Best Graphics Cards For The Money: February 2013

Feuer Frei! · 02-25-13, 03:00 AM

Here's a bit of a run-down of the best gfx cards for your buck, for the month of February, 2013:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...view,3107.html

More for the gamers out there, non-gamers might find the cards a bit pricey.
Price vs Performance was the criteria chosen for these recommendations. There seems to be something here for everyone, with both Nvidia and ATM offering some great bang for your buck options.
Happy gaming

kiwi_2005 · 02-25-13, 04:34 PM

Nvidia's GeForce GTX Titan = 6 GB of GDDR5 memory

Thats more ram than my PC. And 5 half gigs more then my 9800 GTX

the_tyrant · 02-26-13, 07:51 PM

Looks like the Titan is the only graphics card up for the job of maxing out Crysis 3

My buddy got a brand new HD7970, and it struggles with the game, delivering pretty choppy framerate sometimes

Feuer Frei! · 02-26-13, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

My buddy got a brand new HD7970, and it struggles with the game, delivering pretty choppy framerate sometimes

This could well be to do with this:
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/modder...w-performance/

But, first patch is released:
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/crysis...pc/#more-44939

Very quick release!

geetrue · 02-28-13, 07:42 PM

just ordered a radeon amd 7070 ocl

hope it works in my old rig ... don't even have
any new games for it, but it comes with a coupon
for a game called "Sleeping Dogs"

a shooter out of Hong Kong I think

bert8for3 · 03-02-13, 06:49 AM

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.

IVO · 03-03-13, 01:49 PM

I am running the Geforce GTX 560 ti with windows 7 home 32 bit // 3 Gb switch enabled.
when I installed SH5 it had a red X by the GPU somthing about the driver but i dont remember seems to run fine but has jagged edges.
In SH III i had jagged edges but with the program nHancer I was able to fix it. With that card I had to roll back to the old driver for nHancer to work, with this video card I dont know if a older driver would work.
Anyone know if there is a program to tweak my card settings that would work with my system?
Oh and my Nivdia Control Panel has stopped working it will stop and say "Nvidia Control Panel Application, 7.1.720.0 has stopped working".

antikristuseke · 03-03-13, 02:55 PM

I find it odd that the 660 isn't there amids the 7850 and 7870 since it offers comparable performance to the 7870 while being closer in price to the 7850.

Herr-Berbunch · 03-03-13, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atlus

I am running the Geforce GTX 560 ti with windows 7 home 32 bit // 3 Gb switch enabled.
when I installed SH5 it had a red X by the GPU somthing about the driver but i dont remember seems to run fine but has jagged edges.
In SH III i had jagged edges but with the program nHancer I was able to fix it. With that card I had to roll back to the old driver for nHancer to work, with this video card I dont know if a older driver would work.
Anyone know if there is a program to tweak my card settings that would work with my system?
Oh and my Nivdia Control Panel has stopped working it will stop and say "Nvidia Control Panel Application, 7.1.720.0 has stopped working".

NVIDIA Inspector is the replacement for nHancer.

My NCP also closes when I first click on it, when I restart it it is fine. I'm sure it'll be fixed in a release or two (I usually am running the latest beta but for some reason I rolled back and haven't update for almost a month out so.).

IVO · 03-03-13, 03:15 PM

So my graphic settings in SH5 were on high but still had jagged edges then increased Antialiasing to Max and it looks much better .
Nividia Contol Panel still is down but game is running now I will activate my mods and I will download Inspector

Thank you

IVO · 03-03-13, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

NVIDIA Inspector is the replacement for nHancer.

My NCP also closes when I first click on it, when I restart it it is fine. I'm sure it'll be fixed in a release or two (I usually am running the latest beta but for some reason I rolled back and haven't update for almost a month out so.).

Thank you I will install that , I did get the jagged edges to smooth out with just increaseing the Antialiasing to max and it looks smoother.
Dunno what that did but it worked .
I will download inspector next .
Thanks again

IVO · 03-03-13, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

NVIDIA Inspector is the replacement for nHancer.

My NCP also closes when I first click on it, when I restart it it is fine. I'm sure it'll be fixed in a release or two (I usually am running the latest beta but for some reason I rolled back and haven't update for almost a month out so.).

I installed Inspector, really nice program and they have silent hunter III profile.
What profile do you use for silent hunter 5?
I think I can make one but just thought i would ask.

IVO · 03-03-13, 04:14 PM

I did a third clean install of my driver, now it works
So seems like I have smoother edges and everythings is working

swamprat69er · 03-11-13, 11:00 PM

I had a Zotac GTX460 nVidia card in mine and it ran SH4 okay! I got a little carried away this past winter and upgraded my mobo to a MSI Z77
and got a I5 chip to go with it. Then thought to my self, I have the strap and slots for 2 vid cards so why not? Another nVidia Zotac GTX460 went in. Upgraded my power supply, [the 650 was working okay but I wanted more juice) and went to a ULTRA 850 PSU. My puter hardly ever stalls anymore and SH4 runs great. Hopefully, I have future proofed myself for at least 6 months.

02-25-13, 03:00 AM	#1
Feuer Frei! Navy Seal Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Valhalla Posts: 5,295 Downloads: 141 Uploads: 17	Best Graphics Cards For The Money: February 2013 Here's a bit of a run-down of the best gfx cards for your buck, for the month of February, 2013: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...view,3107.html More for the gamers out there, non-gamers might find the cards a bit pricey. Price vs Performance was the criteria chosen for these recommendations. There seems to be something here for everyone, with both Nvidia and ATM offering some great bang for your buck options. Happy gaming __________________ "History is the lies that the victors agree on"- Napoleon LINK TO MY SH 3 MODS

02-25-13, 04:34 PM	#2
kiwi_2005 Eternal Patrol Join Date: May 2004 Location: Aeoteroa Posts: 7,382 Downloads: 223 Uploads: 1	Nvidia's GeForce GTX Titan = 6 GB of GDDR5 memory Thats more ram than my PC. And 5 half gigs more then my 9800 GTX __________________ RIP kiwi_2005 Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others.

02-26-13, 07:51 PM	#3
the_tyrant Admiral Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 2,272 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	Looks like the Titan is the only graphics card up for the job of maxing out Crysis 3 My buddy got a brand new HD7970, and it struggles with the game, delivering pretty choppy framerate sometimes __________________ My own open source project on Sourceforge OTP.net KGB grade encryption for the rest of us

02-28-13, 07:42 PM	#5
geetrue Cold War Boomer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Walla Walla Posts: 2,837 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	just ordered a radeon amd 7070 ocl hope it works in my old rig ... don't even have any new games for it, but it comes with a coupon for a game called "Sleeping Dogs" a shooter out of Hong Kong I think __________________

03-02-13, 06:49 AM	#6
bert8for3 Ace of the Deep Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,124 Downloads: 110 Uploads: 0	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. __________________ Last edited by bert8for3; 03-07-13 at 07:28 PM.

03-03-13, 01:49 PM	#7
IVO Loader Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 88 Downloads: 103 Uploads: 0	GPU & Nvidia Control Panel Issue I am running the Geforce GTX 560 ti with windows 7 home 32 bit // 3 Gb switch enabled. when I installed SH5 it had a red X by the GPU somthing about the driver but i dont remember seems to run fine but has jagged edges. In SH III i had jagged edges but with the program nHancer I was able to fix it. With that card I had to roll back to the old driver for nHancer to work, with this video card I dont know if a older driver would work. Anyone know if there is a program to tweak my card settings that would work with my system? Oh and my Nivdia Control Panel has stopped working it will stop and say "Nvidia Control Panel Application, 7.1.720.0 has stopped working". Last edited by IVO; 03-03-13 at 02:23 PM.

03-03-13, 02:55 PM	#8
antikristuseke Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Estland Posts: 4,330 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	I find it odd that the 660 isn't there amids the 7850 and 7870 since it offers comparable performance to the 7870 while being closer in price to the 7850.

03-03-13, 03:15 PM	#10
IVO Loader Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 88 Downloads: 103 Uploads: 0	Antialiasing on Max looks great now. So my graphic settings in SH5 were on high but still had jagged edges then increased Antialiasing to Max and it looks much better . Nividia Contol Panel still is down but game is running now I will activate my mods and I will download Inspector Thank you

03-03-13, 04:14 PM	#13
IVO Loader Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 88 Downloads: 103 Uploads: 0	Control Panel works I did a third clean install of my driver, now it works So seems like I have smoother edges and everythings is working

03-11-13, 11:00 PM	#14
swamprat69er Aceydeucy Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ontario,Canada Posts: 1,889 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	I had a Zotac GTX460 nVidia card in mine and it ran SH4 okay! I got a little carried away this past winter and upgraded my mobo to a MSI Z77 and got a I5 chip to go with it. Then thought to my self, I have the strap and slots for 2 vid cards so why not? Another nVidia Zotac GTX460 went in. Upgraded my power supply, [the 650 was working okay but I wanted more juice) and went to a ULTRA 850 PSU. My puter hardly ever stalls anymore and SH4 runs great. Hopefully, I have future proofed myself for at least 6 months. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. We the willing, led by the unsure, have done so much with so little, for so long, that we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.