Upgrading GPU, would like recommendations

[Jafar Ironclad]

Hey guys!

Looking to possibly upgrade from my GeForce GTX 650 to something somewhat beefier with the impending release of Star Citizen's dogfighting module. Budget is $150; willing to go up to $200 for something with good staying power; preference something that can be expanded in horsepower by adding additional cards in the future.

What do you guys recommend?

[ShockUnitBlack]

Radeon R9 270 for ~$170. You can put it in Crossfire, but I'm pretty dubious that you actually should. You'd be better off saving you cash and buying a better single card than Crossfiring.

[Psyrus]

Originally Posted by ShockUnitBlack

Radeon R9 270 for ~$170. You can put it in Crossfire, but I'm pretty dubious that you actually should. You'd be better off saving you cash and buying a better single card than Crossfiring.

I've heard (not experienced, since I'm still on a HD5870) that the newer generations of both Nvidia and ATI/AMD scale much better than historically, to the point of like 70%+ improvements. I'm looking it up now...

Performance | AMD Radeon R9 270X CrossfireX and R9 280X 4-way CrossfireX review [868] | Video card reviews#ReviewStudio.net

Yep, from what I can see there, the r270x scales between 70-85% better when a second one is added. Previous generations were almost 50% or worse.

[Jafar Ironclad]

Additional thoughts:
-I plan on selling my old GeForce GTX 650, as it doesn't do SLI and I don't think its worth the extra power and heat in the machine to try and keep it around as a dedi physX processor. What's a good price for me to name for it? I've been using it for about 15 months if I remember correctly. This may allow me to spring for a better, slightly more expensive card, like the GTX 760 over the 750 Ti.

-Nvidia vs. ATI. Thoughts? I've never done an ATI card before. If it helps, here are my specs:

System Information
------------------
  Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional  (6.1.7601)
      Architecture: 64-bit
   Current Culture: English (United States)
       Motherboard: Intel Corporation DX79SI
         Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3960X CPU @ 3.30GHz (Physical: 6, Logical: 12)
            Memory: 32.00 GB
      DIMM Modules: DIMM1: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM5: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM2: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM6: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM3: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM7: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM4: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
                    DIMM8: 4.00 GB @ 1334 MHz
         Page File: 31.92 GB
    .NET Framework: 4.5.1, Runtime: 4.0.30319.18444

Display Information
-------------------
 Display Device(s): Generic PnP Monitor on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650
                    Generic PnP Monitor on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650
   Display Mode(s): 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) @ 59 Hz
                    1920 x 1080 (32 bit) @ 60 Hz
    Driver Version: 9.18.13.1422 (314.22)
    Display Memory: 2.00 GB
     Multisampling: 2, 4, 8
               DPI: 96 (100%)

[DesmoLocke]

All that money on an i7 3960X and 32 GB of ram and you can't spring for a sweet graphics card?

First off, I'm a Nvidia guy. I enjoy the extra features that come with their cards. (Especially Shadowplay!) I would recommend a GTX 760 for $200, but I would strongly urge you to pinch some pennies and increase your budget to $300. The sweet spot for performance right now is the $300 tier. For the extra money, you can grab a GTX 770 which is a very strong card. It'll do well in the Star Citizen DFM (a.k.a. Arena Commander) which I am very excited for too!

The 770 is worth the $$$ compared to the 760 in Crysis 3.


*To be fair. Star Citizen will support the Mantle API. A $300 280X is worth consideration too.

[Jafar Ironclad]

My dad was an Intel employee at the time, so we got significant discounts on the board, CPU, and an SSD. My computer's a Digital Audio Workstation first, so I've been investing more in sample libraries and audio gear when the money comes up.

[[R-DEV]Mineral]

Got a 770GTX. CE3(star citizen) runs great on it. I expect the DFM to go great as well PR runs alright, arma runs good any pretty much all else runs amazing

But it seems to be a bit above your budget. I'd say don't expect too much from mantle, it seems to be mostly have been marketing. hasn't shown much actual improvement. But I believe that for that pricerange the AMD R9 270 series might be the best fit.

Whatever you do don't get a 750GTX.

[MaSSive]

Well you can always add a bit more and get something better, there is no end to that, so you choose yourself, what you think its best for the money.

I wont throw any suggestions on specific cards or manufacturers but Ill leave you a link to this review.

MSI R9 270X HAWK 2 GB Review | techPowerUp

Take a deep look in it. Linked page is just a test result, but you can navigate to the rest of review. I use GTS450 and I will need to upgrade asap, but my budget is low so Ill probably go for older and cheaper HD6870. As for newer cards, from what ve been reading, R92XX - GTX760 - GTX 770 are in the top right now.

[Daniel]

is a R9 280 (x?) too expensive? I'd go for a GTX 770 aswell btw...

[Steeps]

Also going to suggest the GTX 770. I have a 680 and really want that 770...

But honestly, this is the best chart to reference: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

Going by performance though, the GTX 770 is right up with the best at the lowest price.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html