Looking to upgrade from HD5870

[ozymandius42]

Hello all, I'm currently thinking of upgrading my GPU (MSI HD 5870) which has served me long and well but may sort of be dieing after nearly 4.5 years of loyal service. I'm on a tight budget (USD 200) and would like to stick with AMD cards (unless they're REALLY compelling reasons to go NVidia).
I'm running an AMD FX-8130 and 8GB RAM. I'm primarily going to be playing Dark Souls 2, a bunch of Kickstarted adventure/RPG games, Crusader Kings 2, and Witcher 3 (whenever that comes out, and no, I'm fine with playing it on medium/high and not ultra settings, which is what I did with W2). In general, I'm not really a big AAA game player (prefer older titles and less 'cutting edge' graphics).

Given all this, my questions are:
1. Is it worth going for 3/4 GB cards, or will 2GB be sufficient for now and future (3 years) purposes?

2. Is the R9 270X a good card to upgrade to? Or are there any others the community thinks are worth it? In particular I was thinking of these two:
1. MSI R9 270X Gaming
2. Sapphire R9 270X VAPOR-X
The 4GB versions of these cards pushes me about 40 USD above budget, but I think I can live with that (who needs to eat out when you need a new GPU eh? )

Many thanks in advance people!

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I temporarily upgraded from a 5870 to a R9 270x and I felt that the performance increase was not really worth the money.

I wouldn't go lower than a R9 280x or a GTX770. I picked up a GTX770 open box for $230. Just keep scoping out deals. There was a 280x for $250 not too long ago.

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/119...o-r9-280x-250-after-20-rebate-sapphire-r9-280

 

[Sunburn74]

That 280x is a steal for the price. On the used market 280xs are going for just a little less.

 

[mindbomb]

well, i assume the mining bubble has burst, since you can get 7950s on ebay for $150 and 7970s for $200

 

[n0x1ous]

yeah OP look to 7970/280x for a more worthwhile upgrade

 

[ozymandius42]

Thanks for the all the tips people, any particular 280x/7950's you would recommend? I am assuming both the Sapphire and MSI 280X cards are good?

 

[Termie]

You don't need that much power for the games you play. You said your card is dying, which is the reason for your upgrade. Don't get talked into spending $300. The 270x is only 40% faster than your card, but that's plenty. And 2GB is exactly what you need, and it fits in your budget. The 4GB cards are silly in that performance class by the way.

I'd recommend the sapphire you found or the gigabyte. The MSI looks nice too for the price, but check reviews on bearing failures.

 

[Makaveli]

You don't need that much power for the games you play. You said your card is dying, which is the reason for your upgrade. Don't get talked into spending $300. The 270x is only 40% faster than your card, but that's plenty. And 2GB is exactly what you need, and it fits in your budget. The 4GB cards are silly in that performance class by the way.

I'd recommend the sapphire you found or the gigabyte. The MSI looks nice too for the price, but check reviews on bearing failures.

Agreed with this termie but I would also like to add since he tends to keep his cards for 4-5 years he may want a 3GB card also if he can find a 280x for $250 or a 7950 that would be my vote.

 

[SlickR12345]

Absolutely. On average over 70% performance, where the 5870 would struggle with 20fps in some games you would be gaming at 60fps with the 270x.

Definitely worth the upgrade. I would go with the 4GB ram just to be on the safe side for longevity.

 

[Termie]

Agreed with this termie but I would also like to add since he tends to keep his cards for 4-5 years he may want a 3GB card also if he can find a 280x for $250 or a 7950 that would be my vote.

Actually, Newegg just got stock of the discontinued HD7950 back in:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202026

Currently $210AR. He should jump on that right now. A bit faster than the 270X, more future-proof.

 

[Makaveli]

Actually, Newegg just got stock of the discontinued HD7950 back in:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202026

Currently $210AR. He should jump on that right now. A bit faster than the 270X, more future-proof.

That's a great price buy now!!!!

 

[Enigmoid]

A 7970 is a powerful card but it is entirely possible that you will be held back by your CPU.

 

[blastingcap]

7950 or similar (7970, R9 280X, etc.) should be the bare minimum and will also give you 3GB. 4GB 270X makes no sense, that GPU's too weak in the first place.

 

[nurturedhate]

Actually, Newegg just got stock of the discontinued HD7950 back in:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202026

Currently $210AR. He should jump on that right now. A bit faster than the 270X, more future-proof.

Buy this, it's going to be the best option by quite a bit in your price range.

 

[Sunburn74]

Buy a used card on eBay and just ensure there is still a decent warranty. 7970s can be had for $170-$180. 280x cards for twenty more

 

[mindbomb]

i think i prefer the 7970 to the 280x. It's the same thing, except the 7970 has fixed 3d clocks, whereas the 280x has like a turbo mode to dynamically overclock, right? I'd prefer without that. Anyway, I did see a 280x go for auction for $185 this morning.

 

[ozymandius42]

Hello people, thanks for all the replies. I think I'll just go for the 7950 Termie posted (thanks for the awesome tip!). It looks like a great deal.

 

[Termie]

Hello people, thanks for all the replies. I think I'll just go for the 7950 Termie posted (thanks for the awesome tip!). It looks like a great deal.

Glad to help - let us know how it goes.

Just a tip - At 10.6", this card is probably a bit longer than your HD5870 - make sure you have space in your case before buying it.

 

[TeknoBug]

About the 3/4GB question, it's hard to say, some games are creeping past 2GB VRAM usage for high/max settings- BF4 uses as much as 2290MB of my card's 3GB (more in Mantle) plus if you ever pick up a 1440p monitor then video cards above 2GB will be needed.

PS- yup AMD card prices has dropped dramatically, in Oct 2013 I bought my 280X for $300, they went as high as $480 and are now dropping back to $330.

 

[lehtv]

3GB will be plenty for 1080p for the foreseeable future, IMO. Only a higher resolution will really requires more VRAM now or in the future. However, I'd say 3GB is fine for 1440p as well. I'd like 4GB for 4K though, but by the time such monitors become properly affordable, you'll be upgrading the graphics card anyway.

If you ever start creeping close to 3GB, you can lower your VRAM usage by substituting SMAA for MSAA. Also, keep in mind that what software report as VRAM usage is just how much VRAM is allocated for use by the executable, not how much VRAM is being actively used.

 

[ozymandius42]

Glad to help - let us know how it goes.

Just a tip - At 10.6", this card is probably a bit longer than your HD5870 - make sure you have space in your case before buying it.

Yup, have placed the order, now comes the worst part: the wait. The space isn't a problem, I have a CM 690 and made sure everything would fit. I guess 3GB is more than enough for my purposes for the foreseeable future, and the card looks awesome!