GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

ruggedbadger said:I was thinking somewhere in the $3,500 to $4,500 range
Though maybe it makes more sense to hold out for those 4GB GDDR5 models. Games might start pushing more detail soon, so 2 or 3 GB could fill up pretty fast

Are you running a triple monitor setup? 😬

I guess 1GB VRAM Usage is plenty for most games at 1080p, and 2GB is probably just right—you shouldn't really need anything more than that, so it's likely not something to stress about

Look, it’s not that simple—when I’m running BioShock Infinite on medium to high settings, my VRAM Usage hits nearly a full gigabyte, which is basically all I have to work with right now. And honestly, down the road, I might even look into a dual monitor setup. But what I really want to know is: how does one actually go about bumping up the VRAM Usage when running at 2560x1440 resolution?

http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/art...GB-Memory-154/

It’s only when you look at the engine benchmarks that you notice a significant drop. As crimsonstag84 mentioned earlier, 1GB should be plenty for Full HD resolution.

Thanks for the link. It’s pretty wild to see—looking at the charts, it looks like the card with more VRAM Usage actually ends up dragging its feet and delivering even lower performance in games than the lower-tier model.

If you’re holding out for the latest architecture, just hang tight and see how those prices fluctuate. But if you're just itching to get something under your belt right now, you might want to look at an i5 3570k paired with a 7950 or a GTX 670.

It’s true that the 1155 socket is getting a bit dated—but honestly, don't go thinking you'll see a massive jump in performance just by jumping to the 1150 socket. That’s just my take on it. I’m actually still rocking an even older 1156 setup with an i5 750, and so far, I haven't had any trouble running games on it, even with stock settings. So, just think about whether it's worth dropping a ton more cash on a newer socket for maybe a few percentage points of difference? If you're happy to spend the extra, though, then go for it! 👍

Larry Ortiz5 said:If you're really hungering for those newer architectures, just hang tight and see how the prices fluctuate—but if you're just itching to pull the trigger on something right now, go for an i5 3570k paired with a 7950 or a GTX 670.

It’s true—the 1155 socket is getting old—but trust me, don't go thinking you're going to see a massive leap just by jumping to the 1150 socket. That's just my two cents; I'm still running an even older 1156 socket with an i5 750, and honestly, I've been able to play pretty much everything without any major headaches, even on stock settings. So, think twice before dumping a ton of extra cash into a newer socket for what might only be a few percentage points of difference. If you're happy to spend the premium, though, more power to you. 👍

Prices for third-gen gear will definitely drop once fourth-gen hits the market.😁
Yeah, from what I've seen, the performance bump is only about 5 to 10%.
And I'm not trying to start a whole new thread here, just one quick question:
When I'm gaming, my GPU usage fluctuates quite a bit—anywhere from 50% up to 80%—so I'm wondering if an AMD FX 6100 could be causing a bottleneck. I have V-Sync turned off because I heard it can lower the load.

And what kind of load are we looking at on the CPU?

ruggedbadger said:Prices for third-gen gear will definitely drop once the fourth generation hits the shelves.😁

From what I can tell, the performance jump is only about 5 to 10%.
And before anyone starts a whole new thread over this, I just have one quick question. While I'm gaming, my GPU usage fluctuates quite a bit, anywhere from 50% up to 80%. I'm wondering if my AMD FX 6100 might be acting as a bottleneck. I've got V-Sync turned off because I heard that could lower the load.

If your CPU is sitting at 100% while the GPU stays under 80%, you've definitely got a bottleneck.

I haven't had a chance to check it out myself, but could you recommend a specific program?

ruggedbadger said:I haven't really looked into this, but could you recommend a good program for checking things?

Well, you can just pull up Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL) to keep an eye on your CPU usage, and then use GPU-Z—or whatever utility you've got installed—to track your GPU load. The best way to do it is to run a benchmark or a heavy game and watch the numbers closely. That’s usually the easiest way to spot if you're dealing with a bottleneck...

I’ll jump on this later—unfortunately, I’m away from my rig right now—but once I'm back at my desk, I'll be there.

ruggedbadger said:I haven't checked it out yet, but could you recommend a good program?

Playclaw3 - it works just like Fraps (it just provides much more detailed data)—you simply launch it and jump straight into your game.

Has anyone here actually dealt with buying hardware abroad, specifically over in Germany? I’m looking at potentially making a run over there since we're in the US/EU zone anyway, thinking about grabbing 4x 7950s to see if I can score a better deal than what's sitting on my local shelves here.

First off, what exactly are you planning to do with four GPUs like that? Second, you’re going to need a top-tier processor just to actually put them to work. And let's be honest—when it comes to AMD crossfire scaling, it’s nowhere near as efficient as NVIDIA’s multi-GPU scaling. If your main goal is chasing massive FPS numbers, a single card can already handle BioShock Infinite on Ultra at 1280x720 without breaking a sweat. But hey, if you really want to go down that rabbit hole, be my guest—just know it's basically lighting money on fire. My HD 6850 CF runs it perfectly fine on Medium/High settings, and if I had a bit more GDDR 5 memory, I could probably push it to High/Very High.

I’m looking at this for mining, and honestly, even if I put the absolute worst processor possible in that rig, it wouldn't really matter. My main concern is just making sure I can slap in a power supply that hits at least 1000w.

What exactly are you planning to do with them? Honestly, if you pair those GPUs with a subpar processor, you might as well have just bought an HD 7850 or an HD 7870 instead of going for the 4x HD 7950 setup. It’s basically a waste of potential—like putting racing tires on a minivan.

If you're looking to run SLI or CrossFire, you really need a beefy processor—otherwise, you're just staring down a massive bottleneck. And what does that leave you with? Well, I won't even get started on the fact that you'll also need an incredibly powerful, high-quality power supply to pull it all off.

That’s exactly what my colleague Osmanko was getting at—though he actually managed to be more concise than I was

And, naturally, a motherboard equipped with four PCIe 3.0 slots.

David Sanders4 said:and obviously you need a motherboard with 4 PCIe 3.0 slots.

🙄
It doesn't even have to be PCIe 3.0.
2.0 works just fine.

All that matters is the lanes:
16x 8x 8x 8x 🙂