Another 'need a GPU suggestion' thread

[ripple]

My current GPU is artifacting during post, and Windows will no longer detect it. I suspect it's an issue of overheating and have tried numerous things to test and see if the problem is software or hardware related. Anyways, the card is 4 years old and I think it's time to upgrade. It's been a while since I shopped for GPU's, so I appreciate some advice.

 

My current system:

CPU: Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 Gz

Mobo: nForce 750i FTW SLI

PSU: OCZ 600W (Modern GPU are suppose to be more energy efficient, but just in case, I listed the PSU here so others can gauge if a GPU will be a good fit)

 

I do have a budget. I won't spend more than $200 on the GPU (this is firm). In fact, I am looking to spend less than that, because I get the feeling that I'll need to reserve extra cash for some sort of better cooling solution, since heating is, for some reason, such an issue for my machine. Just to give an example of my 'price range', the GPU I've been looking at so far are (prices based on what I saw on newegg):

 

Radeon HD 7850 $169.99

GTX 650 Ti, $169

GTX 560 Ti, $200

 

The GTX 560 is my first choice. From what I've gather on various benchmark charts and reviews, it outperforms even some of the mid-range cards of the newer generation. The problem is that it's price range basically cleans out my GPU budget.

 

Radeon HD 7850 seems to have good reviews. I've never been partial to AMD/ATI cards, but wouldn't mind giving them a shot if they can offer competitive performance with budget pricing (which is supposedly their model for competing with nVidia).

 

GTX 650 Ti is clearly a budget card. This is my very last choice, as in 'if no one replies to my post and I can't find any of the other cards I want' choice. It's supposed to be an upgrade for 650 but the miniscule performance improvement does not seem to justify the increased price. It also doesn't support SLI. I am not saying I think it's a bad GPU, but I think it's a bad GPU at it's current price range.

 

There are probably other cards that I might like that are not listed here, so I appreciate suggestions on cards you think might be a good fit for me, as well as opinions on the cards in my short list.

Edited January 23, 2013 by ripple

[blove]

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: January 2013

 

7850 2GB would be my suggestion if I had to keep it for a year or two.

[FMod]

PSU: 600W (Modern GPU are suppose to be more energy efficient, but just in case, I listed the PSU here so others can gauge if a GPU will be a good fit)

...That's not listing a PSU. The most important thing about a PSU is make and model, not wattage.

 

Radeon HD 7850 $169.99

GTX 650 Ti, $169

GTX 560 Ti, $200

The GTX 560 is my first choice. From what I've gather on various benchmark charts and reviews, it outperforms even some of the mid-range cards of the newer generation. The problem is that it's price range basically cleans out my GPU budget.

560Ti has nothing on 7850. It's outperformed by about 10% without overclocking and 15%-20% with both overclocked.

So why would you pay more for an older card with less performance and more power consumption?

[ripple]

...That's not listing a PSU. The most important thing about a PSU is make and model, not wattage.

 

Sorry, corrected. Model, not sure.

[ripple]

I was mistaken about the pricing of the HD 7850. The $169 price range is for the 1GB version while the 2GB versions go for $200 or so. All of the benchmark comparisons I've found pit the 2GB version against GTX 560 Ti. How significant is the difference between 2GB and 1GB version?

[FMod]

All right, all OCZ branded PSU are at least acceptable.

 

7850 1GB is still a good bit faster than 560Ti 1GB. The 1 vs. 2 GB difference means very little in real-life terms.

Although it can have an effect if playing with extreme texture size mods like Skyrim ones and Ojo Bueno for Fallout. But in vanilla games, unimportant entirely.

 

You could get a 7870 for very little over $200. If you account for rebates and such.

For instance this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161404

Not only is it just $210 and a 7870, it's also one of the best 7870's out there: http://www.eteknix.com/reviews/graphics/his-radeon-hd-7870-iceq-2gb-graphics-card-review/16/

Plus, GHz edition, so a little higher clock out of the box. 7870 GHz is neck in neck with GTX 580, and that's a big step up from 560Ti.

 

 

P.S. Nice work with these CCI and GWSW mods.

[ripple]

Thanks :)

 

I've found a HD7850 and a GTX 650 Ti for the exact same price (with rebate), the thing is...the HD7850 is the 1GB version and the GTX 650 Ti is the 2GB version. I do run higher than 1080 resolution on my monitor, so 2GB will come in handy. But I've not found any charts that compare the benchmark between HD7850 1GB and GTX 650 Ti 2GB (and vice versa), only 1GB vs 1GB and 2GB vs 2GB. So I assume that GB difference isn't contribute to benchmark performance that much? IF I found a HD7850 2GB for the same price, I'd naturally go with that. This just sort of...complicates things...

[blove]

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Review, Feat. Gigabyte, Zotac, & EVGA has benchmarks of both chips in 1GB and 2GB flavors. You can see the difference at 1080+.

[ripple]

So, I ended up getting a XFX HD 7850 2GB for $169.99 (after rebate). I've benchmarked and played with the card for a couple of days now, and I am sort of not happy with it. Performance wise, it's pretty good for a budget mid-range card. I installed the HD texture packs for Skyrim, edited some ini shadowresolution settings and turned the graphics to high/ultra, and was still getting 55-60 FPS except in situations where my CPU was the bottleneck. The temperature only went up to 60-62 degrees Celsius during peak performance, so it's a pretty cool card.

 

What I don't like is

 

1) the fact that AMD driver support is rubbish (I am using 13.1 catalyst). I just experienced a BSOD with the error message that 'reset display driver has timed out.' This was just after exiting Skyrim and loading up Firefox. I looked around the AMD GPU forums and apparently this is a frequent issue many users have experienced with past and current catalyst drivers.

 

2) the second thing I don't like is that this card only has 2 years warranty (whereas other XFX GPU models has limited lifetime warranty). The last GPU I had lasted 4 years (it had three years warranty), so as you can see, I am not one of those people who upgrade PC components often. I don't OC my GPU's. I am concerned this card will expire shortly after it's warranty, which GPUs now days tend to do given current industry standards. But I'd rather be able to stretch my current GPU for 3 or 4 years rather than 2 or 3.

 

I am actually contemplating returning the card to the retailer, except I would be charged the standard 15% restocking fee.

 

Thoughts? Support? Anyone want to berate me? :)

[hoofhearted4]

what would you be returning it for? what would you get instead? i dont really see any reason to return it unless you continue to get BSODs, in which case, maybe only an RMA is called for. im using 13.1 drivers as well, on a slightly OCed card. no issues yet. been playing DAO and DA2 maxed out, for a few hours at a time. no issues what so ever (Gigabyte 7950) so yea. i havent had any problems with 13.1 drivers or the 12.11 driver before it.