New GFX Card Advice

[SiD]

Sup guys.

 

I'm shopping for a new GFX card because my gt630 ain't cutting it. I am mostly self taught when it comes to computers, and my hardware knowledge is a little lacking. Hell I only bought this PC from Best buy because the price was fairly decent. 

 

After going to Canada Computers and looking at cards, my eyes fell upon:

 

 

Asus GTX 750 TI 2GB @179.99

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_559&item_id=068914

 

Asus GTX 770 2GB @$389

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_559&item_id=061098

 

Asus GTX 780 3GB@$559

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_559&item_id=062368

 

 

Or

 

Gigabyte Versions

 

@$200

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_559&item_id=068835

 

@$389

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_559&item_id=060719

 

@584

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_1200_557_559&item_id=062455

 

 

 

I like the 750's only because the price is fairly low. Even at those prices, they would have to be better than the 630, yeah?

 

The 770's again have a lower price range and are comparable (or so I hear ) to the 680's. I've heard plenty good about the 680's.

 

The 780's seem expensive as shit, but I was told if I went with the latter, I wouldn't have to upgrade for quite some time. Which, seems a little more beneficial in the long run. 

 

 

I know basically jack shit about hardware, and am slowly teaching myself all about it. I plan on going back to school and getting an education in computers because I really enjoy the idea of working with them. So until then, I'll need a little insight.

 

Which is why I come here. A lot of you guys know your shit, and I hope you can help me decide. Could you give me a little info about the cards, what may be most beneficial? I have a lot of games and I plan to play next gen for sure.

 

Also, what about brand? Gigabyte vs Asus, which would be more bang for my buck?

 

Also, I was told I may need a better power supply... are they expensive?

 

Would be thankful for some information.

[Quovadis]

My answer would depends on the quality of the build you have and what you plan to do with it.

What is your CPU?

What games/programs you want to run on it?

 

I used to max BF3 on my old intel quad core with a gtx 550 ti. Pretty sure 750 would run bf4 decently .

Can't really check anything atm because im on my phone but you might test your setup using differant cards on there : http://www.systemrequirementslab.com

[Quovadis]

Actually it's the wrong website but I can't find it on mobile. I'll look for it later.

[SiD]

Right now, it's basically a stock Acer from Best Buy. (Price was a steal at the time, only reason i bought it)

 

 Aspire ME600

2Tb HDD

10GB Ram (wtf right? 10 GB?!?)

i7 3770 @3.4ghz

 

Slowly and surely I'm going to upgrade everything and make it a custom beast machine. For now, one step at a time.

 

 

It's going to be a gaming rig for the most part. Side projects would be recording and editing video, photoshop work, and basically everything else I'll need.

Edited March 2, 2014 by SiD the Vicious

[Quovadis]

This is the good website : http://www.game-debate.com/games/

[SiD]

Will check it out, thanks

[A. Pirate]

it's also important to make sure you don't buy more than your power supply (PSU) can handle. A GTX 750 or higher would likely require a 600+ watt power supply, but the manufacturer will list the power requirements on the specs on sites like Newegg, but I'm not sure about other sites. Corsair has a calculator on their website that can tell you how many watts you need, or you can use this one: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

If you're unsure how many watts your current PSU is, it should be given on a sticker on the side of your PSU (inside your case). If you end up needing a more powerful PSU, Corsair is a really good affordable option. Just about any brand will work though. However, if you're using an existing case, then you might want something modular (meaning you can remove the cables you're not using so they don't clutter up your case), so take that into account -- most of the time with PC stuff, you get what you pay for.

 

Good luck!

[SiD]

Thanks man I wound up getting a 750w psu to go with my card (it's modular to boot!). I definitely appreciate the link though. This stuff is pretty interesting, so I'm diggin' anything I can learn from

 

Next things will be looking into liquid cooling

[A. Pirate]

Thanks man I wound up getting a 750w psu to go with my card (it's modular to boot!). I definitely appreciate the link though. This stuff is pretty interesting, so I'm diggin' anything I can learn from

 

Next things will be looking into liquid cooling

 

Ha, any time! If you're looking for simplicity, I'd recommend the H100 or H110 from Corsair --  Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Series-Extreme-Performance-Liquid/dp/B009ZN2NH6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1393806584&sr=8-3&keywords=corsair

 

Just make sure you have room in your case, or a way to put it on the outside of your case if you don't have room. It's the size of two side-by-side 120mm fans. It would mount nicely on the Cooler Master HAF 912 case (I just built a new PC for my brother in law, and it had the mounts already).

 

If you're wanting something more extreme, you're on your own. I've never wanted to dabble that far into the art of liquid cooling.