GPU upgrading dilemma

[FrostyTech]

Hi guys. My system is currently using an older HD 6950. My power supply is a 500 Watt Corsair model. I have been contemplating getting one of the new GTX 970's but part of my problem is that my case is a small MATX case. I would like to stick with an AMD card but there seems to be no model that will be small enough to fit in this older small case and also be powerful enough to drive a 1440P monitor with good frame rates. Although I would consider upgrading to a larger case if need be, but that is also an extra cost consideration too, and I believe if I used an equivalent AMD GPU like the R9 290X it would require a much better power supply than I have is that right?

Any expert opinions would be helpful thanks in advance!

 

[Rich-M]

Yes 550 watts would be fine but Corsair has to be the Builders model which the quality isn't much good. I would suggest upgrading to a Seasonic or XFX Psu for that card. That 290X card though isn't small are you certain you can fit that in your case? It looks like the
Corsair 350D or the Fractal Mini R2 will fit that card though now that I look at them. Is your case like them?

 

[FrostyTech]

Thanks for the reply I have a APEX TM-302-3 it's pretty small. It does have some room but the hard drive holder I think would be in the way though I am not sure. It's an older case but a good case. I have an ASUS M5A78L-M LX with an FX 6100. I am thinking that this processor would be a bottleneck with either of the cards I mentioned but I figure it's ok because it would give me the performance I need now and I could upgrade the processor later along with a better motherboard.

I have some friends that have used Seasonic and XFX power supplies and they swear by them and now that you have also recommended them I will look to upgrade to one of those brands for sure but I was hoping that I could get away with using this power supply for some time longer. Maybe I should get something like a GTX 760 or R9 270X or something. I'm relatively happy with the performance of my PC but since moving to this 1440P display gaming performance has suffered with my setup I have to lower settings quite a bit. I have a budget of about $500.00 USD so I have to spend wisely and remain within that budget. I'm pretty experienced overall with computers but have been out of the scene for a few years. I would like to keep my setup for now so I'm guessing that Seasonic power supply and a GTX 970 or something like an R9 280X or 290 would get me good frame rates. What brands do you recommend with video cards?

 

[Rich-M]

I have always preferred EVGA and Asus for Nvidia and XFX and Sapphire for ATi cards. Lately I have been favoring ATi cards over Nvidia
I guess because I prefer their software for one thing.
Many forums like to suggest ATI for Amd chips and Nvidia for Intel but I have never felt that makes any sense at all except for the obvious that AMD now owns ATi. I remember years ago I used to prefer AMD chipsets wherever possible on Amd boards simply because of the "skin in the game" argument but I am not sure that made sense either I just did it.

 

[IceMan37]

I agree with Rich here. I know that case - take a ruler and stretch it across you will see that there is clearance for nearly any GPU. I also agree that eVGA would be a good bet for an NVidia card and I think XFX for AMD. eVGA mostly because of the warranty, and the available tech support that is really American, and the "trade up" benefit they have. On the AMD side XFX has a double warranty that is transferrable to the next owner! hard to beat that....

 

[GimboV]

Rich,

If you are referring to the EVGA step up program I don't think they offer it anymore. However, I would still buy their cards because I don't think anyone else has the reputation they do. Never have I had an EVGA card fail. Well once but it was due to lightning so not really EVGA's fault. Funny story I couldn't figure out what was wrong with the card until I pulled it from the system and saw the caps were blown right off the card It was a customers PC so I had to ask what happened???

 

[Rich-M]

I agree EVGA are the best cards for Nvidia chips, and I knew that was over Gimbo,

 

[GimboV]

Oops responded to the wrong poster sorry.