Thinking about upgrading the good ole graphics card

With the witcher 3 coming out soon I was thinking about getting a new graphics card. I'm currently rocking a solid radeon 7870 that I'm thinking about giving to my brother to put in his pc (I will certainly check to see if it jives with his computer since it was pre-built. can't imagine it being a problem though). Current set-up alongside the card is:

CPU: Intel i5-3570

8GB RAM

Motherboard: MSI BS5A-G43

Corsair 500W

Was thinking of a budget between $200 & $250 budget. I guess I can be talked into a little higher budget if it seems worth it. I would love to run the witcher 3 on high, but I know that game is going to be a beastly thing so if I can't reach those levels it isn't the end of the world lol. Would it be better to switch to nvidia? I have had some issues with getting certain games running well *stares angrily at you wolfenstein*. Thanks in advance for any advice offered!

I'd go with a GTX 960 at that price. The 2 GB versions goes for around $200 while the 4GB versions are about $250. Not the most amazing card on the planet but it's very power efficient and should be fine if you keep the resolution at or below 1080p and don't go crazy with the settings.

Should also mention that if you do go with the 960 (or a 970 or 980) you get a free code for The Witcher 3.

Edit: Oh yeah, and if you can wait, AMD is supposed to start launching their 300 series cards in June. Might be worth checking out.

@turtlebird95: Thanks! What's the benefit of the 4GB version over the 2GB version? I'm fine not going over 1080 resolution so that's not a big deal. I usually don't mess with settings too much. I usually put it on high and if the game doesn't run well I lower a few settings. I know the game isn't out yet, but what settings would you presume I could run witcher 3 at with the card you suggested? I assume for most other games the 960 would be a top notch card (I should take this into consideration and not just for one game :p).

I do have witcher 3 preorderd through GOG. I think CD Projekt Red runs a really rad service so I wanted to support them.

Game should be NV optimized so that's the right way to go but their GPU prices are still a bit high. I would probably go used if I was in your situation and try to find a used 780/290 for $250ish for best case scenario . If going new the 280X/960 are the best card based purely on performance. Take a look at this link which is from the 7th of this month you'll see how the cards stack up across various games.

@jiggajoe14

On the 4GBvs2GB it's gonna be textures that might start to get bigger going forward. Stuff like Mordor has started to use big high res texture packs and stuff like Elder Scrolls games with mods have been using a lot for a long while. I would say to not buy any card with less than 3GB if you're buying new.

@jiggajoe14: There's really no performance difference between the two, just that one has more VRAM to use. For the most part 2GB seems to be fine at 1080p unless you're playing something like Skyrim with a bunch of texture packs and stuff. It'd probably be a good idea to go with the 4GB version if possible just because we're entering a new generation of games and they might start wanting more.

As for how it handles games, it seems to do a good job of playing most games at 1080p on high settings with close to if not 60 fps. Really no clue how it's gonna handle the Witcher 3, lol, but if Nvidia's bundling the game with the card I'm sure it will be fine! (It'll definitely look and run a hell of a lot better than the console versions!)

Edit: Apparently the performance boost from a 7870 to a 960 isn't huge, so you may want to consider a 970 if possible. I don't think an R9 280x or 290 is a great idea on a 500w PSU.

I might also recommend the 4GB card as a lot of games these days are going after that VRAM.

@turtlebird95: I'd be willing to spend extra if the jump to the 960 from the 7870 isn't significant. I assume the 970 has a much more significant jump up from both. Also:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Super-Clocked-Graphics/dp/B00NVODXR4

why are there 9 god damn options to choose from?! I would have no idea which one to choose from!

@junkboy0: is there a good place to get used GPU's like the 970 from?

I wouldn't ever recommend buying a used GPU, because you don't know who owned it, what they did with it, or how hard they pushed it. It's a crapshoot. Then if you have a problem, you probably don't have a warranty to fall back on.

@mb:

That's not entirely true, a few of the manufacturers warranties revert to the date shipped out of the factory based on serial of the card. Some even have transferable warranties but knowing different vendor policies can be difficult for someone coming in new. Amazon warehouse deals can also give very good prices for used cards at times but one has to be quick. Plus gpu miners have mostly gone and usually that was many old AMD cards so stuff like 970 will be relatively safe. There MANY used 970s floating about across the various forums like [H] OCN and EVGA as well as others it's not too uncommon to see them appear sometimes as sets even.

BNIB 970 $320

Used MSI 970 $300

Used 970 for $268

@junkboy0: I can find anything used on Craigslist too...that doesn't mean it is a good idea to buy used GPUs to save a few bucks. You have to admit, it's a risk.

No way in hell it's worth it to me to save 10-15% on something like a GPU.

@jiggajoe14: Damn I didn't know EVGA had so many different versions. O.O

I think they're mostly all the same, except some are clocked differently from others and have different cooling technologies. (For example the SC version is clocked higher than the regular one, while the SSC is clocked even higher than that, and I think the FTW versions are even higher and have slightly better cooling) I don't think the performance will be drastically different no matter which of those models you choose though, so don't sweat that too much. Go with a brand you trust and that has the most comfortable prices for you.

My personal favorite has to be the Asus Strix model though. I just think it looks the coolest lol. Apparently it's also one of the most quiet ones as you can set the fans to not even spin until it reaches a certain temperature. I was really close on pulling the trigger and buying one for myself but I decided to hold off.

@mb:

I get that but there are very good deals to be had for those willing to find them. And certain forums and sites have rep systems (as well as Heat) where buying from some of them can be much safer than stuff like CL or Ebay. Though yeah risk is always there.

If you're going to get the 4 gig variant of the 960 then you're better off just getting the 970 that comes with 4 standard plus the greatly appreciated bump in processing power

Alright you sly bastards obviously conspired to get me to spend more money :p so it seems I have two possible choices:

MSI: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-GTX-970-4G-Graphics/dp/B00NN0GEXQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1429414537&sr=1-1&keywords=msi+gtx+970

or

ASUS: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-STRIX-GTX970-DC20C-4GD5-Graphics-Cards/dp/B00NJ9BJ8G/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1429410223&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+strix/

Same exact price so not like that is a deciding factor at this point. Both seem to do well on the quiet front, but is one better at providing both better performance and less sound fuckery than the other?

At the 250 price range the only choice is a 960. If you can scrounge up another 100 it is worth it to get a 970 though. I have used the MSI 970 card you linked basically since 970's existed, if it has any sound fuckery at all you could fool me. Performance is also fine. Scored over 12k using it in whatever the current 1080 test is for 3dmark 2014.... firestorm or whatever.

Also to whoever is advising buying a used GPU..... uh no, just no. Not unless it is at like a heinous discount. No one in their right mind will pay 300 for a used 970 when they can buy a new one for 350. Maybe at 150-175 it is worth "considering".

@jiggajoe14: GTX 960's bought on amazon come with a code for Witcher 3. Get one of those. Great card that fots the budget, and a free game you want.

Edit: same with the 970. I JUST bought an Asus Strix 970 today. Said I will be getting a redeem code for Witcher 3 when the card ships. Can't beat that!

@stonyman65: Yeah I've already preordered and paid for it through GOG (probably just going to keep the preorder) and will just give the code to a friend, but still pretty awesome deal for people!

When it comes to getting a new graphics card everyone seems to have a different of opinion, its just down to personal preference, I personally would feel more comfortable going with an Nvidia card than AMD, so for the price bracket you're looking at more than likely a GTX 960, a 970 would be better if you could though for a better gaming experience.

@jiggajoe14: I'd go for the ASUS 970 over the MSI 970 personally, simply because the majority of my components/laptops over the last decade have been ASUS & I've never had any issues, actually have an ASUS 980 ordered.

I've been contemplating an upgrade with Witcher III and Arkham Knight on the horizon (not to mention PC GTAV which I'll probably pick up at some point in the coming months). I think I'm going for the 970, the 980 is just too big a jump in price to justify to myself. Probably go with EVGA as that's what I'm using at the moment and when I had a problem with my previous GPU they replaced it quickly and with minimal hassle. Had always heard good stuff about them so was reassuring to have that experience for myself too. Looking on Amazon now but no free copy of Witcher III, perhaps that's a US-only thing. It's certainly not a deal-breaker but if there was a game included that'd always be a nice benefit to ease the cost slightly.

@jiggajoe14: There's not much between the MSI 970 and the STRIX. Just go with whichever is more readily available, or you prefer the looks of.

If your going to do $250, the r9 290 offers a lot better value than the 960. I have a 970, but I would have picked up a 290x had they been cheaper when i bought my 970.

Not sure why people seem to ignore AMD cards so much.

Edit: r9 290 for 239.99.

@skytylz: Pairing an R9 290 with a 500 watt PSU probably wouldn't work out very well.

@turtlebird95: I didn't notice he only had a 500w power supply. My bad.

Whoa thanks for all the replies guys! So I might just end up with the ASUS one then! Now it looks like that one has a single 8 pin connector. My current one uses 2 6 pin connectors with 2 pins hanging off to the side (I assume these are the lovely 6+2 connectors I've been reading about onlinem. I assume I can take the 2 pin hanging off and put it in with the 6 pin and that will suffice. Am I right there?

@jiggajoe14: Yeah that's right, there's only one way it fits so it's easy to connect.

Alright I promise this is my last bump for this thread. I have my new graphics card waiting for me at home! I was just curious if I need to uninstall my drivers for my 7870. Will it automatically recognize the 970 when I pop it in? Will I need to install drivers for that? Just want to know what to do after I put in my new baby!

Once again thank you all so much!

@jiggajoe14: You should download new drivers for your new card and set them aside on the desktop and then uninstall your previous drivers. Shut down the PC, put in the new card, and when you boot back up install the new drivers.

These are the bare basics of course. More hardcore users will direct you to specific programs that specialize in completely wiping out all traces of your old drivers from the PC, going into safe mode etc etc. I mean technically you could probably do nothing, put the new card in, boot up windows and install the new drivers - but that just increases the chance of conflicts. Do the bare minimum I mentioned about: uninstall old drivers before installing new hardware and you should be fine.

So could anyone give me a link to the proper drivers to download? :p

Someone already mentioned but watch out with that power supply.
I know my 290x requires a 750w and recommends an 850w PSU.
Might be able to get away with an Nvidia card.

I think VRAM is important especially going forward into 2016-2018 games. So, I would spend a bit more, a penny saved is not really fantastic when you could just spend a $40-$50 more to get something far better.

EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card and a decent 700W power supply.