Jump to content

Recommend me a GPU suitable for nice modded visuals


Mortimer

Recommended Posts

How would a ZALMAN ZM750-EBT 750W Modular ATX PSU - 80 Plus Gold for a PSU go?

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/zalman-zm750-ebt-psu,4373-10.html

 

For 89$ you could get decent EVGA PSU. You don't have to go as high as 750W.

 

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=429

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817438054

 

 

Could get a ASUS STRIX GTX970 DirectCU II Overclocked 4GB GDDR5 PCI-E 3.0 DVI HDMI Display Port from the same supplier too.

 

Why do you want to get old GTX 970 when you can get new 1060 with 6GB of VRAM without any drawbacks? If this store doesn't have any other models in stock, maybe you should ask about restock or look somewhere else. All major retailers should have online sites, making it easier to find the right deal without the need to leave your house.

 

Why Nvidia's GTX 970 slows down when using more than 3.5GB VRAM
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 45
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Sorry, was just going off previous suggestions.

 

This is their page for PSUs https://www.pbtech.co.nz/category/components/psu

 

And GPUs https://www.pbtech.co.nz/category/components/video_cards

 

To be honest, I'm not impressed with the avaible products. This site doesn't sell any MSI models and there's only older Evga G1. I understand it might be a problem buying parts in your location. Have you looked up any other shops? What's your budget?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i7-4790k. it's the CPU i have and it works great. i have an 15-5930 on my secondary computer (or is it a 5390?) and it works great as well. the i7-4790k is hyperthreaded and bad ass though. highly recommend it.

 

EDIT: Ooops I misread CPU for GPU...

 

I use a GTX titan black. it's a 6gb GPU and i'm having a good time with it. If your GPU is over 4k make sure you use win7. I use win 8.1 for most things but dual boot win7 just for Skyrim.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you have a Windows 7 installation (quite possible for an older system) and you get a newer card with 8GB VRAM and decide to use ENBoost, stay with Windows 7 so you can use more video memory for Dx9 games like Skyrim. A larger amount of video memory is sort of a hedge for future games.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

The gtx 970 will stay at low price due to the mixed memory used for this model (3.5GB +500mb VRAM). 1070 is a better future-proof purchase in my opinion.

 

I'm curious why you haven't menrioned RX 480, as it performs same or better than R9 390 and is below 300$ mark. Did it had any problems I'm not aware of?

Personally I would go with AMD only, if I was tight on budget or planned on purchasing Freesync monitor. Both RX 480 and R9 390 are gtx 1060 6GB equivalents, the price is almost identical. 1060 wins when it comes to temperatrures. Right now some of the models might be affected by inflation, but I think MSI 1060 6GB is fairly decent (290$).

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzyUVQHzDwk

 

Custom gtx 1070 draws around 200W. Getting 600-650W unit would be a good idea, if he plans on changing his motherboard and cpu in next 5 years for an overclockable model. With PSU warraty lasting from 5-10 years it'a a long term investition after all.

 

 

 

So I'm probably looking at, at least a PSU anyway?

 

BlackRoseOfThorns is correct. As we were worried, you do indeed have a cheap PSU. So, yes, you should definitely get a new PSU immediately. You are taking a chance every time you use your PC with that PSU. Sorry to sound like an alarmist, but it's quite true.

 

I agree that this one has to go. There is no point risking 900-1000$ PC rig with a part that can be easily replaced for 60-100$. I wouldn't use it even for budget build, if you really value your money.

 

 

Argh! I forgot about the memory shenanigans with the 970. (D'oh!) Yeah, I know that it isn't that big a deal for most folks, but I wouldn't want a card that might suddenly drop speed (no matter how little the drop is) when my VRAM usage exceeded 3.5GB. Therefore, having been reminded of that, forget my endorsement of the 970. Go for a 1070 instead.

 

Honestly, I hadn't even looked at the RX 480. I'll admit that I don't follow AMD cards very closely. (Of course, after my flub with the 970, I'm apparently no good with Nvidia cards either...) If Mortimer wants to save money, then the RX 480 or 1060 both seem to be good 2nd choices.

 

As for the wattages, I was merely repeating the reported stats for the Nvidia base model. However, I agree that aftermarket models are generally better (better cooling, stable overclocks, usually better warranties, etc.)

 

I agree that a higher wattage PSU (with at least a bronze rating) is a good investment. But Mortimer hasn't mentioned a specific budget (unless I missed him say it) so I'm trying to shoot for a middle-of-the-road cost on my suggestions.

 

 

How would a ZALMAN ZM750-EBT 750W Modular ATX PSU - 80 Plus Gold for a PSU go?

 

Could get a ASUS STRIX GTX970 DirectCU II Overclocked 4GB GDDR5 PCI-E 3.0 DVI HDMI Display Port from the same supplier too.

 

There's a review at Tom's Hardware for that PSU. TL/DR version is: Pros: Good price, good build, good warranty. Cons: Noisy under stress, potential power fluctuations when powering up. So, yeah, it's an OK power supply -as far as I can tell from the review. There are others in it's category that are better and can be had for $10 to $20 more. That seven year warranty is a nice endorsement though.

 

That IS a nice card, and ASUS has a good rep. However, you might have noticed that BlackRoseOfThorns and I are going on about a "memory issue" with the 970. Basically, the 970's 4GB of VRAM is not truly 4GB, but rather is 3.5GB of high speed GDDR5 VRAM with the remaining 512MB at a slower speed. This was actually a clever feat of engineering by Nvidia to give us a good, cheap card. The problem that occurs is if you use more than the first 3.5GB of VRAM, then the card starts using the remaining 512MB of slower VRAM, which slows the cards operation. It isn't much of a slowdown, admittedly. But ANY drop in performance is not something you want out of your GPU. There are lots of articles out there on the internet about this issue. Too many to link to. They're easy to find, though. Read a few articles, and if it doesn't sound like a problem to you, then yeah! Grab it and the PSU you mentioned. It will be a terrific upgrade for your PC and let you run most modern games with all the bells and whistles turned up. IF you, like me, don't like the thought of a VRAM setup that might result in your card slowing down at times, then either the 1060 (budget) or 1070 (performance on a higer budget) are your better bets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure I NEED to go all out for a 1070, will a 1060 cover me? I'm looking at a EVGA GeForce GTX1060 3G PCI-E Gaming Video Card right now.

 

Also what brand of PSU should I be looking at?

 

 

 

I agree that a higher wattage PSU (with at least a bronze rating) is a good investment. But Mortimer hasn't mentioned a specific budget (unless I missed him say it) so I'm trying to shoot for a middle-of-the-road cost on my suggestions.

 

I did above, but something around $500 to $800NZ.

 

MSI stuff seems to either be exorbitantly priced here or very rare.

 

Oh, see a 650W Corsair RM650x I could get. Hows that?

Edited by Mortimer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems the local stores in New Zealand add tax and international shipping cost to their final price, which suxs.

 

I recommend Gtx 1060 with 6GB of VRAM and dual fans.

 

Are you ok with ordering from Techworld? They seem to have good customer rating. I'm just not sure if they handle warranties or send clients straight to manufacturers.

 

GPU: http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=3780489

PSU: http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=2551603

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...