Need help choosing a GPU

[wbt50]

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT:Gaming - Mostly BF3 at the moment, also looking to be playing Far Cry 3, Arma 3, Rome Total War 2 over next year.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: This is going towards a new build, I will be getting a Corsair Professional 750W PSU.

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Going with the Asus P8Z77 - V, 8GB or 16GB of RAM and my case will be the NZXT Phantom(The Full Tower)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:I Live in the UK but don't mind if you use other sites for references.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Don't mind at all

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe in the future
SLI OR CROSSFIRE:Maybe in the future

MONITOR RESOLUTION:1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I want a good value card with a decent future value

Thanks for any help

 

[swifty_morgan]

gtx670

 

[rene13cross]

I would recommend a Radeon 7950 because I own 2, and they both OC like crazy and are just plain awesome!

 

[bigcyco1]

gtx670

+1

 

[bigcyco1]

This http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/amazonuk/asus-video-card-gtx670dc2t2gd5

 

[wbt50]

Oops, sorry I forgot to say that my budget is around £250 to £300 max

 

[swifty_morgan]

what's that in American money ?

 

[JamesSneed]

That is $400-$480. Do note the OP will likely pay a higher price due to taxes and tariffs so probably want to stay on lower end of that if you looking at say newegg etc.

 

[bigcyco1]

http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/scancouk/msi-video-card-r7870hawk The MSI Radeon HD 7870 HAWK is the MSI Lightning's smaller brother. It uses the company's signature Twin Frozr II dual-fan cooler. MSI has also increased the clock speeds of the HD 7870 HAWK to 1100 MHz GPU and 1200 MHz memory.

 

[wbt50]

At the moment I'm looking at the 7950 and gtx670. What are the main difference between both ?

 

[swifty_morgan]

670's faster and gives you physx.

 

[bigcyco1]

670's faster and gives you physx.

+1

 

[williamjuly2003]

7970 and 670 trade blows in different games calling 1 faster is hardly correct!

The OP said he wanted Far Cry 3 so you should go for 7970 they have a deal right now that you get

FarCry3
HitMan
Sleeping Dogs

for free with purchase of your 7970 also with AMD new drivers 7970 has vsastly improved FPS on BF3.

 

[swifty_morgan]

personally I wouldn't pass up being able to take advantage of nvidia physx.......

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_660_hawk_review,1.html

 

[williamjuly2003]

personally I wouldn't pass up being able to take advantage of nvidia physx.......

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_660_hawk_review,1.html

Physx is a gimmick I think so far only 1 game this year supports it which is Borderlands 2. No reason to go out of your way for something that isn't really supported.

 

[bigcyco1]

Geforce:
CUDA
PhysX, TXAA, FXAA, ADap. Vsync
3D Surround

Radeon:
Eyefinity
APP
AMD3D


AMD press release just say PhysX will die.I highly doubt it either way isn't a big consideration but to me it's like sprinkles on an ice cream cone....if it's available in a game, I want it. It's supported in lots of great games http://www.geforce.com/games-applications/physx physx is NO gimmick. My personal experience is that Adaptive VSync makes my gaming experience smooth as silk. I don't use it on all my games, but it is nice to know that the option is there and that it works very well when needed. HardOCP, who did a full review on adaptive vsync, was impressed with it:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/04/16/nvidia_adaptive_vsync_technology_review/3

My 670 kick ass MSI's GTX 670 Power Edition uses the famous Twin Frozr IV cooler from the MSI Lightning and comes with a large clock speed boost out of the box, making its default clock speed even higher than GTX 680 stock clocks. MSI is asking $389.99 $369.99 after rebate for their card, which doesn't look unreasonable, given the improved cooling and higher clocks.My cards are solid and relatively consistent 15-20% faster then my sons 7950 which is also a great card overclocks decent i bought him Sapphire's HD 7950 Vapor-X comes with a large dual-fan cooler that uses the company's famous vapor-chamber technology. On the Vapor-X you will also find a "Lethal Boost" button which switches to a second BIOS with higher clock speeds. With this BIOS, clocks are increased to 950 MHz GPU and 1250 MHz memory.I would look at benchmarks and decide but both are great cards really and you couldn't go wrong either way

 

[swifty_morgan]

Physx is a gimmick I think so far only 1 game this year supports it which is Borderlands 2. No reason to go out of your way for something that isn't really supported.

sorry but physx isn't a gimmick. it does enhance game play. there are lots of games that do support it and makes those games more appealing to the eyes. don't care if only 1 game ( i doubt that ) does support it this year....... I think about the games I have that use it and how often i run those games. and I do play games over and over. just loaded on of the painkiller games because of all the hype with the remake........... heck of a lot better than COD, MOH and BF games put together and the SP lasts a helluva lot longer.... ( yeah, I know it's not a physx game ) .. just sayin'.............

 

[wbt50]

Is there any gtx 670 avaliable for around £270 ?

 

[bigcyco1]

no not really only reference ones i wouldn't buy one of those your looking at £290.00 for a good one

 

[wbt50]

I've seen good 7950 for around £250. Is it worth spending the extra £40 for a gtx 670 over the 7950 ?

 

[bigcyco1]

Imo yes it is but only you can decide that

 

[witcherx]

Both of these cards trade blows depends on what you wish to get....
Neither cards are going to disappoint you. They are both going to be awesome, and great performers.

the Higher Vram+bandwidth of 7950 + free goodies is really a good offer...

 

[swifty_morgan]

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/vga_charts_summer_2012,1.html

 

[wbt50]

Thanks for all the help guys, I guess I'll be going with a gtx 670, any links for a good card under £300 ?

 

[bigcyco1]

Cheapest good one i found

http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/scancouk/msi-video-card-n670pe2gd5oc

Professional reviews with benchmarks if your interested
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/56546-msi-gtx-670-power-edition-oc-review.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-670-power-edition-oc-review/
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4779/msi_geforce_gtx_670_power_edition_2gb_overclocked_video_card_review/index.html