upgrade graphics card?

[socrates]

Currently I am using a AMD Radeon HD 6670 and my monitor is a LG W 2242T with a max resolution of 1680 by 1050.

My CPU is a i5 4570 on a MSI B85M E33 motherboard with 8GB ram and a 490 W power supply.

I am looking to upgrade my graphics card. Not too knowledgeable in this area so seek the advice of the experts here. I am not too serious of a gamer but I am looking to play cities skylines and being a star wars fan the star wars battlefront game later on in the year. I doubt that my current graphics card can handle these games well if at all and other games which may interest me in the future.

1.) Did a bit of research and I narrow down to 2 possible cards from lazada. the Sapphire Dual-X R9 280 3GB GDDR5 OC with Boost (UEFI) listed at $270 and the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 970 Twin Fan 4GB GDDR5 at $478. The zotac one is obviously better but are there are options that I can consider considering that I am not a serious hardcore gamer? Can my current power supply handle these cards

2.) Should I wait a while as newer graphics cards like the AMD R9 300 series will be available soon as hence it would a price drop for the older cards? If so any idea when?


3.) what would it be like running a Zotac 970 or R9 280 on my current monitor? Do games like I currently have like battlefield 4 look very different/better on my current monitor? I guess that I cannot get the best out of the graphics card with my current monitor? so i would probably need to get a newer and better 1440 p resolution monitor as well?

sorry if I ask some noob questions here but thanks for all the advice.

 

[MoneyFace =p]

These R9-3xx cards are simply rebrands of current R9-2xx / HD 7xxx series cards. Nothing new to them apart from double size VRAMs in most cases. They are not any revolutionary (or even evolutionary) technologies. Only upcoming R9 Fury series is. You should just hoot R9-280 now or wait for their pricing to drop.

 

[game goondu]

my gfx card buying decision is quite simple.

look for the price point that i willing to spend. eg. $200 to $300.
then l look for the most valued card for that price point and get it.

no need to wait for the next generation card or whatever... it never ending...

 

[socrates]

BTW my casing is a coolmaster mid tower CM690. Am I right to say that the Sapphire Dual-X R9 280 3GB GDDR5 OCor GeForce GTX 970 has no problem to fit in the case? Is my 490 W pSU sufficient as well?

 

[Goodshot]

my gfx card buying decision is quite simple.

look for the price point that i willing to spend. eg. $200 to $300.
then l look for the most valued card for that price point and get it.

no need to wait for the next generation card or whatever... it never ending...

If ur budget is 200-300 and wanna play high setting game , the only option is used gtx770 or 780 . Brand new $300 card cant play shitt man , can run but lag like f***

 

[Koenig168]

The choice of a GPU depends on whether you intend to change your monitor.

Your existing monitor is 1680X1050 so a GTX 970 would be overkill. A GTX 960 or AMD equivalent should be sufficient. A second hand card might make more sense here, as you can save the money for a better graphics card when you eventually upgrade your monitor.

If you intend to move to 1440p, then the choice of GPU will depend on your budget. You will also need to take into account the cost of a new PSU.

 

[trento]

BTW my casing is a coolmaster mid tower CM690. Am I right to say that the Sapphire Dual-X R9 280 3GB GDDR5 OCor GeForce GTX 970 has no problem to fit in the case? Is my 490 W pSU sufficient as well?

for r9 280, 500w psu is recommended. u can try yr current psu. it should be ok. usually, a good quality psu will do the job.

 

[socrates]

Yes I do intend at the same time to get a new 1440 p monitor and realise that I would need a better GPu to go with it. I am not that kind of serious gamer or into online multiplayer games. Play cities skylines, a bit of BF 4 and in the future star wars battlefront
Don't have to max out resolution for games but something reasonably good enough that can at least last for a number of years would do.

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Yes I do intend at the same time to get a new 1440 p monitor and realise that I would need a better GPu to go with it. I am not that kind of serious gamer or into online multiplayer games. Play cities skylines, a bit of BF 4 and in the future star wars battlefront
Don't have to max out resolution for games but something reasonably good enough that can at least last for a number of years would do.

Expect a handful of 2nd hand GTX 970 offloaders who are hoot upcoming R9 Fury X, Fury and Nano...

 

[socrates]

With the release of the R9 Fury X, Fury and Nano also cause the price of GTX 970, GTX 960 and R9 290 to fall as well?

 

[socrates]

Talking about PSU upgrade, just saw this at lazada http://www.lazada.sg/armaggeddon-80-...00-114145.html

Is that a very good deal at 88% off and 1200 W? What's the catch here?

 

[MoneyFace =p]

With the release of the R9 Fury X, Fury and Nano also cause the price of GTX 970, GTX 960 and R9 290 to fall as well?

They can force them to increase competition but many current GTX 970 might take this opportunity to upgrade again and stay away from the 3.5GB VRAM issue....

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Talking about PSU upgrade, just saw this at lazada http://www.lazada.sg/armaggeddon-80-...00-114145.html

Is that a very good deal at 88% off and 1200 W? What's the catch here?

Could be a fake 80 Plus Gold certification as all certified ones will be listed on this website:

http://www.plugloadsolutions.com/80PlusPowerSupplies.aspx

Better stay away with no proper review from any major sites...

 

[localITguy]

FYI, armaggeddon is a SG Brand.