Best GPU around $200-250

[Bloodyblazin]

Hello,

So I have been reading and researching and haven't come to a conclusion yet on a graphics card for a new computer I am building. I am trying to get the most for the money in the price range listed above, less if fine but I don't want to pay more. The cards I have looked at are the 660, 660 ti, 7850, 7870. My question is related to the comments I keep reading regarding anti-aliasing being poor on the 600 series. Are the 600 series cards really behind the curve when it comes to games that run AA? Right now I am leaning toward a superclocked 660 or a 7870.

Thanks,

 

[Bloodyblazin]

Oops I should look around at the helpful posting guides before I post

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Soon, next week or so

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, mostly mmo like Wow, GW2, and strat games SC2, LoL, etc

POWER SUPPLY: CORSAIR| HX750 750W RT

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
Intel I5-3570k
Antec dark fleet df-85 case


PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: no real preference, but I have usually purchased nvidia in the past

OVERCLOCKING: Yes SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes, eventually

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Concerned about AA and cooling

thanks again

 

[technoholic]

Since AA is your concern, a 7870 Ghz Edition card can be a suitable buy for you. For around 230 bucks, you can pick a Ghz edition 7870 with nice cooler like 1 of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150605

or this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418

newegg has many 7870s like this, with custom cooler solutions from different brands.

A Ghz edition 7870 will perform as good as (or sometimes a little better than) a GTX 660ti. Nvidia's GTX 660ti gets more hit from AA due to its 192bit memory interface. All HD 7870 cards have 256bit memory interface, and these cards i recommended are gigahertz edition cards, which are factory overclocked and they have good coolers (like you asked). Especially with the latest drivers (12.11 beta etc) AMD increased their GPUs' performance a lot. All in all, i do not say that a GTX 660ti is not a good card, i just say that (AFAIK) it is more expensive than the 7870, and i doubt you can find any GTX 660ti for under 250 bucks. They are usually sold for 300$ and upwards.

 

[JJ1217]

Techno, the 660ti is more comparable to a 7950, not a 7870. You would want to compare a standard 660 to a 7870 GHZ. I honestly think the 7870 is superior, higher memory interface, and just nicer overall. A 660 is decent as well of course.

 

[jihtu]

I think you should check out this article released by Tomshardware to specifically answer your question.

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

 

[rene13cross]

^Agreed. Was a bit confused when people were comparing the 7870 to the GTX 660 Ti.

I would also recommend the 7870 seems to be the sweet point for the price you're paying and you have a good bit of OCing headroom.

 

[technoholic]

Techno, the 660ti is more comparable to a 7950, not a 7870. You would want to compare a standard 660 to a 7870 GHZ. I honestly think the 7870 is superior, higher memory interface, and just nicer overall. A 660 is decent as well of course.

660ti is more like a mixed bag. Sometimes as good as a 7950, sometimes similar to a 7870. Honestly i'd pick a 660 over a 660ti but Nvidia, in my opinion screwed up with pricing in the middle segment this generation. 660 (non ti) is much similarly priced to a HD 7870, and 660 ti is too expensive to recommend. So, the best choice remains as the rightly priced 7870

 

[abbadon_34]

100% agree with technoholic and his links. get a 7850 and oc it 7870, or get a 7850. 660 is way behind the curve when it comes to bandwith, memory, and all the thing that "eye candy" things like AA involves. OC it and install the 12.11 drivers (should be final any day now). Nvidia is simple overcharging this series by $50-100 when mail-in rebates are considered. And god forbid you buy a second card....who know maybe Nvidia will incorporate a better RadeonPro like design so their customer can enjoy microstutterless games as well.

 

[Bloodyblazin]

Thanks for all the replies, I actually did read the article that you (@jihtu) posted about the graphics cards which led me to the cards I am currently deciding between. However, I thought I would ask a few more people before I went solely on the word of an article (not to discredit a Tom's Hardware review though, they are my fav).

Also, if the 7870 is the better choice considering the 660 and 660 ti; is it also the better choice to have crossfire 7870 versus sli 660 or 660ti?

For the 7870, I was looking at this Powercolor but I don't know much about the brand...any suggestions or prior experience?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131467

Thanks again for the help.

 

[abbadon_34]

Toms "Best for the Money" are great, but they usually are a little more expensive that real world because they try to be conservative, giving prices that everyone can get. They don't include mail-in rebates or multiple sites, which can make a big difference, but are often temporary. Also some include free games (right now AMD up to 3) which can be hard to value.

Re: Microstutter i.e. muti-card bane, read
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7990-devil13-7970-x2,3329-11.html
page 8-12 to see how each company deal with it, or simply page 11 to see how a thirdy party free utility has effectively eliminated it for AMD

Re: Powercolor is your basic no frills brand, but unless some specific problem is noticed, it doesn't make a difference. I like XFX for the price, warranty, and customer support experience, but I always have ASUS, PowerColor, Saphire, not a big difference other than outputs and the occasional reference board bonus (unlockable)

 

[jaideep1337]

get the 7870. You won't be disappointed. It will play everything on Ultra and the memory bus on it is sufficient too.

 

[Bloodyblazin]

Best answer selected by Bloodyblazin.

 

[Bloodyblazin]

Thanks everyone