Help a noob with 2 vrs 1 card selection for MSI Z97M-G43 mb and win a prize

[SwartHack]

Hello OCC,
Cheers to you all! so..

I know this has to be a retread, but there are a few possible twists that might peak the interest of crusty OCC old timers. Plus a noob needs a post

Back Story:
I built my first system from the ground up and I am stoked, well kinda, If you examine my Hardware specs, I am lacking a fundamental piece I have determined, a GPU.

I am not a big gamer, and kinda an older hack, but really wanted to check out the system and the internal Intel HD graphics. So I discovered Steam and I went old school with Duke Nukem, no problems and hell ya, cool. I am old enough to remember playing the original when it came out.

Then I went with Project Cars, awesome driving game. It was cool till I got good enough to actually race. Can you say black screen, then wall.

Then I went with what I was told would be the ultimate test, GTA V. So far it works, but with all the detail fuzzed and once in the truck its a mess.

So, obviously, if I want to market this system to gamers, let alone use it myself I need some serious GPU upgrades.

My mb, http://us.msi.com/product/mb/Z97MG43.html#hero-overview , supports AMD Crossfire and this is the list of cards it supports, http://us.msi.com/support/mb/Z97MG43.html#support-vga.

I want to stick with MSI cards to match the mb, and I have looked at the specs for each game. I have gone high end on this whole project, so I am not about to go on the cheap for cards....

FINALLY QUESTIONS

So what is the difference between one bad-*** card vrs 2 intermediate/excellent cards?
Can two cards exceed the performance of the best single card as there are two GPUs?
Can I support the power requirements? I have 500w psu.
Should I worry about heat? My system is total air cooled, dont want to go radiated (next project), system currently runs very cool and efficient, especially with MSI built in system control/monitoring. I know most, if not all cards come with Fans.

If you had your choice on this system, considering non-radiated Midi Tower Case, microATX mb and a decent budget, what MSI card(s) would you use and would you bother with AMD crossfire.

Best first answer will get implemented and you will win a prize!!!
I dunno, maybe a Harvey Bag, a Brownie Button OR maybe some credits on Steam!! ( I haven't figured out that part yet).

So, I'll stop blundering about and sign off. Look forward to any feedback.

Salud!!!

 

[ATMINSIDE]

What resolution are you gaming at?

 

[SwartHack]

Hmmm, good question. My desktop is running at 1920x1080. But when I run Steam, it seems to do what it wants depending on the game?!?!

Disclaimer - I am an old crusty noob when it comes to this extreme video card and OC stuff. In my day a video card is what we needed to plug in a monitor and if I over clocked it meant I worked too many hours

 

[ATMINSIDE]

For 1080p just grab a 970 and call it a day.

Games will run whatever resolution you set.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Good single card FTW.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127832

 

[SwartHack]

OK, a 970? but I dont see a 970 in my list of compatible cards?! Please re-read disclaimer above

I guess the end game is to go higher resolution as well as performance, so if we wanted to go higher and make the system marketable to a serious gamer..

Also, to win the prize you need answer the end question:

"If you had your choice on this system, considering non-radiated Midi Tower Case, microATX mb and a decent budget, what MSI card(s) would you use and would you bother with AMD crossfire."

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I'm not seeing anything that would keep a 970 from working for you. Any MSI 970 will be fine, but I'm not sure why you're limiting by brand.
Obviously if I'm suggesting a single nVidia card then I wouldn't bother with AMD's Crossfire for your usage.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Exactly. Forget the CF and go with a good single card.

 

[SwartHack]

Yes, of course, obviously

So, maybe I need a vision check or something, but in reviewing the compatible MSI cards, I dont see a specific "970"!? I see:
http://us.msi.com/support/mb/Z97MG43.html#support-vga


AMD Radeon HD 7970
AMD Radeon HD 6970
AMD Radeon HD 5970

One would assume you mean one of these, but I hate to assume...

 

[ATMINSIDE]

It's because the GTX 970 came out after that motherboard.

We're talking about an nVidia Geforce GPU, not an AMD Radeon GPU.

 

[Mr.Scott]

I think you're under the impression that you have to use one of the cards listed as compatible with your board. You do, if you want to CF, otherwise you are free to use any card you want. We are suggesting NOT to CF and just go with a single 970.

 

[SwartHack]

Ahh, OK. I just figured out that list was outdated, durr. Every model I tried to look up was gone.

So I just went birthday shopping and got it!!!

This is going to be interesting though. My case specs boasts a removable drive bay in order to accommodate full size cards, which I currently have switches mounted...

It looks like a significant redesign and I cant wait. I paid extra for Tuesday delivery. Should be fun to realize the full potential of a Midi Tower w/ micro ATX mb.

Small package, but powerful and packs a punch. Hence the name, plus I love Bruce Lee!

So, for now its the wait game. Gonna play some Duke. Still haven't found the new explicit material yet!

Oh, yeah! And the prize...

Well ATMINSIDE was the first to respond and offer up the ambiguous 970 recommendation, were as Mr.Scott was much more to the point with a link....

hmmmm, technically, I am not sure if ALL my questions where specifically addressed, so maybe a technicality default is in order? But I think I will rule that

ATMINSIDE & Mr.Scott win in a draw! and can indian leg wrestle to determine who takes home the prize.

Thanks for the feedback OC'rs! Much appreciated!

Hasta ls Proxima!

 

[Mr.Scott]

No prize necessary, and I'm far too old to leg wrestle. lol
I help because I enjoy it.

Enjoy your new toys and happy belated birthday.

 

[SwartHack]

Thank you Mr.Scott! and ATMINSIDE and the entire OCC!

Bit of book keeping...
I did not respond to your inquiries as to my hardware preferences.

I was going by that list specifically at first as I do want an MSI card as they seem to integrate with the MSI command center, which I really like. So there was that consideration.

Also, as I am dealing with a micro ATX form factor, which has has some space considerations. I know some cards simply do not fit, so I was focusing on those cards that MSI specifically supported for my mb.

Otherwise I do not have a specific hardware manufacturer preference, as long as they dont suck and kick ***!

I am confident the GTX 970 I got will work and I am super stoked!!!

Thanks again!

 

[ATMINSIDE]

The only compatibility issue you could run in to would be GPU length and case compatibility.
Since your case has a modular HDD bay that's a non-issue.

 

[SwartHack]

Follow up on GTX970 install

Heya all,
as per my OCC civic duty here is the follow up on the preliminary install of the the GTX970 card I got.

I must say I was in the dark not to have included a card in my build from the start. Boy is this card neat! I must say an old curmudgeon can learn new ways. Actually this thing is the freakin f-bomb cool as ****. I cant wait till I have the time to learn all the bells and whistles. But for now I got it installed and verified it is working. Played a few on GTA5 and Project Car and was blown away, and this was whatever default setting it had.

Alas, I had to shut down and finish the rewire and other mods which is currently still a work in progress. I am considering a proj log, if it possibly is a worthy project...

Anyway, here are a few before and after pics. I forgot to take a pic before I ripped out the modular bay and switches there, my bad. In the after you can see I moved the upper HD up and used a SSD adapter tray to mount/hide my switches/wiring. The card almost fit with the modular bay installed, it was a matter of mm's and was the plastic casing buggering up against the modular bay. So I went without. Not sure what I'll do when I want to get an SSD





So now on to finish up, still work to do...

Hasta Entonces

 

[Mr.Scott]

Nice.
Plenty of room for a SSD there.
Velcro is a wonderful item.

 

[SwartHack]

Errrr, uhhh, yeah! Big hole left there. Lotsa room for something.

Would have liked to keep the modular bay in there, mostly cause it looks cool. So yeah, either break out the velcro or maybe mod the removable bay a bit, dunno...

Here is what I took out..



Anyway, a topic for another another forum or a possible proj log...

Cheers!

 

[Dlaw]

Does your case side panel have a window? If so, and you want to show off your stuff, then the first thing I would do is make the cables look neater. If not, then all of your cables look as though they are completely out of the way of airflow, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Assuming you want to show your stuff off, like I said, I would look at your cabling. There's nothing really wrong with it, as it doesn't appear to obstruct airflow in any way, but it is definitely unsightly. I would seriously consider sleeving those cables. It's a lot of work, especially on a non-modular PSU, but it can either make them harder to notice, or more appealing to look at, depending on what you prefer.

Something I noticed about your sig: I'm pretty sure you meant that you have 32 GB of memory, as I don't even think DDR3 modules come in less than 512MB modules (and they might not even be that small).

It looks like a pretty solid build, I'm sure you'll be very happy with the results.

 

[SwartHack]

Hey Dlaw, thanks for the feedback...

Yeah, I have a window and want to show it all off. I do not the rig all buttoned all up yet as I am still working on this build.

And hardy har, yeah 32MB of RAM.

I have created a proj log where I will be detailing the build from the ground up. So please feel free to check that out as it progresses.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...ee-and-my-mutation-into-a-Pin-head-(Prologue)

Cheers!