PS4 or Nvidia GTX 970

Hi Guys.
My PC Specs are
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 @3.6
8 GB DDr2 800MHZ RAM
Radeon 4870 1GB
Gigabyte P43-U3DL Motherboard
PSU 500Watts Coolermaster

I am looking forward to getting an Nvidia GTX 970, I don't want to upgrade my Computer other than the GPU. Kindly tell me if its worth getting GTX 970 for this configuration. Or should i buy a Ps4 instead?

Buy a ps4. Your cpu will bottleneck the gpu.

Get a PS4.

That cpu is dating(even if it's a quad) and will most likely bottleneck the GPU.

Buy the GTX 970 much much better than the ps4. Your CPU will only bottleneck it slightly (which is still already better than the PS4) but only in CPU bound games. If you're planning on upgrading your CPU in the next year or two this would be the way to go.

EDIT: you should just get a GPU that's more in line with your current setup like the R9 270x.

@aceatch:
ok like by how much FPS? i mean if i am to get 60 FPS with a core i7, and if with my current CPU i get 45 then i will be fine even with 45 FPS, i game at 1920*1080.

Get the 970 and overclock the CPU, even with a slight bottleneck it will still run latest games at max settings.

While your cpu will be a massive bottleneck, it will still be much better than get getting a PS4. A PS4 is weaker in every way and has relatively few games.

I doubt the TC can oc his cpu much more, qx6700s don't oc well. They only have the B3 stepping unlike the newer generation of q6600s which were changed to g0.

There isn't much point to buying a 970. You could save a lot of money and buy something cheaper, there will be no performance difference because of your cpu.

Let's be more reasonable here, you don't connect V12 engine to a bicycle.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nKx6K8 that's how you upgrade on a budget.

PS4, CPU is a huge bottleneck.

That's not really an upgrade with that amd cpu.

I believe a GTX 750ti is the perfect fit for your system.

True, well if he's not willing to change his CPU which sounds very wiered to me, PS4 it is.

That doesn't make any sense. The PS4 game library is mediocre, and his cpu is faster than the PS4's regardless.

I don't know maybe he really wants that PS4 if he's only willing to upgrade partially.

Depends on that you want to do OP. As others have mentioned these are your options:

1. Get the 970 and prepare to upgrade the rest of your rig in the coming years (CPU, mobo, ram, etc) but still keep that 970. You might say you get 45ish frames but things MAY change when you crank up the details

2. Simple, get a PS4 and that will last you the whole that the current gen (keep in mind you probably pay more for PS+ and premium on games)

3. Get a GPU more in line with your system e.g. 750 ti, 260X, 270X (which are around PS4 level graphics) and save some monay. This will give you a boost in graphics and should last you a couple of years when you decide to buy a new rig

Personally I'd go with option 3

Upgrade CPU and get 970 . What else is there to play on ps4 until late next year .? Drive club ? Or next big flop aka Order 1886 .? Get Pc now , and ps4 later.

Bought an AMD R9 270X :)
will get it delivered by 21st October as i live in KSA
I Hope it serves me well at 1080p

After doing sufficient research, it seems that the CPU will not be a problem as many has stated. Your problem lies with the PCI express which is most likely Version 1. First gen PCI express is 3 times slower that PCI Express 3 which is the requirement for the card. So, the card most likely will not work with your mobo. The PS4 maybe your only option if you are not willing to upgrade the other parts.

i would say go for a pc upgrade but i think you should upgrade your motherboard (and you would need a cpu upgrade as well) and get a amd card, 760, or a 960 when it gets a release (but you might have to wait long for 960).

@usman_8831: I would have said go with the PS4 but Driveclub didn't deliver as expected and Project Cars comes out for PC soon. I would say GTX 970 but honestly your really putting a lot of stress on that power supply. Power supply has to do with performance. Take it for me I was getting 175fps with a 1200 watt power supply and people with a similar set up with smaller power supplies were getting around 120fps.

Just upgrade everything for a little more. In the end Ps4 games will cost you more and theres way less games.

PSU's have no effect on performance apart from the system not being able to work when it runs out of power. When the GPU hits a PSU block it will start making bad artifacts and really massive errors before crashing. It doesn't "know" when the PSU is out of power, it just chugs along until it dies, it doesn't adjust it's performance to fit the power available.

And a 1200W PSU is overkill for any normal system, 1200W PSU's are probably good for multiple SLI systems and stuff.

Actually no, GPU's downclock themselves as well as give out warnings in the form of pop-up boxes alerting the user that the GPU isn't getting enough power.

@GTR12: Thank you for agreeing with me. I was running a GTX 690 with 1200 watts and actually had read somewhere that that was the minimum recommended for that GPU. I mean nowadays even just the CPU in certain cases (AMD 5.0GHZ) use as much as 275 watts.

LMAO, I didn't agree with you, I never would agree to what that statement. A GTX690 has a TDP of 300 watts, a good 650 watt PSU is plenty for that card and for whatever CPU you want to pair with it.

Wherever you read that is WRONG, I cant stop laughing right now lol, a 1.2Kw PSU for 1 GPU is just stupid.

I've used a GTX 470 and 8800 GTS (g92) on a Antec 650 watt, my friend is currently using a Corsair 650TX for 2 GTX 970's and an i7 4790k at 4.5Ghz or something, I'm sure the 970's are OC'ed as well.

That awkward moment when you decide to bite the bullet and buy.2 gtx 970's first thing after waking up before work....if you change your mind on what brand to buy it is a good idea to delete the previous 2 from your basket unlike me and you somehow manage to go through the order and a PayPal payment without realising and the only time you notice your mistake is when your order comes...So yep I just spent 1130 pounds on 4 gtx 970's.......and I only wanted and can use 2...I went full Derp!

Shame I recently upgraded from my old Asus ROG maximus 1156 motherboard,that beast had 5 pci-e slots...:p

I just felt the need to share my stupidity with you guys.

You know.. since, you don't want those other two 970s, you could just send em my way :)

@insane_metalist: lol I could barely afford to buy 2...this has killed me.I was going to return them but I think I will stick them up on ebay a bit cheaper than I got them for,so at least somebody gets a good deal.

I will probably post a link to it here when I do

I will be selling 2 of these:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-002-GX&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

Willl post a link when I do most likely on tuesday if anyone here from the uk is interested In saving a few pounds on the regular price.

CPUs are fairly cheap now.

@GTR12: Actually the GTX 690 isn't a single GPU it's double.

For all purposes of debating, it has a single pcie slot and takes up the same width as any other single GPU, therefore its 1. The internals can be different and house more grunt, but its 1 GPU.

I have already Purchased MSI R9 270X and now i am looking forward to upgrade my Motherboard, CPU and Ram in November

Kindly Suggest me a best combination in the range of ($.350-400)
I will be upgrading to a GTX 980 or some new GPU in the next 6-7 months

Nope. PCI-E v1 is 4 times slower (250MB/s per lane vs 1000MB/s per lane). :)

And his CPU might be a bottleneck but not as much as people think. He has already clocked it at 3,6GHz which means its faster than anything 4-core AMD has (at stock clocks).

Still a Haswell i5 will give a lot of performance.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Rj66pg

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Rj66pg/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.96 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Micro Center)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)

Total: $401.95

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-11 21:09 EDT-0400

ps: If you plan to overclock you need an aftermarket cooler later...

Options:

1. Get the graphics card you want, and not use it to it's fullest potential.

2. Get a PS4, and have a pretty sweet setup but a very limited selection of games (but some exclusives...MGS looks epic, not gonna lie).

3. Find something a bit more middle-of-the-road as far as GPUs go.

Haha.. thats a funny funny question.. everyone should get a PS4.. if you can afford it.. I can't but it's an all in one gaming solution.. turn it on play games.

But a quad core Q6700 is too outdated now to warrant an upgrade in terms of varying components. The RAM is likely only DDR2, the CPU, you can buy a entry level CPU for $50-60 bucks that'll do better with some DDR3 RAM.. but if you can afford 400-500 for a PS$ you could afford maybe to do a budget gaming build. With some new and 2nd parts if you were careful and patient you could make a really great budget build.. of course it aint gona be to a high end level, but what you get from turning some settings down can still be a really great experience if it's smooth. I saw a pretty awseome system on gumtree today that was $450 and prob culda bargained em down n I was like wow I'd like that for my second computer, but I didnt have the cash ;)