Jump to content

A few questions about gpu cards


PcJunkie

Recommended Posts

Hey guys,

 I have a Sapphire 7870 ghz ed running a 27" 1080p Lcd television, an FX 8320 clocked to 4.0ghz and 8 gigs of  G skill Sniper 1600 ram.

 I want to upgrade soon. I know im doubling my ram for sure. Will it be best to buy another 7870/7850 or should I move into the R9's? I only have the funds to purchase one card. I cant buy two new R9's in other words. I also have a bronze EVGA 500w psu, will it hold up also? THe reason I mentioned the tv is b/c IDK how it compares to an actual monitor. Should I be looking to replace that guy too?

 One last question about Crossfire compatability, The charts show that my 7870 is only compatible with a 7850 or 7870 in crossfire. However I read a post, somewhere stating that one of the R9 cards uses the same generation of chip that the 7870 does... Is that true and does anyone know which card it is?

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Don't do crossfire, you WILL regret it. Just get the fastest single card you can. Not sure about the PSU, I personally would upgrade that too. Ram is cheap, upgrade if you want, but 8GB is already enough.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As for your question about Crossfire with HD 7000 and R200 graphics cards, your answers are here:

http://www.legitreviews.com/amd-radeon-7000-radeon-r200-series-mixed-crossfire-testing_126124

 

I have to say, I never have issues with Crossfire these days (two R9 290X's). SLI on the other hand, has been spotty since my GTX 680 SLI and GTX 780 SLI days. While it's definitely affordable to get a HD 7970 (or equivalent R9 280X), two HD 7870's would give you slightly better performance. However, I'll agree with everyone else, a single most powerful card is the easier, less hassle route, and your EVGA 500W should handle almost any single graphics card fine. Just let us know what exact brand so we know how much amps are on the +12V rail.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I agree with Waco and Black, if you can stay with the single fastest card you can get that way your psu should be fine and you will have less hassel. Unless you are doing a lot of photo and video editing your 8 gb of ram should be fine.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

And if you don't mind buying used, there are lots of fantastic deals on R9 cards since the mining craze has settled down.  Lot of miners letting go of their excess inventory of R9 cards.

 

8Gb is more than enough memory for most people, so I would definitely invest the funds in the latest generation video card.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A)Like the others, I say stick with the 8GB of memory. The extra money can get you a better card.

 

B)Is your 7870 really struggling that hard to play games at 1080P, in other words, is this an upgrade just because or is the 7870 falling short of performing properly in the games you're playing.

 

C) Your LCD TV is fine as monitor though, nothing wrong with that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

 

I was under the impression 8 gigs of ram only supplied each core with one gig... not so?

 

Waco & Black64: Crossfire isnt that great huh? I have to admit that I'd rather not have any hassles with my machine. It's just intriguing to have 2 cards in there working together.

 

Elcapitan: Thank you for the link sir!!!!

 

Spikesoprano: I do a little editing. Nothing major though. Just WoW raid videos. I am bad about opening a hundred different programs tho... ten thousand browser tabs, vlc, utorrent,at least one game,  etc lol

 

wevsspot: Wouldn't a card that was used for mining be pretty beat up internally? I just get the vibe that its hard on the card. Its constantly grinding away at a high gpu usage isn't it?

 

Iviyth0s : The card isnt struggling at all. I just want to beef up my rig and possibly add some years of use to it.  My last rig lasted my about 4 years and I've completely lost touch with how things have evolved.  It was literally a week after I built this setup that the R9 line was released. I was completely unaware of the pending release lol. So Im not really sure how long that 7870 will last me....

 

Thanks again guys... I would like to know more about cards that have been used for mining. If anyone has input on that I'd be grateful to learn.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As for your question about Crossfire with HD 7000 and R200 graphics cards, your answers are here:

http://www.legitreviews.com/amd-radeon-7000-radeon-r200-series-mixed-crossfire-testing_126124

 

I have to say, I never have issues with Crossfire these days (two R9 290X's). SLI on the other hand, has been spotty since my GTX 680 SLI and GTX 780 SLI days. While it's definitely affordable to get a HD 7970 (or equivalent R9 280X), two HD 7870's would give you slightly better performance. However, I'll agree with everyone else, a single most powerful card is the easier, less hassle route, and your EVGA 500W should handle almost any single graphics card fine. Just let us know what exact brand so we know how much amps are on the +12V rail.

 

Crossfire still has issues but they have made strides to reduce the frametime variances. Up to 2560x1440 it is better. 4k is still an issue. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The memory is shared with all cores. :cheers:

 Unless it's graphics memory in CF or SLI :teehee:

 

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

 

I was under the impression 8 gigs of ram only supplied each core with one gig... not so?

 

Waco & Black64: Crossfire isnt that great huh? I have to admit that I'd rather not have any hassles with my machine. It's just intriguing to have 2 cards in there working together.

 

Elcapitan: Thank you for the link sir!!!!

 

Spikesoprano: I do a little editing. Nothing major though. Just WoW raid videos. I am bad about opening a hundred different programs tho... ten thousand browser tabs, vlc, utorrent,at least one game,  etc lol

 

wevsspot: Wouldn't a card that was used for mining be pretty beat up internally? I just get the vibe that its hard on the card. Its constantly grinding away at a high gpu usage isn't it?

 

Iviyth0s : The card isnt struggling at all. I just want to beef up my rig and possibly add some years of use to it.  My last rig lasted my about 4 years and I've completely lost touch with how things have evolved.  It was literally a week after I built this setup that the R9 line was released. I was completely unaware of the pending release lol. So Im not really sure how long that 7870 will last me....

 

Thanks again guys... I would like to know more about cards that have been used for mining. If anyone has input on that I'd be grateful to learn.

CF and SLI are great but the big reason I don't like them is because I can't stand the fact that the video memory is mirrored and not doubled. This is what killed the performance of my 5970 (essentially two 5870s in CF on one card), it had raw power flooding out of every orifice but the fact that each GPU core could only use 1GB....it ran like garbage after a couple of mods in Skyrim. Popped in my 7950 (which should technically not have been a stronger card) and the game ran smooooooooth. Since then I only recommend it to those who still invest in two cards with a lot of vram to extend the useful life of the pairing OR already have the best single GPU card they can afford.

 

Mining cards can be well cared for if they're undervolted and cooled plenty, not saying all miners take care of their cards buy some may have ample warranty left for issues or have taken care of them well (like El Capitan, who has a couple 290Xs over in his thread for sale from mining for a song!)

 

Now you say you're future proofing but wouldn't we be having this conversation in a year or two if you wanted to then "future proof" again. The way I see it, if my parts are giving me the experience I want (a smooth gameplay at fairly high to max settings) than I see no reason to upgrade. But if you want to keep games maxed and are that type of person than by all means upgrade your graphics card but the rest of your system is fine.

 

I'd go with a minimum of a R9 290 or GTX780 as a 7970/280X is an upgrade for you but if you're going to do it, make it something with a further upgrade but still good value. Or, with the prices of the 290Xs Cappy's selling...I'd go with one of those, they're enthusiast level strength for very cheap haha

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I thought I'd clean up my For Sale thread a bit.

 

First, here's some feedback links:

Overclock.net

HeatWare.com

 

Hopefully that straightens out any trust issues.

 

Also, here was my old For Sale thread.

 

Okay, on to the sale.

 

Graphics Cards For Sale

ASUS GTX 780 3GB with copper waterblock and stock cooler (1 sold, 1 available) - $335 shipped ($260 without waterblock)

ASUS GTX 780 3GB DCII - $280 shipped

 

The GTX 780 DCII card would be an awesome buy if he'll dicker with you on the price a little bit  :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...