Thoughts on GPU upgrades.

[Horemheb]

Hello All


After my last thread on the forums I was able to put together a pretty decent system I think and it works
great for all most everything. I recently purchased a new 27" Qnix QX2710 Evolution II monitor and I have had
to turn my settings in game down to make up for the higher resolution.

My question is should I upgrade my gpu now or wait and see whats on the horizon?

I have a friend the bought 2 Asus GTX 670 2GB cards and only ended up using one of them. The other one is
still in the box unopened. He is going to give me a really good deal on it. Should I go for that and run sli or
buy a single 780 or 290? Or as I stated before should I wait and see what the ever elusive "Maxwell" will do to
as far as performance and price changing in the market?

I know these questions get asked a lot and sorry if it seems like a repeat but I am asking with my system in
mind. I have updated the specs and all you have to do is click and take a look.

Thanks for any and all responses ahead of time.

 

[erocker]

Adding the 2nd card will certainly help, though 2gb of Vram just isn't enough for some games/applications @ 2560x1440.

 

[M0rt]

Whole lotta of people asking the same thing, myself included. Here's a repost of a comment I made with links to my 2 similar threads.

"OP, I was in exactly the same spot (GB WF 670 OC as you) until 3 days ago, only my res is 1200p and I had the chance to buy another identical 670 locally for $220.

Here are my threads seeking advice if you want to give em a look. 1 and 2.

Just bought the GB 780 GHZ Sunday night. Figured I'd be able to sell the 780 in roughly a year and take $100 hit (paid $500) vs. taking the same or perhaps a bigger hit on the 670's times 2 (regardless of what you paid for your first 670, it's worth $220-230 now, so you have to factor its depreciation into the equation too), probably dealing with the headache of 2 transactions, and the added difficulty of finding buyers for a less desirable product. The potential inadequacy of the 2GB will probably increase the erosion of the 670's demand and value too, considering where displays are headed and what the next crop of AAA games might require.

So the math became, lose $100 vs $200, have 2 vs. 3GB, and sort out 1 sale vs. 2 with an unfavorable disparity of demand."

Originally posted here.

Hope this helps.

 

[Horemheb]

Well after reading all of that I am feeling a little more sure about upgrading. I was thinking the same thing about the 2gb with the 670 and also the resale value in the long term. I would rather just be worried about having to resell one card if need be. I think it would be a lot easier to resell one of these cards vs two much older cards. There is also the possibility of sli or crossfire down the line with one of the newer ones.

I am looking at these cards at the moment.
Asus Direct CU II GTX780-DC2OC
or
XFX Black Edition Double D 290

Thanks for he responses and for the post links.

How is your 780 working out for you M0rt?

 

[M0rt]

It ain't yet. Newegg took their sweet-ass time shipping it to me (5 days from east NJ to NYC; I coulda walked there and back quicker) and I didn't have time to install it over the weekend. I hope to get around to it tomorrow, but my work frequently interferes with my best laid plans.

If you're in the U.S., don't mess with the 290 until prices come down because the 780 has better price/performance as things stand. The Asus is probably a good card, but I'd wait to grab either the Gigabyte GHZ or EVGA Classified on a low price dip. I think the card with highest stock clock and the card most desired by enthusiasts will hold their value better come resale time vs. others.

Have a look at PCPartPicker to get a feel for the fluctuations.

 

[XSI]

Well it depends how much you will pay for 2x670. vs 1x780. In one thread i suggested to get second 670 in your case, its all about total price you pay.

 

[Horemheb]

Thanks for all the responses so far. I am in the US and I do agree that prices on the 290's are crazy at the moment. I can get the 670 for 220$. I had been looking for them online for a couple of weeks and I had not been able to find one below 310 brand new anywhere.

 

[Kaynar]

Pick an amd 290 or NVidia gt780 with a GOOD aftermarket cooler (especially for the 290 its wasted money if u have stock cooler). Then overclock the card as much as it can take since its very simple. 2GB is very limited for a 1440p resolution, I often go over 2GB vRAM on my 1900x1200p. 3GB will be fine, since you won't need as high AA setting because of the huge resolution.

 

[Blue-Knight]

My question is should I upgrade my gpu now or wait and see whats on the horizon?

Please wait 2 years more... You won't die (I can't guarantee).

 

[BarbaricSoul]

Yeah, like what I said in that thread M0rt linked, at 1600p, I have games use more than 2gb or VRAM. $220 is not that great a price for a GTX 670 IMHO, even if it is BNIB. You can get new EVGA GTX 760 SC ACX for $250. I would take the EVGA GTX 760 card for $250 before I took a GTX 670 so $220, especially if the 670 are reference cooler cards.

 

[M0rt]

OP, you'd be crazy to buy another 670 after all the reasons you've been given.

I think the smooth move is to wait for each GPU gen to mature, identify the sweetspot (a 670 that performs like a 680/a 780 that nips at the heels of a Ti), buy that top-tier iteration on a price dip, and sell the previous card at a $100 loss roughly once a year.

That's the best advice I got for ya, I'll leave you to your choice.

Enjoy!

 

[Horemheb]

I agree with what everyone is saying and I am going to buy something along the lines of a 780 gtx or a 290 when the prices get a little better.

This is the 780 I was looking at. I have lots of ASUS stuff and I have never had a problem.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DWV3NM6/?tag=tec06d-20

This is the 290 that I settled on. I just read a great review for it.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HWSATI6/?tag=tec06d-20

Still not sure what way I am going to go though.

 

[typicalintrovert]

dont get a 290x, way overpriced. get a 780 classified. pretty much the best 780 you can get. for $550 why wouldnt you

 

[Horemheb]

Thank you everyone for the comments and recommendations. I have been doing a lot of reading and watching videos for a good while now and all for naught as my wife decided for me. I had narrowed it down to a few choices and had them on my wishlist at amazon. She was looking for a present for our anniversary and noticed them on my wishlist. Doing a little bit of research of her own and some clever questioning of myself she figured out which one I liked and that it was a good choice.

So today I was suprised with and I could not be more happy!

She rocks !!!
ASUS Direct CU II GTX780-DC2OC-3GD5

 

[cantoncobaltsssc]

I'm running SLI Evga GTX 760's 2 gig and I couldn't be happier. I was really apprehensive about adding another one & going with GTX 780 instead. I can say with total confidence I made the right choice. No problems with any games so far, benchmarks results are simply fantastic. Very happy