GPU Upgrade help
 

So... im not gonna build a new pc anytime since my old one still works like new...
need help finding a stronger and better gpu
current:
Pny Nvidia Geforce 8500GT 512MB

need something better than that...
Motherboard is PCI-E 2.0
450 PSU but i can get a better one if needed

I dont know if PCI-E 3.0 are backwards compatible...

So throw me suggestions...
i want to play diablo 3, skyrim and BF3 without it being in the lowest settings...

After extensive research 3.0 gpu is compatible with a 2.0 MB... no i need help to find a card...

While 3.0 is compatible, I would imagine there are drawbacks to using a 3.0 card. Just jot being able to access its full potential, or something along those lines.

then again, I don't really know much on the differences

apparently no drawbacks except that i cant do dual sli or crossfire bc it will require 3.0... but other than that it is apparently the same

Im running a 7870 at the moment, got it for £155, good card though a bit loud, whats yet budget? :)

oh i got it all squared off... I am running a I5 3570K cpu, 16GB memory, liquid cooled cpu, CoolerMaster HAF tower, and 2 ATI Radeon 7770 GPU's crossfireX

How's the dual 7770s working out for you? I'm thinking of upgrading my mobo and adding a second myself.

Ah how's liquid cooling working out? I went for air though it kinda balances on top of my ram :-(

That's a point.. if I upgrade my mobo and add another 7770 I will have pretty much the same build as Hyjin. 16gb ram, i5, crossfire 7770s... Will I need to also look into a better cooling system than my current stock air cooler. I know nothing when it comes to cooling.

I'm guessing at 16gb ram your using 4 slots, gotta be careful with big air coolers as they might not fit. Getting the closed circuit water Cooling looks best for that, I might get one of the corsair ones, my motherboard ram slots are bust so I have to use the slots closest to the cpu :-(

Yep 4 4GB modules. I may just look for a mobo with plenty of space for a cooler. The main thing is I don't even know if I need obe instead of my stock cooler.

Edit: turns out my CPU isn't that good actually.. just a dual core 3.2ghz i5 :c So now i want... like $600 of new parts >_>

im using 2 slots for my 16Gb

Liquid cooling is nice bc it keeps my cpu at a cool temperature and not over heat at all

Ducky Yes CrossfireX is worth it... i got on the server and got 320FPS in a lot of areas (no optifine) and it stayed above 120 in spawn

well.. my current plans are to get an i5 3570k CPU, a second Asus HD 7770 2GB and a new Asus Motherboard for the PCI-e express 3.0 and extra PCI slots, and the USB 3.0 for Tue unused ports my case has on it's top panel.

I've got to be curious... How effective is dual graphics cards with an i5? I didn't think it would make that much of a difference but I suppose it's possible that certain graphics loads would be bottlenecking at the GPU instead of at the CPU, so some anecdotal evidence comparing one GPU vs. two would be nice.

Well hyjin and me could potentially roughly compare as were going to have almost the same build. Especially since in getting the mobo and cpu before my second card.

So the same build just a different number of cards :P

Bit if I was to go for an i7 is get a much better performance from my cards? I guess that would depend how much I get paid on Tue 28th.

i see no issues with the dual GPU... im running high/ultra on all games now with no fps jerks...
my 7770 is made my XFX it is the dual dispersion technology one