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What to know before the purchase of new GPU

Discussion in 'Computers & Technology' started by Pagno, Jan 1, 2018.

  1. Pagno
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    Pagno The Experienced
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    As time passes by I am noticing that my computer is having troubles in running simple games with maximum graphical settings, and some other games lag insanely even with lowest settings. Although it's useless for many games to set insane settings such as maximum antialiasing or anisotropic, it quite bothers me that my computer is not able to keep up with such settings even in relatively simple graphical games like CS:S, and it bothers me even more that I can't get more than 10FPS in complex games with lowest settings.

    Due not being an expert, I am blaming the graphical card, which maybe one time used to be a great one but by now it appears to be outdated - please correct me if I am wrong in thinking it's just a GPU issue. I am aware that CPU does its job as well by just needing to "keep up" with GPU requests but nothing major.

    My current GPU is a GTX 660:
    EVGA - GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2 GB GDDR5 Pci-E DVI-I Dual Link / DVI-D Single Link / HDMI / Display Port SuperClocked

    My CPU is an AMD 8350:
    AMD - FX-8350 (Vishera-Piledriver) 8 Core 4 Ghz Socket AM3+ Sbloccato

    My PSU is a modular 750W:
    CORSAIR - Alimentatore 750 Watt Serie Enthusiast TX750M - Modulare - 80 Plus Bronze

    My motherboard is an apparently crappy ASUS one:
    ASUS - Motherboard M5A78L LE socket AM3+ chipset AMD 760G ATX

    My monitor holds a 1920x1080 resolution and I am on 8GB RAM.

    I am trying to understand some basics regarding GPUs, I would be grateful if anyone could help me in at least one of the following points, or even link me a page on which this stuff is explained quite well:

    1 - I currently am on NVIDIA and I plan to stick on it - does it affect anything in particular if I changed stable or it's like arguing whether to choose a Ferrari versus a Lamborghini?
    2 - Are all GPUs sockets the same? Can I, therefore, expect any new GPU to fit my motherboard's socket without any need of converters?
    3 - How come I am finding the exact same model of a GPU with so many different details? For example, what does it change if it is from Asus, Gigabyte, Zotac...? How come the same model has different GB (which I assume is some sort of internal RAM)? Is it important to keep that GB number relatively high?
    4 - Will cooling be a problem or the GPU is able to handle overheating by itself? Will it cook my other components?
    5 - Is my PSU able to handle a "powerful" GPU? I expect to unplug the old GPU and plug the new one, no other work is needed, right?
    6 - Will my CPU handle such GPU? Will the GPU be limited by my CPU power?
    7 - Can I reuse my old GPU and make it work in parallel with the new one or it's impossible / not recommended due to heating?
    8 - Lastly, do you recommend any particular GPU? Price should not be a problem if it stays under the thousand euros and it is worth it.

    Thank you in advance for any eventual reply
     
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  2. Boy
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    Funny, my AMD R9 380 just gave up couple of days ago so im back to my old GPU which i ditched to get a "better" one when it had no apparent faults. Ive been Nvida then AMD then Nvidia then AMD and now back to Nvidia. I personally found Nvidia better.

    I like MSI because of their cooling and performance, All these different brands use the same GPU chipset manufactured by AMD or Nvidia but they simply add their own cooling design to it or add their own clocking speeds to boost the performance. Thats why you get different specs of the same GPU. These differences are minor tho id say.

    750w is enough for your build. Im not an expert but I answered what I could, wait for a better reply :p
     
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  3. Nomy
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    Sometimes Nvidia will release better cards and sometimes AMD is on top for sometime. It depends on when they release their best GPUs at the time and that will be on top. You can stick with Nvidia... no problems.. or change to AMD... also no problem.

    Yea they all use PCI-e x16 slots. Just make sure you have enough power on PSU and a power connector if your newer GPU requires it.

    You need to keep vRAM higher if you plan to use it on higher res displays. 2-4GB is ok for 1080p with AA.
    Also, some manufacturers have overclocked GPUs out of the box so you don't have to overclock yourself and they are quite stable if they come at higher clock from the manufacturers. It's like Nvidia just makes the GPU chip that's on the graphics card.. the manufacture puts everything together and tweak to their taste or spec.

    Almost all GPUs come with their fans and so it should be able to cool itself just make sure your case is cooled. If your GPU overheats, it will make the system unstable and crashy. It may trigger forced shut down.. and maybe artifact begin to appear. It wont think it will damage other components.

    Yes, 750W 80+ Bronze would be enough to handle more powerful cards and you just unplug and remove old and insert and plug new. That's it from the hardware side, for software side, remove older driver and install the newer if you changed your boat (went to amd from nvidia).

    Sometimes you can be bottlenecked by CPU. I don't know which GPU you are going for.

    Since you currently have nvidia gpu... you cant SLi unless you get another gtx 660. Dont think it will be worth it, just get another better gpu than buying older tech.

    I'd say a gtx 1060 would be good for your system.
     
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  4. iCeMan!
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    Nomy basically answered everything but I am concerned if the 8350 will bottleneck the nvidia 1060, 1050 would be a safer bet but I am not certain.

    As for gpu Vram I think the default 3gb is enough because you wont be running super duper ultra settings with those gpus anyway but it really depends on your budget and how safe you want to be.
     
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  5. Nomy
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    True, but when I saw he gave a budget of less than a thousand euros, I thought might as well live on the edge. Tbh, I think it depends on the game but it still won't be a deal breaker.
     
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  6. Pagno
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    Thank you for the clearness. I am going for a 1060 risking a bottleneck, if it does not perform worse than a 1050 without bottleneck.
    I may want to keep on upgrading this PC in a future so I would like to keep the GPU on a certain level so that, if I get a new CPU, it won't be "wasted" with lower performance GPUs.
     
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  7. Boy
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    We got the same CPU and it is a beast so dont worry :D
     
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  8. iCeMan!
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    Just so you know when you decide to upgrade your CPU you will need a new motherboard also.
     
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  9. topbadge
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    It was a price/profomence king but it will struggle on the newer CPU intensive games today.
     
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  10. Boy
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    I struggle to find games which would make my CPU struggle tbh, most if not all of the time it is the GPU bottle necking. Could you name a couple of games today which would make an 8 core running on 4GHz processor struggle with lets say top notch graphics card?

    Ive played GTA 5 and The division so far smooth as silk.
     
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  11. iCeMan!
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    Those are gpu intensive games.If you played something like arma3 which is cpu intensive you would notice the cpu bottleneck if u had a better gpu.
     
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  12. Boy
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    GTA 5 and The Division GPU intensive games? :shake:
     
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  13. iCeMan!
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    They are pretty balanced but I think a better gpu gives you higher fps than a better cpu
     
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  14. Boy
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    That is true, a better GPU would always give high FPS. But relating back to my point, FX-8350 could handle both GTA 5 and The Division which are both one of the most CPU intensive games in recent years.
     
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  15. iCeMan!
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    They are still standing their ground so far but they are starting to fall behind with the new amd and intel cpu generations. You can get really amazing performance with the price u paid for the 8350 back in the day.
     
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  16. Boy
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    Yea thats wat topbadge said hence I would like to know which game wouldn't the 8350 handle. I mean yes its not the best processors out there today, but on a realistic approach, for a guy who is unhappy about his fps on CSS. Maybe in 1-2 years yes but im sorry im not into spending lots on a gimmick unless ofcouse it is actually needed for purpose.
     
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  17. iCeMan!
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    Well it can handle any game but it depends on what you want out of your pc, you propably run games around medium graphics at 60fps, others want ultra max graphics so it depends on the person.
    And it also depends on what you are playing, for example people who play lots of singleplayer games usually need better equipment due to the games demands.
     
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  18. Nomy
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    Tbh FX-8350 is an old CPU now.
     
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  19. topbadge
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    Really depends on what you'd consider silky smooth I run the FX-8370 which is pretty much just a glorified 8350 paired with a R9 390 and the frames will often drop below 60 on mid to high settings still playable but annoying but looking at more modern titles since then Fallout 4 and Hitman it becomes even worse.

    The 8350 still has a lot of life left in it but it's a major bottle and limits you to DDR 3 and other Mobo improvements.
     
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  20. iCeMan!
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    Well its still holding up because this generation is taking a long time to change due to almot hitting a ceiling in graphics and the next step being 4k which is a big jump so its taking some time, otherwise they would be outdated in my opinion.
    --- Double Post Merged, Jan 2, 2018, Original Post Date: Jan 2, 2018 ---
    Im talking with experience because I had the fx6300 and now the ryzen r5 1600 and the difference is just insane, also the prices are super cheap
     
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