What should I look for in a budget gaming GPU

[mmkmmk3]

I'm looking to make my first computer build. I know all about the parts with what & what not but I don't have much hands on experience with use. Right now, for a budget, I'm looking to either buy an Nvidia 550 or an nvidia 560/560ti. For the price I saw a 560 at 288 cores. I also saw a 550 for $15 more & it has larger clock speeds and 2gb of gddr5, as compared to most of the others 1gb of gddr5. Theres also the choice of a 560 that is $40-50 more than the 550 I mentioned. Some of these have the same clock speeds as the 550 some have less. They all have 336 cores as the 550's 192 processors.
The broad question is, what should be the main focus' in looking for a budget gaming GPU. The clock speeds, the cores, or the amount of RAM.
Other question, does the amount of ram hugely affect gaming in GPU? especially if I have 16 GB's of DDR3 Ram? Oh & also would the 550 or the 560's be able to run BF3 or Metro 2033 on Max setting, with everything else able to?

 

[margag_]

Use this great tool to compare :

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

 

[kajabla]

Specs are basically useless for comparing GPUs. Go by benchmarks. Here's a good place to start: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
WAIT LOL that's the same one as above. I didn't check because it says "tool".
In general, you'll never need more than 1gb RAM. That may be the only physical spec I have anything to say about.

You may as well just give us a budget for the whole PC, and more info too: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[mmkmmk3]

Specs are basically useless for comparing GPUs. Go by benchmarks. Here's a good place to start: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
WAIT LOL that's the same one as above. I didn't check because it says "tool".
In general, you'll never need more than 1gb RAM. That may be the only physical spec I have anything to say about.

You may as well just give us a budget for the whole PC, and more info too: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

Thanks for the information (& Thanks to margag for the first evidence tool)
Alright the entire budget: - Preferred Brand (I'm including the 5 main parts as I have the rest & I'll just declare it as $0)
PSU: $50 - Cougar but doesn't really matter
MotherBoard: $90 - MSI
RAM: $80 - G.Skill
CPU: Unsure yet - AMD
VCard: Unsure yet - EVGA
Total To use: Anywhere between $500-$600
Overclock: Probably
SLI or Crossfire: Not this time
Usage: Gaming, Hosting, Movie watching, internet & school work

 

[azeem40]

For PSU, preferred brand won't be good, because the only PSUs worth considering are:
XFX
Seasonic
Corsair TX/HX
CM Silent Pro
Rosewill Capstone
Antec EA

 

[kajabla]

Also OCZ, Thortech and Ultra, at the high end, and I've heard a lot of people knock Cooler Master. Never seen evidence, but I've heard it.
The RAM should be ~$45 for an 8gb 1600mhz set.

 

[mmkmmk3]

For PSU, preferred brand won't be good, because the only PSUs worth considering are:
XFX
Seasonic
Corsair TX/HX
CM Silent Pro
Rosewill Capstone
Antec EA

My current selection(haven't bought) is a raidmax, 630W max 520-540W Continuous

Also OCZ, Thortech and Ultra, at the high end, and I've heard a lot of people knock Cooler Master. Never seen evidence, but I've heard it.
The RAM should be ~$45 for an 8gb 1600mhz set.

The RAM I'm going to buy is the new G.Skill Ares 1333 (10666) 2X4Gb & two of those.... but I might pay the extra $5 for the 1600 Models so $90 instead of $80, but with my MSI motherboard I would have to Overclock my RAM just to get the 1600 out of it