Universe Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card as I'd like to be able to play the upcoming Star Citizen modules at a reasonable, if not at ultra, settings. The resolution that I play everything at would be 1920x1080. My current desktop, which is out of date, is an,i7 920 (not OC'ed)ASUS P6TD DeluxeRadeon HD 5870 (not OC'ed)Corsair Vengeance 12 GBFor the Star Citizen hangar module I do get a every low frame rate. For reference for those who may not be aware, Star Citizen runs on the CryEngine (4th generation).Basically what I'd like to know is whether I could get a significant improvement in the game's performance by only upgrading the graphics card? My thoughts on an upgrade are either a Radeon HD 7970 or spend more to get an R9 280x or 290x. I know the the bottlenecks are going to be the bandwidth of the PCIe 2.0 slot on the MB (my research says it would be a 10-20% performance loss) and the bandwidth of the CPU.I'd like to get a completely new desktop, however, within the next year I'm going to be moving overseas and as such getting a new desktop wouldn't be the wisest decision. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ir_cow Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 the 920 is still good enough , you just need a new video card. how much are you willing to spend? upgrading from 5870 only takes $100 to double the performance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universe Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 the 920 is still good enough , you just need a new video card. how much are you willing to spend? upgrading from 5870 only takes $100 to double the performance. At the moment I can spend whatever. Radeon 79XX series are on sale due to the R series coming out. Likewise I could get either the R9 280x or the 290x when it comes out later this month. For links, its to Canada Computers which is just a few KM away from me. If I wasn't moving overseas I'd be looking at http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/Uchuu/saved/2ydu as a completely new system, but taking that beast overseas would be fun to say the least. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeSoprano Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 If I was in your position I'd go with the 7970 or even a 7950, your hardware can handle it and you'd see a good gain in frame rates for minimal cost. pci 3 is not all it's cracked up to be. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheGamer11 Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 What do you have against the R 290 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universe Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 (edited) If I was in your position I'd go with the 7970 or even a 7950, your hardware can handle it and you'd see a good gain in frame rates for minimal cost. pci 3 is not all it's cracked up to be. Would it be worth while to consider the R9s at all? The cost between them is pretty similar. As for stats, http://gpuboss.com/gpus/ASUS-Radeon-R9-280X-vs-ASUS-Radeon-HD-7970 it seems they are pretty similar. Don't know the stats on the 290x, at least in comparison to other cards, but from what I hear its going to outperform the Titan and Nvidia's 7XX series. Edited October 16, 2013 by Universe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universe Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 (edited) Double post. Edited October 16, 2013 by Universe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheGamer11 Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 If I was in your position I'd go with the 7970 or even a 7950, your hardware can handle it and you'd see a good gain in frame rates for minimal cost. pci 3 is not all it's cracked up to be. Would it be worth while to consider the R9s at all? The cost between them is pretty similar. As for stats, http://gpuboss.com/gpus/ASUS-Radeon-R9-280X-vs-ASUS-Radeon-HD-7970 it seems they are pretty similar. Don't know the stats on the 290x, at least in comparison to other cards, but from what I hear its going to outperform the Titan and Nvidia's 7XX series. Well the R9 280X is a rebranded 7970 with a few goodies pretty much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universe Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 If I was in your position I'd go with the 7970 or even a 7950, your hardware can handle it and you'd see a good gain in frame rates for minimal cost. pci 3 is not all it's cracked up to be. Would it be worth while to consider the R9s at all? The cost between them is pretty similar. As for stats, http://gpuboss.com/gpus/ASUS-Radeon-R9-280X-vs-ASUS-Radeon-HD-7970 it seems they are pretty similar. Don't know the stats on the 290x, at least in comparison to other cards, but from what I hear its going to outperform the Titan and Nvidia's 7XX series. Well the R9 280X is a rebranded 7970 with a few goodies pretty much. By the sounds of it, seems like going with an R9 280x would be the better option than a 7970, as the 280x has more "refinement." I know the 290x is due out later this month so it may be worth while waiting for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheGamer11 Posted October 16, 2013 Posted October 16, 2013 If I was in your position I'd go with the 7970 or even a 7950, your hardware can handle it and you'd see a good gain in frame rates for minimal cost. pci 3 is not all it's cracked up to be. Would it be worth while to consider the R9s at all? The cost between them is pretty similar. As for stats, http://gpuboss.com/gpus/ASUS-Radeon-R9-280X-vs-ASUS-Radeon-HD-7970 it seems they are pretty similar. Don't know the stats on the 290x, at least in comparison to other cards, but from what I hear its going to outperform the Titan and Nvidia's 7XX series. Well the R9 280X is a rebranded 7970 with a few goodies pretty much. By the sounds of it, seems like going with an R9 280x would be the better option than a 7970, as the 280x has more "refinement." I know the 290x is due out later this month so it may be worth while waiting for it. You could say that, just wait for the Never Settle Forever bundle to include the new cards which is soon! Yeah, we should hear something by the 25th. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeSoprano Posted October 17, 2013 Posted October 17, 2013 I have nothing against the new r cards, just that prices on the 7970 and 7950's are great now so if you can save a few bucks for good performance why not ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted October 17, 2013 Posted October 17, 2013 The 920 is awesome (I wouldn't know from experience or anything A 7970, GTX770 or maybe a 280x may be good but since I haven't looked up the 280x's performance numbers I'd look more at the other two Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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