Best graphics card for 400 dollars? 7970 vs gtx 770 vs gtx 680

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TheScarecrow97

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Apr 19, 2012
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Which one should I get? I want to be able to max out games with ease and record at the same time. Since my processor is a bit iffy (fx 6200) I want to get fps good enough to remain smooth even when I lose a lot of frames because of recording.
 
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Zooshooter

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Feb 8, 2013
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It's funny you post this question here when this article was right up at the top of the home page: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html
 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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Oct 30, 2008
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The article is worthless as it only takes into account regular retail prices. The Sapphire 7970 was $300 after rebate for the last 2 weeks(expired yesterday) and it is on par with the $400 GTX 770 once overclocked. Powercolor 7970 is still available for $310 but doesn't overclock as well as the Sapphire since it lacks VRM cooling.
 
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Zooshooter

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Feb 8, 2013
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And the OP never said they were going to, or capable of, overclocking their graphics card so the article is perfectly relevant. Especially as there are numerous disclaimers at the beginning and end of the article that their ordering is HIGHLY dependant on pricing. Even without that they give a hierarchy of graphics solutions on the 2nd to last page. Here's a direct quote from that page
"Here is a resource to help you judge if a card is a good buy or not. The graphics card hierarchy chart groups graphics cards with similar overall performance levels into tiers. The top tier contains the highest-performing cards available and performance decreases as you go down the tiers from there."

Any competent buyer could look at that, look at current pricing and pick which card they want based on which compromises they're willing to make.
 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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If the buyer is referring to the hierarchy graph by Toms as their primary source to formulate their buying decisions then they are not competent.
 
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Zooshooter

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Feb 8, 2013
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If you hate Tom's so much, why are you here? Aside from trying to troll people.
 
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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Jan 12, 2013
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That chart really has no real world relations to actual performance. It gives a comparison of retail prices, nothing including rebates, sales, bundles, or different retailers. Also I wouldnt question someone who has been on this forum for over a year, with 5x the best answers as your own, with 20x the posts. Hes been around, he knows his stuff.
 
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slomo4sho

slomo4sho

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Not sure how you equate emphasis on informed decision making with hating Tom's. The hierarchy can be a good estimate to determine if an upgrade is worthwhile based on a rough performance differences between the tiers but anyone that looks solely at the chart to make a buying decision is going to be ill-informed and will likely not pickup the best option for the budget. As suggested earlier, the 7970 is the best bang for the buck for anyone overclocking and the 770 would be the recommended buy for anyone who does not overclock at this price point but when the 7970 is available for $100 less than the 770, then it is up to the OP to determine if the modest performance increase is worth the 33% price premium.
 
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