What specs to look for in a graphics card?

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TimRayder

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I need a new graphics card, but need a professional opinion on what specifics to look for. (For instance Higher Bit count, Higher Clock speed, etc...its Mainly for gaming)

I'm trying to run Battlefield 4 and Arma 3 on high or ultra settings.

looking for a 3gb gpu for around $160

My current specs:

Win. 8.1 64-bit

MSi Krait 970 Motherboard

AMD FX 8310 3.4ghz 8-core cpu

OCZ 780 watt psu

8gb of Corsair 1866mhz Memory

If you need more info just ask.





 
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The only spec that can be used, legitimately, to determine the performance of the GPU, is VRAM, everything else has very little true meaning.

For example, 290x has a wider bus-width than 980, but 980's performance is neck to neck in most cases against 290x.

Also, one important thing to note is that VRAM is not an end all be all stat either. For example, a 290x 8GB card is not necessarily better than a 290x 4GB in terms of raw performance. The only thing that matters for VRAM is, is the VRAM usage enough to cover the games you play, at the resolution you play at. Sometimes extra VRAM does allow better performance, but when comparing two completely different cards (EG 960 4GB vs 280x 3GB), don't use VRAM as an accurate indication of...
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chenw

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The only spec that can be used, legitimately, to determine the performance of the GPU, is VRAM, everything else has very little true meaning.

For example, 290x has a wider bus-width than 980, but 980's performance is neck to neck in most cases against 290x.

Also, one important thing to note is that VRAM is not an end all be all stat either. For example, a 290x 8GB card is not necessarily better than a 290x 4GB in terms of raw performance. The only thing that matters for VRAM is, is the VRAM usage enough to cover the games you play, at the resolution you play at. Sometimes extra VRAM does allow better performance, but when comparing two completely different cards (EG 960 4GB vs 280x 3GB), don't use VRAM as an accurate indication of relative power.

The only thing that can really determine what GPU is better than another are game and GPU reviews, they typically have benchmarks that shows how each GPU handles a selection of games, or how a game runs on a selection of GPU. Otherwise the specifications (EG number of cores, clock speed, bus width) usually have little to no meaning by themselves.
 
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atomicWAR

atomicWAR

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i would go with a GTX 750TI or an amd R9 270....for the price point though your looking at 2gb or ram for those cards, otherwise i still see some GTX 660's with 3GB for 169...point is you want 3 or more gb you'll need to raise your budget some.

 
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atomicWAR

atomicWAR

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yeah or if you want an nvidia solution a gtx 960 would be a good card but i can't recommend the GTX 970. To many issues with ram and though it's supposed to "be fine" i have been helping lots of folks in the forums with issues regarding the 3.5gb of ram getting used and dipping into the .5gb and having stuttering and bad game play in general.
 
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chenw

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My experience had been completely the opposite, I actually cannot find any of the stutterings associated with VRAM dipping into the last .5 GB, and I had forced quite a few games into that region. However I will freely admit that it may have been to do with my 16GB RAM, which I have known several people solving the stuttering issue. I have personally never seen it because I only very briefly used the 970 with 8GB ram before I put into a new rig that was built with 16GB RAM.

(I also didn't recommend a 970, given that 280x or similarly performing 290x is going for cheaper than 970 at the moment, and also without that VRAM issue).

But, if 970 is a bad card, then 960 is going to be even worse, it only has 2GB VRAM, even 4GB VRAM doesn't really help 960. the card is just not powerful enough.
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

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I own a 970. It's a fantastic card; and the only situation i've ever seen the vram issues come into play is in SLi at 4k.

The 960 is not a good option at it's pricepoint. at the $220 pricepoint i'd rather the r9-280x; it will lay the smackdown on a 960, and it has 3gb of vram. Still, ARMA3 is not a good measuring stick. that is not really a GPU bottlenecked title, it's a 100% cpu bottlenecked title. Battlefield4 will benifit from the r9.

If the OP can't change his budget he should get the r9-270x or 270 if he can't find a 270x for 160. it matches well with the fx 8 core, is compatible with mantle for BF4, and good enough for Arma3 on high settings. Furthermore the 270x is within 5% of the performance of a gtx960... for much less $$
 
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atomicWAR

atomicWAR

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Glad your not having issues but i helped three people this weekend so far with GTA V issues with GTX 970s and the 3.5/.5 frame buffer. Goes to show there are no guarantees good or bad only trends. I have also heard those running 16GB of ram have less stuttering issues as well when busting through the 3.5GB and i will add that to my recommendations in the future for those considering a GTX 970 (I usually get GTX X70 series cards myself but this gen i went full GTX 980 cause of the "bug"...ahem incorrect specs)
 
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