Time for a new GPU

[Bodaway]

I've been upgrading bits and pieces of my rig for the last few years and it's pretty solid right now. The GPU is currently the most outdated piece so I figured Merry Christmas to me and let's get a new one. It's a Gigabyte something or other equivalent to a HD 6850. I'm a little behind the game on what's good these days so any suggestions for a new card in the $200-$250ish range?

Thanks

[vesseblah]

Radeon 7870 or 7950 are the usual bets in that price range, depending on how far your budget goes.

[Bodaway]

Thanks I'll look at those. I just never did get around to learning what all of the model numbers actually mean.

How does this one sound?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131476

[demonskies]

At that price range you would really only be able to get a 7870 ghz or a gtx 660 non ti. Youd need to squeeze close to another 50 bucks into your budget to get a 660ti or 7950 which would be and even better upgrade.

Gigabyte 7870ghz
msi gtx660

6850 vs 7870
6850 vs gtx660
7870 vs gtx660

hope this helps to make a better educated decision

[vesseblah]

Ye, that GHz edition is probably best card in the price range.

[Bodaway]

Are there any advantages or disadvantages to picking one brand over the other concerning GTX and Radeon? (Sorry if that's not the right way of putting it)

[vesseblah]

As you can see from the benchmark demonskies linked above performance can vary quite heavily from game to game. Ideally you should check out if your favourite games appear in the benchmarks and which card those favor before making purchase decisions.

Both Nvidia and AMD have made epic mistakes in recent years with hardware and software so neither is clearly the best bet. Radeon cards seem to have more driver problems with WoW so that might be a factor when deciding what to buy considering this is a WoW fansite, but R7870 gives better value for your money than GTX660 in generic gaming.

[Explosions]

I have a 560ti, I paid $240 for it over a year ago and the prices are still pretty much the same. I have EVGA. The value for the money is incredible

[Majesticii]

I think it would be wise to post the rest of your system, before you buy anything that isn't really balanced with the rest of your PC.