Best gaming card on my budget.

[Spartacus394]

Hey guys, I'm looking to save money where I can and right now I'm looking at graphics cards.

I'm fine with spending between $400-$500 on a GPU as long as I can run today's games at High-Ultra settings. Right now I've narrowed it down to a few cards, but I'd like to pinpoint it. I will overclock a little bit at some point, but my plan is to go a month or two at stock speeds until I get a feel for my new rig.Not sure if you need them, but here are the rest of my planned specs.

CPU: i5-3570k
Mobo: ASRock Extreme4
Memory: 8GB
PSU: 750w


First, GTX 670:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127685

Out of the 670s I've narrowed it down to this one. I'm leaning heavily to this one right now. If I get this one there is a very high chance that I will SLI in the future.


Second, GTX 680. I've narrowed it down to 2:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127693

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127698

I know they're both the same, but I'm just not sure which one is worth it. I'm ok with overclocking, so would it be best if I saved $40 and got the cheaper model? Or is there something I'm missing about the other version that I might want like the "Lightning" feature. I only need clarification here, I'm not sure which of the two is worth it. If I get one of these 680s, I might SLI at some point.


Finally, 2 Radeon 7970s:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150586

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150632

Out of all of the cards so far I know that these ones are the best as far as I can see with specs. I'm just not sure which of the two would be a better option. The Black edition, or the GHz edition. I'm still pretty new at reading and comparing specs, so I would just like an extra brain or two on the case with me. If I get one of these I'm not 100% sure if I will do crossfire or not, depends on if I can get a second card on sale.


I'm really killing my brain right now comparing left and right, and I guarantee that I won't fully make up my mind until I actually purchase my card. What do you guys think? GTX 670, 680, or an HD 7970?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, It's probably too long, but whatever.

Thanks again guys, advice is always appreciated.

 

[akshayghai29785]

buy 7970 get games free with it & the card is great overclocker

 

[djangoringo]

Get the 670 gtx msi pe, it's a good card, it's cheaper than the 680 gtx, the performance difference is minimal, if you want to add another, for multi gpus, nvidia has better driver support, so a 670 gtx msi pe is a good option.
If you want the games that the 7970 offers then you might consider the 7970 ghz edition.

 

[Spartacus394]

buy 7970 get games free with it & the card is great overclocker

Thanks for the reply! But I'm not buying a card for the bonus games. I just want whats best in the long run. Which of the two 7970s would be best for me do you think?

 

[Spartacus394]

Get the 670 gtx msi pe, it's a good card, it's cheaper than the 680 gtx, the performance difference is minimal, if you want to add another, for multi gpus, nvidia has better driver support, so a 670 gtx msi pe is a good option.
If you want the games that the 7970 offers then you might consider the 7970.

Well, the games are tempting, but I'd honestly be fine with any of these, as long as I can get a good 2-3 years out of them. I'm getting ever closer to just stciking with the 670.

Is the GHz really that much better? I don't know the differences.

 

[andrewcarr]

If it were me I'd buy a 7970 (save some money over the 680) and then overclock it.

Out of the box it's a bit better than the 670 but overclocked it's better than the 680.

But I wouldn't get either of the models you have listed. I'd much rather take one of these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127677

 

[ArcticWonder]

All of them are good cards but the 680 is a waste of money. Between 670 and 7970 I'd go 7970 even though I'm a Nvidia fanboy.

 

[djangoringo]

The 670 gtx is really a good option, it's as good as a normal 7970, if you exclude the games, and think about a dual gpu setup, nvidia has an advantage with better driver support for it.

 

[Spartacus394]

If it were me I'd buy a 7970 (save some money over the 680) and then overclock it.

Out of the box it's a bit better than the 670 but overclocked it's better than the 680.

But I wouldn't get either of the models you have listed. I'd much rather take one of these.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127677

Alright, XFX is off the table. I'm down to these two.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127685

Which would benefit me in the long haul? I'm assuming both will do me good for a long time, I'm just not certain on whether or not SLI 670's are the way to go, or one 7970 with the possibility of Crossfire.

 

[Spartacus394]

The 670 gtx is really a good option, it's as good as a normal 7970, if you exclude the games, and think about a dual gpu setup, nvidia has an advantage with better driver support for it.

So really it's a choice between one powerful card, or two slightly less powerful cards. I'm leaning GTX 670 right now.

Ah man, I'm so bad at this!

 

[Spartacus394]

I'm wondering right now though, is there any real benefit of 384-bit/3gb VRAM over 256-bit/2gb VRAM? Because if there isn't any advantage there, I'm going GTX 670.

 

[djangoringo]

The 256 bit and 2GB of the 670 gtx is fine even for a triple monitor setup.

 

[Spartacus394]

The 256 bit and 2GB of the 670 gtx is fine even for a triple monitor setup.

Looks like I'm getting the GTX 670. Thanks everyome for the help.

 

[Spartacus394]

Best answer selected by Spartacus394.

 

[hero1]

Welcome to the SLI club. Grab 2x Asus GTX 670 DCII and be happy. Save more money compared to buying MSI PE.

 

[Spartacus394]

Welcome to the SLI club. Grab 2x Asus GTX 670 DCII and be happy. Save more money compared to buying MSI PE.

I think I'm gonna stick with MSI. The ASUS models are all more expensive than the MSI card.