Opinions Needed: GFX Card Upgrade

Slazenger

Slazenger

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I'm looking for a valued opinion from some of our techies out there. I'm considering upgrading my graphics card and needed some feedback to help sway me.

First of all, love it or hate it, I'm an Intel/Nvidia fanboy - so I apologize if that limits what we can consider.

I currently have a GTX 460 SE that has served me fairly well, but is lacking in power to deliver high graphics in high-end games.

I am considering buying into the GTX 600 series. I'm leery of spending $400+, but not against it if it will make a significant difference. Looking at the clock speeds and number of CUDA cores, there's a pretty substantial difference between my card and the 600s.

I currently use two monitors, the larger of which has DVI and HDMI inputs (23" Asus) and one which is just DVI (19" Samsung). I've always used DVI only with my GTX 460...but will it be a very noticable change between DVI and HDMI? The GTX 600 series all tend to have HDMI outputs and I was wondering how I will benefit from that.

I was considering this card and was wondering if this was an upgrade that would make sense to do. I'm currently playing things like Max Payne 3, Battlfield 3, and some of the new games on high settings - but hover around 30-40 fps with some fluctuations lower/higher. Will a GTX 670 be adequate to last for 2+ years? If I'm going to drop $400, I'd like to know that I won't need to repeat this again in another year.

Are there any other suggestions? I've been pleased with EVGA in the past, but I'm open to other suggestions as well.


I'm just a bit lost and need some feeback from people who are a bit more tech-savvy than me.


Specs:

All of this excluding the case was purchased during Summer 2011.


Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel i5-2500k running now @ stock speed
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
PSU: Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS
Main HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 HDS723015BLA642 (0F12114) 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Case: Antec 900 w/ standard fans + two additional 120mm.
 
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The GTX 670 is a powerhouse, and will not only run games like BF3 and MP3 (and most likely many upcoming titles) maxed out, it'll max them out on sexy resolutions, too. 1080p on that 23" while you're running multiple applications on that 19"? No problem. There's also the benefit of SLI later down the road, so even if you encounter a game you CAN'T run maxed out in 2+ years, then you can pick up a second 670 when their prices go down and be back at the level of awesome you started at.

The only thing that might make me hesitate would be the question of "Is the rest of my rig powerful enough not to bottleneck this $400+ purchase?" as well as "Do I have a power supply good enough to SLI two of these beasties later down the line?" (if applicable / if need be). I see that you're running with an Intel setup, so if you're sporting current/previous-generation Intel tech, you should be golden. Giving us a little more information on what's in your rig will help, though, so if you can be a little more specific about what all else you're sporting, we can find the perfect card for your setup.

As for the specific card model: I'm a huge EVGA fanboy, but the fans on some of the other models (like the MSI and Gigabyte cards) are downright sexy. Much as I normally try to pitch a defense for EVGA, if you don't mind spending a little more cash and extra noise doesn't bother you, it's well worth it to look into one of the following:
Gigabyte (when it's in-stock)
Galaxy (definitely a maybe. It's got good reviews from both customers and tech sites?)
MSI (again, when it's in-stock...)
I'd probably shoot for the Gigabyte if possible. It's the cheapest of all your options AND it's got the best cooling. Just IMO.
 
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Yeah, actually, a 670 would compliment that rig really well! That's not my favorite power supply but it'll do the job just fine. I'd say go for it!
 
Thanks for the feedback runo!

Still looking for any and all opinions.
 
670 is about as good as it gets. Going up to the 680 for $100 gets you very little additional performance. So 670 is definitely in a good place. 7950 is another decent option with price drops on amd of late. Specifically:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127667

Now, performance is definitely not up to par with the 670 in nvidia favored games like bf3. So if bf3 is your big time consumer, the 670 is the way to go. However, if you are looking for a slightly cheaper option, this is a good buy as well. Unfortunately, nvidia has been slow in getting its mid range cards out the door which is unfortunate and limits your options.

As for model, this page tells a lot:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-test-review,3217-14.html

The windforce 3x cooler on the gigabyte is pretty darn good, but an equally appealing option is the asus directcuii. If noise is a concern, the asus is about as close to silent as you can get as the video shows. The gigabyte is a close second imo, but the cooler looks a little cheap which worries me down the road. However, the price of the custom cooled gigabyte is a big win being the same as a reference card.

Rest of your system looks great. That psu is not bad at all.
 
I agree with huckleberry. I like the ASUS model of the 670. Being leery of such an expensive purchase isn't bad, but think of it like this: This card will give you the best performance you can hope for, and will last you easily for 2-3 years before you even think of replacing it with a faster model. So if you buy this card, expecting it to stay with you that long, you're really paying between $160-$250/yr, depending on the length of time you own it and the price you paid.
 
I second getting a good heatsink on a card like that. When I bought my 6870 I cheaped out and got a stock heatsink. Needless to say it runs very hot and gets loud when playing games like bf3. Plus the possibility of any sort of overclocking is out. Even if you don't plan on overclocking, the good heat sink will keep the temps down and keep it quiet aswell.

The gigabyte would be my vote. Its the cheapest and has a nice heatsink. But do some measurements and make sure it can fit in your case, that is one of the longer cards. Its 11'' long while the others are 10''.

And don't worry, the other parts are fairly new and will not bottleneck the graphics card.
 
I'm running an evga gtx 670SC (upgraded from a 570 SC) and I love it ^_^
Runs any game I play on max settings at 1920x1080.
 
Thank you for the feedback guys. Now I just need to figure out which manufacturer to go with.
 
Your options are basically:

Asus: Best cooler for noise with great thermal performance at an added cost
Gigabyte: Good cooler with decent noise, good thermals, and cheap price
EVGA: Best Warranty
 
I'm your huckleberry said:
Your options are basically:

Asus: Best cooler for noise with great thermal performance at an added cost
Gigabyte: Good cooler with decent noise, good thermals, and cheap price
EVGA: Best Warranty
Click to expand...
Newegg says all three cards have a 3 year warranty, so I'm confused as to why you say EVGA has the best.

My vote is for the gigabyte. But remember to measure. The Asus is 10.7'' and the Gigabyte is 11". If those don't fit you might have to look at the other cards which are all 10''.
 
MY case supports up to 16" graphics cards, so no issue there. I went with my gut and got the EVGA 670 FTW. Felt comfortable staying with a brand that I've had in my last two builds. I appreciate all of the feedback though. I really wasn't sure whether to throw that money into my rig...but you all made me realized it was a wise move.

Thanks guys. I'm excited to see it perform!
 
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