Looking for video card suggestions ~$300

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sheletal

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I would like to purchase a video card tonight BUT, if there is something worth waiting a month for, I may be willing to wait.
I am willing to spend up to $350 if there is a big leap at that price range but would prefer to keep it under $300

I am mostly playing BF3 and Skyrim right now but I like to push graphics so I will probably re-install crysis for another run through.

Current Specs:
I currently have an MSI Hawk 5770 video card and this power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028 (I am willing to upgrade the power supply if I stay in budget but I'm sure it won't be a problem, my partner is using one of these with a Sapphire 6870)
cpu- AMD phenom II X4 965 (3.4 ghz quad core)
mobo- Asus M4a79xtd-evo
memory- G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

I would like to stick with Amazon/Newegg for parts unless you guys know of other reliable sites with better prices. In my experience, nothing beats these guys.

I usually prefer ATI cards but the Geforce 570 seems like the best choice/value at this point according to this chart: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

Overclocking usually is more hassle/risk than it's worth but I'm open to it.

I am driving a 28" monitor at 1920x1200 resolution

Thanks in advance for all the great help. These are the best forums on the net ;)
 
Solution

The 7870 should be a bit more powerful with DX 11.1 and way less power hungry. I wouldnt suggest the 570 running on that 530w PSU but the 7870 should be OK.

Requirements
Minimum of a 550 power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 38 Amps.)
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=012-P3-1570-AR


This is a overclocked 570 and you could almost run 2...

rockodss

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With that card you are gonna be good for a while. BF3 Ultra with maybe AA8x instead of x16 but not much of a diff.
 

sheletal

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I have been eyeing that one since this morning. I typically go with ATI so I haven't had an EVGA card before. Are they generally reliable?

Oooh, didn't realize it had the 320-bit bus.

There isn't anything major on the horizon that we know of? I know the ATI 7800's should drop next month but I don't think they will beat this.

Also, what would be closest to this card at the $300 price range? Would this extra $40 really be worth it?
 
The 7870 will be out next month for around $299. From looking at the 7950 its should be nearly as fast as a GTX580. The 7770 should be on sale tonight with launch reviews tomorrow. My guess it the 7770 will run about even with a 6870. Overclocked tho it may be as strong as a 6950 1GB.
 

sheletal

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According to this: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

The 580 beats the 7970, I have a hard time seeing the 7870 matching those.

 

You do realize that benchmark show the 7950 almost beating the GTX590. The 7970 beat the GTX590 bad in this benchmark. This benchmark looks to favor single nvidia GPU's. Both the 570 and 580 beating the 590 should pop out this bad benchmark.

The 7950 beat it pretty good in most games.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5476/amd-radeon-7950-review/6
 
that chart sucks beyond belief...

perfrel_1920.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_7950_Twin_Frozr_III/8.html
Also the 78XX are coming out in march which will be around this price range if you are interested.
 
Here also is tomshardware review of the 7950 showing about the same as anandtechs. Crysis 2's dx9 tho does show AMD needs some work on drivers.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-overclock-crossfire-benchmark,3123-6.html

In crossfire DX11 the 7950 really pulls out infront of the 580's.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-overclock-crossfire-benchmark,3123-17.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7950-overclock-crossfire-benchmark,3123-18.html

If you want an Nvidia I suggest waiting till April the 12th for the GTX660 as early leak has it near a tie with the GTX580.
NVIDIA-600-2.jpg
 

The 5970 is 2 GPU's of the fastest 5870 single GPU AMD made. The 6900's were the first to use the X9xx for top end single GPU's. That card is like the 6990 or 590 of today.
 
because you can see the games tested if you click the link instead of just a chart with numbers from some random benchmark with no real world applications.

the 5970 is more powerful than a 7950 because a 5970 is 2 5870s in crossfire on 1 board.
 

sheletal

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So what I'm seeing so far (in the ~$300 range) is that, if I wanted to buy tonight-go with the 570.

If I can wait a month, the 7870 may be around $300 and this would be the better option.

Are we all in agreement on this? Do you think the 7870 will be worth the wait? Does anyone know if the 7870 will be running on a pci-e 3.0 slot?
 

The 7870 should be a bit more powerful with DX 11.1 and way less power hungry. I wouldnt suggest the 570 running on that 530w PSU but the 7870 should be OK.

Requirements
Minimum of a 550 power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 38 Amps.)
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=012-P3-1570-AR


This is a overclocked 570 and you could almost run 2 6870's for the power draw of this card. That is a 6970 that the 570 is drawing way more power against.
GTX570power.jpg
 
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sheletal

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Thanks for the great info. I really didn't want to wait for the 7800's but I think it may be worth it if I can keep my psu.

Are there any AMD based pci-e 3.0 motherboards out yet? I didn't have any luck finding any and it sounds like they won't be doing it for am3/am3+ motherboards from what I read.
 

sheletal

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Good to know. Hard to tell when some things are needed and when it is just marketing fluff.
 

sunnk

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in my opinion you should go with the gtx 560ti 448 cores which is nearly comparable with the gtx 570 and after overclocking it gives the performance like gtx 570 so better to save up some money and get this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127615

msi twinfrozr iii for its better cooling and overclocking abilty.

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130738

evga is one of the best manufacterer of the nvidia cards thats why.

here is the review for more clearification.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-448-core-review/11
 

This is correct as no AM3+ have PCIE 3.0 but Trinity is coming out soon. This means AMD's new piledriver CPU should be just around the corner and possible an AM4. Both FM2 and AM4 motherboard should have PCIE 3 slots. Other sources say the new AM4 will be quad channel and able to house 2 dies just like G34 motherboards.
AMD%20Trinity%20and%20Brazos%20Roadmap.jpg

http://www.techpowerup.com/159062/AMD-Vishera-Packs-Quad-Channel-DDR3-IMC-G34-En-Route-Desktop-.html
 

Yup here is the leaked launch date slide. I have seen many posts stating March 6th for the 7870. By the leaked specs for the 7870 has over twice the steaming processors of the 7770. Would have been nice to see a crossfire benchmark.
1328072826rWH1CeR1SE_1_1_l.jpg


Ummm crossfire 7770 with 2 having lower specs than the 7870 leaks.
bf3_1920_1200.gif

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7750_7770_CrossFire/5.html
 
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