Tom's Graphics Card Guide: 32 Mid-Range Cards Benchmarked

Features
By Igor Wallossek
published

Tom's Hardware Performance Index

Tom's Hardware Performance Index

At least three cards come close to 100% and consequently close to what we want to see. Unfortunately, the fastest card loses points for its poor cooling solution. The Windforce cooler is not only noisy, but it can't cope with the heat from Nvidia's GPU in our tests. Even though the issues take place under extreme load conditions, an insufficient cooling solution is intolerable if you want a reliable system. Therefore we hand the crown to the runner-up. The Point of View GTX 560 Ti now takes the performance crown, though unfortunately at relatively high power consumption. This is also a problem for our North American audience, as this card doesn't seem to be available. The MSI GTX 560 Ti Hawk is more economical, but also somewhat slower, and it is cooled well by its TwinFrozr III cooler. That'd have to make it a favorite for value-oriented enthusiasts in the U.S.

Igor Wallossek
117 Comments Comment from the forums
  • yukijin
    This confirms that the 560 ti belongs in TH best graphics cards for the money ( they werent recommomended the past 2 months)
    Reply
  • Inf3rn0_44
    560ti is an amazing card for the money
    Reply
  • KrazerSK
    arent the 6950s in this price range also? there are 2gb ones going for $250
    Reply
  • whysobluepandabear
    You have a 560 Ti eVGA Superclock for $215~ after rebate on Newegg. Then you have the 6870 from a few various brands for about $169~ after rebate.


    Is the TI worth another 40+ dollars?
    Reply
  • dco
    In every benchmark its the souped up overclocked versions of the GTX 560 Ti that are on top.

    The standard Geforce GTX 560 Ti is still getting beaten by the standard Radeon 6950
    Reply
  • SteelCity1981
    The GeForce GTX 550Ti wiould be a bargin if nvidia put the price below 100 dollars in which it should be considering it's performance doesn't justify the extra 30 or 40 dollars.
    Reply
  • Zero_
    Yup, considering its performance, the GTX550Ti should have replaced the GTS450 price point, which was $110. Since the GTX550Ti was included here, I would have liked to see where the cheaper HD5770/6770 would have placed, probably higher than the GTX550Ti.

    Also, can you guys do a story on how some classic cards match up to modern games? Stuff like 8800GTX's and 2900XT's which used to cost an arm and leg back in the day. Would be cool to see how the fare today.
    Reply
  • fictionforthetame
    No aftermarket 6950? Those 560ti cards that are topping the benchmarks are a good $40-$60 more expensive than a stock 6950 here in Oz. I think you should have included an OC'd 6950 (like the Gigabyte) which is still $20 cheaper than those ti's to make this a bit more interesting.
    Reply
  • Lobodomy
    Gah, just as I was about to go to bed an interesting review come out... I'll keep it open to read first thing in the morning!
    Reply
  • scrumworks
    Geforces dominate benchmarks because we have used 10 variants of overclocked 560Ti cards against stock clocked few Radeons (6950) here and there. And also, we don't show which drivers and control panel settings we have used because that would reveal our trickery. Why is Tom always hating AMD/ATI?
    Reply