What graphics card should I buy?

[Amit Melech]

Alright, so I want to get a new graphics card but I'm not the best at choosing so I'll need your help.
This are my system specs:

CPU Type: QuadCore Intel Core i5-2320, 3200 MHz (32 x 100)
Motherboard Name: Intel Bearup Lake DH67BL (1 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Video, Gigabit LAN)
Motherboard Chipset: Intel Cougar Point H67, Intel Sandy Bridge
System Memory 4073 MB: (DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM)
DIMM2: Crucial RM51264BA1339.16FR 4 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)
Power Supply: G500XG DUAL V2.2
Graphics Card: GTS450

I'm planning to use it for high end games like Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider, The Witcher 2, Bioshock Infinite and so on.

I looked up some cards and I came across the GTX 660, Radeon 7850/7870.
Are they worth it?

I don't mind whether it's GeForce or Radeon since I don't really know the difference other than that the GeForce cards have PhysX haha

Thank you very much

P.S: Sorry if I have any grammar mistakes, I am not American.

 

[sam1911]

Don't know much about RockPower PSU's but definitely go with HD 7870

 

[Amit Melech]

Don't know much about RockPower PSU's but definitely go with HD 7870

How will it run games like The Witcher 2 and Far Cry 3?

 

[atomicWAR]

If your going to go single card and don't care about phsyx support I would suggest you go with the radeon 7870. If you plan to go to multi card or add one later then going nvidia is the smart thing (OC'd gtx 660 or 670) as SLI has less driver bugs than crossfire.

 

[ASHISH65]

hd 7870 will easily handle games at high upto 1080p res

 

[Amit Melech]

If your going to go single card and don't care about phsyx support I would suggest you go with the radeon 7870. If you plan to go to multi card or add one later then going nvidia is the smart thing (OC'd gtx 660 or 670) as SLI has less driver bugs than crossfire.

I'm planning on going with a single card. The only thing that bothers me with Radeon is that it doesn't support PhysX which is a shame since it adds a lot to the games. But if Radeon has better cards I guess I will go with Radeon.

 

[jessterman21]

If your going to go single card and don't care about phsyx support I would suggest you go with the radeon 7870. If you plan to go to multi card or add one later then going nvidia is the smart thing (OC'd gtx 660 or 670) as SLI has less driver bugs than crossfire.

I'm planning on going with a single card. The only thing that bothers me with Radeon is that it doesn't support PhysX which is a shame since it adds a lot to the games. But if Radeon has better cards I guess I will go with Radeon.

GTX 660 is equal to HD 7870, and has less latency spikes in the majority of games. (Smoother gaming.)

 

[atomicWAR]

I personally prefer nvidia cards because they have less latency issues, support physx and better multi-gpu driver support. However AMD is competitive with price so thus my early recommendation. Anyways It sounds like physx is a consideration so i suggest a GTX 660 ti OC or gtx 670 OC.

 

[Amit Melech]

I personally prefer nvidia cards because they have less latency issues, support physx and better multi-gpu driver support. However AMD is competitive with price so thus my early recommendation. Anyways It sounds like physx is a consideration so i suggest a GTX 660 ti OC or gtx 670 OC.

What is the difference between the 660 OC and the regular one? And what about 660 ti or no ti?

 

[atomicWAR]

OC is just an overclocked card. Generally a heavily overclocked cards performs close to the next gpu up the latter. IE OC'd GTX670 approx = gtx 680 stock...oc'd gtx 660 ti approx = gtx 670 stock...etc

Newegg prices

GTX 660 stock $219 EVGA 02G-P4-2660-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB
GTX 660 OC $274 EVGA 03G-P4-2667-KR GeForce GTX 660 FTW Signature 2 3GB

GTX 660 ti stock $274 GIGABYTE GV-N66TWF2-2GD GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB
GTX 660 ti OC $299 GIGABYTE GV-N66TOC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB

GTX 670 stock $359 SPARKLE 700001 GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GTX 670 OC $389 MSI N670 PE 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 670 2GB

 

[Amit Melech]

OC is just an overclocked card. Generally a heavily overclocked cards performs close to the next gpu up the latter. IE OC'd GTX670 approx = gtx 680 stock...oc'd gtx 660 ti approx = gtx 670 stock...etc

Newegg prices

GTX 660 stock $219 EVGA 02G-P4-2660-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB
GTX 660 OC $274 EVGA 03G-P4-2667-KR GeForce GTX 660 FTW Signature 2 3GB

GTX 660 ti stock $274 GIGABYTE GV-N66TWF2-2GD GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB
GTX 660 ti OC $299 GIGABYTE GV-N66TOC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB

GTX 670 stock $359 SPARKLE 700001 GeForce GTX 670 2GB
GTX 670 OC $389 MSI N670 PE 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 670 2GB

Oh, well then I guess this is a priority! And what is the difference between the GTX 660 and the GTX 660 ti? (OC of course)

 

[atomicWAR]

GTX 660 has 768 cuda core and the TI has 1344. both offer stock and overclocked versions. The gtx 660 TI performs better at the same clocks by about 10-20% then plain GTX 660

 

[sam1911]

Don't know much about RockPower PSU's but definitely go with HD 7870

How will it run games like The Witcher 2 and Far Cry 3?

You will be able to max those out with 7870 @1080p, you will hardly see any difference without physx .

 

[Amit Melech]

Thanks everyone!

So basically, there is no difference between the GTX 660 ti OC and the Radeon 7870 other than that the GTX has PhysX?

 

[atomicWAR]

well AMD cards 7000 series cards tend to have higher frame latency then gtx 600 series which can make game look like they stutter even when the frame rate is high. I think GTX 660 TI will give you a smoother game play experience.

 

[Amit Melech]

well AMD cards 7000 series cards tend to have higher frame latency then gtx 600 series which can make game look like they stutter even when the frame rate is high. I think GTX 660 TI will give you a smoother game play experience.

Thank you so much! I think I'll go with the GTX 660TI OC if I have the money. If I don't have the money should I go with the Radeon 7870 or the ordinary GTX 660?

 

[atomicWAR]

well the gtx 660 should not have the frame latency issues the radeon would have but your FPS on the 7870 would be higher. Because of frame latency i lean toward nvidia's gtx 660

 

[jessterman21]

well the gtx 660 should not have the frame latency issues the radeon would have but your FPS on the 7870 would be higher. Because of frame latency i lean toward nvidia's gtx 660

+1