Hey all, I built my own computer before entering post-secondary (about 5 yeras ago). I've upgraded a few small things along the way (RAM, HDDs, CPU-cooler) but for the most part I've been limited by a very tight budget. Now, as a productive member of society I finally have a stable income. First things first, I want to upgrade my graphics card. Thinking EVGA GTX 970, but am open to other options. Is there anything else I could upgrade that would make a big difference? I've been out of the "build loop" for a bit. Price-wise, I'd like to stick to the $300-$450 range for GPUs.
I'll list my build below:
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ATX full-tower (Fractal Define XL)
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Sabertooth Z77
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Intel i7-2600
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Carsair H80i
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G-SKILL 16GB
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EVGA GeForce GTX 570 ti
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4 HDs (3 HDD, 1 SSD for OS)
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Can't remember the PSU, and I'd have to remove it from the case to check... But it's either 1000W or 1200W.
Also, I should probably note that I'm located in Canada for pricepoints.
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[–] AmyAcker 1 point 0 points 1 point (+1|-1) ago
PCIe 2.0 will not bottleneck any modern GPU, running at x16 or x8. There is no need to upgrade your current CPU or motherboard for gaming.
The 380 is Tonga; basically a 285 with a 4GB VRAM option. 390(X) is Hawaii; not much improvement over 290(X) except in VRAM, and you are unlikely to need more than 4GB. They aren't worth their price, IMO. A 290(X) is a good option, and so is a 970.
[–] BringingTelos [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Thanks for the clarification, that saves my wallet some hassle then.