New Graphics Card Advice

[[SFR]Badvok]

I'm looking to get a new GPU - my 9800GT is having a hard time with Civ 5, and probably could do with something a little nippier for SWTOR. I don't need a super duper mega card - something mid range is fine by me. Of course i'm mostly after value for money.

I'm not sure of whether to get this OC'd ATI 6850 or spend an extra £70 on a Nvidia GTX560Ti

I've been a Nvidia fan for years and haven't had an ATi since the early days of pentium CPUs. That Ati looks bloody good value for money tho....

So what does the wisdom of the crowd reckon? Any alternative suggestions? GTX 460 perhaps?

[[SFR]Frejia]

I've had soo many issues with ATi cards lately I've completely given up on them, don't think I would date to get one.

Plus, the CUDA based calculations the nVidia cards can do is quite cool, so my recommendation is the GTX card.

Although, why do you want the Ti model, seems like a waste of money imho, get a 560OC or 560SOC, and they run almost at the same speed as the Ti model, so then difference between the ATi and the nVidia card isn't more then £40.

[[SFR]Badvok]

Fair point on the Ti. And i would like the CUDA to help convert DVDs to drop onto my NAS to play thru my PS3.

The reason i stopped with Ati all those many moons ago was due to the various problems i had with them, so i am a little reluctant to go to back them.

So you think something such as this MSI GTX 560 might be a better bet?

[[SFR]Frejia]

I'd add £10 and get this one... all components are overclocked and they are actually running at higher speeds then the Ti card. The issue will be heat, as long as you have sufficient cooling you'd be fine (2 chassi-fans should do the trick, positioned correctly so they rotate the air inside).

[Thamightyboro]

Personally I'd go with the ASUS GTX 560 and clock it myself can pick that card up for £110 and I just lurve the build quality of ASUS' cards along with their 3 year warranty. There hasnt been a ASUS card to date that I havent been able to wring a extra 20% performance from.

That EVGA is also a good choice though as I believe they have a 3r warranty also but the 1 motherboard they made that I foolishly bought http://www.evga.com/articles/385.asp will never have me buy from them again as what a piece of mis-advertised shit that was £200+ and could bareley clock a Q9450 on it when I got my money back got a ASUS (noticing a trend)Rampage 3 SLI edition and took that CPU to 4ghz (ZOOOOOOOM!!!) stable.

[[SFR]WataGwaN]

I am no PC guru .. but i have had ATI for a wile now (2x 5850).. and i dont likem. i want back to nvidia. Seems way less fussy and problem free.
To me at least seems if theres anything wrong with nvidia it will be the card itself ( just get it changed) and anything wrong with ATI will be all the rest but the card.

later this year i will go back Nvidia regardless.

[[SFR]Frejia]

[SFR]Smoggy wrote:

Personally I'd go with the ASUS GTX 560 and clock it myself can pick that card up for £110 and I just lurve the build quality of ASUS' cards along with their 3 year warranty. There hasnt been a ASUS card to date that I havent been able to wring a extra 20% performance from. That EVGA is also a good choice though as I believe they have a 3r warranty also but the 1 motherboard they made that I foolishly bought http://www.evga.com/articles/385.asp will never have me buy from them again as what a piece of mis-advertised shit that was £200+ and could bareley clock a Q9450 on it when I got my money back got a ASUS (noticing a trend)Rampage 3 SLI edition and took that CPU to 4ghz (ZOOOOOOOM!!!) stable.

Difference between overclocking yourself and factory overclocked is that you know the card with hold and the cooling as been adjusted accordingly. Chances are good you can clock yourself but its not something everyone wants to sit and do, plus you may have issues with cooling if you're unlucky.

[[SFR]Adifi]

Im of the opinion that spending more now would be better in the long run.

I did this when i bought my gtx295 - it was expensive at the time of purchase, but i think it saved me in the long run as it just lasted so long. If i had bought a cheaper model, im sure i would have wanted to upgrade sooner.

On that basis - i highly recommend a the gtx580 twin-frozr II from msi. Its a beast of a card ! And it runs so cold and quiet its a joy ! (idle at 32 degrees, max 72).

Having had a gtx295 (which is essentially an sli card), im not really fond of sli so wouldnt recommend buying one lower spec card, and then getting another one at a later date. SLI still seems a bit ropey with some games not running very well in sli at all.

[[SFR]Osto]

Agree with Adifi, a more powerful card in a single card setup is mostly better than two lower end cards in SLI or Crossfire.

[[SFR]Badvok]

as much as i'd love a 580, i want to save some pennies to save up for a CPU upgrade in a couple of months time - wanna see what AMDs bulldozer is like before i commit (apparently it's a bit tasty). If i blow £350 on a 580 i wont be getting that CPU until next year.

[[SFR]G3]

The problem getting a 580 is if you board is old it'll get cock blocked anyway. I'd alway pick EVGA myself (running two 470's).

Personally the 460 SLI is a really cheap way to get some superior graphics. You can start with one which is a great value card in itself and then whack another one in when you want. Or shoot 2 straight away for peanuts.

The EVGA forums are awesome. Just go there to http://www.evga.com/forums/tt.aspx?forumid=5 and ask. Tell 'em your board and see what they think.

These are the most helpful guys I've come across. Ask about 560 vs 460 SLI etc.