Upgrade from 4870X2

[Vsalvis]

Hi All,

I have a ATI Radeon 4870X2 which is about 6 years old. I am thinking about doing a new build when Broadwell comes out. However, I am also leaning towards upgrading my video card now. Does anyone have any suggestions on a worthy interim upgrade or am I just being naive and should I wait 6 months? My system info is in my sig.

Thanks,

V

 

[EarthDog]

Well, Nvidia should have some new cards out by then, not sure about AMD. What resolution is your monitor? What is your budget for the GPU?

As far as when, does the 4870x2 fill your needs? Will it in 6 months when new GPUs are out, or will it in a year when broadwell comes out?

 

[Vsalvis]

I can still play most of my library on Medium setting and sometimes Medium/High depending on the game. I think my monitor resolution is 1024×768. I didn't know if anything in the $200~ range would be worth it?

 

[EarthDog]

At the res, you are CPU limited friend. Overclock your CPU to buy more time. A new videocard will be bottlenecked in some capacity by that resolution and CPU being at stock speeds. The lower the res, and yours is LOW, the more the CPU is leaned on for fast GPUs.

You should be looking into a 1920x1080 monitor AND a new GPU honestly.

 

[ALIENZ!]

According to several unofficial sources, the plant in Taiwan that Nvidia uses currently doesn't have the means to manufacture Nvidia's next chip. Rumors are that we won't see new Nvidia cards until sometime in 2015.

 

[EarthDog]

According to several unofficial sources, the plant in Taiwan that Nvidia uses currently doesn't have the means to manufacture Nvidia's next chip. Rumors are that we won't see new Nvidia cards until sometime in 2015.

That is the first I have heard of that... and AIB's I have talked with have not made that mention yet either...

 

[Vsalvis]

Thanks for the advice. I'll stop over at microcenter over the weekend and check out some new monitors. I'll need to see for myself if 1440 is worth it over 1080.

 

[EarthDog]

If you go 1440 and want to play games at decent settings, you will need a beefy GPU. Think R9 290 or GTX 780 or greater. You will want 3GB+ of vram as well.

 

[ALIENZ!]

Thanks for the advice. I'll stop over at microcenter over the weekend and check out some new monitors. I'll need to see for myself if 1440 is worth it over 1080.

I would skip 1440p and go straight to 4K. Seeing as how 4k monitors are becoming cheaper and cheaper. However, you are going to need a beefy card to run a game at 4K. Samsung just released an excellent 28" 4k monitor and you can pick it up on their site for $599.99 right now.

 

[ALIENZ!]

That is the first I have heard of that... and AIB's I have talked with have not made that mention yet either...

Like I mentioned before, it's currently just speculation. Here's a link to the article I read.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133445-Rumor-Nvidias-20nm-Maxwell-GPUs-Delayed-to-2015

 

[wingman99]

I would go for 1440p, most of the 4k monitors are only 30Hz