Another GPU upgrade question

[acerinpa]

MY son is in need of a GPU upgrade- his 6870 is not cutting it anymore.

HE is debating about the 290 or 970 or ?? Cost is a big factor...

Prices currently :290= $250 and the 970= $350

SAPPHIRE TRI-X OC 100362-2SR Radeon R9 290 4GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card - Newegg.com

EVGA 04G-2974-KR GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 ACX 2.0 PCI Express 3.0 - Newegg.com

Not sure the 970 is worth $100 extra. He games on a 1080P 24 inch monitor

Trying to determine cost vs performance, heat, PSU requirements, etc. he currently has a 650 watt PSU ( corsair Tx I think) - but we have an older Corsair 750 watt in another PC that does not need it that we could swap out ,if necessary.

So, performance- the 970 has the edge- but the 290 will run every game on high settings without an issue.

The 970 requires no change in the PSU= my time to switch the PSU's around, or buy a new PSU to use with the 290.

The 970 is less hot - so the whole system will be cooler and not require any thoughts of new fans or adding a case fan.

Do you think the 970's will be a on sale for Black Friday ( around $300) or in general in the next few weeks or are they going to continue to go up? Will the 290's continue to go down?

Thanks for the help...

 

[PP Mguire]

I don't think the 290s will continue to go down as they've settled their market until 390x release. So the only thing you can do is look forward to the holiday sales BUT I personally feel the 970 is a much better buy at this point. When the 960 releases (when Nvidia get off their ass) the 280x, 285, 290, and 290x will become irrelevant because of the 900 series .

Also, the 650w PSU is fine for either the 290 or the 970.

 

[acerinpa]

He couldn't swing the extra $100 - so he ordered the 290 - came with a game he wanted and three "credits games" . The PSU he has turned out to be a no name 550 watt ( should have looked myself) - so I guess I will be switching the PSU's so he has the Corsair 750 watt to push the 290 properly.

 

[acerinpa]

ok - got the TX 750 out of the on PC and put it in his PC - but now were getting an intermittent noise/screech, etc. - hard to describe a sound. Cant tell if it is just the fan or not in the machine as it too intermittent.

 

[PP Mguire]

Take a video of it with a smart phone and up it here.

 

[acerinpa]

Hmmm, that is a good idea- as i have not actually heard the noise - he is the only one that has. I will have him record is on his sisters phone ( the only smart phone in the house).

 

[acerinpa]

Well- now, no more noise- cleaned it well, but after leaving the PC on for a while he came back and it would not respond. He had do a force shutdown, then it would not reboot until he unplugged the PSU and left it for a minute. Then plugged it back in , and then it fired right up. I am thinking he needs a new PSU - the thing was very dirty and it may have damaged it. It is about 6 years old.

I5 2500k with a Noctua aftermarket cooler, 3 HHD's and one new terabyte hybrid drive, a new 290 GPU, a few case fans- so wondering if he does get a new PSU . WHat will he need. Is gold certified HX750 corsair enough?

 

[bigdog33]

Yup I believe it would be more than plenty.

 

[acerinpa]

Sounds like an early Christmas present is coming his way. I think I will wait till black Friday or Cyber Monday deals before ordering.

 

[PP Mguire]

Yea HX750 is overkill but still good.