P or 2560P, buy another PSU and get the R9 390.

 

[Azumay]

Save up your money and wait for new cards to come out later in the year, is what I would suggest. If you have to get a new card and you are modding skyrim, then R9 390.
I'd still wait though, new cards will have better memory, and draw less power.

 

[satyer]

Save up your money and wait for new cards to come out later in the year, is what I would suggest. If you have to get a new card and you are modding skyrim, then R9 390.
I'd still wait though, new cards will have better memory, and draw less power.

Yea that is a good option only problem is that i need a new gpu asap because my current one has died, so im using my phone and laptop mostly now.

 

[satyer]

Get the GTX 970.

1- 630W should work with the R9 390, but your PSU will deteriorate rapidly (being often loaded to the max).
2- Your CPU is kind of weak and a bottleneck for both cards so you should overclock it and the R9 390 with an overlocked CPU would just be asking for trouble.
3- At stock speeds the R9 390 is about 5-7% faster @1080P than the GTX 970 but once overclocked they perform the same.
4- If you game at 1440P or 2560P, buy another PSU and get the R9 390.

That was my plan, to buy the r9 390 and then month after when i get my second salary to buy a better psu and cpu maybe an fx 8350?

 

[Jetster]

When you upgrade the CPU go with Intel. New board and CPU. That PSU is not the best but your okay with it

 

[m&m's]

Yea that is a good option only problem is that i need a new gpu asap because my current one has died, so im using my phone and laptop mostly now.

What do you mean by it died? The screen is black but the fans still spins?

That was my plan, to buy the r9 390 and then month after when i get my second salary to buy a better psu and cpu maybe an fx 8350?

What @Jetster said or wait for AMD Zen, because current AMD CPUs are slower and didn't change for years.

 

[Countryside]

Thanks, but my fear of buying one of those gpu's is that if my PSU can handle it? 630W psu+80 certified enough to hold the sapphire 390 nitro? I saw on wendor site that the sapphire 390 nitro need a minimum of 700W psu while the 390 gigabyte g1 gaming 600W minimum. My thought are to buy the Saphire nitro 390 and then test the watt usage on system while on load. If the watt usage is above 400 then i should prolly swap for a better psu, wouldn't be smart to risk frying the pc.

With the 390 in your system the load should be like 430-440w so your psu is oky but for more stable power delivery i would go with Seasonic 650W Gold

 

[satyer]

What do you mean by it died? The screen is black but the fans still spins?


What @Jetster said or wait for AMD Zen, because current AMD CPUs are slower and didn't change for years.

I dont know exactly what was wrong with the gpu, but i noticed some problems last week on my pc and couldnt solve them so i gave my pc for testing to an IT shop and they said that my gpu si dead.

 

[cracklez]

You need a new GPU now since your other one died. Simple, just get the 390. I'd get it over a 970 anyday. It's a no-brainer.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

PSU review: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/thermaltake-smart-630-w-power-supply-review/11/
Seems like a decent unit. If you limit your load on it to 80% capacity, you end up with a 432 watt (12v) limit. w1zzard tested the 390 Nitro to a peak of 277 watts, which gives you 155 watts (12v) to run the rest of your system, which is fine.

 

[satyer]

PSU review: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/thermaltake-smart-630-w-power-supply-review/11/
Seems like a decent unit. If you limit your load on it to 80% capacity, you end up with a 432 watt (12v) limit. w1zzard tested the 390 Nitro to a peak of 277 watts, which gives you 155 watts (12v) to run the rest of your system, which is fine.

exactly my thought too but was afraid when i saw that recommended is 700W psu for the nitro one, also this is my psu http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001800 , i will get the nitro 390 but i will upgrade my psu a month later just to be safe, is that a good call?

 

[mstenholm]

Definitely not being an expert in PSUs I would say once it can't hold it's 12 V under your pick load (download HWinfo) and you know it has been running for +40.000 hours then it's time for a new. That advice is for a decent quality PSU. Mine have reached that millage mark but still going strong so they get an extra 8.760 hour. The 380/970 is a fan boy thing. If you don't mind the extra heat/running cost go for the cheap.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Get the GTX 970.

1- 630W should work with the R9 390, but your PSU will deteriorate rapidly (being often loaded to the max)..
4- If you game at 1440P or 2560P, buy another PSU and get the R9 390.

What are you talking about? please don't give advice if you don't quite know what you're talking about as you are saying the OP should go out and waste money on a new PSU when there is absolutely no need to, his current one is more than adequate for a 390 and anything else he has in his rig, sick of all the so-called PSU experts on here recently trashing anything that isn't a top tier platinum PSU for no good reason...

OP again I would recommend the 390 also and do not listen to those questioning your PSU there's nothing wrong with it.

Edit: ^^^ yup another one above me

 

[mstenholm]

What are you talking about? please don't give advice if you don't quite know what you're talking about as you are saying the OP should go out and waste money on a new PSU when there is absolutely no need to, his current one is more than adequate for a 390 and anything else he has in his rig, sick of all the so-called PSU experts on here recently trashing anything that isn't a top tier platinum PSU for no good reason...

OP again I would recommend the 390 also and do not listen to those questioning your PSU there's nothing wrong with it.

Edit: ^^^ yup another one above me

Based on my advice I wouldn't buy a AMD since I don't like heat and extra running cost.....and I once bought a decent PSU and it died. I just said go cheap but check your PSU. It's big enough for a OC'ed 390 for sure. My four 970s are not for gaming, none of them saw more than Solitare, so as for raw gaming performance I only know from reading reviews and there 390 wins stock. A 970 takes +150 MHz OC stable, at least.

 

[Ithanul]

Both are great cards. Got to mess around with a R9 390 and they are pretty darn solid. Though, by the sounds of it especially since you are modding Skyrim the extra VRAM on the 390 would probably be your best choice. I know how those high end texture packs can eat up VRAM if its there. Especially the 4K texture packs.

What resolution though do you game at? 1080P or one of the higher ones?

 

[m&m's]

What are you talking about? please don't give advice if you don't quite know what you're talking about as you are saying the OP should go out and waste money on a new PSU when there is absolutely no need to, his current one is more than adequate for a 390 and anything else he has in his rig, sick of all the so-called PSU experts on here recently trashing anything that isn't a top tier platinum PSU for no good reason...

OP again I would recommend the 390 also and do not listen to those questioning your PSU there's nothing wrong with it.

Edit: ^^^ yup another one above me

Did you read my whole post? Because you missed the most important part.

2- Your CPU is kind of weak and a bottleneck for both cards so you should overclock it and the R9 390 with an overlocked CPU would just be asking for trouble.

His system stock without a GPU uses 200W, add 100W for a decent overclock (and 100W is gentle, FXs can eat 140W once highly overclocked) because there's no point in getting an R9 390 if your CPU is bottlenecking it. Better just buy a weaker card. The Sapphire R9 390, using W1zzard's numbers, has a peak power consumption of 277W and a maximum power consumption of 365W. W1zzard obtained 277W while running Metro Last Light and 365W with Furmark, another game using different features could get the card to 300W. 277W is not a number set in stone. So pulling 200+100+300=600W out of a 630W unit is asking for trouble and he better never stress test his system (665W).

How long do you think his PSU will survive?
Why risk his hardware when he could just buy a better PSU.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Did you read my whole post? Because you missed the most important part.


His system stock without a GPU uses 200W, add 100W for a decent overclock (and 100W is gentle, FXs can eat 140W once highly overclocked) because there's no point in getting an R9 390 if your CPU is bottlenecking it. Better just buy a weaker card. The Sapphire R9 390, using W1zzard's numbers, has a peak power consumption of 277W and a maximum power consumption of 365W. W1zzard obtained 277W while running Metro Last Light and 365W with Furmark, another game using different features could get the card to 300W. 277W is not a number set in stone. So pulling 200+100+300=600W out of a 630W unit is asking for trouble and he better never stress test his system (665W).

How long do you think his PSU will survive?
Why risk his hardware when he could just buy a better PSU.

Yes I did and your still wrong unless and overclocked 6 core AMD processor is suddenly going to eat up 300w your still wrong, am so sick of seeing the same crap regurgitated by people on here lately, where in the hell is his processor and other components going to reach 300w without a GPU even with an overclock??? it's FUD and an opinion, not fact, stop peddling it like it is. that system will probably use 450w maxxed out gaming etc

Edit: I have a 290 which uses the same if not slightly more wattage than a 390 and am running it fine on a good quality 550w PSU and have OC'd both CPU and GPU. Albeit my CPU uses less wattage than the OP's AMD FX but even still, I have 80w total power less than the OP's PSU and it's not the best but it's definitely not a POS PSU either that he has. Please don't bring Furmark into the equation as NO ONE uses it who doesn't want to fry their cards anyway these days, it's a torture test that no game will ever stress the GPU in the same way.

 

[GreiverBlade]

Thanks, but my fear of buying one of those gpu's is that if my PSU can handle it? 630W psu+80 certified enough to hold the sapphire 390 nitro? I saw on wendor site that the sapphire 390 nitro need a minimum of 700W psu while the 390 gigabyte g1 gaming 600W minimum. My thought are to buy the Saphire nitro 390 and then test the watt usage on system while on load. If the watt usage is above 400 then i should prolly swap for a better psu, wouldn't be smart to risk frying the pc.

i did had a 290 (strongly clocked) and a FX-6300 (also with a good OC on it ) on a Fractal Design Integra R2 650W 80+ bronze, without any issues
also had that Tt 630w psu for quite a while i would recommend a good 80+ bronze in 650 and more like the Fractal or Seasonic also

estimate with the 390 at 90% load 8hrs a day

Load Wattage:458 W
Recommended UPS rating:850 VA
Recommended PSU Wattage:508 W

Amperage (combined)

+3.3V+5V+12V
9.5 A9.0 A35.9 A
77 W431 W​

Always on 24/7 and 100% TDP
Load Wattage:489 W
Recommended UPS rating:900 VA
Recommended PSU Wattage:539 W

Amperage (combined)

+3.3V+5V+12V
9.8 A9.4 A38.3 A
80 W460 W​

only in worst case scenario a 650w will be in pain with that setup ​

 

[satyer]

i did had a 290 (strongly clocked) and a FX-6300 (also with a good OC on it ) on a Fractal Design Integra R2 650W 80+ bronze, without any issues
also had that Tt 630w psu for quite a while i would recommend a good 80+ bronze in 650 and more like the Fractal or Seasonic also

estimate with the 390 at 90% load 8hrs a day

Load Wattage:458 W
Recommended UPS rating:850 VA
Recommended PSU Wattage:508 W

Amperage (combined)​

+3.3V+5V+12V
9.5 A9.0 A35.9 A
77 W431 W​

Always on 24/7 and 100% TDP
Load Wattage:489 W
Recommended UPS rating:900 VA
Recommended PSU Wattage:539 W

Amperage (combined)​

+3.3V+5V+12V
9.8 A9.4 A38.3 A
80 W460 W​

only in worst case scenario a 650w will be in pain with that setup ​

So then il be fine for atleast 1 month until i get a better psu which i plan on buying?

 

[NdMk2o1o]

So then il be fine for atleast 1 month until i get a better psu which i plan on buying?

You really don't need a better one, honestly invest that money into an SSD or 16GB RAM.... there is nothing wrong with your PSU....

 

[satyer]

You really don't need a better one, honestly invest that money into an SSD or 16GB RAM.... there is nothing wrong with your PSU....

Alright thanks for the info, il look up what i can get and il post when the gpu arrives how much watts my pc uses with it.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Alright thanks for the info, il look up what i can get and il post when the gpu arrives how much watts my pc uses with it.

Have you checked how much your current setup is using? and software won't work you'll need to use something like a kill a watt