EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti good starter card?

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Guest

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Hey guys
Im here to ask the un-ending pool of knowledge on this forum if, the EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti is a good card for a first time builder to use, my PSU has 4 molex so the power isnt a concern (although my case has 3 fans that need molex, the rear case and two on the sides so ill just connect the one on the other side of the case so i dont have to disconnect it every time i open it) so no problems on that front. i just want to know how good of a card for gaming this is
I mainly play TF2, Torchlight, and Gmod but my laptop can only run gmod and torchlight, TF2 lags. But i really want to play GTAV and Planetside2 when they come out, i understand this is probably not possible, but this is all i can afford in my budget
(And before you ask my CPU is a Intel Core i3-2120 so i dont think it will bottleneck, and my mobo is a Gigabyte Z68P-DS3. I'm planning on OCing once I get an aftermarket heat sink)
http://www.dabs.ie/products/evga-geforce-gtx-550-ti-951mhz-1gb-pci-express-hdmi-superclocked--claim-mafia-ii--7TN9.html
 
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Guest

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im buying off dabs because postage and packaging has become a hindrance, and dont forget the euros to pound conversion in those cards too. And I can get either of them as ive already pushed my budget to the limit, im intending to upgrade in 2013-14 anyway once i get a job (im only 15, 16 in sep so)
 
Gothams Finest

Gothams Finest

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It is "reasonable".
460 costs more, and is the rubbish 192-Bit version.

Better than both:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-xfx-hd-6870-double-d-cooling-4200mhz-gddr5-gpu-900mhz-1120-stream-processors-2x-dvi-hdmi-2x-mini
Click to expand...

The 6870 also costs more :heink:

@ OP - The 6870 would also be a good card to think about, I was going to recommend it myself.

 
Gothams Finest

Gothams Finest

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im buying off dabs because postage and packaging has become a hindrance, and dont forget the euros to pound conversion in those cards too. And I can get either of them as ive already pushed my budget to the limit, im intending to upgrade in 2013-14 anyway once i get a job (im only 15, 16 in sep so)
Click to expand...

If thats all you can afford then go for it.
 
Gothams Finest

Gothams Finest

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I see, well from your previous post it looked like you where saying a GTX 460 is more expensive than a 550Ti therefore it is a bad recommendation, evan though you had recommended the 6870 which is evan more expensive.
 
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Guest

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I just want to know, for my budget, is the GTX550TI a good card, there are alot more GTX550's that are cheaper but i think this is one of the best
 
V

voodooking

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As a 550 owner I can tell you that it is worth saving your money and getting one that is better. I am dissappointed with mine because it is just not powerful enough.
 
Gothams Finest

Gothams Finest

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Good advice
 
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Guest

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I don't have any money too save, its either the EVGA or something worse, im a 15year old with no income, the best I can afford is this. I was just inquiring if thers any card that are cheaper and better, or if this card will handle basic gaming (im not going dual monitors and its not gunna be at high res either) These are the specs
(ignore the small little doodads like internet and mouse and such) TP LINK 150Mbps Wireless N PCI Adapter

Zalman Z11 Plus High Performance Mid Tower Case

Samsung SH-S223 22x DVD-RW SATA OEM (Black)

Samsung 750GB Spinpoint M8 SATA 3 Gb/s 2.5" 5400RPM 8MB 9.5mm

Gigabyte Z68P-DS3 S1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX

Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz LGA1155 3MB

Gigabyte M6880 Laser Mouse

Corsair Memory 4GB (1x4GB) Vengeance Performance DDR3 1600MHz CL9

Corsair Memory 600W Builder Series CX V2 ATX PSU

EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 951MHz 1GB PCI-Express HDMI SuperClocked
 
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
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I recently tested a HD7750. That card is weaker than a GTX550Ti. I can tell you that it plays older games at 1920x1080 just fine, and newer ones with lowered settings. Considering how good modern games look on only "Medium" settings, I can assure you that you will not "suffer" if all you can afford right now is a GTX550Ti.
As to the rest of your build:
Zalman Z11 Plus High Performance Mid Tower Case
- Appears to be a nice case, but on a budget, you might be able to step down a little and still get something decent.

Samsung SH-S223 22x DVD-RW SATA OEM (Black)
- One optical drive is much like another

Samsung 750GB Spinpoint M8 SATA 3 Gb/s 2.5" 5400RPM 8MB 9.5mm
- This is the FIRST place to spend more money on this build. Look for a 7200RPM drive; this one will be slow, and you'll feel that every day. Get something smaller too, especially if it lets you spend more on something else. Drive space is one of the easiest things to add later.

Gigabyte Z68P-DS3 S1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX
- Now this is the first place to cut back. With an i3, you don't need to be concerned about overclocking features. A H67 board will be sufficient. Look for one with USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s. The latter will get the most benefit from a SSD if you ever get one, and the former will make using an external drive for backup a reasonable proposition.

Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz LGA1155 3MB
- Fine.

Gigabyte M6880 Laser Mouse
- Fine. I like Logitech mice like the LX3 with a tilt wheel, but this one looks reasonable and not expensive.

Corsair Memory 4GB (1x4GB) Vengeance Performance DDR3 1600MHz CL9
- Unless you are planning to get another stick as an almost immediate upgrade, get 2x2GB or 2x4GB so you can operate in dual-channel mode. It's not a huge difference, but it's there.

Corsair Memory 600W Builder Series CX V2 ATX PSU
- Fine; glad to see you're not getting cheap junk. Your build may not use 300W running flat out, so feel free to drop this back to the 500W model if it saves enough money. That will still leave enough capacity for a graphics card upgrade in the future, should you want it.
===================
Anyway, my $0.02.
 
G

Guest

Guest
http://www.dabs.ie/ - I've €125 or less to play with now (i could probably shave off a couple of euro here or there but the components i have now i really dont want to change) so if you would like to help me use http://www.dabs.ie/ and fine a graphics card that you think is the best bang for my buck,
thanks

EDIT: im actually looking at the Sapphire Radeon 7770 for €137 (i can afford it just about) http://www.dabs.ie/products/sapphire-technology-ati-radeon-7770-hd-1120mhz-1gb-pci-express-3-0-hdmi--oc-7YHP.html
 
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
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If the Z68 board was cheaper than the H67 but has USB3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s, then go ahead and get it; I would have thought H67 would be the cheaper of the two.
A HD7770 would be a nicer card than the GTX550Ti.
 
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Guest

Guest
It has neither of those things, so ill fork out the extra for the H67, and in terms of performance, how much better is the HD7770 then the 550TI? thanks
 
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Guest

Guest
the 6870 is €152, the 7770 is €137 and the 550Ti is €117. i think the 6870 is just out of reach, unless I lower the price somehow. the PC costs €620, excluding windows and monitor (i think my sister can get a student edition of windows and i will just get a simple monitor till i can afford a monitor with a HDMI port)
 
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
12
89,965
You don't need a HDMI port; DVI will do just fine.
The HD6850 is similar to the HD7770, maybe slightly ahead in more things, although I can't but think that driver optimizations for the new card might alter that. It should also be cheaper than the HD6870.
 
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Guest

Guest
So stay with the 7770, its also the HD7770 factory OC. The HD6850 is the same price as the 6870, I think i will stick with the 7770 for the time being, maybe even use crossfire later on... or buy a much better card entirely. I will see, I want to build a gaming rig but i think starting with this card is the best choice for my budget.
The power is no concern, ive a 500W, and im using the 'P67' and a 'i3' CPU
 
G

Guest

Guest
Off topic- is an AMD CPU really that bad? atleast for gaming? I'm going intel anyway, i love intel but just wondering.

On topic - okay, HD7770 it is, should be a good pc anyway:)
 
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