Whats best card for gaming on i7 2600k build ($400-$599)

joecrazy

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Jan 29, 2012
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I am building a Gaming PC also used for business but wont demand much of anything from my GPU, I do plan on playing ARMA 3 on ultra settings and any other new new games, I want a card I can overclock if possible, Never done it before but gotta start somewhere right?

Approximate Purchase Date: NOW
Budget Range: (e.g.: 600-800) between $400-$599 max

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, web, video

Parts Not Required:My new build is gonna be a i7 2600k, Asus Gen Z mobo, 8GB JigSaw Ram, 850W PSU by XFX, Haf 912 Case

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Microcenter

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: by brand or type -What ever us best, I have no preference

Overclocking: Yes (Will stock cooling work?:

SLI or Crossfire: Next year want to add double

Monitor Resolution: 1080p , I found two sammys for 159 each

I am planing on useing this system the next 3 years hopefully, and will add another card next year about this time but after that all I want to do is add 8gb more ram, What card will get give me the most in the 4-599 range? Prefer around 400-$550 max, I am stuck on this, I like the 7970`s but people talk highly of the 5 series from Nvidia? or should I go with two older cards off the bat? I just want killer performance, I am going broken building this So i want to have a great system for a few years at least! Thanks a ton! you guys rock
 

danraies

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If you definitely want one card (for now) and you can spend $550 then the 7970 is an easy choice like everyone else said. Also, you will probably not want to overclock a 2600K on the stock cooler.
 

joecrazy

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Thanks guys for the input, Let me know what you think of my final build! I seriously went WAY over budget but couldn't stop myself! Wife hates me!

Asus Gene-IV Gen 3 Motherboard (PCIe 3.0 For future proof)
8GB Ripjaws DDR3-2133 RAM
850w XFX Pro PSU
i7 2600k (Can I over clock with the heatsink below? Would 4.5 be too much, Future will add water cooling to push to 5.0 maybe)
XFX 7970 OC Black Edition Double Dissipation Cooling , Pre overclocked, Room for more! Found it at NCIX for $579
Coolermaster EVO Heatsink (Adding dual RED LED Fans)
120gb Corsair Force GT Series GEN 3 SSD
2TB Hitachi 7200rpm Storage Drive
2x ASUS DVD DL Burners
Cooler Master Enforcer ATX Case (Loaded with RED Led fans, Lights, Leds, etc.) (Pre painted Black interior from factory)
3 23" LG 1920x1080 5ms LED LCD`s (EYEFINITY!) Got GREAT Deal on these ($100 each free shipping)

What do you think of my new build? I spent around $1500 all together, Not sure if that includes monitors or not, will have too look. I might be getting a divorce over this but hey At least I can play Battlefield 3 in eyefinity at 60fps!

Did i do ok on this? This is my first build, and hopefully didnt mis match anything or bottleneck any one component. Please let me know , thanks again!

 

jacknhut

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Sep 26, 2010
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A single HD 7970 is far from being able to produce 60 fps at eyefinity resolution in BF3. Read Anandtech and Guru3d review, HD 7970 is a great card no doubt, it wins over GTX 580 by 20-30 % average but the one game that it does not is Battlefield 3. You are lucky to get 60 fps at 1920-1200 res and ultra settings during multiplayer in BF3. In order to get 60 fps in BF3 at eyefinity resolution, you need at least 2 HD 7950 or 2 GTX 580 or 2 HD 7970 or higher.
 

jnjnilson6

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AMD RADEON HD 7950 costs $449.99 and is very good for overclocking! If you overclock it, it's going to be even better than the AMD RADEON HD 7970 graphics card! AMD RADEON HD 7970 has 3 GB of memory and AMD RADEON HD 7990 is going to have 6 GB of memory when it comes out! AMD RADEON HD 7990 can't support all of the memory well! It has good support only over the 3 GB of memory of it's 6 GB so the difference between AMD RADEON HD 7970 and 7990 isn't going to be big! It might end up that an overclocked AMD RADEON HD 7950 is better than AMD RADEON HD 7990! AMD RADEON HD 7950 is the best performance priced card at the moment! If you want you can wait until the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 video card comes out, but I recommend to grab one HD 7950 at the moment and go with it! It's the best graphics card when overclocked and there is no point of waiting for the HD 7990 or GTX 680! The AMD RADEON HD 7950 is going to be on the top of the list for at least 2 years so if you want something very powerful which will max out every single game out there and is going to last for long as a high end video adapter, RADEON HD 7950 is for you! I hope that I have managed to help you with your choice!