Looking to Upgrade GPU

[LitteringAnd01]

Hello. I am looking to upgrade my computer's video card. Have about $300-350 bucks to spend. The two cards I have been researching lately are:

XFX Double D FX-795A-TDFC Radeon HD 7950 3GB

MSI N660 Ti PE 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB

My PC specs are excellent, recently upgrades to all the new stuff. Asus v-pro LK, i5 3750k OC'd to 4.1ghz, 32gb of ram ect ect. The games I play are Diablo 3, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, MW3, and some of the free Steam games. I have dual 24inch LED Asus monitors and my current 550ti is not handling games so well anymore. Please let me know your thoughts on solid performing graphics cards that you guys have purchased or recommend.

[jmacphee9]

i would get the 7950, 3gb of ram will help your dual monitors as well. it will be a massive improvement over your old 550ti. they are pretty close though, or trading blows at least, but the amds handle higher resolutions better.

[LitteringAnd01]

Some of the reviews on newegg of course worry me, especially about the heat and high temps. The gigabyte version of this card has the tri-fan setup, but a lot of problems with drivers and dead cards after a short while. Do you have any experiences with ATI cards or either of these cards in particular?

[jmacphee9]

Some of the reviews on newegg of course worry me, especially about the heat and high temps. The gigabyte version of this card has the tri-fan setup, but a lot of problems with drivers and dead cards after a short while. Do you have any experiences with ATI cards or either of these cards in particular?

the xfx is fine, i believe msi's cooling solution is one of the best, if not the best from overclocking reviews though. both cards will max out your listed games for just about ever too. both are good choices. xfx has a lifetime warranty which is pretty nice.

[LitteringAnd01]

the xfx is fine, i believe msi's cooling solution is one of the best, if not the best from overclocking reviews though. both cards will max out your listed games for just about ever too. both are good choices. xfx has a lifetime warranty which is pretty nice.

I appreciate your help. Will be ordering it tomorrow.

[jmacphee9]

the xfx is 286.99$ on amazon after rebate btw.

[n0cturnal]

i would get the 7950, 3gb of ram will help your dual monitors as well. it will be a massive improvement over your old 550ti. they are pretty close though, or trading blows at least, but the amds handle higher resolutions better.

The RAM size difference hardly matters since no one in their right mind would game on 2 monitors, you will have the bezels in the middle of the picture. Extending the desktop to a second monitor uses something like 50-100MB of vRAM if even that.

[LitteringAnd01]

The RAM size difference hardly matters since no one in their right mind would game on 2 monitors, you will have the bezels in the middle of the picture. Extending the desktop to a second monitor uses something like 50-100MB of vRAM if even that.

Are you recommending me not to purchase this card and save some money with a purchase of a different card?

[n0cturnal]

Are you recommending me not to purchase this card and save some money with a purchase of a different card?

Really depends on what you are looking for, it is not a bad card by an means, but both of the cards are overkill for WoW and the other games you listed.
However it is always good to keep future games in mind when it comes to buying a new GPU.

If you decide to go with the 7950 then this Sapphire version has a better cooler and is a bit cheaper. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202006
If you want to go with the 660Ti either get the one you posted of this ASUS card if you want to save a bit of money. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121656

[LitteringAnd01]

Does Sapphire have lifetime warranty like xfx? and which would you prefer if you are going to buy a new card within my price range of $300-350

[n0cturnal]

Does Sapphire have lifetime warranty like xfx? and which would you prefer if you are going to buy a new card within my price range of $300-350

Sapphire has a 2 year warranty, but I hardly value lifetime warranty anyway since most gamers upgrade their GPU within a few years.
Me personally I would pick a good 7950 or a GTX 670/Radeon 7970 if a good deal showed up.

[LitteringAnd01]

I will wait to see what others have to say by mid day tomorrow, if no other solid posts come up, I am going to go with the sapphire 7950 you linked. Again, appreciate your help. Thanks

[Deleted]

I wouldnt get the XFX as well. Heard some stories about high temps etc.
I would get a sapphire/gigabyte for the 7950.

[Musta Kyy]

the xfx is fine, i believe msi's cooling solution is one of the best, if not the best from overclocking reviews though. both cards will max out your listed games for just about ever too. both are good choices. xfx has a lifetime warranty which is pretty nice.

Most if not all xfx cards have locked voltages, so you cannot overclock them properly and because 7950 is great for overclocking I wouldnt take xfx. Locked voltages might be the reason why they offer lifetime warranty. My friend bought XFX 6870 a while back and it kept crashing randomly, normally slight voltage increase would fix things like that, but instead he had to lower core clock in order to make the card stable, that is quite lame.

[Lemmiwink]

In this particular case, I'd recommend going for the 660ti. They are about the same price (at least in my country) and the 660ti performs on par with the 7950 but is a better SLI option should you want 2 cards in the future. Nvidia also has no problems with latency or microstutters, a problem that's been going on for a long time, especially on the 7950 and there is no "fix" in the next 2-3 months as far as I can see.

Based on this I have a hard time reccommending an AMD card at this moment. Not due to the cards, they are good, but because of AMD being awfully slow to resolve these issues. Whatever you choose, keep in mind right now AMD is the best b.b.b.b.b.b.b...bang for b.b.b.b.b.b.b...bucks.

[vipers]

drivers works so much better on nvidia so if you play games then you should get 660ti

[Deleted]

drivers works so much better on nvidia so if you play games then you should get 660ti

AMD drivers work just as good as Nvidia drivers. If anything, I read more about problems with Nvidia drivers than AMD drivers lately.

And about the stuttering, I myself am not noticing it with my 7970.

[Lemmiwink]

Main problem with Nvidia drivers lately is they have been coming too slow and they haven't been agressive enough in challenging the 12.11 AMD driver. Otherwise, there hasn't been any issues with drivers for me at least. My GF's 7970 however is a chapter of sorrow when it comes to latency and bad drivers. Last driver crashed her system and it took like 30 minutes to fix it, including a removal of the gpu to be able to boot.

I am seriously hoping they get their act together or I will stop supporting AMD with 1 video card purchased every generation for my part. If you don't mind latency then AMD is probably better than nvidia but it annoys the crap out of me. I will not tell you what to look for or how to spot it incase it gets on your nerves too.

[LitteringAnd01]

At this point I'm basically looking for the best performance card I can for $300-350 bucks. Was just coming here to get some insight on which card people think are the best bang for the buck. My 550ti isn't performing that great especially compared to the rest of my computer specs. Appreciate everybody's info.

[BruceG87]

AMD drivers work just as good as Nvidia drivers. If anything, I read more about problems with Nvidia drivers than AMD drivers lately.

And about the stuttering, I myself am not noticing it with my 7970.

Recent build for a friend involving an XFX 7870 GHz edition card started experiencing some graphic glitching at idle while web browsing that is apparently a known issue for many AMD owners. Not to be confused with heat issues, as it games just fine and never breaks 60c. Waiting for a friend to bring it by so I can have a look at it myself.. but a little research revealed an existing issue that many AMD owners simply live with.. while hoping that the next release of catalyst will solve the problem. (They are still waiting)

Not to mention the fact that I've experienced the opposite with my reading, finding more when it comes to AMD drivers having issues.

Does that mean Nvidia drivers are better then AMD drivers? No.
Do both brands still have drivers issues here and there? You bet'cha they do.

---------- Post added 2013-01-23 at 06:29 AM ----------

To LitteringAnd01

You've been given some excellent choices. Out of all of the choices, I believe Asus actually has the better cooling solution at this time for both card types. However, the difference between the lower tier GPU's is quite small in terms of cooling and sound. The exception being EVGA cards which tend to run a bit hotter and louder then other cards that sport their brands trademark aftermarket cooler.

If it came down to it right now..

For a 660ti, I think I would honestly pick up this Asus DC2O-2GD5 for $289, $269 after $20 mail-in rebate. This thing is a beast, and sports what most argue as the better cooler design at this time.(The difference is still small)

If you are worried about the 2GB card due to resolution or gaming via dual screen(I hope you don't), you can opt for this 3GB MSI 3GD5/OC. Originally a $340 card, can pick it up from newegg for $300, $270 after a $30 mail-in rebate.
As I say this, I still use my 2GB GPU to drive my 1440p resolution display and game at high/ultra settings though.

For 7950, I'd go with what n0cturnal suggested earlier. This Sapphire 7950 will perform great. $299, $279 after $20 mail-in rebate.

Between all these options, I would personally pick the asus 660ti. The cooler it sports is arguably the best among the competition, reviews tend to favor Asus 660 ti's when it comes to overclocking. This review doesn't involve the exact Asus card I suggested, but it should give you an idea of how well it will perform regardless.

Then again, my personal experiences lean me toward nvidia to begin with. Not to mention that quite a few games I play are "Nvidia" optimized games.