Why is this 1gb ddr5 256bit video card so cheap? It's even a radeon video card

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Carl Dun

Carl Dun

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I've been looking through a price list of video cards on my local store and what caught my eye was the "Sapphire HD 6790" video card. Its complete specs can be found here: http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/product_index.aspx?psn=000101&pid=1147&lid=1.

May I know what's the catch? I mean for its price range, the competitor specs are a bunch of 1gb ddr5 128bit. Why is it priced so low?
 
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Carl Dun

Carl Dun

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I live in the Philippines and it costs PHP 6,200 (around $138) and the two nearest to its price range are:
1. ASUS GEFORCE GTX 750 1gb (PHP 6,000, around $134)
2. MSI GEFORCE GTX750 (PHP 6,650, around $148 )
Those two video cards above have 1gb ddr5 128bit specs as opposed to the 6790 video card that has 256bit. Although I'm not sure what else does these other two might have that makes them cost more or its just that the 6790 is just cheaper.
 
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fall0ut3

fall0ut3

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Architecture, software compatibility (ex: DirectX 11.2 vs DirectX 10), GPU cooler, design, quality of the company, overall looks...
Also, not all video cards are meant for gaming; that being said, some cost way more than others, but would prove useless in gaming than others...

For example, take a GTX 750Ti ftw Edition that cost around 150 US currency.
And then take this VisionTek video card that cost 239 US currency.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129274&cm_re=video_card-_-14-129-274-_-Product
The difference is that some video cards are meant for a complete different lifestyle than others.. Where the Visiontek is meant for low profile workload that could easily handle up to 6 4k monitors (YES SIX 4K MONITORS!!!!), and the GTX 750 is meant to handle gaming at moderate resolution (moderate compared to 4k of course)
 
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gwapito

gwapito

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The main reason its cheap its because its an old technology. hd 6790 was released early 2011. It designed to run on pcie 2.0, dx11 and high power consuming card 150w compared to gtx 750 pcie 3.0, dx11 and low power consumption of 50w.
 
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Carl Dun

Carl Dun

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Wow, you lean something new everyday. I didn't know there are factors such as that, I was under the impression that those three specs were the only ones worth looking at when buying a video card.
For future purchases, may I know what should I look for and how would I determine if it's for gaming or not?
And may you recommend any gaming video cards at around $200 :D? I have a 23" Asus v239h IPS monitor if that helps.
 
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fall0ut3

fall0ut3

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To determine whats gaming or not, you could eyeball some video card's based on their cooling heatsink, If its big and shiny, and has robots painted on it then it is gaming; when if its just a simple design that has low-profile stock cooling you could determine that its for something else.
In addition to that, you could always search benchmarks and reviews online about the product (best option), or just ask around here.

I would greatly recommend a GTX 970 (once prices drop a little bit in the future), or wait and see what the future might hold because you could never know how prices would drop/and or new technology come out. What's the time frame we're talking about anyways? :D
 
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Carl Dun

Carl Dun

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Oh what that's why! May I ask though, as i'm fairly new to building a pc, what's faster, the hd6790 or gtx 750? and what difference does pcie 2 and 3 have?
 
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Carl Dun

Carl Dun

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Unfortunately, now :D as my other threads may have mentioned, I think my video card is busted and it's the 6790 :D but looking at the price list I saw my 6790 there again and though about buying another one but based on the replies on this thread, I now know that it's a bad idea. I think I could save for a GTX 970, although that would mean I would need another couple of weeks to save another $100+ since i'm still a student.
 
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fall0ut3

fall0ut3

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I dont believe that in a couple of weeks there would be a new line up from AMD to counter that of nVidia; so you're safe to build on the GTX 970 :)
I would recommend searching various different brands of that GPU.
Here grab this link and determine which one suits you best!
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-gtx-980-970-roundup,27716.html
good luck :wahoo:
 
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Carl Dun

Carl Dun

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1.Usually every new adventure games that comes out :D (I have my sights on witcher 3) and mainly league of legends for online play.
2. My resolution is 1920x1080, I don't know is that the correct resolution you were asking?
3. My cpu is an intel core i5 processor i5-2400
4. My power supply is a thermaltake 500w

This was an old rig, this was bought on 2011 but I unfortunately can't pay for a complete upgrade and can only replace my video card as of the moment as I don't have enough money.

 
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gwapito

gwapito

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Your system can still handle new games assuming you gonna upgrade your gpu. How about your RAM?
Witcher 3 is a demanding game. Neither of the 2 cards you mention can handle the game in 1080p. Maybe in low settings and 720p.
You said your budget is $200 right? Go for gtx 960. It will fit your budget and your psu will be able to handle it
 
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Carl Dun

Carl Dun

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My RAM is a kingston 2x4 1,333mhz. Would you think $300 is a good investment for a video card? if it's worth it, I could probably get a part time job or save my allowance to save an additional $100
 
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Carl Dun

Carl Dun

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Thank you, I forgot to reply as I was reading the link you gave :D I think I could save up for a 970 and I think it's a good investment. Although I'll still read up on video cards for about a week just to familiarize myself with video cards :D.

 
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gwapito

gwapito

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for gaming no need to upgrade cpu and ram. They are still ok.
Investing $300 is all up to you. But if you go higher than 280x, your cpu might slow down lets say a gtx 970.
But for witcher 3 or new games, don't get a card slower than 270x
 
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