# Upgrading From HD 7790 - Advice?



## Gmr_Chick (Oct 1, 2014)

My rig is about 7 or 8 months old - built with the help of my father, yay, lol - and when I initially built it, despite the months of researching I did beforehand, I made the rookie mistake of focusing on building it for one game in particular, in addition to the everyday tasks like internet/email, movies, etc. and am kind of regretting my choices now. I built my rig for The Sims 3 - its much more demanding than people think, but not even close to the "real games" out there - and now in addition to playing Sims 3 and Sims 4, I'd like to move on to more intense games - Bioshock Infinite and Sleeping Dogs among them. As such, I'm looking to upgrade a few parts of my rig, namely the CPU, Motherboard and GPU. Currently, I have an AMD FX-6100 and ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 mobo, but I'm going to be upgrading to an i5-4690K and Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z5S motherboard because I want to have better performance and wish to learn how to OC, and I apparently can't do so on my current board. So the CPU +mobo is figured out. The GPU, however, is making my head spin. 


Where do I start? Two companies, various brands and what seems like 1,000's of different models. I have to make it clear than I do not have a 1080p HD monitor - the highest resolution my monitor goes to is 1600x900. That said, I'm not even completely sure what my budget would be because of this. All I know is I want something that would be able to play games (Bioshock, Sims, etc.) on high to ultra settings. Of the number of cards I've looked at, I've narrowed it down to the Sapphire R9 280X Toxic, GTX 770 (with the Titan cooler), GTX 760 or GTX 970; I have a Seasonic X560 80 Plus Gold PSU, so would I be able to run a GTX 770? The 280X Toxic requirement is 750w, but would my PSU still run it? 

Thanks for your help!


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## AhokZYashA (Oct 1, 2014)

your PSU will handle GTX770/970 fine

of all the above list that you listed, i would suggest the GTX970, as its consumption are low, and the performance is pretty much top of the line
the 970 will eat sims 3 and 4 at 1080 res, let alone 900p


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## thebluebumblebee (Oct 1, 2014)

Welcome to TPU!

First, that's a very good PSU and is capable of powering ANY single GPU on the market today.

The price of the GTX 970 is just astonishing.  With the exception of the GTX 760, it doesn't make sense to buy any of the other GPU's that you have listed.  Of course using a 4GB video card with that monitor will make some chuckle.  Of course if you're talking about used....


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## arbiter (Oct 1, 2014)

GTX970 is most powerful of the list and most efficient power wise. It might not be the cheapest but long term it will give ya most long term use.

r9 280x is 250+ watts
gtx770 is 230 watts
gtx760 is 170 watts
gtx970 is 145 watts


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 1, 2014)

thebluebumblebee said:


> Welcome to TPU!
> 
> First, that's a very good PSU and is capable of powering ANY single GPU on the market today.
> 
> The price of the GTX 970 is just astonishing.  With the exception of the GTX 760, it doesn't make sense to buy any of the other GPU's that you have listed.  Of course using a 4GB video card with that monitor will make some chuckle.  Of course if you're talking about used....



Thanks! Seems like a good community here!  

The price of the 970...yes, it is quite amazing. So amazing in fact, that I really think it's a better GPU from a price/performance than even the 980; there's only like a 15 to 20 percent increase in performance between it and the 970 I think. As usual, I think Nvidia priced the 980 a wee bit too high given it's minimal performance increase, but anyway... 

I will be perfectly honest. I'm in love with the reference card Nvidia seems to now use for its GPUs, AKA The Titan Style Cooler, and so that's why I mentioned I was considering the 770 - there are quite a few on EBAY for reasonable prices and I love the green GTX LED; I guess people are wanting to chuck them for the new shinies, lol. 

Again, I will be perfectly honest here. I'm a bit nitpicky with things. And even though the performance is totally there with the 970, I'm not really impressed with the various designs that are out there currently - EVGA's non ACX 970 looks like a VHS tape for instance (even though the blower is nice) and really cheap-looking; and don't even get me started with the whole 970 ACX fiasco. None of them really "speak" to me in the same way at the reference 770/780 or even Sapphire's Toxic 280x does < sexy backplate AND LEDs FTW! I realize I might be one of the few who actually cares not only about the performance, but the looks of a GPU as well. Hopefully no one holds that against me. 

However... I suppose it's nothing that can't be solved with a little paint and some carbon fiber...


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## AhokZYashA (Oct 1, 2014)

i have yet to see a GTX970 cooler, any of it, painted and decaled with carbon fiber, 
im sure it will look super badass


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## thebluebumblebee (Oct 1, 2014)

I don't know if anyone is going to have a reference cooler on the 970 because Nvidia did not do a reference design for the 970.  Since you are new around here, I'll pass on what our resident motherboard tester has said - that it's best to use the same manufacturer for the motherboard and GPU.  In your case, get the Gigabyte  GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD  to use with that Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z5S motherboard.


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## RCoon (Oct 1, 2014)

thebluebumblebee said:


> I don't know if anyone is going to have a reference cooler on the 970



2 or 3 manufacturers do. Gainward, possibly MSI, and Palit. Unless you mean the shiny magnesium reference cooler. In which case, no, nobody does.

OCUK are working on a techlabs magnesium cooler for the 970 though, but that's some way away.


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## thebluebumblebee (Oct 1, 2014)

RCoon said:


> Unless you mean the shiny magnesium reference cooler.


That exactly what I, and more importantly, the OP mean, I think.


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## GhostRyder (Oct 1, 2014)

Gmr_Chick said:


> Thanks! Seems like a good community here!
> 
> The price of the 970...yes, it is quite amazing. So amazing in fact, that I really think it's a better GPU from a price/performance than even the 980; there's only like a 15 to 20 percent increase in performance between it and the 970 I think. As usual, I think Nvidia priced the 980 a wee bit too high given it's minimal performance increase, but anyway...
> 
> ...


I guess it depends, to be honest any of those cards on a 1080p monitor will max a game out (With the closest to having issues being the GTX 760).  As far as your PSU goes it will handle and of the cards you have listed as well (OEM/Manufacturers over compensate the PSU on purpose so I would not worry).

My advice to you is this, buy a card that fits what you like since looks is very important to you as the performance of any of the cards at 1080p will be in reality about the same (Basically stating because your looking at a 1080p 60hz setup which means beyond 60hz you do not see anything).

MSI Gaming 970 (Good looks for a card and will give you top dawg for a long time)
Sapphire Tri-X R9 280X (Almost 100 bucks cheaper and gives you a side view LED which is something you said you wanted.  Will perform great at 1080p)
Any of the new Nvidia Stock coolers on the GTX 770 (Side LED and decent performance but for the price I would suggest a GTX 970 over it).

If bling if your factor you are limited in what you can buy in coolers especially because the amount of LED coolers is limited on both sides.  That being said I would not worry about performance too much with your choices at 1080p and worry about the price and which looks the best to you!


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## de.das.dude (Oct 1, 2014)

you should be able to play all games in ultra at that resolution already, with the 7790 since i can play most games at ultra at 1080p already?

r9 280 is a good bet. my cousin got a 280x for around 320USD equivalent. that should be future proof for a bit.


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 1, 2014)

GhostRyder said:


> My advice to you is this, buy a card that fits what you like since looks is very important to you as the performance of any of the cards at 1080p will be in reality about the same (Basically stating because your looking at a 1080p 60hz setup which means beyond 60hz you do not see anything).
> 
> MSI Gaming 970 (Good looks for a card and will give you top dawg for a long time)
> Sapphire Tri-X R9 280X (Almost 100 bucks cheaper and gives you a side view LED which is something you said you wanted. Will perform great at 1080p)
> Any of the new Nvidia Stock coolers on the GTX 770 (Side LED and decent performance but for the price I would suggest a GTX 970 over it).



You, my friend, hit the nail on the head.


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## GorbazTheDragon (Oct 1, 2014)

If you are going to be really picky about the visuals I'd guess you have to avoid the 970, in that case it would leave you with the 980, which is a REALLY sexy card, or one of the AMD cards


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 2, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> If you are going to be really picky about the visuals I'd guess you have to avoid the 970, in that case it would leave you with the 980, which is a REALLY sexy card, or one of the AMD cards



I could either A) Get a 970 and add a little paint/carbon fiber to it. B} Buy a used 770 with the reference cool via ebay. Or C) Do as you suggested and get an AMD card (Toxic R9 280X FTW!) - I'd still have to mod it a bit though to match my build. 

One question I wanted to ask all of you in particular concerns the 280X I mentioned above. I know Newegg reviews are mostly non informative rants about a product - like, if an item doesn't give 'em BJ's or kiss their butt, then they feel the need to rant about it.  I've read many glowing reviews of the Sapphire R9 280X Toxic in particular from quite a few tech sites though. And aside from the extra power draw of the card, their reviews were pretty much positive. Customer reviews on Newegg about the 280X line in general though, paint a less favorable picture. People complaining of high failure rates on their cards mostly. Judging from the customer reviews I've read about the 280X series, I gathered it's either a hit or miss situation. Should I decide on the 280x Toxic card, should I be concerned about the 280X series supposedly high failure rates?


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## GorbazTheDragon (Oct 2, 2014)

I would doubt it is particularly higher. I personally stuck to eVGA because their warranty service is easier to deal with when you move internationally. If you do go with an AMD card, I'd personally suggest the R9 290 vapor-x, IMO better price to performance, although considering you are running a 900p monitor I doubt it would really make that much difference. But if you do plan to sit on the same GPU for a while, and do end up getting a new screen in the nearer future, I'd definitely say the 290 over the 280x.


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 2, 2014)

Unfortunately, I think the R9 290 is a little out of my price range. And therefore, the GTX 980, even with its sexy reference design, is WAY out of my price range as well, plus I don't think I need something that powerful considering my current resolution limitation, of which I really have no plans on upgrading anytime soon. So with that it mind, it seems like it's a fight between the 970, the Toxic 280X or a 770. But with the 970 out, the 770 seems obsolete by comparison. 

BTW: I found a 770 with the reference design on Best Buy's web-site for $330 - does that seem like a fair price? Just would like an opinion.


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## Frick (Oct 2, 2014)

Gmr_Chick said:


> BTW: I found a 770 with the reference design on Best Buy's web-site for $330 - does that seem like a fair price? Just would like an opinion.



God no. That's what a 970 cost.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500362

What about used cards? You should be able go get a 770's for cheap.


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## de.das.dude (Oct 2, 2014)

go for the Toxic 280X.


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## GhostRyder (Oct 2, 2014)

Gmr_Chick said:


> I could either A) Get a 970 and add a little paint/carbon fiber to it. B} Buy a used 770 with the reference cool via ebay. Or C) Do as you suggested and get an AMD card (Toxic R9 280X FTW!) - I'd still have to mod it a bit though to match my build.
> 
> One question I wanted to ask all of you in particular concerns the 280X I mentioned above. I know Newegg reviews are mostly non informative rants about a product - like, if an item doesn't give 'em BJ's or kiss their butt, then they feel the need to rant about it.  I've read many glowing reviews of the Sapphire R9 280X Toxic in particular from quite a few tech sites though. And aside from the extra power draw of the card, their reviews were pretty much positive. Customer reviews on Newegg about the 280X line in general though, paint a less favorable picture. People complaining of high failure rates on their cards mostly. Judging from the customer reviews I've read about the 280X series, I gathered it's either a hit or miss situation. Should I decide on the 280x Toxic card, should I be concerned about the 280X series supposedly high failure rates?


Failure rates card to card are generally about the same so I would not worry.  Generally speaking when a card comes with a higher failure rate it's either because it's from one of the off brand companies who is using a questionable quality component (kinda rare now a days), bad cooler design, or a bad overall design of a card (like heavy overclocking on the base clocks that burn up a poor quality power delivery system).  There are many other ways but this to me is what I generally see when it comes to high failure rates.  The sapphire cards are similar quality on AMD side in a way Evga is to Nvidia.

It sounds like the sapphire card is the best option for you.


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## Tatty_One (Oct 2, 2014)

thebluebumblebee said:


> I don't know if anyone is going to have a reference cooler on the 970 because Nvidia did not do a reference design for the 970.  Since you are new around here, I'll pass on what our resident motherboard tester has said - that it's best to use the same manufacturer for the motherboard and GPU.  In your case, get the Gigabyte  GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD  to use with that Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z5S motherboard.


Whilst I understand the reasoning behind this, does that mean noone should by a Sapphire, Palit, Zotac, EVGA or Gainward graphics card?


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## RCoon (Oct 2, 2014)

Tatty_One said:


> Whilst I understand the reasoning behind this, does that mean noone should by a Sapphire, Palit, Zotac, EVGA or Gainward graphics card?



Behold, and wonder, a Sapphire motherboard!
http://www.sapphiretech.com/mb/overviewfx990.html

EVGA also have their own motherboards!

I do not disagree with the point you're making however


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## thebluebumblebee (Oct 2, 2014)

Tatty_One said:


> Whilst I understand the reasoning behind this, does that mean noone should by a Sapphire, Palit, Zotac, EVGA or Gainward graphics card?


I wish I knew where that post was, because I think he was talking about the "specialty" motherboards.  If the motherboard has a name to it, like ROG, Gaming, etc., then it is best to use that manufacturer's "named" GPU as well - or maybe it should be said that you will realize the total features of the motherboard and GPU if they are from the same manufacturer.  Is it the worst thing to not do this? Of course not.  Have an UD3, -A, GD65?  Go with whatever floats your boat.


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## Tatty_One (Oct 2, 2014)

RCoon said:


> Behold, and wonder, a Sapphire motherboard!
> http://www.sapphiretech.com/mb/overviewfx990.html
> 
> EVGA also have their own motherboards!
> ...


Yes but VERY few of them   Ohhhhh and I don't see any Biostar Graphics cards, damn perhaps I shouldnt have bought this board after all!


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## INSTG8R (Oct 2, 2014)

Tatty_One said:


> Yes but VERY few of them   Ohhhhh and I don't see any Biostar Graphics cards, damn perhaps I shouldnt have bought this board after all!



Indeed! I wonder what "features" your missing out on by not having a Biostar GFX card...


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 2, 2014)

RCoon said:


> Behold, and wonder, a Sapphire motherboard!
> http://www.sapphiretech.com/mb/overviewfx990.html



And here I thought Sapphire only made GPUs  That's actually a nice looking board with the (very different) purple and black. And... are those SIX PCIe lanes I see?  

@ Frick - I could indeed get a 770 for cheap off Ebay (but only if the seller's got 100% positive feedback and pictures of the actual item, not stock pictures) Doing it this way would be slighty more risky, and I understand this, but in general Ebay is still a good place to go if you want a deal OR the item you're seeking is no longer being made, like in the case of the reference 770.


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## INSTG8R (Oct 2, 2014)

de.das.dude said:


> go for the Toxic 280X.



This!


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 3, 2014)

Ok, I have another question for everyone. What about mainstream cards like the R9 270X Toxic or GTX 760? I mentioned I don't have an HD monitor nor plan to get one anytime soon, but with either one of these cards would I still be able to play games on high settings?


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## Tatty_One (Oct 3, 2014)

Gmr_Chick said:


> Ok, I have another question for everyone. What about mainstream cards like the R9 270X Toxic or GTX 760? I mentioned I don't have an HD monitor nor plan to get one anytime soon, but with either one of these cards would I still be able to play games on high settings?


At resolutions below 1080p a decent 760 would be a good choice and save you a bit also.


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## GorbazTheDragon (Oct 3, 2014)

The 760 is a really sweet card, even at 1080p it holds its own. With the price drops I'd definitely +1 that.


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 3, 2014)

Tatty_One said:


> At resolutions below 1080p a decent 760 would be a good choice and save you a bit also.



Would an EVGA GTX 760 SC FTW suffice?


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## GorbazTheDragon (Oct 3, 2014)

Definitely, my brother is running an i5 4440 and a 760 ACX, unless you are going to run upscaled metro last light or something like that you should be absolutely fine.


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 3, 2014)

Sounds great!  

What about the Asus ROG STRIKER GTX 760? Looks like a really nice card, but I'm afraid I'd be insulting the hardcore Republic of Gamers by painting the red parts on the card green, lol.


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## Vario (Oct 4, 2014)

Its hard to recommend any because you didn't post a budget.  From high budget to low, I would get the 970, 770/280x, 760, 270X, 265, 750ti.  I wouldn't worry about the physical aesthetics of the card, wouldn't the rendered detail in your games be more important from an aesthetic standpoint?


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## 64K (Oct 4, 2014)

At your resolution I would get

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...932&cm_re=evga_gtx_760-_-14-130-932-_-Product

A GTX 760 FTW doesn't offer enough performance increase to justify the price and the above card offers very good performance for $210 after $10 rebate.


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## Vario (Oct 4, 2014)

64K said:


> At your resolution I would get
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...932&cm_re=evga_gtx_760-_-14-130-932-_-Product
> 
> A GTX 760 FTW doesn't offer enough performance increase to justify the price and the above card offers very good performance for $210 after $10 rebate.


Seconded.


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 4, 2014)

Vario said:


> Its hard to recommend any because you didn't post a budget.



Oops  Well, at the time I created the original thread, I was just more or less gathering information. But after reading everyone's recommendations, I was able to define a budget based on the cards performance and to a way lesser degree, looks as well. I'd have to say, then, that $300 is probably my max budget +15 if need be, but no more than that.  

@ Vario - given this budget, does your recommendation still hold?

Okay! Some news to report. I was seriously considering the ASUS ROG GTX 760 Striker last time I posted. But after doing some price comparing, I recently found I could get a Sapphire R9 280X Tri-X (it even comes with a backplate!) on newegg for $20 less AND have it be more powerful than the 760 Striker. Plus I'd get games with the Radeon (even though the games are mostly "old" there are ones that interest me.) So, these three factors basically spell out a win-win-win situation for me.  

I'm going with the Sapphire R9 280X Tri-X!  

Before I get it though, I just want to double check with you guys about my PSU. It'll run the card without a problem, right?


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## RandomSadness (Oct 22, 2014)

Your PSU will handle it fine , no worries about it.


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## Sasqui (Oct 22, 2014)

I just read the original post and your first upgrade should be a better monitor... 1600x900 and you want to play in ultra HQ?

What?


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 23, 2014)

Is there a problem with that? I'm confused. It was my understanding that you could play a game with detail settings on high regardless if you had an HD monitor or not.  

@RandomSadness - Thank you for that verification!


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## Jetster (Oct 23, 2014)

You can its just at 1600x 900. Takes less card but doesn't look very impressive


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## Toothless (Oct 23, 2014)

I'd say go for something slightly above the 760 for future usage if you were wanting to save money. My 660 ran 1080p games pretty well and 900p games were breakfast for it.

If I'd have to pick, go for a 970 even if it means waiting a bit for a sexy cooler and if you have the money. 

Then again.. Such a low resolution for gaming with those cards..


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## Gmr_Chick (Oct 23, 2014)

I figured getting something better will last me longer.


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## Gmr_Chick (Nov 14, 2014)

Bit of an update. Bit the bullet and decided on the Sapphire R9 280x Tri-X GPU. Bought it from Newegg for $260 ($280 with tax; free shipping). It came on Tuesday. Christ it's huge! Looks a lot sexier in person, has a backplate just like the Toxic version. Looks fantastic. Only problem is, my father is concerned because he read on the bottom of the box that it needs a 750w minimum PSU, and I only have a 560w. So for the sake of not risking anything going wrong (his words) he's insisting that I need at least an 850w PSU. 

Oh well, that gives us time to trick it out, anyway.


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## TRWOV (Nov 14, 2014)

Should be fine. Your rig would barely go above 350w.


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## Frick (Nov 14, 2014)

Those numbers are there for the people with extremely crappy PSU's. It would be no problem for a good 400W unit.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 14, 2014)

You will be fine, just start cautiously and don't overclock, run a couple of benches at stock, if all is well add some MHz and test again and so on, as people have said, the recommended spec is an all encompassing safe margin that takes into account all standards of PSU.


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## Gmr_Chick (Nov 14, 2014)

More than anything, I'd at least like to see if the GPU actually works and isn't DOA - it would suck to put money into a new PSU, only to find the damn card came to me with something wrong with it, and then not be able to return it or get a replacement.  

At any rate, I'll see if I can convince him to let me hook it up. Fingers crossed!


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## GhostRyder (Nov 14, 2014)

Gmr_Chick said:


> More than anything, I'd at least like to see if the GPU actually works and isn't DOA - it would suck to put money into a new PSU, only to find the damn card came to me with something wrong with it, and then not be able to return it or get a replacement.
> 
> At any rate, I'll see if I can convince him to let me hook it up. Fingers crossed!


Honestly you should be fine as I have seen systems running a 290 on a good 550Watt PSU so a 280X should be more than fine especially because its a Seasonic.

AMD and Nvidia always overcompensate on the recommendations because they want to avoid any potential problems from users regarding cheap PSUs, PSU that do not have correct cables (IE enough PCIE which does happen up to 650 at times on some brands), and older PSU's.  You have a very nice Seasonic which would not fret with your system running that GPU with everything overclocked even.


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## INSTG8R (Nov 14, 2014)

Gmr_Chick said:


> More than anything, I'd at least like to see if the GPU actually works and isn't DOA - it would suck to put money into a new PSU, only to find the damn card came to me with something wrong with it, and then not be able to return it or get a replacement.
> 
> At any rate, I'll see if I can convince him to let me hook it up. Fingers crossed!


You have a fantastic PSU nothing to worry about at all


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## Gmr_Chick (Nov 14, 2014)

Thanks guys. I feel better now.


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