Advice on the best lower end card for my first ever pc build

[smudge14]

Hey guys! I am building my first PC and was told this was the best place to come to for advice. I am going to get an Intel I3 but will need a GPU to pair with it.

I am building a low price PC as I cant afford a high end one at the moment. I am trying to build something that can run modern games and can still handle future games even if at medium - low settings. My main focus in games, for the most part is RTS and MMO's so not the most taxing games.

I wouldn't want to spend more then £150 on a card, so I am really looking for the best value for money card available. I am currently considering an Asus HD 7850 I was wondering what you guys thought of this card? Or if you could suggest something better.

Thanks for your help!

 

[hang-the-9]

Take a look here http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

Pick one in you price range. You may want to see how much more an i5 is, it's a better CPU for gaming. Depending on what resolution and quality settings you want to play on, I'd even take a bit from the video card money and add it to the CPU.

 

[smudge14]

Thanks for that, ive read a lot of reviews about various cards, including that one but I was hoping someone may have some personal experience with this card/alternatives.

 

[jimbopops]

100% agree with hang-the-9 try and get a (personally) i5 2500k and maybe downgrade but certainly not compromising the performace to a 6870?

i5=$210=£131
6870=$180=£112

 

[JackNaylorPE]

At your price point ( £150 = $239), I'd get the 660

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-gtx-650-benchmark,3297-24.html

Nvidia's new retail GeForce GTX 660 delivers impressive performance for $230, and it easily outperforms the $210 Radeon HD 7850, falling just shy of the $260 Radeon HD 7870.

£138 w/o VAT
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-gtx-660-twin-frozr-iii-oc-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-1033mhz-boost-1098mhz-cores-9

 

[Deemo13]

I would second the 7850 personally.

Which power supply are you using btw? I prefer to be sure people are using proper power supplies.

 

[smudge14]

I actually ended up getting an MSI version http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-radeon-hd-7850-twin-frozr-iii-oc-4800mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-900mhz-hdmi-mdp

And with the money I saved getting the MSI one I picked up this PSU http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500w-corsair-builder-series-cx-cp-9020047-uk-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-psu


Does that seem better?

 

[Deemo13]

Good power supply. Nice quality.

 

[smudge14]

Is 500w enough for an i3 and that card? I thought it was but someone suggested it might not be.

 

[Deemo13]

Well, it depends on the quality of the 500W.