Upgrade or no?

[TaCoSwInDeZ]

So after being out of the computer game for quite some time now I recently got back into it and went ahead and upgraded my old i5 750 to a 4690k. I was looking forward to skylake but the extra 100 bucks for ddr4 just didn't seem worth it to me, and besides the 4690k wad a huge upgrade in itself in processing power.

Now for my question. Is it worth upgrading my current gtx 570 to a 970 at this time or should I just wait for pascal hopefully later this year? Or maybe even wait till all the 970's start flooding eBay with people wanting to upgrade to pascal.

My 570 does okay but I am only gaming on a single 1080p monitor with the hopes of upgrading to a nice large 1440p later. (trying to convince my wife of a 3 monitor wide setup but she doesn't like idea since the machine is in the living room and likes the idea of a single large monitor instead).

Im more inclined to wait for pascal but my trigger finger is itching.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

If you're going 1440p you'll want a 980 or better.
Have you looked at the G-Sync monitors?

 

[wingman99]

I had a GTX 570 Wow I like my GTX 970 it is two months old, you should upgrade why wait haven't we suffered enough. I also have 1080p monitor.

 

[TaCoSwInDeZ]

If you're going 1440p you'll want a 980 or better.
Have you looked at the G-Sync monitors?

Yeah I have but a budget for the monitor most likely won't be high enough for something that nice.

I had a GTX 570 Wow I like my GTX 970 it is two months old, you should upgrade why wait haven't we suffered enough. I also have 1080p monitor.

Biggest reason I am asking is because it's going to have to be something I save for or sell current equipment to purchase. By then it might be worth waiting for pascal.

My 570 does all I need currently. I only started playing Bf4 on the pc and have a few other titles that I play on and off that aren't very graphics intensive. This upgrade would only be to serve possible future titles on the pc.

 

[Janus67]

I'd say then that if you are okay with your current performance I don't see any reason to buy new now. Wait for Pascal and if that ends up being great upgrade to that or snag people's used cards for pennies on the dollar that decide to upgrade.

 

[wingman99]

With BF3- BF4 and Crysis 3 when my FPS dropped below 60 FPS I was getting lag also screen tearing with my GTX 570. Now I set Adaptive v sync with my FPS never dropping below 60 FPS with my GTX 970 which makes my gaming so good now with no lag.

If you want to future proof it's better to wait for the future, then spend $370 when it comes out. The upgrade could be 10-20 FPS increase.

I just sold my EVGA SC GTX 570 for $100, also I bought my EVGA SSC GTX 970 for $290 on sale at newegg.

 

[GamerDude]

I already have a pair of GTX670 in my Phenom II X6 T1100 rig, and was looking to improve the performance of my FX8350 + 2x HD7950 rig. Saw in the local forum an ad for 2x GTX Titan 6GB for about 533USD, figured why the heck not! A Titan is similar to a GTX970 in performance plus the added 2GB VRAM might come in useful....so, needless to say, I pounced on it. Apparently, the previous owner is something of an RoG fanboy judging from the custom paint job, ain't complainin' none though, I'm something of a RoG headcase myself.



My advice to OP is, IF you feel your present GPU can do what you need it to do for now, leave it be and wait for Pascal. But, if you can find a used vid card that clearly outperforms yours and it can be had for a reasonable price, I don't see why the heck not. On my part, though the 2x HD7950 do what I need it to do, finding a pair of GTX Titan at a good price was simply irresistible to me, so the upgrade.

 

[caddi daddi]

before you upgrade to 1440 you need to look and see if your games even support 1440, you might find as I did that your better off at 1080 with better monitors.
I went from a single 2560/1440 to 3 top o the line 1920/1080 monitors and it was the right way to go for me.

 

[TaCoSwInDeZ]

I already have a pair of GTX670 in my Phenom II X6 T1100 rig, and was looking to improve the performance of my FX8350 + 2x HD7950 rig. Saw in the local forum an ad for 2x GTX Titan 6GB for about 533USD, figured why the heck not! A Titan is similar to a GTX970 in performance plus the added 2GB VRAM might come in useful....so, needless to say, I pounced on it. Apparently, the previous owner is something of an RoG fanboy judging from the custom paint job, ain't complainin' none though, I'm something of a RoG headcase myself.
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My advice to OP is, IF you feel your present GPU can do what you need it to do for now, leave it be and wait for Pascal. But, if you can find a used vid card that clearly outperforms yours and it can be had for a reasonable price, I don't see why the heck not. On my part, though the 2x HD7950 do what I need it to do, finding a pair of GTX Titan at a good price was simply irresistible to me, so the upgrade.

Yeah I keep looking on ebay for a 970 and it is possible to snag one for under 250 which is what I'm looking to spend currently.

before you upgrade to 1440 you need to look and see if your games even support 1440, you might find as I did that your better off at 1080 with better monitors.
I went from a single 2560/1440 to 3 top o the line 1920/1080 monitors and it was the right way to go for me.

Yeah true I haven't actually looked to see what I play supports 1440. Believe me a 3 monitor system is what I really want to do but I don't believe I will ever be able to do that.

Since I have never had an SLI setup I wanted to go that route also in the future, hence the 970. I believe two 970's in SLI would be able to support moderate gaming in 4k resolution which would be nice. Looks like I am going to stick with the 570 unless 970's really start to come down in price used. I have no problems buying used. I got my ASUS GTX570 DirectCuii about 3 years ago on ebay used for $200 and it has been a great card. Decent overclocks at 830 core 2175 memory and still nearly silent and stable in all benchmarks and games I play (I haven't really pushed the memory too far, just focusing on core clock for the moment) and temps never go higher than 62 degrees celcius at 15-20% fan speed.

 

[Janus67]

With the mention of 4k I wouldn't be looking at 970s. You will be limited by the amount of VRAM (3.5GB) versus a more powerful card as VRAM does not add up in sli or crossfire.

 

[EarthDog]

I'd say then that if you are okay with your current performance I don't see any reason to buy new now. Wait for Pascal and if that ends up being great upgrade to that or snag people's used cards for pennies on the dollar that decide to upgrade.

+1

before you upgrade to 1440 you need to look and see if your games even support 1440, you might find as I did that your better off at 1080 with better monitors.
I went from a single 2560/1440 to 3 top o the line 1920/1080 monitors and it was the right way to go for me.

What game doesn't support 2560x1440??

With the mention of 4k I wouldn't be looking at 970s. You will be limited by the amount of VRAM (3.5GB) versus a more powerful card as VRAM does not add up in sli or crossfire.

+1 again... With 4K I would be looking at 2 980Ti's.

Doesn't it now in DX12? Or is that just with the mixed GPU setup?

 

[||Console||]

I really want to upgrade my card as well , but Im waiting for the next gen to drop as every game I have plays fine with 60+ fps (bf4) only way I will be upgrading now is if my current card + a gateway i7 920 system I was given sell . There is a used 980gtx (non ti) for sale for 600 with a ek full cover . if that system sells for 600 then im grabing that deal if not then I will be waiting for the next gen its not that far away , and I still plan on staying with 1080p because it lets your GFX cards last way longer (IMO) ~3 years vs 1-2 with higher than 1080p .

 

[EarthDog]

Depends on your budget... Id bet a 980Ti would last 3 years at 1440p when it was released.

 

[Janus67]

+1

What game doesn't support 2560x1440??

+1 again... With 4K I would be looking at 2 980Ti's.

Doesn't it now in DX12? Or is that just with the mixed GPU setup?

You're right, it does, but only in dx12 games, of which there currently exist 0 in full release (not in early access). And I imagine the games have to be coded to take advantage of it that it won't just be automatic.

 

[EarthDog]

You're right, it does, but only in dx12 games, of which there currently exist 0 in full release (not in early access). And I imagine the games have to be coded to take advantage of it that it won't just be automatic.

All good points Don!

I wouldn't hold my breath for it either and get a 4GB card if you are going to 4K with those cards. Even without AA, some titles will break that 4GB vRAM..

 

[TaCoSwInDeZ]

I was worried about the Vram issue. I knew 4k would push 4GB to the limit but that is just hypothetical. Most likely wont make it to reality if I just stick with a 27" 1440p monitor and I would still like to go SLI eventually as I do like to do [email protected]

 

[Kenrou]

Believe me a 3 monitor system is what I really want to do but I don't believe I will ever be able to do that.

Easier to check up on you on a large monitor then 3 smaller ones i feel your pain my friend, wife does the same...

Mixed results here, there's more and more games that require 4gb+ at 1080p max settings, so it really depends on your gaming needs as was said. I will give you the same advice as GamerDude, wait for pascal, if its even half of what its advertised it will beat any 980Ti / TitanX easily. I'm half believing the hype atm and starting to regret getting mine (then again, i'm a n00b)...

 

[TaCoSwInDeZ]

if its even half of what its advertised it will beat any 980Ti / TitanX easily. I'm half believing the hype atm and starting to regret getting mine (then again, i'm a n00b)...

Yeah nvidia and all the tech sites are hyping it up pretty hard. If it really is what Nvidia claims it to be then it should eclipse anything they offer now. Believing all the hype has me wanting to wait just to see what options there will be and how much they will be offered for.

 

[wingman99]

I don't think it will be that great for gaming.

When Nvidia’s next-generation GPU architecture arrives next year, codenamed Pascal, it’s going to pack a variety of performance improvements for scientific computing — though their impact on the gaming world is less clear. http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/2...mance-gains-from-upcoming-pascal-architecture

 

[EarthDog]

I don't think it will be that great for gaming.

You can bet that it will be incrementally better... just like Maxwell was to Fermi. It, like previous generations, will be fine for gaming. The article even states that performance per watt is improved. Just how much in gaming is yet to be determined. Particularly in DX12 and async.