£250ish Budget Graphics Card

[Dremorack]

General Information on my current computer setup..

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570k running at 3.8Ghz (up from 3.4)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 PC3-10666
Graphics Card: 1GB XFX HD 6870
Power Supply: 550W OCZ Technology ZS Series
Operating System: Windows 8 Pro 64 bit

I have a budget of about £250 give or take to replace my awful graphics card.. My system can run most things on max settings it just looks bad, and I'd like it to look less bad, or even good would be fantastic! I am not in the know as far as computers are concerned really, I worked out enough that I managed to build this thing a year ago but thats about it!

Any advice would be awesome (worth upgrading my ram too?)

Thanks

[Deleted]

My system can run most things on max settings it just looks bad,

I don't really get that part. If you can run it on max settings, how does it look bad then? Doesn't it run smoothly (that could be cured by a new graphics card) or what do you mean? By a new GPU, you get more frames, but I'm not entirely sure that's what you mean...

Anyway, a HD7870 or GTX760 should be inside your budget.

[Dremorack]

Well, being uneducated in computer-technicalities I was under the impression a higher quality graphics card increased graphical quality? Anyway, at higher settings It does drop frames yeah so maybe my eyes are taking that as graphical quality flaws.. Thank you very much for your response

[Deleted]

looki looki: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_...Ck%3Agtx%20770

[Vorkreist]

Nvidia suxx balls.

Here a real upgrade for you : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-R9280X-...words=amd+r280

[stuntz]

Nvidia option:
Gainward GeForce GTX 770 @ £239.99

Amd/ati option:
Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X WindForce 3X OC @ £245.99

Both from ocuk.

Before the fanboy wars start: Both cards are perfectly viable, both perform similarly. The 280x does draw slightly more power (someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think stock speed power draw is something like 230w on the 770 vs 250w on the 280x?). You won't go wrong really with either card I don't think. It's just down to your own preference and experience.

Personally - I've got 2 machines here, 1 with a 7970 and one with a gtx 770. Performance wise there's *almost* no gap. Overclocking, I can push my 7970 a LOT further (taking it from its old 925 core / 1100 memory clock to 1200 core / 1400 memory stable, really really impressive, and lets it beat the 770 pretty handily in most games), but it does lack physX, which is a shame. Beyond that, I've had issues with both nvidia and amd drivers of late. Catalyst 13.11 beta 8 seems a lot more stable and far better performing than 13.9, so there's hope there. Similarly, I've had a horrible time with the nvidia 32X.XX driver range, though it seems to be improving again with 331.XX. Again though, not everyone has the same experiences there, not everyone has the exact same setup, so what affects me might not affect you and vice-versa.

Bottom line: Neither is a bad choice.

[Deleted]

Nvidia suxx balls.

prove it :O

r9 280x is not better than a gtx 770 since they are equal cards and the r9 280 x power consumption is a little bit higher.

[Vorkreist]

prove it :O

r9 280x is not better than a gtx 770 since they are equal cards and the r9 280 x power consumption is a little bit higher.

Funny....

check specs and any review/benchmark between them

[Dremorack]

Had a feeling I might spark a war! Thank you all, I will check these out

[Deleted]

Well, being uneducated in computer-technicalities I was under the impression a higher quality graphics card increased graphical quality? Anyway, at higher settings It does drop frames yeah so maybe my eyes are taking that as graphical quality flaws.. Thank you very much for your response

A better GPU increases your framerate at a given settings level, because it calculates the graphics faster. I was just wondering, as you said you "play on full settings", what that meant. If you get <20 frames per second on these settings, a new GPU can help. If the high settings run smoothly, but look bad in another way, there might be something wrong other than your GPU.

[Deleted]

Funny....

check specs and any review/benchmark between them

At normal resolutions 770 is faster.

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphi...ce-gtx-770-4k/

As it turns out, it's your information which "suxx balls".

Besides, it comes out with PhysX and Shadowplay. Not to mention it works fine if you decide to switch to Linux side at some point.

[Deleted]

my advice is, 770 or 280x/7970 ghz, which ever is cheapest or whatever looks nicest to you lol
though personally
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Tox...&keywords=280x

might be your best bet, its the best 280x on the market right now, and admittly i think they said it doesnt have much oc headroom as its pushed put of the box heavily anyways so you just really need to stick it in your computer

- - - Updated - - -

hmm has a long delivery date, you prob ignore that actually

[Deleted]

At normal resolutions 770 is faster.

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphi...ce-gtx-770-4k/

As it turns out, it's your information which "suxx balls".

Besides, it comes out with PhysX and Shadowplay. Not to mention it works fine if you decide to switch to Linux side at some point.

At 1080p they are pretty much equal



PhysX is hardly used in most games, and shadowplay is fun if you want to stream. Linux is also something for a specific group.

AMD will have mantle in the future, and it seems a lot of engine might use that (frostbite and cryengine are confirmed, and Eidos will use it as well).

Anyway, 770 and 280X are both good cards. They perform equal, altho when Mantle games will come out the 280X will most likely be a lot better than the 770 in those games.

Bottom line, either is fine. But if you are intending on streaming or anything like that, the 770 will probably be the better choice. Will you play games that will support mantle, the 280X will probably be the better choice.

[Deleted]

So far all Mantle has been is just a buzzword, though. If it ends up being anything significant, there will be an nVidia counterpart. Or something neutral like similar functions being implemented to OpenGL or DirectX.

[Toffie]

So far all Mantle has been is just a buzzword, though. If it ends up being anything significant, there will be an nVidia counterpart. Or something neutral like similar functions being implemented to OpenGL or DirectX.

I doubt the major developers would ask for mantle if it wouldn't be significant, which without doubt it will be.

Nvidia suxx balls.

Had any bad experience with nVidia?
They have the best architecture team for graphical development and that proves with the lower power consumption & their low noise/temps for their 6xx/7xx cards. Their driver team have had some problems this last couple of months but they usually have a fix the moment the feedback is received. I myself prefer GPU architecture from nVidia but drivers from AMD, that is my opinion.

Had a feeling I might spark a war! Thank you all, I will check these out

I can't recommend you a card before I know which games you want to play or planning to play.

Would I buy a 770 over a 280X for BF4? Never.

Mirrors Edge, Star Wars: Battlefront, Thief, Mass Effect, Command & Conquer, Need For Speed, Dragon Age Inquisition, CryEngine (Crysis 4 & Far Cry 4), Star Ship Citizen & alot more to come are being optimized for mantle which means a smoother experience. We don't know much about mantle other than better frames but developers have been praising it. (Please don't bring John Carmack the nVidia man in the discussion)

nVidia has shadowplay which as far as I know can stream you content for no performance decrease whatsoever.
G-sync also enables you to play games with no stutter or tearing, but you have to buy a monitor supported for that which are in the 399 $+ region.
Physx, Batman Origins, Witcher 3 & COD Ghost have that enabled with some cool features, it's rare a game supports it though.

Playing BF4 with a 770 will be a great experience, but it's not the full experience in my opinion.

Conclusion, buy whatever works the best in the games you want to play.

[Deleted]

I'd pick the 280x or 770 as said above, HOWEVER it more or less comes to which of these settings you'd prefer:

Mantle in BF4 or other games for AMD (of which there's no solid evidence of the performance gains)

OR

Shadowplay for Nvidia (Recording alternative to fraps that uses your GPU, it hardly has any performance impact where I tried recording 1080p@60fps in BF4. It also has a streaming-capable option scheduled in the future, but it's not out yet)

Whichever option seems more likeable to you should make the choice obvious.