Want vs Need for new Graphics Card

[Vayra86]

So your pick would be a 750ti? Would that last me 4yrs or so? The reason I need to upgrade is because I just bought Fallout 4 and my current graphics card cannot play this at all. I want to be able to play games like this for the next 4 yrs or so without having to upgrade every time a new game I like comes out.

No single graphics card will last you 4 years and still give top end performance. It all depends on what you regard as the bottom end of performance that is still playable. You have a solid CPU to do the work for at least 2-3 years to come, if not more, so investing in this system is not a bad idea. Replace the PSU so you can actually do this, and aim for a GTX 970, R9 390, it will set you for at least the same amount of time for the vast majority of games, and beyond that time you may want to reduce some settings but that's anyone's guess.

I would aim for a 650w bronze/silver/gold PSU. The difference between those ratings is negligible, get the best price in that category. Good (great/best) PSU's in that range: Seasonic M12, EVGA G2, XFX Pro, Corsair RM, Corsair HX/AX, if you want to go cheap Corsair CX (CX is not my recommendation for PSU, but it will work). Why 650w? It gives headroom and keeps the PSU quiet at load. A PSU at full throttle will be noisy, easily the noisiest part in a system in many cases. Power supplies also degrade over time, albeit slowly.

I would strongly advise AGAINST running 970 on that 460w OEM part. Big fat chance you will see a BSOD or sudden power out in the future somewhere. GTX 970 is also a good overclocker, and when you go there, power draw can easily go beyond 200W.

 

[EarthDog]

More or less Vayra... the thing is, with overclocking NVIDIA parts it all depends on if they mod the bios or not. Typically the power limit is 10-20% over stock. The 970 is a 150W part. 20% on top of that is ~180W. I find it difficult to believe that card goes over 200W "easily" without modifying the BIOS.

EDIT: Unless like the Gigabyte 970 Extreme the default BIOS already has the limit raised.

In my reviews, the 970 Extreme peaked at 292W (at the wall so around 260W actual) with the Gigabyte card heavily overclocked. That giga card's default bios is 250W.

 

[Vayra86]

More or less Vayra... the thing is, with overclocking NVIDIA parts it all depends on if they mod the bios or not. Typically the power limit is 10-20% over stock. The 970 is a 150W part. 20% on top of that is ~180W. I find it difficult to believe that card goes over 200W "easily" without modifying the BIOS.

You're right about that. Still, 970 is a bit of an odd one out in terms of perf/watt, I highly doubt 180W will remain the power draw of an eventual upgrade.

 

[red_stapler]

I would strongly advise AGAINST running 970 on that 460w OEM part.

Why not? We've already determined that the power supply has ~200W dedicated to just the GPU, and that Dell supplied a card with about the same power requirements from the factory with enough confidence to provide a warranty.

 

[GhostRyder]

I am looking to purchase my first Graphics card. I have a 4-5yr old PC with a i7 processor, 8GB RAM, 460w PSU, and a 1080p 60hz monitor. I am not a huge gamer, but go in spurts where if I find one I like I will play for hours and then not play again for months. I have not made a budget yet, but will say that it will probably be at most $350. I will probably need a new PSU for the bigger cards, so realistically $300 and under. I do not plan to upgrade every year, so I want a card that will last at least 4yrs and still look better than current console games. AMD vs Nvidia does not matter to me. I know what I want, but I want to make sure I am not going overboard with what I actually need.

Well the problem is your PSU of course is limiting on the higher end even if you go GTX 970. While no doubt it would be enough with the GTX 970 it could get close and that's not even thinking if the PSU has the correct cables to handle it (I would bet there is enough for the MITX version of the GTX 970 but I am curious about normal versions).

My suggestion would be to get a new PSU and then consider your options like a GTX 970 or R9 390. The R9 390 is the better card overall but here is a full suggestion:

PSU: EVGA 600B Bronze PSU
GPU: PowerColor PCS+ R9 390 8gb

Total for that combo is: $349.98. If you include the rebates they come with that drops the price down to $314.98.

With upgrading and such its hard to say if a card will last you 4 years because GPU's still tend to be the one thing that keep on changing enough and games requiring a lot more power. But if your just at 1080p the R9 390 should last you 2-4 years with at least high settings. That is my recommendation you do with your money and upgrade as it would be more secure for future upgrades.

The other option is see what cables your PSU has and possibly just buy a GTX 970 if you have the hookups as I would believe it would sit below the power usage. The only thing to question would be the age of the PSU and how well it will handle the new card even with its decent power consumption.

 

[Vayra86]

Why not? We've already determined that the power supply has ~200W dedicated to just the GPU, and that Dell supplied a card with about the same power requirements from the factory with enough confidence to provide a warranty.

I would be very interested in seeing the make and model PSU first. I've seen too many systems die on OEM PSU after a GFX got replaced.

Also consider the fact that a solid PSU will last multiple systems and upgrades. Better be safe than sorry, is my view.

 

[Slizzo]

Looking at the sticker for that PSU we have the following specs:

+3.3v - 17A 142W Max
+5.0V - 25A

+12vA - 18A
+12vB - 16A 385W Max
+12vC - 8A

-12v - 0.3A
+5vaux - 2A


Anyone know who the manufacturer of the PSU is? I do see on the label it states it was made in China but that doesn't give much to go off of.

 

[cdawall]

UL listing will say who made it

 

[Vayra86]

Looking at the sticker for that PSU we have the following specs:

+3.3v - 17A 142W Max
+5.0V - 25A

+12vA - 18A
+12vB - 16A 385W Max
+12vC - 8A

-12v - 0.3A
+5vaux - 2A


Anyone know who the manufacturer of the PSU is? I do see on the label it states it was made in China but that doesn't give much to go off of.

I'll hazard a guess: Chinese CapXon caps, below rated 12V line... this is a piece of junk.

 

[cdawall]

I'll hazard a guess: Chinese CapXon caps, below rated 12V line... this is a piece of junk.

Looks like a simple group regulated unit from the 3.3v rail

 

[Slizzo]

UL listing will say who made it

Alright, here we go. Looks like ACBEL is the OEM for the power supply.

 

[cdawall]

They are junk.

 

[tctuner1]

Alright, so based on all of the recommendations I think I will upgrade the PSU to at least 600w and going with an R9 390. I will probably purchase from Newegg to capitalize on the rebate offers and game bundle. They have a Powercolor, Gigabyte, XFX, and MSI all in the $300-$319AR range. Out of those what would be everyone's pick?

 

[GhostRyder]

Alright, so based on all of the recommendations I think I will upgrade the PSU to at least 600w and going with an R9 390. I will probably purchase from Newegg to capitalize on the rebate offers and game bundle. They have a Powercolor, Gigabyte, XFX, and MSI all in the $300-$319AR range. Out of those what would be everyone's pick?

Of the 4, I would probably get the MSI (If your looking at the OC edition). The clocks start very high, the cooler is pretty darn good, and it looks great.

If you want to look at others, my personal favorite is the Sapphire Nitro OC as you get tons of DP outputs, a huge cooler, and great OC out of the box.

 

[Frogger]

MSI because I like their coolers. Gigabyte have some great cards too all depends on the cooler.

 

[Vayra86]

Definitely MSI. Best cooler imo if you're not buying some exotic overpriced version. I've also never had a bad binned card once with MSI, but yeah, thats lottery.

 

[chuck216]

I'm not going to suggest a Videocard as any previously mentioned are good.

However you must get a new power supply. The stock one is only 460 watts with a 3 way split 12v rail. Which will overload the second you try using it with any decent GPU.

I suggest at least 650~750 watts single rail.

Please take this into consideration in your overall pricing and budget.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

If you can, I'd recommend waiting for Pascal and Polaris. The cards on the market today are power hogs with massive HSFs to match. Pascal and Polaris will about double the performance for the same power requirements. They're coming this year.

I'd spend $200 on the GPU and $100 on the PSU. Even if there isn't one in your price range at launch, their launch will cause the price of all cards on the market now to fall. It's win-win, if you can wait.

 

[ASOT]

Why wait? if u have the money take a 390 and good to GO gaming for many years

Never wait for something will appear next months,years or who knows ))))

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Normally I'd agree but the jump in tech between current generation and next is huge.

 

[tctuner1]

Why wait? if u have the money take a 390 and good to GO gaming for many years

Never wait for something will appear next months,years or who knows ))))

Yeah I bit the bullet and ordered a R9 390 and a 600w PSU. I did consider waiting, but I have already been waiting since Christmas to play the Fallout 4 copy I received. I just ordered the card yesterday, and cannot wait for it to arrive. I know I will never use it to it's fullest, but the goal was to get a card that will last me a few years.

Thanks again everyone for all of the advice. I would have never thought to get a new PSU as I was, and still am a noob. I had no idea about 6 or 8pin connectors or 12v rails. Hopefully all goes well and it all fits and works at startup. If anything at least I am a little more educated.

 

[Ahhzz]

That 390 should last you a while, and provide some good gaming. It will easily handle what FO4 can throw at it

 

[ASOT]

Good choice it will keep u long time ago...also with that Vram u will see is potential in next gen games