I don't know anything about coolers or different versions, but from what I've gathered, the ASUS STRIX-GTX970, and the MSI GTX 970 GAMING 100ME are my two best options. Also would like to know if I'll need anything to install a new card. Currently have an EVGA GTX 670 in my ASRock Extreme4 LGA1155 motherboard, and a semi-modular 750w Corsair PSU. (I think corsair 760m?) Thanks in advance! any other suggestions welcome.
Why not a r9 390?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127874&cm_re=r9_390-_-14-127-874-_-Product
It's a little bit cheaper, and has twice the Vram, not to mention the performance is the same/better
Here's JayzTwoCents on it..
the rest of your specs will support either card just fine.
What is your case? Will it physically fit?
Corsair Arctic White C70 is my case. Should fit. All of the games I play favor NVIDIA and I'm really used to the interface and whatnot. EDIT: I'm stupid
It'll fit no issues
yep, in the video i linked benches around 7:20 on
thanks Dx i'm dense. do you think 4>8gb VRAM would make a big difference in something like heavily modded skyrim? (I'm talking 12fps and crashes in 20 seconds or so on my current rig. current card reppin 2gb vram)
Yes. Especially HiRes skyrim. Texture mods for life.
And once you get near the 4GB limit on the 970 it will slow down as it begins to use its slower 512MB pool
How extreme any slowing will be? no one knows, it's skyrim modded! woohoo!
even then, 8GB of Vram is more futureproof than 4GB(3.5 haha) This means you won't need to upgrade as soon and you can upgrade your monitor in that time too (higher resolution = more demanding on memory)
http://steamcommunity.com/id/big_stink/screenshots/?appid=72850 [NSFW]
Check out some of my skyrim screenshots :D
I doubt I'll ever need more than 1080/1440p because I'm also a pretty avid counter-strike player, so having a huge ass monitor when I play mostly on 1152x864 isn't super beneficial.. Super modded skyrim and a little crysis are the only super demanding PC games I play, really. (wasn't joking about the 12fps in skyrim ;<)
Doing some further research, I've found that the r9 390 takes over 300w to run?! will my PSU be enough @ 750w to support that + the rest of my system @ full load?
Your system has plenty of power.
I have a hungrier system and a 750W PSU and I'm fine