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Started upgrading... more to do still.

post #1 of 13
12/19/12 at 6:40pm
Thread Starter 
So thanks to a side job I've been doing, I've made some cash to upgrade. I've replaced my mobo and harddrives, and next on the list is a new GPU if I get a couple days of this side job again. Been doing some tech support (mainly network issues) for a friend's dad's company for $25 an hour, so if I get a couple days of work I can snag the card I'm looking at. Also going to get a new psu and another 8gb of ram to put in before I get the card, so we'll see what happens.

Anyway,

Old Mobo - Cheapy Biostar that worked, but not that great
New Mobo - ASUS M5A97 Rev 2

Old Hdd - Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
New Dirves - OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD + Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM

Current GPU - XFX Radeon HD6870
New GPU (hopefully soon) - XFX Radeon HD7970 Black Edition.


After that, the only thing I'd be looking at hardware wise would be a new CPU, but that would require another new mobo. So After a vid card it will probably be new monitors.
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post #2 of 13
12/19/12 at 8:00pm
Oh nice! You finally got this one going.

Well, as you know, you got the stuff you really needed already. Your cpu is fine. At this point, you might as well stick or you will just be throwing money away. We've talking a lot about this and a new videocard would definitely be the next best thing to get working on. You'll see the largest improvement in all your games, including Planetside 2. wink.gif I like your current choice but I wouldn't lock in that specific card just yet. Though the price is definitely nice, keep your eyes open and you might find something even more suitable.

I still think you should improve your monitor situation and I know we could and have gone on for hours about it. There are many ways of doing it but I think, imho, the best bet might just to replace that 16:10 I gave you and get one of those Korean 27" 1440p monitors and use that as your main monitor for gaming and such. That way all you gotta do is swap out and enjoy the improvement and extra size which I know you'll appreciate immediately. Now about your triple monitors....considering the room you have on your desk, I'd still go with dual monitors, one on each side in portrait mode. It would work both for games cuz you'd now have a proper 16:9 right in the middle so fps games and ...well, everything would still display correctly but then you could get an extended view of you wanted and it wouldn't be some crazy excess of 180 degrees like three 16:9's side by side. Plus that would be like 5ft wide and we know that wouldnt fit in your corner. tongue.gif But anyway, the portraits would work perfect for when you have websites and stuff up like Netflix, livestreams, dvd/BD's and that's usually how you play games anyway.

I know you've heard all this from me a bunch of times but it's only cuz I know what you like. smile.gif You can go many other ways, obviously. Hopefully you can get some traffic in here to spur up your imagination some more even.
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post #3 of 13
12/19/12 at 8:04pm
Thread Starter 
I agree on the monitors, but the fact is I need a better vid card for certain to drive those res's, so a new card is definitely first priority. lol
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post #4 of 13
12/19/12 at 8:05pm
Correct and I would not ever disagree.
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post #5 of 13
12/19/12 at 8:11pm
Thread Starter 
And I'm close to being set on that 7970 after reading more reviews and comparison benches. It's as good as, and in some cases better than, the 2gb GTX670 I've been considering as well. So we'll just have to see if this turns into a multi-day job again, *crosses fingers*. And of course the Steam christmas sale is supposedly starting tomorrow... and I just found out, starting friday (not only are they doing a triple SC cash thing for Planetside 2) they're running double xp from the 21st till Jan 2nd. Going to be sucked into Planetside for 12 days lol.
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post #6 of 13
12/19/12 at 8:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marafice Eye View Post

And I'm close to being set on that 7970 after reading more reviews and comparison benches. It's as good as, and in some cases better than, the 2gb GTX670 I've been considering as well. So we'll just have to see if this turns into a multi-day job again, *crosses fingers*. And of course the Steam christmas sale is supposedly starting tomorrow... and I just found out, starting friday (not only are they doing a triple SC cash thing for Planetside 2) they're running double xp from the 21st till Jan 2nd. Going to be sucked into Planetside for 12 days lol.

Oh s**t! redface.gif I totally forgot about that. Haven't been on Steam in a week and it never even occurred to me. Ugh, I think you and I have almost every single game we'd ever want ... but I'm sure there will be a few games so cheap that one would have the, "Eh, it is only $5 today. Ohhh alright." tongue.gif

Yeah, I'm not trying to get you to get a GTX. The 7970 is looking perfect for you. I was just saying, keep you eyes open for similar cards but maybe not that particular one exactly. Looks pretty awesome though.
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post #7 of 13
12/19/12 at 8:23pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah been looking at other makers, Sapphire in particular, but the problem is, the XFX 7970 Black Edition sits right between the stock 7970's and the 7970 Ghz Editions in terms of price and performance. It's faster than stocks (factory OC'd) and a slight bit more money, and it's slightly slower (a whopping 50mhz lol) and less expensive than a Ghz Edition. Seems to be a good balance. Of course I'll be doing more digging once I actually HAVE the cash to buy it, so I'll just have to wait and see.
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post #8 of 13
12/20/12 at 3:36am
Scott you forgot about the Steam sale... tsk tsk rolleyes.gif I haven't bought every game before the sale this year. So I am planning on bringing home a good haul. I still need a new video card to remedy my eyefinity woes. I dont have enough vram to keep up with these modern games coming out lately. Gotta lower alot of settings to medium or heaven forbid low. lol
Edited by WiseGuy2k7 - 12/20/12 at 4:35am
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post #9 of 13
12/20/12 at 7:26am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by WiseGuy2k7 View Post

Scott you forgot about the Steam sale... tsk tsk rolleyes.gif I haven't bought every game before the sale this year. So I am planning on bringing home a good haul. I still need a new video card to remedy my eyefinity woes. I dont have enough vram to keep up with these modern games coming out lately. Gotta lower alot of settings to medium or heaven forbid low. lol

Not enough vram? Try the Sapphire 7970 Toxic. runs about $600 but it's a 6gb card, single gpu lol.
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post #10 of 13
12/20/12 at 1:35pm
ya cant see that happening anytime soon. Talk to me 5 yrs ago when I still lived with my parents sure. lol
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post #11 of 13
12/20/12 at 5:42pm
Thread Starter 
8hrs later and I'm $200 closer to that 7970! Woot!
Edited by Marafice Eye - 12/20/12 at 6:01pm
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post #12 of 13
12/20/12 at 8:32pm
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post #13 of 13
12/21/12 at 7:08am
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