Need some advice on a GPU

[AGFL305]

My current specs:
AMD Phenom II X4 965
Asus M4A78T-E
GeIL EVO CORSA 16 GB 1600
Res 1366 x 768
budget = $200

 

[holykalo]

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1241686&CatId=7005 here, this GPU more than fits your budget, and can handle almost any game out there on ultra settings. This is about 50$ under your budget, so I'm sure you could find a 2gb card for under 200$.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=628&Itemid=72

What country do you live in? I could help you find a suitable model that fits your price range.

 

[AGFL305]

$20 over my budget is it worth it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150563

edit. im in the US, FL

 

[kelthic]

I honestly do not see a reason for the 2GB card if you are gaming at 1366x768. The cards with higher VRAM are generally for high resolutions or eyefinity setup where they need more.

I would get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127545 if i were you. This card is much quieter, much cooler, and can be overclocked with MSI Afterburner.

 

[holykalo]

Thats about as cheap as you could get a 2gb, and its exactly 199 with the rebate. You do of course have more choices than just that. For roughly the same price you could get a 560ti 1gb, which has much higher peformance than the 6870. 1gb would only sacrifice performance when playing memory intensive games (like bf3 or AvP). Its up to you. A 560ti is equivalent to an AMD 6950, and since you have alot of RAM, your 560ti could utilise shared video memory during applications that require more than 1gb. (It is slightly slower as it is ddr3 Ram vs ddr5 vram)

Heres the 560ti: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2148471&CatId=3669

Edit: http://www.hwcompare.com/8890/geforce-gtx-560-ti-vs-radeon-hd-6870/
This benchmark compares theoretical and benchmarked power. The games are slightly outdated, but do display the rough performance difference between the 2

 

[holykalo]

I honestly do not see a reason for the 2GB card if you are gaming at 1366x768. The cards with higher VRAM are generally for high resolutions or eyefinity setup where they need more.

I would get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127545 if i were you. This card is much quieter, much cooler, and can be overclocked with MSI Afterburner.

I should have read that he was playing on a 720 monitor, thanks for the fix

 

[kelthic]

I should have read that he was playing on a 720 monitor, thanks for the fix

np, i hope you'd do the same for me

 

[holykalo]

The card kelthic posted is also very good. Twin frozr 2 cards are exceptionally quiet, extremely cool, and as a result, extremely overclockable. Overclocked, this card could match a 560ti, but then again the 560ti can match a 570 when overclocked. Its all based on your preferences, (it has been determined that 2gb is not needed on a 720p monitor) If you prefer your machine very cool and quiet as a mouse, the twin frozr would be perfect, and the performance decrease from a 560ti would be minimal, or non-existent when overclocked. The 560ti is also an extremely overclockable card, and has higher stock performance than the 6870. Sadly, it cannot match the twin frozr in the aspect of minimizing sound, or keeping up to 20 degrees (celsius) cooler than other cards. Now my friend, I leave it up to you

 

[AGFL305]

thx for the help guys but just to clarify. going 1gb or 2gb wont really affect with my res? even on games like BF3?

 

[kelthic]

thx for the help guys but just to clarify. going 1gb or 2gb wont really affect with my res? even on games like BF3

Unless you buy a much larger resolution monitor or have a 3 monitor setup, it's really not likely you will need 2GB of VRAM.

 

[AGFL305]

what about taking the risk and getting something like this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130745

 

[holykalo]

what about taking the risk and getting something like this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130745

That is a great card, I recently got a super deal on a 560ti twin frozr 2, only 210$, I'm going to see if I can find it for him

 

[holykalo]

thx for the help guys but just to clarify. going 1gb or 2gb wont really affect with my res? even on games like BF3?

With a 720p monitor, you will see no performance decrease.
For the sake of the argument, lets say something does demand more than 1 gb at 720 resolution, What would happen then? Since you have no shortage of RAM, the card would begin to utilise shared video memory; It begins add on to your 1 gig of video memory, by using up some of your RAM. This will not be as fast as the 2gb card, but the performance decrease is minimal. Again, nothing will use more than 1gb at 720, I'm just trying to dAmpen your fears

 

[photonboy]

Get an HD6870 or GTX560Ti.
The GTX560Ti is a slightly better card but it's also more expensive.

1TB is all you need.

 

[AGFL305]

Best answer selected by AGFL305.

 

[AGFL305]

With a 720p monitor, you will see no performance decrease.
For the sake of the argument, lets say something does demand more than 1 gb at 720 resolution, What would happen then? Since you have no shortage of RAM, the card would begin to utilise shared video memory; It begins add on to your 1 gig of video memory, by using up some of your RAM. This will not be as fast as the 2gb card, but the performance decrease is minimal. Again, nothing will use more than 1gb at 720, I'm just trying to dAmpen your fears

lol thx. i think ive decided to go with a 560ti.. now just trying to find the best possible deal.. its out there.

 

[photonboy]

With a 720p monitor, you will see no performance decrease.
For the sake of the argument, lets say something does demand more than 1 gb at 720 resolution, What would happen then? Since you have no shortage of RAM, the card would begin to utilise shared video memory; It begins add on to your 1 gig of video memory, by using up some of your RAM. This will not be as fast as the 2gb card, but the performance decrease is minimal. Again, nothing will use more than 1gb at 720, I'm just trying to dAmpen your fears

NO. A dedicated graphics card can only use its own Video RAM. Shared memory only exists to save money by pairing an onboard GPU with the addin System RAM rather than installing dedicated VRAM.

1GB vs 2GB
1GB is plenty. It's conceivable a very small number of games would benefit slightly from more than 1GB at 1920x1080 resolutions but not at lower resolutions.

The reason AMD and NVidia recommend 1GB for these cards is because it's the best value. Adding another 1GB costs more and probably less than 5% of the games could show a small benefit. Total War Shogun 2 is a game that might benefit.

GTX680 2GB:
The GTX680 has 2GB of VRAM but it also has a powerful GPU to process the information in its Video Memory. That's another reason why it's hard to benefit from more than 1GB on a GTX560Ti, it's hard for the GPU to process much more than 1GB of VRAM.