Today's best $400-$500 GPU option...?

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the server

the server

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May 8, 2013
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Today's best $400-$500 GPU option...?

Hey all! This will constitute my seventh or so build in an on-and-off amateur career building PC's for myself, family and friends over about twenty years. Some of my builds have been great successes with others not quite hitting the mark. Anyway, have a look at this new build and let me know what you think about all GPU options in the $400 to $550 range. Take note that I already possess all these parts with the exception of the motherboard and the CPU cooler. Will have them soon.

CPU Intel i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad W/Corsair H100i
MOBO Asus SABERTOOTH Z77
RAM Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
SSD Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB
HDD WD VelociRaptor 1TB 10000RPM
CASE Corsair Vengeance C70 (Black) ATX Mid-Tower
PSU Corsair HX1050W Modular
OD1 Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
OD2 Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-Bit (OEM)

This machine will be for music creation (FL Studio) and much gaming along with the usual productivity stuff and some 2D CAD.

I have a 24" Samsung LCD display (1920x1080 native res) and plan to eventually replace it with three matching 24" displays.

I specifically want a two-slot solution so as to avoid "card crunch" when I eventually add a second card for some sweet multi-GPU action.

I have looked at and I am familiar with these cards but I am also open to suggestions of other cards:

Sapphire Radeon Vapor-X HD 7970 Ghz Edition OC 3Gb
Gigabyte Radeon Windforce HD 7970 Ghz Edition 3Gb
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680 OC 4Gb
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 OC 4Gb
Asus GeForce GTX 680 4Gb
Asus GeForce GTX 670 4Gb

So, what is the absolute best brand and model specific two-slot GPU out there in the $400 to $550 range?

Thanx you all very much!
the server
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
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well, no gpu out there can populate 4gb of vram... even in SLi/xfire they might only scratch against 3gb (i doubt it but, with enough monitors and a large enough resolution you might manage it). So i highly doubt you need more then 2gb of vram.

For a sound studio i'd be mostly interested in making it as quiet as i possibly can. and while Nvidia gpus are in general more quiet then Radeon, neither are particularly quiet on the high end of the spectrum.

Which means i would be looking at either
a) the most quiet company made gpu cooler with the card
b) an aftermarket gpu cooler to replace the one on the card.

Personally i don't believe any company made gpu cooler is as effective as any of the offerings from Artic. so i would start there http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/vga.html

Next i would grab the lowest TPD card between the 7970/670/680. Which i believe is the 670 (170W). This would be the card... a 670 with an aftermarket gpu cooler from Artic. Perhaps the EVGA 670 FTW Signature 2, mated to the Artic Accelero Twin Turbo II.

Though the 7970 is the best performing of the 3 cards you listed (not by much, but it is), keeping it cool or quiet is nearly imposible. Artic has a few coolers that can do it, but they'd be louder then the 670 being cooled... and really.. the difference in performance between the 670 and the 7970 is not that much. Furthermore if you do plan to SLi/xfire in the future, know that xfire for radeon is sorta broken, so you'll need to pick your parts with that in mind, basically nvidia has to be your choice.
 
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