So, I more or less have a budget of $220 right now free (Sold an MMO game account of mine, and the money now only resides in my paypal) Anyways, if you need to know my current PC, it's a 280X, 8GB of RAM, a 2500K overclocked to 4.5 Ghz, a 700W PSU, and a 1.5TB HDD. I game at 1080p/60Hz. As far as it should be concerned, all I really do with my PC is gaming, and anything I need is gaming performance. If it matters, too, I do live in the hellish heat of southern Georgia, so, if anything at all pertains to reducing heat, that might would be a good thing! Anyways, basically, what I'm wondering is, is would it be worth it to sell my current videocard, the 280X, and get a GTX 970, R9 390, or something similar. (I'd greatly prefer going back to Nvidia (Especially now that they're giving away MGSV for free, a game I was going to buy anyways.), but I'm open to other suggestions if the performance is there). If I sold my 280X, I'd get about $120+, which would give me a bit over $300 to spend on a new GPU. Or -- would it be better to just stick with what I have for now, and get like, an SSD or something? (I do not have an SSD). In any event, I'd be open to hearing all kinds of suggestions of what to do here. If it matters, I'm currently playing The Witcher 3 and GTA V. I also play BF4. If need be, this is my steam library: http://steamcommunity.com/id/Otimus/games/?tab=all Thanks for the help!
Your system is pretty balanced. If you really want to go back to Nvidia, then by all means pick up a 970. The performance improvement will be 30% in some cases, plus it uses less than 2/3 the power.
If you sell your 280x and get a 970 you may still have some leftovers for a SSD which will also make a tremendous difference.
280X is still quite capable card. Just get a 850 Evo 250GB. You'll notice huge difference going from HDD to SSD. With the rest take out your GF to a nice dinner.
+1 on a ssd. It is the best optimization you can do right now. Just get the cheapest and biggest new ssd you can find on the marked for your budget. (any ssd is faster than a platter, just buy a new one). The 240/250gb is within your price range. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269.html Put the os and the most played mmo's and fps on it, and the rest on the old drive. (bf4 is a must to have on a ssd. To move origin games, just make a new folder on the ssd, copy the bf folder over and go in to options in orging and select a new install folder. This will not touch the other games.) (move every user folder, temp files and anything you can to the old drives. You find ssd guides on the net.) Remember to set your bios to ACHI mode before you install windows. Use 8.1 or win10 for the best ssd performance.
I would go the Transcend SSD370S myself (it's a new model, not the older SSD370, which is still a good drive). It is probably the best value drive at the moment, just underrated. By best value I mean balance of performance, reliability (and write cycles), and price. You would still have leftover money if going for the 256 GB version, you could even go the 512 GB version (on Amazon) and have some left over. If you go for the 256 GB version, maybe you could sell off your current RAM and get 16 GB of RAM (2x8GB@2133 or something). That might be a bit of an overkill though, but keep in mind games are starting to use more memory. If you don't decide to do this, simply get the 256 GB HDD I mentioned (SSD370S 256GB is $89.99 on Amazon) and put the remaining $130 in your upgrade/safety fund for later . Ideally that would be a high interest bank account (the one where your money makes money but you have instant access to it), one where the interest is a least higher than the inflation so you don't lose on it. This will act not only as an upgrade fund you can put money in to occasionally, but a buffer fund to replace any parts that may decide to not last as long as you intended.
I guess right now, my main decisions are going to be either A) Sell 280X, get a GTX 970 or B) Buy a 2-3TB HDD and a 256GB Samsung SSD Decisions, decisions...
Or you can get a SanDisk Ultra+ 128GB for $50 on Amazon and then get the 970 on top of it. You don't need a large one for an OS drive and to get the main benefits.
Problem is that his 280X isnt worth more than 160$ while 970 costs 330$. Idk if thats worth it. Just a get a biggest SSD you can find at that price without HDD.
970 will be a massive upgrade over the 280x. Sell the 280x, buy a 970. Use the spare cash to buy a SSD. Even a 64gb one for OS will improve your QOL.
There's some massive overestimations on the forum of late regarding just how fast the 280X is. It's a rebranded 7970, and while fantastic for the time it's most definitely showing it's age. A 970 with a little OC'ing will have massive gains on it, end of story.
Yeah, I'm really starting to consider maybe upping my budget and getting a GTX 970 and a little (120GB or so?) SSD.
Yeah os drive, apps and a few games that you play most and get the 970. That oc will be a very good upgrade from a 280x. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1041?vs=1355
SanDisk Ultra Plus. Trust me, I've run several of those puppies in various builds. Zero problems, great speeds. And the price is great. It's obviously not the fastest in benchmarks, but it delivers those sexy low access times, and that's all you need. And of course the 970 is a great upgrade, especially if you're longing to go back to team green. This card hauls donkey at 1500mhz.
Looking at the prices of the 970, you could also look at the R9-390 (non-x). Check out the review here: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/powercolor_radeon_r9_390_pcs_8gb_review,1.html Keep in mind they are comparing it to the GTX 980, not the GTX 970 . Also keep in mind the review was done with the older 15.15 drivers, AMD have since done a lot of work improving the performance of DirectX 11 which will become apparent with the move to Windows 10. You will unlikely see the same benefit with Nvidia because Nvidia have already optimised their drivers for DirectX 11 overhead reduction (there simply isn't the same room for improvement). I wouldn't get a 64 GB SSD, that's barely enough room for the OS and basic programs.
The 390 is only slightly better than a stock 970 at 1440P. At 1500 on the 970 it pulls ahead. 390 uses way more power, is hotter, and generally overclocks poorly. Not to mention, recommending it based AMD potentially improving the driver overhead is pretty silly. And 64GB is more than enough for an OS and basic programs. Believe me, I've done it before in the old days. Windows takes up 20GB tops.