Author Topic: graphic cards  (Read 4683 times)

Offline zespri

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graphic cards
« on: April 09, 2016, 09:49:03 am »
I had quite funny experience upgrading a graphic card.
I had GTX760 and decided to get GTX970. GTX970 is what SteamVR recommends, not that I'm planning on using SteamVR but still.
I did run the SteamVR performance test, on GTX760 it came out negative, though visually the was not any visible hold ups or stutter.

Now when I plugged the GTX970 in, things went horrible. Everything was running super slow, games that used to run good, now would be crawling and the GPU benchmarks would be half of what GTX760 used to be. I was perplexed at first, but then exchanged the unit for another one, and the problems went away - apparently the card was busted.

Now the fun part, despite the fact that nothing ran well on the busted cards, I also did run the SteamVR performance test. Visually it was horrible, skipping frames and tearing. Still the test came out green, and I was congratulated on the fact that I have recommended GTX970 card.

This is quite disappointing but funny to see how valve (or whoever is responsible for steamVR) cheats, and instead of rating the measurements, rating the graphic card model. LOL!
« Last Edit: April 09, 2016, 11:07:13 pm by zespri »

Offline Wingflier

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2016, 04:47:55 pm »
http://www.digitaltrends.com/virtual-reality/oculus-rift-vs-htc-vive/

Umm sir, the GPU minimum requirement for both the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift is the GTX 970, not the 790.

The GTX 970 is hailed by pretty much every PC hardware review site as the most cost effective high performance graphics card on the market right now, and you'll usually find it within the $350 range new, once taxes are calculated.

The 790 is an older card. Nobody uses that anymore and I have no doubt that it would not run VR very smoothly.
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Offline Mánagarmr

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2016, 09:53:28 pm »
I'm running a 970 Strix. It's handling pretty much everything except some of the really heavy games in 4K DSR. As far as 1080p it hasn't failed me yet.
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Offline Wingflier

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #3 on: April 09, 2016, 10:14:47 pm »
I'm running the EVGA GTX 970 Gaming 4GB myself, a recent purchase, and it's been great so far. A solid upgrade from my Radeon 7850 from about 4 years ago.

I actually tried the MSI and Gigabyte versions of the 970 card as well, and definitely recommend EVGA version in the end. It's been the most stable by far.
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Offline zespri

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2016, 11:07:49 pm »
Umm sir, the GPU minimum requirement for both the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift is the GTX 970, not the 790.
Sorry about that, was a typo - 4 times. Fixed it =).

Offline Wingflier

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2016, 11:29:07 pm »
Even still dude, the GTX 970 is a much superior card to your old 760. If you're getting half the framerates of your old GPU, you have faulty hardware. You need to return it and get a new one. I've returned three of them so far so don't be afraid to do it.
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Offline zespri

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2016, 11:35:13 pm »
Even still dude, the GTX 970 is a much superior card to your old 760. If you're getting half the framerates of your old GPU, you have faulty hardware. You need to return it and get a new one. I've returned three of them so far so don't be afraid to do it.
Yep, that's what I did and that's also what I stated in OP. Probably did not do this clear enough. I have no problem running it now, after I got the replacement.  The point is, that performance test are supposed to measure... well, performance, not what your card model is.

And three of them... wow... did NVIDIA quality control slipped last years?

Offline chemical_art

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2016, 11:46:59 pm »

And three of them... wow... did NVIDIA quality control slipped last years?

For every generation of cards the manufacturer makes a huge impact on reliability. Also, shipping companies are not exactly fragile friendly. Not by intentional design, but in the dozens of steps it goes through the shipping process one mistake can damage your card.
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Offline Wingflier

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2016, 12:49:51 am »
Also when I pay a third of a thousand dollars, I refuse to accept anything but perfection. One crash while I'm playing, one black screen, if I even hear a slight grinding coming from the card at any point it's going back. As I said, the EVGA model is the only one which hasn't disappointed me so far.
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Offline Misery

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #9 on: April 10, 2016, 01:09:34 am »
Yeah, I'm running a GTX 970 12GB on my new machine as well, so far it's very good, I've had no troubles with it.  Though I sure as heck didn't put it together myself, or it WOULD have had troubles.

Sure beats the 7-whatever on my previous machine.  This one though was ridiculously expensive.

Offline Pumpkin

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #10 on: April 10, 2016, 09:07:29 am »
My MSI R5450 (1GB, no fan cooling) is far enough for AI War (and overkill for dwarf fortress).

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Offline chemical_art

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #11 on: April 11, 2016, 01:05:22 pm »
My MSI R5450 (1GB, no fan cooling) is far enough for AI War (and overkill for dwarf fortress).

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I wouldn't consider it trolling. I am using a GTX 660 and aside from two heavily modded games I have not experienced slow downs graphically.
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Offline Cinth

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #12 on: April 11, 2016, 01:46:47 pm »
My MSI R5450 (1GB, no fan cooling) is far enough for AI War (and overkill for dwarf fortress).

*A troll is passing by*

I wouldn't consider it trolling. I am using a GTX 660 and aside from two heavily modded games I have not experienced slow downs graphically.

I'm rolling with a pair of 580s. 
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Offline Mick

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #13 on: April 11, 2016, 04:40:35 pm »
I've been trying to figure out what to do with my video card situation.

I currently have 2x670 in SLI configuration. This is an awkward spot because going to a 970 is more of a 'side-grade' with the most noticeable benefit being not having to deal with SLI issues. SLI is great when it works (like 90% of the time) and a total pain in the ass when it doesn't, but I find it hard to justify dropping $$$ on a side grade for the few times SLI gives me beef.

At one point I said **** it and decided to go full on upgrade to a 980ti. However, the card I got was a total disaster. It caused my PC to keep rebooting itself shortly after startup and didn't seem to work at all. I opted to return the card for a full refund because I just didn't want to deal with that crap (sigh, why can't things ... just.. work!).

I'm kinda hoping the next generation just blows everything away so I can have more of an incentive to update.

Offline chemical_art

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Re: graphic cards
« Reply #14 on: April 11, 2016, 08:27:08 pm »
I've been trying to figure out what to do with my video card situation.

I currently have 2x670 in SLI configuration. This is an awkward spot because going to a 970 is more of a 'side-grade' with the most noticeable benefit being not having to deal with SLI issues. SLI is great when it works (like 90% of the time) and a total pain in the ass when it doesn't, but I find it hard to justify dropping $$$ on a side grade for the few times SLI gives me beef.

At one point I said **** it and decided to go full on upgrade to a 980ti. However, the card I got was a total disaster. It caused my PC to keep rebooting itself shortly after startup and didn't seem to work at all. I opted to return the card for a full refund because I just didn't want to deal with that crap (sigh, why can't things ... just.. work!).

I'm kinda hoping the next generation just blows everything away so I can have more of an incentive to update.

From what I read, modern games are not taking advantage of SLI as much as they used to. I don't know if those are the SLI issues you are referring to. But that alone would cause me to consider an upgrade, since it is a bit of step up from a sidegrade (half upgrade?). That and the easier logistics in everything else.

I will also say that if you are worried about reliability, waiting really won't help. By the time the next generation of cards are at a steady state, the yet next generation of cards will be right around the corner...
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