linglingjr said:

  Just get a 6850 or something for the time being and then upgrade to something current when money isn't an issue again.  Even if I was learning water cooling for the first time I wouldn't waste money on a block for such an outdated gpu.
I've always been an  AMD fanboy, so you guys are saying that the next cpu line up will use a new socket and my 990x ud3 won't be able to use it? That's just stupid, almost as bad as apple.  They release am3+ for ONE line of CPUs and that's it??? What

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I have a similar gigabyte am3+, and it worked with both my 955 BE and is compatible with the FX line.  So.. Two lines lol.

linglingjr said:

Just get a 6850 or something for the time being and then upgrade to something current when money isn't an issue again.  Even if I was learning water cooling for the first time I wouldn't waste money on a block for such an outdated gpu.

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The block's already been bought-MONTHS AGO-and like I said, I wouldn't have bought it if the reference HSF wasn't such crap and if the block cost any more than $40. That GTX 480 was nothing more than a stopgap upgrade from the 8800 GT while the next generation of graphics cards has yet to release, and it didn't last long enough.
 
This isn't about learning to water-cool, but keeping temperatures in check while not having my system sound like a deafening jet engine. That's the real appeal of GPU water-cooling. I know how the setup works, more or less.
 
Here's hoping the EVGA ACX HSF they put on the GTX 760 doesn't suck...I'm already hesitant to spend $250-270 on any current graphics card when the original plan was to wait for Maxwell/GTX 800. And as for your suggestion of AMD, that depends on whether they've gotten their driver act together or not, whether the HSF options are any good, and whether or not I can still leave an NVIDIA card in the system to handle CUDA/PhysX duty. (Damn vendor-specific GPU features...)

I don't think the price to performance ratio will change thaaat much when the next generation hits, if you need something now, just go for it, there's always something better around the corner.
 
You can sell off the card later when you upgrade, or just hand it down to another rig, so it's not all that bad. Besides, is the potential to save 40-50 bucks really worth 6 months of not gaming? 

Well, I'm used to the old days of graphics cards still, back when the start of a new generation like the Radeon 9700, GeForce 6800 and GeForce 8800 meant literally double the performance over the last generation's top-of-the-line at the same price point. Anyone who bought a Radeon 9800 XT at $500 just before the 6800 Ultra's unveiling, or a GeForce 7950 GX2 just before the 8800 GTX's unveiling, would have certainly been kicking themselves.
 
Things have slowed down quite a bit since then...still, I'm a bit tight on money, and speaking of selling off the card later to upgrade, graphics cards depreciate like rocks. They don't hold value like, say, my vintage Stax setup that I'll probably have to sell in order to afford a replacement graphics card in the first place.

Yeah, it does take some time for the price/performance ratio to leap, it's nothing like the old days. When the new cards do come out, their prices will be pretty high, and once they do come down in price....the next generation is around the corner. It'll take about 2 generations for it to double like in the old days.
 
Still, 3-6 months will fly by, just find something else to do in the mean time. ^^
 
But if you need something to tide you over, how about an used/ex-miner 7950? I'd say they're pretty good value if you can pick one up for about $150.

The next totl AMD (R290X) card is rumoured to be a titan spanker and at the $600 price point. 4GB GDDR5, 512MB mem bus and Titan beating(or equalling) preformance for 40% less money? *ohbaby*
 
Mind you, it'll probably be a power guzzler.

tangster said:

  The next totl AMD (R290X) card is rumoured to be a titan spanker and at the $600 price point. 4GB GDDR5, 512MB mem bus and Titan beating(or equalling) preformance for 40% less money? *ohbaby*
 
Mind you, it'll probably be a power guzzler.

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I'd rather get that and sell my 7970 instead of getting a second one though.

linglingjr said:

   
I'd rather get that and sell my 7970 instead of getting a second one though.

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Whoa not bad... I sadly need something to replace my 6950 [I might buy ur 7970 :3] as I'm getting into a lot more PC games again [go to hell Steam] so while I don't mind like Meduim Res GFX... I still can't reRender Wii with my rig... and in a year or so when Wii get's REALLY phased out and I start getting into Emulation of it... the 6950 won't cut it at all... it struggles with vSyn of the Game Cube atm 
 
So that said... Might be getting a new Gpu soon [going to rework my entire air flow first] 

mshenay said:

   
Whoa not bad... I sadly need something to replace my 6950 [I might buy ur 7970 :3] as I'm getting into a lot more PC games again [go to hell Steam] so while I don't mind like Meduim Res GFX... I still can't reRender Wii with my rig... and in a year or so when Wii get's REALLY phased out and I start getting into Emulation of it... the 6950 won't cut it at all... it struggles with vSyn of the Game Cube atm 
 
So that said... Might be getting a new Gpu soon [going to rework my entire air flow first] 

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I get more than 120 fps on Dolphin emulator, 1440p+iz3d.  My card is a 6850 s you might recall.  imho wii is better off dolphin lol

mshenay said:

   
Whoa not bad... I sadly need something to replace my 6950 [I might buy ur 7970 :3] as I'm getting into a lot more PC games again [go to hell Steam] so while I don't mind like Meduim Res GFX... I still can't reRender Wii with my rig... and in a year or so when Wii get's REALLY phased out and I start getting into Emulation of it... the 6950 won't cut it at all... it struggles with vSyn of the Game Cube atm 
 
So that said... Might be getting a new Gpu soon [going to rework my entire air flow first] 

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lol I need a better cpu (and it looks like mobo too ) before I upgrade my GPU.... I doubt any new cards will be coming my way for at least a year.

yazen said:

   
I get more than 120 fps on Dolphin emulator, 1440p+iz3d.  My card is a 6850 s you might recall.  imho wii is better off dolphin lol

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Really, sheesh what are your setting? And OMG how r u doing it :O
 
And yea Wii is MUCH better in Dol[hin [I still use 3.0 as I find the updattes are unstable and the Audio in them is icky] 

Jeez, CoD: BO2... Maxed out graphics settings, still got 120fps...

Hai Gaiz! Can I join!?
 

shirazir said:

  Hai Gaiz! Can I join!?
 

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... I thnk my GPU alone is bigger than your entire rig q.q [Just kidding]
 
Seriously though nice build. I LOVE how clean it looks. Nice job on your cable manengement! 

mshenay said:

   
... I thnk my GPU alone is bigger than your entire rig q.q [Just kidding]
 
Seriously though nice build. I LOVE how clean it looks. Nice job on your cable management! 

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It's bigger than it looks, OKAY!?
 
But seriously speaking, that's an EATX motherboard crammed inside there.