New Build Lacking GPU

[spencerlievens]

Hello everyone, I have built my entire system except for the graphics card(s).

i7 930

Gigabyte GA-X58-UD3R

2 x Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB RAID 0

Corsair Dominator GT 2000MHz DDR3 6GB Kit

Coolermaster HAF 912+

Corsair TX650W

Sony Optiarc DVDRW

So I have between £280 and £350 to spend on either a single GPU or multiple GPU setup and it can be either Nvidia or Ati as I am not a fanboy. Please bear in mind I am putting the load on the Corsair TX650W PSU which has a single 12v rail @ 52amps.

I would like to overclock the CPU to 3.6-4.2GHz but not the GPU(s) as I have been told I would be putting the PSU at risk (If you do or don't think this is the case let me know please).

The system will be used for gaming mainly and would like to be able to play Metro 2033 maxed out. I have a 22" Samsung T220 @ 1680x1050. If there is any other info you need, let me know

 

[S_I_N]

since you only have a 650watter I'd say sli or xfire is out for now so get the best card ya can for your budget and add a bigger psu and another gpu later. or do like me and get the one ya want (I went 560ti) and forgo dual gpu's I'm on AMD so sli isnt an option I liked the reviews and cost to performance ratio of it so there ya go lol.

 

[I Hunta x]

I was going to say either sli 460's or a single 570 would be best for you but im not, a single 570 is what i would recomend lately to anyone with a budget around yours, the price for both setups is about the same at £275-300 for the 570 and about £300-325 for the 460 sli but the power draw on the single 570 is about 100w less at pretty damn high load (furmark) with around 450w and 350w total system draw respectivly (fairly similar system to what your running).

Both setups are fairly evenly matched so you couldnt realy go wrong with either of them but the single 570 wins out for me atleast in the fact that it draws ALOT less power, it runs cooler and is also quieter than the sli 460's (and more or less all of the other higher end cards for that matter).

 

[spencerlievens]

Excellent, well with both of your pointers I believe the 570 will be the best option, next question, lol. Out of all the different manufacturers of Nvidia GTX570's what one would you both personally go for. As I won't be going SLi until I upgrade to a TX850W, overclocking will be an option and from what I've heard once overclocked the 570's come very close to the 580. But what manufacturer is simply the best for performance, overclocking etc?

 

[S_I_N]

EVGA MSI Gigabyte all look good what I do is find what I'm looking for on like Newegg and read the reviews this is how I settled on my EVGA GTX560Ti is it absolutely no bad reviews. I was lucky and landed the soc version which is what I had my eye on and then they sold out as I was about to buy

but they got more in on monday

EVGA SOC GTX560Ti

Core Clock

900 Mhz (v.s. 822 Mhz reference)

Shader Clock

1800 Mhz (v.s. 1645 Mhz reference)

Stream Processors

384 Processor Cores

 

[Icekube]

Honestly with a pretty decent system like that I'd look at buying a better psu and selling your old 1, then buy an EVGA GTX 560 Ti SC (I say EVGA because of their gd customer sevice and 10 year warrenty) with a view to adding a second when you have the money together.

If you really don't want to replace your psu then definately go for a gd gtx 570, Scan have a great offer on an MSI GTX 570 OC for £263 atm. But if it was my money and I was looking at buying a 570 I'd buy either of these Gainward 570 GS or EVGA 570 SC

But I really would look at a new psu, if your potentially wanting to run Sli or Crossfire at some point, as 650W is nothing these days with such powerful cards coming out.

 

[alicarve]

or as i read in another thread that you can get a 580 for £367 from scan

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1536...mhz-shader-1544mhz-512-cores-dp-hdmi-dl-dvi-i

 

[JezEngland]

or as i read in another thread that you can get a 580 for £367 from scan

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1536...mhz-shader-1544mhz-512-cores-dp-hdmi-dl-dvi-i

?

I ran a 480 on a 650watt though I'd check the 580 usage as I've seen it draws more power in the Crysis Benchmark, while NVIDIA etc claim it uses less generaly. I think fully loaded I had about 50-100Watts spare with a little i5-750 OCing and I don't know what your stuff will draw from that PSU. That 580 is OC'd so it needs more power and I've heard PSU's will give a little more wattage than wats printed in on the box, sticker thingy (650W).

Later you could get a 2nd 580 and a PSU to suit, if thats possible with your mobo

EDIT: I think 650 watt isn't enough regarding you running DRAM at 2000, OC'd i7 930 & OC's GTX 580. Not sure though

 

[adamjamesroe]

Get your self a Decent GTX 570, maybe an EVGA one, basicaly find the one with the highest stock OC, then its less work for you. maybe a POV Ultra Charged or POV beast.

With that kind of price range the GTX 570 is your best bet.

 

[adamjamesroe]

?

I ran a 480 on a 650watt though I'd check the 580 usage as I've seen it draws more power in the Crysis Benchmark, while NVIDIA etc claim it uses less generaly. I think fully loaded I had about 50-100Watts spare with a little i5-750 OCing and I don't know what your stuff will draw from that PSU. That 580 is OC'd so it needs more power and I've heard PSU's will give a little more wattage than wats printed in on the box, sticker thingy (650W).

Later you could get a 2nd 580 and a PSU to suit, if thats possible with your mobo

EDIT: I think 650 watt isn't enough regarding you running DRAM at 2000, OC'd i7 930 & OC's GTX 580. Not sure though

Double Post: sorry

I have run SLI GXT 570's on my HX750 PSU with an OCed 930 so this dude will be fine with the 650 and a GTX 580.

 

[spencerlievens]

How about GTX 460 1GB in SLI? How does that compare to one GTX 570?

 

[Icekube]

My understanding is that 460's in Sli are about same performance as a 570 oc'd, with the only downside being you can only have 2 way Sli on a 460 or 560, so performance cannot be improved beyond that point. Mate its really down to what you need your setup to do, if your a gamer I'd go with the 570 and throw in another 1 or 2 down the line.

 

[adamjamesroe]

How about GTX 460 1GB in SLI? How does that compare to one GTX 570?

You will alwasy be better to go with the best single GPU you can afford at the time.

 

[spencerlievens]

Yeah I think you be right, I have chosen the EVGA GTX 570 (Non-SC Version). Would these overclock just as well as the Superclocked versions?

 

[milo]

i suggest the msi twinfroster 570, coolest and mybe one of the best oc out there. not shure if it comes oc or not but with one of these oc you should be good, add another down the line when as needed

 

[Rastalovich]

?

I ran a 480 on a 650watt though I'd check the 580 usage as I've seen it draws more power in the Crysis Benchmark, while NVIDIA etc claim it uses less generaly. I think fully loaded I had about 50-100Watts spare with a little i5-750 OCing and I don't know what your stuff will draw from that PSU. That 580 is OC'd so it needs more power and I've heard PSU's will give a little more wattage than wats printed in on the box, sticker thingy (650W).

Later you could get a 2nd 580 and a PSU to suit, if thats possible with your mobo

EDIT: I think 650 watt isn't enough regarding you running DRAM at 2000, OC'd i7 930 & OC's GTX 580. Not sure though

I've tested 480s on 450W corsair psus using old mobos and oc'ing everything. Wouldn't recommend it for long use, but it works for testing sake.

For a 570 I'd get away with a quality 500-550w for longer use. It's essentially a 480 with newer blood.

650W of quality is fine for a 580, especially with a newer i7 setup. And I'd only add another 200w to that for another card. 1000w is overkill unless you got masses of drives.

Again, with this OP's setup, the GPU would have been one of the 1st items in my shopping basket.

 

[Icekube]

Yeah I think you be right, I have chosen the EVGA GTX 570 (Non-SC Version). Would these overclock just as well as the Superclocked versions?

I'm pretty sure Evga cherry pick gpu's through a testing process for their Ftw and SC cards, so they are able to oc a little better, but I doubt there would be a lot of difference between a 570 and a 570 sc when oc'd tbh.

 

[JezEngland]

I'm pretty sure Evga cherry pick gpu's through a testing process for their Ftw and SC cards, so they are able to oc a little better, but I doubt there would be a lot of difference between a 570 and a 570 sc when oc'd tbh.

mm looks like it to me. my evga 480 sc+ runs with lower volts than the stock pov 480