Graphics cards are the most frustrating aspect of computer builds or upgrades imho. I say that as a semi (or perhaps a good bit less) knowledgeable guy when it comes to computers. And there's the adage about a little knowledge being a dangerous thing, of course.
You can make a calculated bet on how a card should perform based on reading specs and reviews, asking people, etc, but at the end of it all you can't really tell how a particular card is going to behave on the particular system and with the particular game.
I recently switched out a 4890 card which served well but had to have settings turned down. More out of impulse (bad idea) than any research, I put in a 7770 figuring it had to be a big boost, but I was disappointed that it wasn't that much better than the 4890. That led to the conclusion that my 4-year old motherboard, cpu etc were holding things back, so I switched in a new m/b and cpu etc in an upgrade that I'd been planning for next year.
The 7770 still wasn't much better, so (this time doing some research) I put in a 7970. In particular, I took a look at Tom's Hardware "Best Graphics Cards" rundown for January. Taking that at face value (another risk, 'cause you can read 10 reviews and get at least 5 different opinions), I went on the basis that the 7770 was in reality only one level above the 4890, with the 7970 being 3 or 4 levels above, and that you should really step up be at least 3 levels for a true/significant improvement (according to Tom's).
The 7970 is a big improvement, but it still ain't without little issues, notably a slight stuttering, which may have something to do with Vsync and which I have to look into (and which I never understand ... the graphics card wants to run faster than the refresh rate, so to avoid tearing you have to effectively cut back on the card's performance and which makes the card stutter ... so what's the point of a faster card???).
At the end of it all, I can only volunteer my little list of quasi-beefs:
- Will this particular card run well with this particular system, which kind of covers the rest.
Will the particular card driver/software run well with the system.
If there's an issue is it a fundamental card/system mutual dislike for some reason you can't put your finger on?
Or is it a driver/software issue? Should I go up to a more recent driver/software, or should I roll back to an earlier?
Or is it that this particular card just doesn't really get along well with this particular game? Or vice versa, not being quite the same.
Or is the game just a bit of a dog when it comes to its graphics handling architecture, such that it doesn't really have much or anythng to do with the card anyway?
I've come to the conclusion that you have to spend most of your waking hours to get to expert knowledge level ... and even then?
Humbly submitted.
Correction: Above should read 7870, not 7970. Apparently, I don't even know what card I have.