GPU Advice

[zecele]

Currently i have a Powercolor HD 6850

Im looking for an upgrade between £0 - £160.

Preferably Nvidia but i dont mind AMD.

Thanks for your help

SPECS:

Powercolor HD 6850
Seagate 500GB HDD
AMD X4 965 BE
Coolermaster Elite PSU 550W

 

[jessterman21]

Keep an eye out for a deal on a GTX 660, and don't settle for less.

 

[zecele]

What about any of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-NVIDIA-GTX650Ti-PCI-E-Graphics/dp/B009KFT1ZG/ref=sr_1_12?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1356188924&sr=1-12

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11200-07-20G-Graphics-HD7850-GDDR5/dp/B008HV63NM/ref=sr_1_13?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1356188924&sr=1-13

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PNY-Geforce-NVIDIA-Graphics-PCI-Ex16/dp/B009ANT09U/ref=sr_1_16?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1356189051&sr=1-16

 

[Sumukh_Bhagat]

GTX 660 is the best among them.

 

[jessterman21]

GTX 660 is the best among them.

+1

Nice sig - are you a frametime convert, too?

 

[sam_p_lay]

GTX 660 is the best among them.

+2

And +1 on the signature too

 

[jemm]

Get the GTX 660 Ti, which is better than the GTX 660.

If you can´t get GTX 660 Ti, then go with an Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB, which is better than the GTX 660.

SAPPHIRE 100354OCL Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202010

 

[lakyberry]

HD 7870

 

[sam_p_lay]

GTX660 Ti and 7870 are above the OP's budget. He does clearly state £160 or less. I'd personally take a GTX660 over a 7870 anyway regardless of cost.

 

[Commandermadi]

GTX660 Ti and 7870 are above the OP's budget. He does clearly state £160 or less. I'd personally take a GTX660 over a 7870 anyway regardless of cost.

+1 to that. The 660 is better than the 7870 in most of games.

http://www.techspot.com/review/572-nvidia-geforce-gtx-660/page4.html

 

[jemm]

@ sam_p_lay

There is this £162.94 Inc VAT XFX Radeon HD 7870 Core Edition 2GB, which is within the OP budget http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-xfx-radeon-hd-7870-core-edition-4800mhz-gddr5-28nm-gpu-1000mhz-1280-cores-dl-dvi-hdmi-mdp-plus-4

@ Commandermadi

The 660 is not better than the HD 7870 in BF3 -- it depends on the review -- here it is one where the HD 7870 is better than GTX 660, in BF3 http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/09/13/nvidia-geforce-gtx-660-2gb-review/5

See below an HD 7870 Vs GTX 660Ti (Not the GTX 660)

HD 7870 -Vs- GTX 660Ti Crysis 2 1920x1080 Side By Side http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFKKXTR_JoA&feature=plcp

HD 7870 -Vs- GTX 660Ti Battlefield 3 1920x1080 Side By Side http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WqMKKtuuMk&feature=plcp

In 3DMark 2011 the HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB is better than the GTX 660Ti! http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1427/pg5/amd-radeon-hd-7870-and-radeon-hd-7850-graphics-cards-review-3dmark-11.html

GeForce GTX 660 vs Radeon HD 7870 http://www.hwcompare.com/13302/geforce-gtx-660-vs-radeon-hd-7870/

According to Bit-Tech GTX 660 is better than HD 7850, but not the HD 7870 http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/09/13/nvidia-geforce-gtx-660-2gb-review/11 http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/09/13/nvidia-geforce-gtx-660-2gb-review/11

Anyway, the OP can get the HD 7870 or the GTX 660, as both are really good graphic cards, within the budget!

 

[sam_p_lay]

jemm, that's a hell of a deal - never seen a 7870 so cheap. As I say though, I'd take the GTX660 anyway. According to:

http://www.techspot.com/review/603-best-graphics-cards/page12.html

7870 delivers 5% better framerate than the GTX660. However that's with Catalyst 12.11, but nVidia's old drivers, giving the Radeons a slight edge. I expect 7870 will still have the edge even compared with new nVidia drivers, but then you're talking less than 5%. Even at 5%, it's the difference between 30fps and 31.5fps. With a level playing field (interms of drivers), even less difference.

Reasons I'd sacrifice that <5% for the same money are the benefits of reduced frame latency (so more consistently high delivery of framerates rather than up/down inconsistent performance that just averages out to a good framerate), adaptive v-sync (for significantly higher and totally unrestricted sub-60 framerates when v-sync is used) and PhysX.

I know, PhysX isn't used in loads of games (21 games since 2008), but it's in some major titles now (like Batman Arkham City, Borderlands 2, Metro 2033 or Bulletstorm) and I wouldn't be surprised to see it a lot more next year. And before you say that you can't tell the difference, take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAfzjTAhpBk&feature=player_embedded

Pretty cool no?

 

[Sumukh_Bhagat]

jemm, that's a hell of a deal - never seen a 7870 so cheap. As I say though, I'd take the GTX660 anyway. According to:

http://www.techspot.com/review/603-best-graphics-cards/page12.html

7870 delivers 5% better framerate than the GTX660. However that's with Catalyst 12.11, but nVidia's old drivers, giving the Radeons a slight edge. I expect 7870 will still have the edge even compared with new nVidia drivers, but then you're talking less than 5%. Even at 5%, it's the difference between 30fps and 31.5fps. With a level playing field (interms of drivers), even less difference.

Reasons I'd sacrifice that <5% for the same money are the benefits of reduced frame latency (so more consistently high delivery of framerates rather than up/down inconsistent performance that just averages out to a good framerate), adaptive v-sync (for significantly higher and totally unrestricted sub-60 framerates when v-sync is used) and PhysX.

I know, PhysX isn't used in loads of games (21 games since 2008), but it's in some major titles now (like Batman Arkham City, Borderlands 2, Metro 2033 or Bulletstorm) and I wouldn't be surprised to see it a lot more next year. And before you say that you can't tell the difference, take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAfzjTAhpBk&feature=player_embedded

Pretty cool no?

+1
Thats why I have a GTX 660 in my rig.

 

[jemm]

As we saw, there are different opinions, reviews, and results while benchmarking the HD 7870 and the GTX 660, depend on the source.

Each community has its own opinion and preferences -- here at Tom´s it seems that the editors would go with HD 7870.

"The Radeon HD 7870 sets a new standard for what we expect from a sub-£200 GPU. With performance kissing the heels of AMD's own Radeon HD 7950 and the GeForce GTX 660 Ti, this card represents one of the best enthusiast-oriented values we've seen. A recent price drop makes it hard to recommend those more expensive cards because the extra speed they offer is relatively minor compared to what you'd need to pay for them." http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32586-4.html

AMD Radeon HD 7870 Review http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/radeon-hd-7870-review-benchmark,review-32392.html

The final decision goes to the OP!

 

[sam_p_lay]

Indeed, I think most sites would recommend the 7950 of those two based purely frames/second. Reason that Tech Report's recommendation is so different is that they're not testing frames/second (well actually they do, but they're testing something much more important alongside it).

Frame latency benching is a new way of testing performance, to more accurately represent the 'smoothness' delivered by a card. Frames/second is a crude, oversimplified measure of performance that doesn't tell the whole story. It gives a rough idea, but smooths out major dips and spikes in framerate. Performance on the GTX660 Ti (and it's more than likely this extends to the adjacent models from nVidia since it was likely a driver update that did this) was far more consistent and not up/down. We'll be seeing a lot more frame latency benchmarking moving forward, including from Tom's.

The conclusion:
"A moral victory in the borderline-meaningless FPS sweeps doesn't overcome the fact that the Radeon HD 7950 has a persistent problem with high-latency frames across a range of test scenarios based on the latest games... If you just want bragging rights, by all means, choose the Radeon HD 7950. If you're looking for the friction-free fluidity that only comes from consistently quick frame delivery, though, our recommendation remains the GeForce GTX 660 Ti."

EDIT: Although I've made it clear anyway, just want to double clarify that I'm aware the OP isn't looking at a 7950 or GTX660Ti, but that these GPUs are just one model up and the consistency/inconsistency findings likely apply, since the models are architecturally very similar.

 

[zecele]

Can you get a GTX 660 Ti for around £200?

 

[sam_p_lay]

I doubt it, but you could have a look on Scan, Dabs, Ebuyer, Novatech and Aria. You're probably looking at £220 though, unless there are some good sales prices now. For £160, I'd stick with a GTX660.

 

[jemm]

As far as I know UK is on SALE now!

 

[zecele]

Well i have increased my budget to £200 so if anyone has any more suggestions i would greatly appreciate it.

 

[sam_p_lay]

Well like jemm says, it is sale season. I know Ebuyer's sale has just started, though their site was down when I tried to get on it earlier. Grab a GTX660 Ti if you can. If not, GTX660 is 90% as fast anyway - you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

EDIT: Dabs sale is on too.

 

[zecele]

Whats the best brand to buy. ASUS and MSI both have really good rep and the GTX660 they have on ebuyer looks really nice.

 

[zecele]

http://www.ebuyer.com/396967-gigabyte-gv-n660oc-2gd-660-gv-n660oc-2gd

http://www.ebuyer.com/397601-asus-gtx-660-directcu-ii-2gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-gtx660-dc2o-2gd5

These are the cheapest and most expensive GTX660s whats the difference?

 

[sam_p_lay]

Those aren't the best prices:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-gtx-660-oc-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-1006mhz-boost-1072mhz-cores-960-dport-dl-dvi

Grab an MSI - they're excellent.

 

[jemm]

I think you have to make a choice now -- you are the one who is going to decide which one to pick!

If I was in your situation I´d go for sure with MSI Overclocked Radeon HD 7870 AMD 2GB http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-radeon-hd-7870-overclocked-28nm-4800mhz-gddr5-gpu-1050mhz-1280-cores-dl-dvi-i-hdmi-mdp

 

[zecele]

I think you have to make a choice now -- you are the one who is going to decide which one to pick!

If I was in your situation I´d go for sure with MSI Overclocked Radeon HD 7870 AMD 2GB http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-radeon-hd-7870-overclocked-28nm-4800mhz-gddr5-gpu-1050mhz-1280-cores-dl-dvi-i-hdmi-mdp

I have a lot of bad experiences with AMD i know overall it is probably better than the GTX 660 but it seems nowadays that games are more optimised for Nvidia Cards plus Nvidia seem to have better driver support.