PC Building Guide and Discussion #11 (everything is expensive...)

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AfroThunder396

[citation needed]
Jan 8, 2006
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Miami, FL
So I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card. I've been running a GT 740 for the past ~5 years. It's been able to run just about everything, but on minimum settings with awful framerate. I'm not a graphics snob but I'm tired of getting new releases and having to run them at 12 FPS or to downgrade the shit out of them.

I was thinking about jumping to the GTX 770, which seems like a huge upgrade from what I'm running and is reasonably affordable (much cheaper than say a 1070), but that would require an upgrade to my PSU as it's currently only at 460W.

Basically, I was wondering what you guys thought about the GTX 770 in general and if you have any recommendations for 550+ PSU's that have both a 6 pin and an 8 pin PCI-E.

Here's the rest of my specs, pretty much every diagnostic tool tells me the rest of my set up is good enough and that GPU is what's bottlenecking my performance:

i7-4770 @ 3.4 GHz
Dell 0KWVT8 motherboard
16B RAM DDR3
1920x1080 native
 

SniperHF

Rejecting Reports
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So I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card. I've been running a GT 740 for the past ~5 years. It's been able to run just about everything, but on minimum settings with awful framerate. I'm not a graphics snob but I'm tired of getting new releases and having to run them at 12 FPS or to downgrade the **** out of them.

I was thinking about jumping to the GTX 770, which seems like a huge upgrade from what I'm running and is reasonably affordable (much cheaper than say a 1070),

How much are you seeing used GTX 770's for?

A GTX 770 is almost identical performance wise to a current model GTX 1050 ti. But the 1050 ti has two huge advantages: 4GB of memory and it's still receiving driver updates.

As you noted, you would also need a PSU to run a 770. But a 1050 ti is a very power efficient card. You might still need a new PSU to run a 1050 ti, but there's a pretty good chance it could work on your existing one.

EDIT: According to MSI, your old GT740 actually uses more power than a 1050 ti.
Power requirements for graphics cards 2.0 | MSI HQ User-to-User FAQ
So I'm pretty confident you could get a 1050 ti without a PSU upgrade.


This 1050 ti doesn't even need a power cable from the PSu at all:
EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC GAMING, 04G-P4-6253-KR, 4GB GDDR5, DX12 OSD Support (PXOC) - Newegg.com
$179 US

IMO a 1050 ti would last you longer than a 770, cost you less both in potential PSU costs and actual power costs, and it's probably marginally faster in new games.
I'd get a 1050 ti ;)


But a 770 could still be a decent value if you could get one for about $100 or maybe $125. Then another $50 for the PSU.



is good enough and that GPU is what's bottlenecking my performance:
Yep.
Your setup is pretty good otherwise.
 
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SniperHF

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Wait what? You mean it draws power directly from the mobo only?

Right. A standard PCIe slot can put out 75W of power by itself.
There are some 1050 Ti models that do use a 6 pin power connector. This is to give it higher boost clocks/more OC headroom. So you have to check each model before buying. I do believe the majority have no 6 pin required though.

This one for example does need a 6 pin:
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1050 Ti DirectX 12 GV-N105TG1 GAMING-4GD 4GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 ATX Video Card - Newegg.com

There was a controversy a few years back where AMD RX cards were pulling MORE than 75W and some people thought this could cause damage.
Same thing for example with those cards too. Some RX 480's use 6 pin, some use 8 pins for more headroom.

I believe the new specs of PCIe slots (4.0 or 5.0) will be able to put out > than 75W. So when those are out it might be the end for the ole 6 pin.
 

flyingkiwi

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Oct 28, 2014
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Right. A standard PCIe slot can put out 75W of power by itself.
There are some 1050 Ti models that do use a 6 pin power connector. This is to give it higher boost clocks/more OC headroom. So you have to check each model before buying. I do believe the majority have no 6 pin required though.

This one for example does need a 6 pin:
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1050 Ti DirectX 12 GV-N105TG1 GAMING-4GD 4GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 ATX Video Card - Newegg.com

There was a controversy a few years back where AMD RX cards were pulling MORE than 75W and some people thought this could cause damage.
Same thing for example with those cards too. Some RX 480's use 6 pin, some use 8 pins for more headroom.

I believe the new specs of PCIe slots (4.0 or 5.0) will be able to put out > than 75W. So when those are out it might be the end for the ole 6 pin.
That’s good to know, thanks!

Little things like that def help with cable management in compact builds.
 

SniperHF

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Some cards in the olden days used 4 pin molex connections before the 6 pin was standard.
My 9800 se did.
The x850 was the first card I remember having a 6 pin.
 

SniperHF

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Thanks a lot, just ordered the 1050 ti.

There is a small chance that your current PSU if it's a lower quality unit won't be able to do the job. A lot of the power figures out there are estimates and a higher end card (compared to the 740) like the 1050 ti will probably use more power at peak loads.

But even a lower quality 460W should have no problem with a 1050 ti. Only if your unit has degraded over time should you run into issues. But there are pretty reasonably priced power supplies out there (like $30) in that event.
 

Natey

GOATS
Aug 2, 2005
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So that laptop with the 1050 actually did reasonable on VR for Beat Saber and Dreadhalls. Both ran smoothly. However, the 5400 HD was to much for me to handle. Blows my mind that I used to be okay with that. The screen angles were really really bad too.

Anyway, returned it and bought the PC I posted earlier. It's amazing compared to anything I've had. Just lightning fast.
 
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Natey

GOATS
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The 1070 is a massive step up on the 1060.
Whatever the adata or whatever boot drive is insanely fast.

I got a computer from the same guy for my dad too. He had an EMachines 2.7ghz, 3gb ram, nvidia 430 gpu.

Intel Xeon E3-1230 (3.3ghz, 3.7ghz turbo)
8 GB RAM
1TB SSD
GTX 770
$400

 

Commander Clueless

Hiya, hiya. Pleased to meetcha.
Sep 10, 2008
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My buddy got his shiny new MSI 1070 Ti Titanium up and running, did a benchmark showdown against my lowly blower 1080. He edged me out by a bit.

Amazing what a custom PCB and actual good cooling can do. :laugh:
 

Natey

GOATS
Aug 2, 2005
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My buddy got his shiny new MSI 1070 Ti Titanium up and running, did a benchmark showdown against my lowly blower 1080. He edged me out by a bit.

Amazing what a custom PCB and actual good cooling can do. :laugh:
What do you get on the Valley benchmark with the 1080?
 

flyingkiwi

Registered User
Oct 28, 2014
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Hoooooly sheeeit the Ryzen 7 1700 is on Newegg NZ for $289 NZD. I'm probably buying it. Maybe to chuck in a build, maybe to just resell. It's about > 150 less than retail here.

The question is, what else do I get to combine shipping on. Maybe a mobo and RAM so I can have a whole system to test...
 
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flyingkiwi

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Hoooooly sheeeit the Ryzen 7 1700 is on Newegg NZ for $289 NZD. I'm probably buying it. Maybe to chuck in a build, maybe to just resell. It's about > 150 less than retail here.

The question is, what else do I get to combine shipping on. Maybe a mobo and RAM so I can have a whole system to test...

Yeah nah... the price of a suitable b350 mobo is pretty gross. Not even gonna talk about RAM.
 

SniperHF

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Crysis still murders GPUs :laugh:


DX10 2560x1080, AA=8x, Vsync=Disabled, 64 bit test, FullScreen
Demo Loops=1, Time Of Day= 9
Global Game Quality: VeryHigh
==============================================================
TimeDemo Play Started , (Total Frames: 2000, Recorded Time: 111.86s)
!TimeDemo Run 0 Finished.
Play Time: 37.89s, Average FPS: 52.78
Min FPS: 40.20 at frame 1967, Max FPS: 66.23 at frame 1015
 
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flyingkiwi

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Crysis still murders GPUs :laugh:


DX10 2560x1080, AA=8x, Vsync=Disabled, 64 bit test, FullScreen
Demo Loops=1, Time Of Day= 9
Global Game Quality: VeryHigh
==============================================================
TimeDemo Play Started , (Total Frames: 2000, Recorded Time: 111.86s)
!TimeDemo Run 0 Finished.
Play Time: 37.89s, Average FPS: 52.78
Min FPS: 40.20 at frame 1967, Max FPS: 66.23 at frame 1015
Bloody hell... :laugh:
 

flyingkiwi

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Oct 28, 2014
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No kidding, the Can it run Crysis? question is still semi-relevant. Granted it's only an OCed RX 480 but still that card is still 9 years newer than the game :laugh:
I imagine a 1070 ti would do better.
I should really grab it on sale and run it through my system. We've got similar gpus.

How does it treat cpus?
 

SniperHF

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How does it treat cpus?

IIRC it only uses 2 threads but that's just going off back in the day knowledge.
It was released right around the height of the Core 2 Duo and I don't think the quads were out yet or were just barely out.

It's actually a pretty fun shooter (well the first half or so anyway)
 

flyingkiwi

Registered User
Oct 28, 2014
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IIRC it only uses 2 threads but that's just going off back in the day knowledge.
It was released right around the height of the Core 2 Duo and I don't think the quads were out yet or were just barely out.

It's actually a pretty fun shooter (well the first half or so anyway)
I haven't got into a shooter in years. They're not really my jam. Might give it a crack, and it'll be a funny benchmark if I start buying stuff on a larger scale.
 
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