New gaming graphics card advice please

S

Sarmad

Posts: 38   +1
Hi,

My graphics card that's been serving me for six years is beginning to fail. It's an MSI N580GTX TWIN FROZR II/OC based on nVidia GTX 580. One of the twin fans is failing and after few minutes of playing any game, my screen goes black as if the GPU has shutdown from overheating and the only way out of it is by pressing the power button to force-shutdown the PC. This problem doesn't happen when I'm doing anything else with the PC (office software, Internet browsing, etc) or just leave the computer on all day doing nothing, as because those tasks are not GPU intensive. Anyway, so it's time to treat myself to a new GPU, so what would people recommend for these days that would fit my current system?

I would like something that's capable of 3D Vision as per my current card and play latest games at full settings (my current card is otherwise experiencing dropped framerates unless I tone down the settings a little bit).

Current PC specs:
CPU: Intel i7 2600K 3.4 MHz
RAM: 16 GB
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68 Deluxe
GPU Slot: PCI Express x16 2.0
OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Monitor: Asus VG236, full HD and 3D

I know my CPU is old but I don't want to upgrade it yet just for the sake of games as it still kicks ***, and the dropped frame-rates I'm getting with current games at full setting I'm sure are due to GPU rather than CPU, as GPU is the only failure highlighted in the game spec tests. Finally, my motherboard's GPU slot is PCI Express x16 2.0 and I see the current cards in the market are version 3.0. So how much of a bottleneck will my system be on the new card's performance? If I buy a very powerful card, will the rest of my system restrict a lot of its potential, and therefore should I be aiming for a card that matches the maximum capability of my system? If so, what is the maximum card that suits my system?

Thanks.
 
I'm in a similar boat as you, meaning older hardware but it's running fine. I was holding out for the longest time for the pascal video cards to come out. Of course now the 1080 Ti is out and I'm drooling over it but I can't afford it myself.

I don't consider myself a hardware guru, but I will share the logic going through my head. In a sense, a graphics card is its own mini-system with its own processor and memory dedicated to performing calculations to generate the graphics. So the bottlenecking that you are concerned about, should not be an issue if you increase the graphic settings to match the abilities of the new graphics card. I believe you would only have issues if you play a game or use a program that is more demanding of the rest of your system's hardware.
 
Hi,

I've been looking at nVidia GTX 1070 cards as they almost fit inside my budget, then noticed some cheap 1080 cards that are only slightly more expensive than the 1070, for example this one selling for £490: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb...graphics-card-2560-core-1632-mhz-gpu-1771-mhz

It's a lot cheaper than other 1080 GPU's and there are many 1070 cards (lower spec cards) that are the same price or more. Am I not noticing something there? If this is a higher spec card, why would someone want to pay more for 1070 card of lower spec? This 1080 for £490 would still be a better deal than a similarly-priced or more expensive 1070 card, wouldn't it? Or is there any advantage that a similar/more priced 1070 card have over this 1080?
 
I suggest you go ahead and step up the psu to atleast 650watts otherwise expect system problems right off the bat if you start overclocking.
Not gonna lie but are you sure you need 8gb just to play a few games in high definition, maybe 4gb or 6gb at max will be plenty even for a old 2600k.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-GeFor...3102646&sr=8-1&keywords=EVGA+GeForce+GTX+1070

This superclock evga has better speed than the gigabyte and its about 10 bucks lower than the one you are looking at.
You could go for a 1060 gtx for 150.00 bucks less and it has good vga ram memory for demanding games.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/product-re...dpproductdetail_text?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

The choice is up to you though I would suggest to go ahead and move ahead to a better cpu/mobo/ram socket line up.
Then save the gpu for last which is bigger hitter in your bank accounts.
 
Hi MaikuTech,

Thanks for your response.

My PSU is 1200 W, so I already should have more than enough power to run the new GPU :)

I wasn't thinking of upgrading my CPU, RAM and mobo yet because my system still runs fast enough for my other needs, and my understanding is that games are more dependent on GPU than CPU. With my current rig, I can play games like "Far Cry 4" and "Rise Of The Tom Raider" but with only few of the settings slightly dropped from fullest.

Those links you gave me, are you sure that a superclocked 1070 is faster than the 1080? It's showing a slightly higher boost frequency (1784 MHz as opposed to the 1080's 1771 MHz) but I would've thought that the 1080 still has more cores therefore more operations per cycle.

Regarding your advice on the GTX 1080 being overkill for my system, I was thinking in terms of playing the games in fullest settings as possible (apart from resolution being limited to 1080p) and also future-proofing because new games get more and more demanding. Even if I don't go into 4K territory with my current rig, new games still get more demanding in terms of textures, lighting effects, shades, etc for which GPU power is also needed. But, preventing myself in spending more than what 'll ever need is also a deciding factor.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Thanks.
 
If the box itself says superclocked and has a SC by the name of it yes it is.
Its the original card design but the manufacturers went ahead and clocked it up and fixed whatever problems it had before.
This is my card at the moment and its a super clock version plays just about game I want to.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IGHD7S6/?tag=httpwwwtechsp-20.
Also for the moment some superclock do better than higher end cards but the 1080 in all aspects beats anything below a normal gtx 1070.

The choice really comes down to you if you want to pay 480 euros for the 1080 its all good.
However if you want to pay less and still have a quality gpu card and still have enough money to pay a bill or two.
Look into those cards I mentioned, keep them in good order, and they will sell easily on ebay.
Allowing you to move on to better gpus next year before spring starts up.
 
Hi MaikuTech,

What about this super-clocked GPU I now noticed: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/evg...r5-vr-ready-graphics-card-1920-core-1594mhz-g

It's from same manufacturer as the SC card you showed me, EVGA, similar spec but slightly different manufacturer code, so I don't know what the difference is between that and the card you showed me, or if they are same product. According to the Scan website, this one doesn't come with a backplate. Will that be a problem? Also, I haven't yet come across any benchmarks comparing it with a 1080, so I'm still looking at articles, reviews, etc.

Do you know how these GPU's are for handling VR? Is VR more demanding on GPU than a 1080p monitor?

Thanks.
 
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No it shouldn't but if you need a backplate call them up and ask for one after they verify your purchase and warranty.
Honestly if you are getting a gtx 1060 and up no it shouldn't however though your old cpu/mobo specs will feel it and begin to lag real hard over time.
https://www.vrheads.com/heres-what-you-need-your-pc-run-vr
Check this link so you can see what is recommended, My haswell 4570 handles vr games perfectly fine so it hardly squeaks when I use it.
If your not a 3D or virtual graphic ***** person, just leave it alone and use normal settings.
I recommend you use this on your current system and find out where you stand.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/323910/SteamVR_Performance_Test/
 
A 1070 is already overkill for 1080p. A 1080 will be ultra overkill for 1080p. Your 2600k with a bit of overcloking to 4 ghz is absolutely fine, no reason to upgrade yet.

Mind you here, that there is not much going on between the more expensive and the cheapest 1070 / 1080's. Mostly it's about the coolings and noise. If you don't care about that, pick the cheapest 1070 you can find, they all boost to pretty much the same frequencies. We are talking about 1-2% difference between cards, not really worth a single extra penny.
 
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Pretty sure your processor is going to bottleneck a gtx 1080. might be able to go with a 1070 though
 
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