Best all round gaming gpu for under $500

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alanburke62

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Well Folks,

I know I have been around here before asking a similar question, but I am setting up some builds or TOP 5's in what I will look for during the sales next month and just want to have all my ducks in a row I guess.

What I am looking for is a TOP 5 in GPU's for gaming for under $500.

well, I have already ear marked this GPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127671 (MSI N680GTX-PM2D2GD5 GeForce GTX 680 2GB) but I am open to better options which I will monitor daily to see who comes up with a good deals between now and December.


I am going to build my first gaming pc, but with nothing out of the ordinary in it. No plan to overclock, until way down the line when parts seem to be failing or just not running the newer games as good as what I wish. Here is a rough idea of what I have earmarked to go it.

i5-3570k (not changing)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Asus P8Z77-V PRO (not changing)
8GB RAM
Samsung 830 Series 256GB
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
Fractal Design Define R4 case
Rosewill Capstone 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V PSU
Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer

I will be only gaming on one monitor 1920 x 1080. I dont care if its a nvidia or amd card, I dont have a preference. I am spending about $500 or less so I dont have to upgrade it for many years and I dont want to run in SLI or Crossfire.

So if anyone has any idea of what would be a good TOP 5 GPU's, I would appreciate it very much. Please keep it in and around the $500 mark. I dont care where I buy it from either.

P.S If I left anything out my apologies!!
 
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gamerkila57

gamerkila57

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the HD 7970 GHz is the best video card for under $500 espeacially after the new AMD CCC 12.11 Drivers

perfrelr.gif
 
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alanburke62

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Thanks very much for the info gameekilla.
But do you think you or anyone else who reads this could give me a top 5 list of GPU's. Its just I will wait and see what one comes out maybe on sale next month and if the deal is good enough, I can jump on it. Oh, could you give me a link (newegg or amazon maybe) to the exact card you are talking about. Just there is a bout 10 different kinds of 7970 :)
Cheers.
 
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bigcyco1

bigcyco1

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#1 ASUS HD 7970 Matrix Platinum 3 GB #2 MSI GeForce GTX 680 Lightning #3ASUS GTX 680 DirectCU II TOP #4 MSI GTX 670 Power Edition OC Review #5 Sapphire HD 7950 Vapor-X 3 GB imo anyway ;)
 
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alanburke62

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Thanks Assassin,

Well my list so far looks like this for my top 5....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127671
MSI N680GTX-PM2D2GD5 GeForce GTX 680 2GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127670
MSI R7970 Lightning Radeon HD 7970 3GB

MSI GTX 680 Lightning
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127693

ASUS GTX 670 DCII Top
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121637

Well I guess a top 4....but I know someone has mentioned a Sapphire 7970, but which one I dont know. Anyone got any info??

Cheers
 
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alanburke62

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Thanks for the list bigcyco.....I got links to them all except the #1 choice. I cant seem to find much on that??? I have 2 links, but different cards....can you give me a link to the one you are talking about?

Cheers
 
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alanburke62

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Mace200200 do you have a link to this specific card, the 7970 one...maybe newegg or amazon or anywhere else??

I defiantly dont have the money for a 690 or 590. I have between maybe $450-$500 max. But if a good sale comes in, maybe one of those more expensive cards will drop below $500!!
 
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mace200200

mace200200

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Indeed those are just reference cards. I don't think there's any 7970 GHz editions out there for much more than $500. Either way I decided to take a quick look and I kind of like this one: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3843790&CatId=28

It's a bit on the cheaper side for a GHz edition but XFX for sure isn't the worse company I see them as middle ground. My friend enjoys his XFX 6950 the only problem is those cards run HOT and he picked up the super cheapest one with only one fan so it's pretty loud.
 
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mace200200

mace200200

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Actually did a bit more looking and I really really like this one: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-DisplayPortx4-SL-DVI-I-R7970-Lightning/dp/B007NG3WQI/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1351308745&sr=8-9&keywords=7970+Ghz

it's more money but if I was going to spend so much on a card I'd want to spend some more money any way. I'm also a big fan of MSI GPU's, I run one, both my friends run MSI's and my brother has an MSI 5450 in his slim line PC. Like I said I like looking at really expensive things I can't afford so I have no experience on this scale.
 
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bigcyco1

bigcyco1

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It supposedly the fastest single card in the world according to techpowerup they claim AMD's HD 7970 and its more powerful brother HD 7970 GHz Edition have been on the market for a while now. MSI has also launched their HD 7970 Lightning in June. Now ASUS has released the HD 7970 Matrix - a card that will directly compete with MSI's HD 7970 Lightning.
ASUS has increased clock speeds to 1100 MHz. That is 50 MHz more than the GHz Edition and higher than any other HD 7970 card, including the MSI Lightning. Memory clock is, with 1650 MHz, also higher than any other AMD card.

The card comes with a powerful triple slot cooling solution and adds many features for hardcore overclockers like support for VGA Hotwire, voltage control, and three buttons for direct GPU voltage control. We also find voltage measuring points and a Turbo-fan button to set fan speed to 100% on the card.

Price-wise, the HD 7970 Matrix comes at $480, which is quite a price increase given AMD's recent price drops for the HD 7970.

my friend ordered one but it still not in stock they told him be two weeks wait anyway here is reviews of it there is more reviews but i think these might be the only ones that would pass creditable http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7970_Matrix/
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/10/16/asus_matrix_hd_7970_platinum_video_card_review/1
http://www.ocaholic.ch/xoops/html/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=901&sel_lang=english
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_7970_review_matrix_platinum_radeon.html
 
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alanburke62

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Right....I think I am nearly done with what I am looking for here. I guess I will go with the GTX680 set up. I'm going with this card as when I look at the games that it does better benchmark wise on over the 7970, there more the style of games I will play or at least it looks that way!! So final question, whats the best 680 card that I can get for around $500 to play on one single monitor 1920 x 1080??
 
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