Looking to upgrade my video card

Ramodkk

VIP Member
So, I've had this HD6850 for a while, which at this point seems to me the more bottlenecking component in my system. I noticed when I upgraded to a 24" monitor and I can't play Dota 2 maxed out with smooth FPS anymore.

I have lost track of video cards so would someone point me in the right direction for a good upgrade?

Thanks!

(thanks in advance Jason :p)
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
What kind of budget are you looking for? Do you prefer new or used? There are a plethora of used mining cards for cheap on eBay, if that's a viable option for you.

Also, your performance is based on resolution, not screen size.
 

Ramodkk

VIP Member
Well, generally what goes up with screen size? Resolution. I upgraded from a 19" (1440x900) to 24" (1980x1080). But I would prefer new, budget I would say is anything around $250
 

Ramodkk

VIP Member
That R9 280 looks quite nice. Other than the obvious 2 generation jump, I'm guessing it would be a big jump from my HD6850 too?
 

Ramodkk

VIP Member
Gotcha. Now, the XFX website recommends at least a 750W PSU. I have 600W. Lol, so I would need a new PSU as well.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
(thanks in advance Jason :p)

Haha! :p

OK Omar, as Strangle has already pointed out a GTX 760 or an R9 280/280X would be good for you and yes both are miles faster than a 6850.

I recently bought an MSI GTX 760 4GB and I am loving it. Really nice card for the money. You can also get a 2GB one which will be fine for 1080p but I wanted 4GB for video editing.

I know you do photography and if you use Photoshop or the Adobe suite then I would probably recommend you get the GTX 760 over the 280X so that you can take advantage of CUDA GPU acceleration which generally works better in the Adobe suite than OpenGL which you'll get with a Radeon does (I've had recent experience with both having come from a 5870 to a 760).

If you are using Photoshop CS6 or older then you'll want the GTX 760 because I believe it was in Photoshop CC that they introduced support for GPU acceleration with OpenGL cards (ie, AMD graphics cards). Before that it was CUDA only meaning that GPU acceleration only worked with NVIDIA cards.

But if you're not fussed about that, then the Radeon is slightly quicker in games than the GeForce but both perform very well indeed, so I think you will be content with either. :good:

Your existing power supply is fine for either card by the way. :)
 
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Ramodkk

VIP Member
Okay, awesome. Thanks both of you. That's what I thought, 750W was a bit overkill even though it's posted in their website as a requirement for the XFX 280 for example. But looks like I'll be keeping an eye on these two cards.
 

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
750W is overkill for one card but for two it's probably about what you need.

I think the GeForce would be best for you. Get a card that games well and works well with your editing software (if you're using CS6 or older). :good:
 
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