Best PCIe Card: $300 To $400
Best PCIe Card For ~$340: Tie
GeForce GTX 570 (Check Prices)
Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games
| GeForce GTX 570 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | GF110 |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 480 |
| Texture Units: | 60 |
| ROPs: | 40 |
| Memory Bus: | 320-bit |
| Core/Shader Speed MHz: | 732 / 1464 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 950 (3800 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
| Max TDP: | 219 W |
The GeForce GTX 570 and Radeon HD 6970 offer exceptional performance for $340. Both cards perform slightly slower than GeForce GTX 460 cards in SLI and Radeon HD 6850 cards in CrossFire, but they do so without the hassles associated with a multi-card rig (such as micro-stuttering).
Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 570 for more information on this card and its underlying architecture.
Radeon HD 6970 (Check Prices)
Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games
| Radeon HD 6970 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | "Cayman" |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 1536 |
| Texture Units: | 96 |
| ROPs: | 32 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 880 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1375 (5500 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
| Max TDP: | 250 W |
Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 6970 for more information on this card and its underlying architecture.
Honorable Mention:
2 x Radeon HD 6850 in CrossFire (Check Prices)
Exceptional 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance
| 2 x Radeon HD 6850 in CrossFire | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV970 "Barts" |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 1920 (2 x 960) |
| Texture Units: | 96 (2 x 48) |
| ROPs: | 64 (2 x 32) |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 775 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1000 (4000 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
| Max TDP: | 254 W (2 x 127 W) |
We already know that two Radeon HD 6850s in CrossFire are fast. However, based on our recent exploration of micro-stuttering, there's a fair chance that enthusiasts sensitive to this phenomenon might not be satisfied with the way a pair of these cards behave. If you already know this doesn't affect you, then you're in the clear.
Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 6850 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
Best PCIe Card For ~$370: None
Honorable Mention:
2 x Radeon HD 6870 in CrossFire (Check Prices)
Great 2560x1600 performance
| 2 x Radeon HD 6870 in CrossFire | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV970 "Barts" |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 2240 (2 x 1120) |
| Texture Units: | 112 (2 x 56) |
| ROPs: | 64 (2 x 32) |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 900 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1100 (4200 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
| Max TDP: | 302 W (2 x 151 W) |
Two Radeon HD 6870 cards in CrossFire and two GeForce GTX 560 Ti cards in SLI are very powerful, capable combinations. Just keep in mind that, if you plan to employ resolutions above 1080p with anti-aliasing enabled, you may want to consider boards with more than 1 GB of RAM.
These solutions are demoted to honorable mention status based on Micro-Stuttering And GPU Scaling In CrossFire And SLI.
Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 6870 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
Honorable Mention:
2 x GeForce GTX 560 Ti in SLI (Check Prices)
Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games with lowered detail
| 2 x GeForce GTX 560 Ti in SLI | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | GF114 |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 768 (2 x 384) |
| Texture Units: | 128 (2 x 64) |
| ROPs: | 64 (2 x 32) |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core/Shader Speed MHz: | 822 / 1644 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1002 (4008 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5 |
| 340 W (2 x 170 W) | |
Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 560 Ti for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
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im still saving up cash and eagerly waiting for the GTX 600's and HD 7000's
Where'd you find 2x GTX 560ti's to SLI for $370? That would be more than an honorable mention if it were true.
Perhaps you meant 2x GTX 460's?
Hey tom i'd like to see where 6870x2 would fit in Hierarchy Chart and who could be its closest competitor from both camps,
December has barely started!?????
Might as well paste November's article.
Where'd you find 2x GTX 560ti's to SLI for $370? That would be more than an honorable mention if it were true. Perhaps you meant 2x GTX 460's?
I got my 560 Ti brand new (PNY OC version) for $180 (no tax, free shipping, and no need for BS MIR).
I could've gotten two for SLI at $360 even, but I don't like microstutter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOtre2f4qZs
Where? eBay of course. Where every day is Cyber Monday.
(I even saw some manufacturer refurbs for $175)
Never buy retail again.
The anandtech has recently got some info about the upcoming 7000 desktop and mobile entry level and 600m entry level gpu specs. The 7000 are going to be revealed today.
Under Honorable Mention: Radeon HD 6950 2 GB
Is there such a card or is it a typo?
The Radeon HD 6670 isn't really much of an upgrade over the Radeon HD 5670. However, we're going to give it an honorable mention for being the fastest card (at least compared to reference versions from AMD and Nvidia) that doesn't require an auxiliary PCIe power cable. That is to say its power requirements are entirely satisfied by a second-generation PCI Express x16 slot.
What if my motherboard only has PCIe x16 1.0 ?
The $85 HD6750 you mentioned is probably so cheap because it uses DDR3; how would it perform compared to a GDDR5 version? The second thing I noticed about it is that it doesn't need a PCIE power connector. Would it outperform a HD6670, or does the slower RAM make that much difference?
Also, the HD6850 seems to be mostly in the $130-$150 range (some after MIR), not $160.
As always another good gpu reference.
Kinda surprised there was no mention(side bar, not a real recommendation) of that 5970 during neweggs Black Friday deal, that also carried into the next week. $299 on BF, 329 until discontinued.
HD5770 for one straight year! Still the best!
Hmmm....a suggestion for the "Best Things for the Money" Articles:
Why not have an average performance chart page for the hardware? As in, one with just the selected best price/performance winners and the honourable mentions...apart from the hierarchy chart.
You know, just as a quick reference for the critical moment before pressing the 'buy' button.
Hmmm....a suggestion for the "Best Things for the Money" Articles:Why not have an average performance chart page for the hardware? As in, one with just the selected best price/performance winners and the honourable mentions...apart from the hierarchy chart.You know, just as a quick reference for the critical moment before pressing the 'buy' button.
Probably because the term "best" is very subjective. Some people can game just fine at 15-22 fps, while others won't even look at anything lower than 35-40 fps.
Another reason would be that prices fluctuate all the time. It's been asked for this countless times now... "Price/performance" doesn't apply to other countries or even multiple vendors within the US. Sometimes the same model by a different brand will be so expensive that it bites the heel of the next (superior) model, pricing-wise.
There's also the second hand market, which you can find some very good cards, and in excellent condition as opposed to the cards from a few years back. Because of competition quality has gone up and technology lasts longer these days. Almost everything has solid capacitors these days.
So yeah. A price/performance chart would be pretty much useless as it can become very quickly outdated.
holy crap!!! almost a total win for the red team!!!
When the 5850 drops out of the top five groups, I'l buy a second one (retail/second hand). When the 5970 drops out of the top five, it's time for me to replace the Xfired 5850s
Probably because the term "best" is very subjective. Some people can game just fine at 15-22 fps, while others won't even look at anything lower than 35-40 fps.Another reason would be that prices fluctuate all the time. It's been asked for this countless times now... "Price/performance" doesn't apply to other countries or even multiple vendors within the US. Sometimes the same model by a different brand will be so expensive that it bites the heel of the next (superior) model, pricing-wise.There's also the second hand market, which you can find some very good cards, and in excellent condition as opposed to the cards from a few years back. Because of competition quality has gone up and technology lasts longer these days. Almost everything has solid capacitors these days.So yeah. A price/performance chart would be pretty much useless as it can become very quickly outdated.
You missed my point entirely. I said performance chart for the cards they've selected, not price/performance. So people know what to expect. Like you said, some will be fine at a lower FPS. If they see the 6770 and 6670 listed on a benchmark instead of just tiers, it'll help more IMO. THIS is what i was saying.
They've listed price/performance winners anyway, that's what this article is about: Best xyz for the money = best bang for the buck = price/performance win.
I don't even live in the US, so i'm fully aware that the prices aren't the same.
I got 2 GeForce GTX 460 1 GB cards off craigslist for 150 bucks.....beat that toms ;-P
I got 2 GeForce GTX 460 1 GB cards off craigslist for 150 bucks.....beat that toms ;-P
I remember factory OC 1GB 460s drom MSI i think selling for $120 back when BestConfigs was going on...sad newegg doesn't exist here where i live.