Buy a Gaming Card!

[ccx1985]

Hi new to Tom's hardware as a member but been using the card reviews as a guild for sometime now.

I'm looking to buy a graphics card that will last me for the year or so.

I've just sold my GTS 250 and my HD 4870 and got just over £100 to spend on a future proof gaming card.

I've had my eye on the GTX 460 model and would go for a Factory OC as i would not like to do it my self.

I've been offered a GTX 550 Ti SC (01G-P3-1557-KR) for £100 but not sure if its a good deal
I know the card is better than the one's I've got now but would I be money well spent.

Please could i have advice on Nvidia & ATI cards please and the reason why you would recommend such card.

cards I've been looking at are GTX 460 470 480 570 HD 5870 6790 6870 6950

If you recommend a card could you also give a max price you would pay as i also want value for money.

Thanks for reading.

PC Spec - Windows 7 64 1TB+ 4GB DDR2 Core 2 Duo 8500 @ 3.16GHz 3.17GHz (new rig next year build around graphics)

 

[purple stain]

I'd say the best bang for your buck would be the 6850.It's slightly out of your budget but it's well worth it,imo.

Sapphire 6850

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11180-00-40R-6850-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B0047D5S26/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321615160&sr=8-1

The 6850 is a little faster than the GTX460 but it also has improved DX11 support and improved Crossfire scaling.
Because of your current system I would advise getting anything more powerful than a 6850.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

If you're going to use the gpu in the next year new rig i would go at least for a 6950/560Ti or 570. ( if i had the money the 570 ) Or wait for the new gen coming next year.

Don't understand this though ; you say you want a card for just one year but also that you build your new rig around this graphic card ?
Also your budget is 100 $ but you even think of the 570 ?

 

[mactronix]

Around that price range you are realistically looking at putting a bit extra if possible, or you may find a deal online ?
Anyway for about £112-£125 ish you have a choice between the 6870 or the 560. The performance however varies between game and resolution so take a look at this review and see which card would fit your games and resolution.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_560_TOP_Direct_Cu_II/1.html

Mactronix
PS as you will see the card is overclocked but there is a referance baseline in the reviews

 

[tlmck]

I second the 6850. It is the best bang for the buck(pound) card out there right now. As for myself, I am getting along just fine with an overclocked 6670 card. I am also only running a 19" WS Samsung monitor at 1440x900 if that helps.

 

[Homeboy2]

Hi new to Tom's hardware as a member but been using the card reviews as a guild for sometime now.

I'm looking to buy a graphics card that will last me for the year or so.

I've just sold my GTS 250 and my HD 4870 and got just over £100 to spend on a future proof gaming card.

I've had my eye on the GTX 460 model and would go for a Factory OC as i would not like to do it my self.

I've been offered a GTX 550 Ti SC (01G-P3-1557-KR) for £100 but not sure if its a good deal
I know the card is better than the one's I've got now but would I be money well spent.

Please could i have advice on Nvidia & ATI cards please and the reason why you would recommend such card.

cards I've been looking at are GTX 460 470 480 570 HD 5870 6790 6870 6950

If you recommend a card could you also give a max price you would pay as i also want value for money.

Thanks for reading.

PC Spec - Windows 7 64 1TB+ 4GB DDR2 Core 2 Duo 8500 @ 3.16GHz 3.17GHz (new rig next year build around graphics)

Again, there is no such thing as "future proof" in computing. Especially in your price range.

 

[ilysaml]

cards I've been looking at are GTX 460 470 480 570 HD 5870 6790 6870 6950

GTX 570 > GTX 480 > HD 6950 > HD 5870 > HD 6870 > GTX 460 > HD 6790.

 

[ccx1985]

If you're going to use the gpu in the next year new rig i would go at least for a 6950/560Ti or 570. ( if i had the money the 570 ) Or wait for the new gen coming next year.

Don't understand this though ; you say you want a card for just one year but also that you build your new rig around this graphic card ?
Also your budget is 100 $ but you even think of the 570 ?

Hi thanks for your comments, I am planing to build a new pc around gaming and if i got a card now i would like to keep it for a year two at most and seal it on but still hold its value so i can use the money to put towards a better card.

I've looked at 570 there not cheap!

 

[ccx1985]

GTX 570 > GTX 480 > HD 6950 > HD 5870 > HD 6870 > GTX 460 > HD 6790.

does this mean the order in which card you would recommend.

GTX 570 1st HD 6790 last.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Your biggest problem is the 100$ budget, you won't find a modern good mid-high end card for that.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Yep, that order does he mean, or which is strongest and which is weakest. ( 570 being most powerfull )

 

[purple stain]

You can always crossfire the 6850 in a year or so.
But I would have to agree with everyone else that building your PC around a GPU doesn't make much sense.It's usually the other way around and GPU's change a lot more often than CPU's.

 

[ccx1985]

You can always crossfire the 6850 in a year or so.
But I would have to agree with everyone else that building your PC around a GPU doesn't make much sense.It's usually the other way around and GPU's change a lot more often than CPU's.

So i should be building my PC around a New CPU! anything from an i3 upwards is what i was going to look for with 8GB and at lest 2 full PCI-E slots.

 

[purple stain]

That sounds like a great start but for someone on a tight budget Intel isn't really the way to go.Everything is considerably more expensive on the Intel side.

 

[jessterman21]

An i3 2100 + a 560 or HD6870 would be an incredible place to start. i3 is great for gaming and the Intel socket gives you option to upgrade to quad in the future. The 560 or 6870 are equal in gaming and will last you another year at least for gaming on high settings.

 

[ilysaml]

I'm not recommending any, you jsut said you have been looking into those cards so i ordered them from the strongest to he weakest and almost GTX 570 = GTX 480.

If you have the C2D E8500, this CPU performs similar to X4 955 BE in gaming, but won't deny the fact that you need a strong Quad Core CPU.

£100 is around $160 right ? this can get you a HD 6870

 

[nao1120]

I agree.... 6870 is the best budget cards. And there is mail in rebates. Should be able to get one for 149.99 after rebates.

 

[ianivy]

Remember - if the build requires a hard drive, do a Google Shopping search.

 

[purple stain]

£100 is closer to $130.And don't forget the price inflation outside of the U.S.Which makes the 6850 seem like more of the only choice that you can still get your moneys worth out of.In fact that Sapphire 6850 I listed above was the cheapest I could find on Amazon and it sells for £120.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-xfx-hd-6850-xxx-4200mhz-gddr5-gpu-800mhz-960-stream-processors-hdmi-displayport-2x-dvi 107,62 pounds.

 

[purple stain]

Nice find.I only know the Amazon.uk website.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

Meh, plus 7,99 shipping while amazon does it for free. So 117,21 in total Yeah, saved you 2 pound something . . .

 

[purple stain]

I'd rather go for the Sapphire card anyway because Sapphire usually includes lots of accessories.XFX has started to get singey with their accessories.They don't even include a crossfire bridge anymore.

 

[GreenDutchAlien]

They did with my 6870. But maybe because it's a black edition, came with a lot of nonsense.
For the 3 pounds extra i would buy from Amazon rather than my link. Don't know anything about that shop.

 

[ccx1985]

Hi thanks for all your reply's very useful.

I know you all have been leaning towards a HD 6850 or if i have the money a HD 6870

But could i ask which one out of these both nearly new and been offered to me by a friend.

£100 $157
http://benchmarks-reviews.com/video_graphics_cards/Point_of_View/GeForce_GTX460_1024MB_Ultra_Charged_Edition_TGT-460-A2-1024-UC/

£100 $157
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=01G-P3-1557-KR&family=GeForce%20500%20Series%20Family&sw=

I can buy either of these cards today!

which one is better out the two and then tell me what you would get instead if not either of these.

Thanks