Upgrading my HTPC (GPU choice)

[0118999]

I'm going to be upgrading my HTPC with a Haswell i5-4670K soon and I'm trying to decide which GPU I should get. This will be displayed on a 50", 1080p TV. I'm trying to find the right balance between performance, price, and power consumption. I currently have a 400W PSU and want to avoid upgrading that. The GPUs I have been considering are AMD, mostly because I'm familiar with that line. I don't know as much about Nvidia cards, but if there is a superior Nvidia equivalent I'm definitely open to that option.

The games that will most often be played are the two Zelda games, Mario Kart, and NHL Hitz 2003. Others may be added to the list in the future (like Mario Galaxy), but that's what is being played right now.

The GPUs I have been considering are as follows:
HD 7770
HD 7790 (my top choice at the moment)
HD 7850

The minimum performance I'm looking for is the ability to display 2xIR with 4xSSAA in DX9 with almost no slowdown. I'm willing to accept some slowdown, as long as its rare and the game isn't grinding to a halt. The vast majority of gameplay needs to be smooth. I'd obviously prefer better than 2xIR/4xSSAA performance, but I'm not willing to spend $50-$100 extra to get it. Well, maybe $50 extra, but definitely not $100.

I currently have a 6850 on my main PC and it seems to perform fairly well at 2xIR/4xSSAA at the beginning of Windwaker (3xIR/4xSSAA had too much slowdown for my taste), but I don't know if that level of performance will translate to the rest of the game. I've only played deep into game on my HTPC, which currently has significantly worse specs. I think I should be able to get similar, or perhaps even slightly better performance, from a 7790, but I'm not certain of that. That's why I'm leaning toward a 7790 right now.

I'm looking for comments and suggestions. Or if I'm wrong with any of my thinking, please point it out.

Thanks

[ExtremeDude2]

Do you want a passive cooled/low profile? I'd also think you'd only want a GPU that only uses power from the PCI-E Slot especially if you want to OC your CPU due to the fact you don't want to upgrade your PSU

[0118999]

My case is not low profile and I don't care about passive cooling. Minor fan noise does not bother me.

I'm not certain I will overclock the CPU, and even if I do, it will be a moderate overclock (to 3.8 GHz at most). I might even undervolt if I can do it while getting the performance I want (I managed to OC and undervolt the Sandy Bridge in my main PC). This system will not have any HDDs, optical drives, or any PCI/PCI-E (other than video) cards. It does have a SSD and 4 (non-LED) fans. I would think a 400W power supply should have no problem handing that load with up to a 7850 card (~100W max for the card, ~100W max for the CPU).

[0118999]

Can I assume from the lack of responses here that I'm on the right track? Would a 7790 give me the performance I'm looking for?

[admin89]

Quote: I'm looking for is the ability to display 2xIR with 4xSSAA

_2xIR + 4X SSAA = 4xIR . Why don't you just use 4xIR instead . Yeah 7750 can handle that just fine (7790 is a safer option for GPU intensive games)

_3xIR + 4X SSAA = 6xIR . Depending on the game . Most games should be ok with 7870 , not sure about GPU intensive games like SMG , Xenoblade , Mario Kart Wii ....
Edit : fixed my post (Reason : I forgot about each AMD GPU memory bandwidth)

[Garteal]

(08-30-2013, 11:45 PM)0118999 Wrote: I currently have a 400W PSU and want to avoid upgrading that.

What's the exact model and brand of your PSU?
I would recommend you to upgrade to at least a 500W 80+ certified PSU since you're really pushing it close with 400W.
You should not skimp on the PSU.

AMD themselves also recommend at least a 500W for the HD7790.

Quote:The GPUs I have been considering are as follows:
HD 7770
HD 7790 (my top choice at the moment)
HD 7850

The minimum performance I'm looking for is the ability to display 2xIR with 4xSSAA in DX9 with almost no slowdown. I'm willing to accept some slowdown, as long as its rare and the game isn't grinding to a halt. The vast majority of gameplay needs to be smooth. I'd obviously prefer better than 2xIR/4xSSAA performance, but I'm not willing to spend $50-$100 extra to get it. Well, maybe $50 extra, but definitely not $100.

I currently have a 6850 on my main PC and it seems to perform fairly well at 2xIR/4xSSAA at the beginning of Windwaker (3xIR/4xSSAA had too much slowdown for my taste), but I don't know if that level of performance will translate to the rest of the game. I've only played deep into game on my HTPC, which currently has significantly worse specs. I think I should be able to get similar, or perhaps even slightly better performance, from a 7790, but I'm not certain of that. That's why I'm leaning toward a 7790 right now.

I'm looking for comments and suggestions. Or if I'm wrong with any of my thinking, please point it out.

Thanks

The HD7790 will perform a bit worse than the 6850 you have in your main build. If your 6850 can't handle the games you've mentioned at 2xIR with 4xSSAA, then you're going to want a different card or play without SSAA.

[NaturalViolence]

Since you're using an hdtv as the display I would recommend an nvidia card to avoid overscanning issues. A GTX 650 TI boost will certainly get the job done.

Garteal Wrote:AMD themselves also recommend at least a 500W for the HD7790.

Those recommendations are worthless. They have no idea what other hardware is in your PC so they assume the highest possible configuration. As far as they're concerned it's much better to overestimate and have them buy a beefier psu than they need rather than underestimate and have them insist on a full refund because you told them they had enough power and they didn't.

[Garteal]

AMD's recommendations are pretty decent IMO. Atleast, from what I've seen so far. They're obviously going to need to eyeball a generic configuration, but if you have a more advanced setup, you know what to pick yourself.
While it's definitely more than you really need, it's better to have some head room.

Anyway, let's hear what OP has to say.

[0118999]

(09-02-2013, 12:25 AM)Garteal Wrote: AMD's recommendations are pretty decent IMO. Atleast, from what I've seen so far. They're obviously going to need to eyeball a generic configuration, but if you have a more advanced setup, you know what to pick yourself.
While it's definitely more than you really need, it's better to have some head room.

Anyway, let's hear what OP has to say.

Maximum power consumption:
HD 7790: 100W (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_7790_Dual-X/24.html)
i5-4670K: 84W (I may overclock, but I will definitely be undervolting, and power consumption is proportional to the square of the voltage, so this number is likely to be lower than 84)
motherboard/ram: ~60W
SSD/fans/etc: ~10W, if that
USB devices: negligible, so I'll say 6W to give this a nice round number
Total: 260W

Even if you factor in capacitor aging with the PSU, which is a little over a year old right now, it should be able to handle this load until the age of 4 (400Wx0.9^4=262.44W). And that's assuming maximum power consumption of 260W, which this system will likely never pull. I'll need a new PSU in 2.5-3 years, but that's not unexpected. Incidentally, a 7870 draws 144W max, so if I were to go with that card, I'd probably need to replace the PSU in about 1.5 years. I understand the instinct to buy a larger power supply. It's easier to buy more than you need than it is to calculate what you actually need.

That said, I didn't start this thread to talk about the PSU choices. Where I'm lacking knowledge is with Dolphin and GPU performance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
admin89: I didn't know that 4xIR and 2xIR+4xSSAA were the same thing. Is the processing actually identical? Will those processes produce identical images?

NaturalViolence: What is the AMD overscanning issue you're referring to? I haven't owned an Nvidia card in almost 10 years, so I don't have any personal experience to compare the two brands.

Garteal: So 7790s are inferior to 6850s? In GPU hierarchy lists I've seen, the 7790 is listed as a superior GPU. Here's one example: (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html). I'm far from an expert on this subject, so if the links I've seen are wrong that's fine. But I would like to hear your reasoning or see some evidence.

[admin89]

6850 has 128GB/s memory bandwidth > 7790 (96 GB/s)
Higher memory bandwidth = Higher resolution in Dolphin

Quote:A GTX 650 TI boost will certainly get the job done.

I second this
GTX 650 Ti Boost has 144 GB/s memory bandwidth , AMD 7850 is also good stuff (153.6 GB/s)