best sub $450 graphics card for gaming

Karthik Endhiran · May 3, 2014

hi i am currently having a 1gb graphics card gt 430. i am planning on going for a new one. i wont sli ever. it is only for gaming and i want it to best at that. i also wont do mining cryptocurrency. i want to max out everything and i have 1080p monitor. i am looking for gpu below $450. i want to play watch dogs,cod advanced warfare etc
my specs
mobo: Intel DH67VR
procssor: Intel i5 2400
ram: 2X4gb(1333 mhz)

goku1234567890 · May 3, 2014

Here's the card for you: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127759
And for the rest of the money seriously upgrade that Ram if you wanna play Watch Dogs max at your resolution. Cheers and Peace.

Karthik Endhiran · May 4, 2014

goku1234567890 :

what about the gtx 770 or the r9 290. and do i need a i7 and\or 4gb gpu. i am very happy with nvidia and very much like it but is 2gb enough or should i go for the 4gb. also is ati any way better for lesser money
and how much ram is needed more

Maciek Fulton · May 4, 2014

Karthik Endhiran :

If you can afford a 770 go for it, its a really nice card. You wont be needing more then 2gb of video ram for a singular 1080 monitor.

JUICEhunter · May 4, 2014

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121842

Here is a 290 for $440 and you don't need an i7. For a little more you can go 780 but either way this will be a huge upgrade for you.

Maciek Fulton · May 4, 2014

JUICEhunter :

DO NOT GET that 290, Asus just slapped that onto a 290 chip. The cards heat sinks do not even fully touch the GPU. Asus got lazy and the temps and performance shows.

If you can spend the moeny, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130942 is great plus comes with watchdogs ($60 value).

In not http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202103 is a nice card.

Karthik Endhiran · May 4, 2014

Maciek Fulton :

if i go for vapor version can i oc without heating up or should i buy a water cooler

Maciek Fulton · May 4, 2014

Karthik Endhiran :

If you can afford Water cooling go for a 780, 290s don't have much headroom for OC, a 780 Oc on air would be as good as a 290 Oc on water. I believe 780 can Oc 7% more then a 290. If you cant afford a 780 the 290 is still a good card and the temps remain around 72c while gaming, where the 780 would be around 58c/62c.

Not directly related to the cards, but here is an Oc benchamrk between the 780ti and 290x. http://www.hardocp.com/images/articles/1397411267OPl8cM2MpM_5_2.jpg

goku1234567890 · May 4, 2014

OK seriously if you wanna play watch dogs and next gen games you need atleast 6 GB ram. And getting the r9 290 or 780 is not totally necessary. Although both are great cards the r9 280x will do fine for you, simple as that. If you looking to throw money sure go buy 780 or 290. Another advice go with r9 series as they have mantle technology and it is giving an edge as compared to nvidia. Go will get higher frame rates in game by mantle supported games and watch dogs is one of them. Also you won't be needing overclock with these kind of graphic cards, so even though you are think of overclocking i overclocked my r7 250 upto 20%. And i am not a fan boy of Amd, i have used both the Nvidia and Amd ones and both are proven great and i have even played sleeping dogs on nvidia geforce 210. Any questions left here.

Karthik Endhiran · May 4, 2014

goku1234567890 :

OK seriously if you wanna play watch dogs and next gen games you need atleast 6 GB ram. And getting the r9 290 or 780 is not totally necessary. Although both are great cards the r9 280x will do fine for you, simple as that. If you looking to throw money sure go buy 780 or 290. Another advice go with r9 series as they have mantle technology and it is giving an edge as compared to nvidia. Go will get higher frame rates in game by mantle supported games and watch dogs is one of them. Also you won't be needing overclock with these kind of graphic cards, so even though you are think of overclocking i overclocked my r7 250 upto 20%. And i am not a fan boy of Amd, i have used both the Nvidia and Amd ones and both are proven great and i have even played sleeping dogs on nvidia geforce 210. Any questions left here.

i have 8gb ram.and r9 290 vs r9 280x. which is more future proof for a ordinary 60MHz monitor

goku1234567890 · May 4, 2014

R9 290 is more future proving and if you are looking to save some bucks than r9 280x is also not bad and will last you 2 years flat.

Karthik Endhiran · May 4, 2014

goku1234567890 :

if i buy it for rs.35K i want it to last it for atleast 6 years. no problem if till it meets the minimum requirements

goku1234567890 · May 4, 2014

If you have no problem with the low settings than you can last 5 years, 6 years are too stretching.

goku1234567890 · May 4, 2014

Although you can last 6 years cause next gen games takes time to make, proper optimization, compatibility, graphics, engine, details, coding and all that take at least and minimum 5 months to 1 year.

Maciek Fulton · May 4, 2014

goku1234567890 :

Mantel is useless right now, and wont be good for another year at least and even then, directX 12 will be released and that might just blow mantel out of the water. Also get a 770, its going to be cheaper since it comes with watchdogs for free since you all ready plane to buy it, its like a $60 off coupon on your GPU. If you like recording game play as well, then Nvidia is going to be great since it allows shadow play.

goku1234567890 · May 4, 2014

Uh uh mantle is not that useless my friend. This is on personal experience and i am getting the frames on games which i wasn't even suppose to touch. I admit it that shadow play is great but there are msi after burner that let you record the game play and the Fraps and other things like that and ask me there aren't many people who record their game play, only those who are making a walk through or uploading a short video on the facebook to show their graphics and i think Fraps is enough for that or even the Camtasia studio is great. And i do you think games will start developing on dx 12 from the moment it releases i don't think so, even from now games are properly released on dx 11 and some even has support for dx 10 right now so no mantle is not gonna be useless.

Karthik Endhiran · May 4, 2014

Maciek Fulton :

goku1234567890 :

Mantel is useless right now, and wont be good for another year at least and even then, directX 12 will be released and that might just blow mantel out of the water. Also get a 770, its going to be cheaper since it comes with watchdogs for free since you all ready plane to buy it, its like a $60 off coupon on your GPU. If you like recording game play as well, then Nvidia is going to be great since it allows shadow play.

i am in india and i dont think i will get the free watch dogs coupon as it is only for america(i guess so)

Maciek Fulton · May 4, 2014

goku1234567890 :

Yes, mantel is useful for APU's and the i3 and lower series.
http://www.hardocp.com/images/articles/1393620031nTfVKdLjSj_3_2.png
Even in AMDs "best" optimized mantel supercharged game... the 290x does not benefit that much from mantel. I had a 290x with an i7 3770k @ 4,4 gh/z and got maybe 3-4 fps more. As of right now, a rig with lower ends cards and CPUs will benefit but its going to take a long time will we see improvement with higher end rigs.

goku1234567890 · May 4, 2014

May i need to remind you that R9 290 has higher bandwidth, texture rate and pixel rate.

goku1234567890 · May 4, 2014

But there is a problem though from what i have heard r9 290 runs slightly hotter than the gtx 770 but that was during it's launch phase i don't know it for now.

Karthik Endhiran · May 4, 2014

goku1234567890 :

that problem existed in reference model...in non reference models(except an asus model) the problem has been removed.
also are we(i assume u are in india) eligible for the free watch dogs.if we are is it worth going for gtx 770 or still r9 290 is better since it has three games and can be used whenever we want(is it eligble for us.. the never_settle_forever in india)

Karthik Endhiran · May 5, 2014

goku1234567890 :

does the following have the heating problem due its single fan
http://rog.asus.com/269042013/gaming-graphics-cards-2/the-asus-r9-290-graphics-card/

goku1234567890 · May 5, 2014

No that card doesn't have that issue. Cheers

best sub $450 graphics card for gaming

Reputable

Distinguished

Reputable

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Reputable

Honorable

Distinguished

Reputable

Distinguished

Reputable

Distinguished

Distinguished

Honorable

Distinguished

Reputable

Honorable

Distinguished

Distinguished

Reputable

Reputable

Distinguished

Share this page