Best nVidia for $200

[ratsa]

Hello,

What is the best nVidia card for $200? Looking for CUDA performance and memory bandwidth for CUDA accelerated applications. (Upgrading from GT 240 DDR5)

Thanks!

 

[Mousemonkey]

Haven't you asked this before?
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/351890-33-upgrade-nvidia

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/355058-33-worthy-upgrade

 

[ratsa]

Haven't you asked this before?
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/351890-33-upgrade-nvidia

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/355058-33-worthy-upgrade

That was when I had a 350 watt power supply and was looking for low-power consumption.

I still have that computer, but I've built a new machine with a Seasonic Gold 750W, so I have no power limitations in the new machine.

Btw, I added my system to my sig but it's not showing up.

 

[vmem]

well, without power limitations, this is an easy question, gtx480 all the way!!!

 

[tougas]

gtx 560ti made by asus its a little over the $200 but after the rebates its only $209.99

 

[vmem]

gtx 560ti made by asus its a little over the $200 but after the rebates its only $209.99

and the 480 runs faster for cheaper... performance wise, the gtx480 will beat any card, Nvidia or AMD below $240 barring any special deals.

 

[dudewitbow]

the 480 will be the best card at 200$

 

[fantastik250]

GTX 480, just make sure you have sufficient cooling and airflow.

 

[ratsa]

Guys, good suggestion! The GTX 480 is such a clear choice for $200. I am very close to pulling the trigger.

Just so I know, what would be the next step up in the nVidia line? GTX 560 Ti with 448 cores, GTX 570, GTX 670 or GTX 580?

For cooling, I have a 1200rpm 120mm fan blowing air out the back, and two 1200rpm fans bringing air in through the front (over two HDDs and an SDD). The CPU is a 2600K running at stock speed with a stock fan. The exhaust air generally feels pretty cool.

Does that sound like sufficient cooling? I also have the option of adding a 140mm exhaust fan at the top. This is the case: Lian Li PC-9F http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112304&Tpk=lian%20li%20pc-9f

ps: my existing GT 240 runs at 70C under load.

 

[panwala95]

gtx 480 for sure
just keep an eye open for high temps !
good luck with the card

 

[fantastik250]

Guys, good suggestion! The GTX 480 is such a clear choice for $200. I am very close to pulling the trigger.

Just so I know, what would be the next step up in the nVidia line? GTX 560 Ti with 448 cores, GTX 570, GTX 670 or GTX 580?

For cooling, I have a 1200rpm 120mm fan blowing air out the back, and two 1200rpm fans bringing air in through the front (over two HDDs and an SDD). The CPU is a 2600K running at stock speed with a stock fan. The exhaust air generally feels pretty cool.

Does that sound like sufficient cooling? I also have the option of adding a 140mm exhaust fan at the top. This is the case: Lian Li PC-9F http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112304&Tpk=lian%20li%20pc-9f

ps: my existing GT 240 runs at 70C under load.

The next step up from Nvidia would be a GTX 580 or GTX 670. The GTX 570 has roughly the same performance as the GTX 480.

 

[vmem]

The next step up from Nvidia would be a GTX 580 or GTX 670. The GTX 570 has roughly the same performance as the GTX 480.

I agree completely. however, the gtx580 has been discontinued, and it's very hard to find one at a reasonable price. thus, the next step up in noticable performance would be a 670 at double the price

 

[ratsa]

Can you take a guess as to whether my case has sufficient airflow with or without the extra 240mm fan?

Btw: I heard that some cards blow air out the back, so the case doesn't matter as much (or at all?). Is this true? How can you tell if a card is like that?

 

[fantastik250]

240mm fan will definitely move air. Doing some cable management so that no cords are blocking fans and that air is flowing freely will also help a lot.

Usually reference cards (original cards, with no special cooler or heatsink) blows air towards the back of the case. Other customized such as ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, usually has air blowing into the case. So, overall if you have a card that has a custom (non-reference design), you may want to consider having a case that moves air sufficiently in and out of the case (usually people refer to this as a push-pull effect).

 

[ratsa]

This is the only GTX480 I am aware of for sale. Does it blow air out the back or into the case? Which way is better, anyhow?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130759

I figured adding another fan would improve airflow, does it seem necessary?

I have done my best at cable management. The cables that give me the most trouble are SATA cables and the thick USB3 cable to the front of the case. Can't find a good way to route them.

 

[fantastik250]

Yes, that is the reference (original design). It will blow air to the back of the case. This card definitely needs cool air within the case so that it can pull cool air into the GPU.

So another fan is necessary because you need air going into the case, if possible.

It's situational on whether you need air blown back of the card or within the case. Usually if you don't have that much of fans or air blowing into the case, then a card blowing back of the case is okay. An advantage of cards blowing back to the back of case is that it won't get hot inside the case. But, if you have a case, like antec 900 where the are fans in the front, back, and top, then a non-reference (not original) card would benefit because of all that extra airflow.

 

[ratsa]

My case has a nearly identical fan configuration as the Antec 900, except the (optional) top fan is 140mm. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112304&Tpk=lian%20li%20pc-9f

 

[fantastik250]

That's good, as long as the card gets cool air, your good