Help choosing a 560Ti (probably) graphics card

[foxyrick]

My old card is really running out of steam and whatever I buy will be a vast improvement, but I'm struggling to decide which to get.

I use a 1920x1200 monitor as primary and a 1600x1200 secondary. I want to run a game occasionally, like AvP and similar FPS games. I'm not a serious gamer but I would like to be able to play with decent graphics and without getting headaches from low frame rates. Only the main monitor will be used; I'm not interested in using the second monitor in games.

My OS is Windows 7 Ultimate x64 and my whole system really needs updating, but I can't afford that yet (maybe next Summer) so I'm starting with the graphics card which is definitely the weakest link. I don't upgrade often.

The cards I'm looking at are:

0. Whatever 1GB GTX 460 card I can pick up for around £100

1. MSI GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II 1GB, £180

2. MSI GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II 2GB, £210

3. MSI GTX 560Ti 448 Core Twin Frozr III Power Edition 1280MB, £220

4. MSI GTX 570 Twin Frozr III Power Edition 1280MB, £270

My budget is of course limited and I had set a limit of £200. The GTX 570 is really a bit too expensive for me but I would consider it if it really, really was worth the extra cost over the other cards.

I can't work out if 1GB of VRAM is enough for my monitors, combined with the performance of the cards to actually use features that might need more VRAM at 1920x1200. If 1GB is quite likely to be the bottleneck rather than the GPU at my resolution, then I'll have to look at the higher VRAM cards. Conversely, if none of these cards could run 1920x1200 with all the full-blown settings then maybe I only need the 1GB.

Then there is the noise issue. I've read that the 560Ti 448 core is a lot noisier than the lower cards and I'm a bit sensitive to noise. My case is large and well ventilated, but it sits under my desk so still gets warm after a while. It keeps my feet toasty in the Winter.

...

My thought at the moment is the 560Ti 448 core card at £220 - it seems a bargain, but I don't know enough to really know.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Rick.

[Phage]

Yup the 560 Ti 448 would be my choice out of that list. No ATI cards ? The 6950 is roughly equivalent depending on game and may be cheaper.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/499?vs=293
I'd be keeping my eyes on the 560 448 and 6950 and see what comes up cheapest in the sales.

Edit:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-g...2x-dvi-dp-hdmi
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-x...playport-2x-dv

[shaithis]

1GB should be enough. There are a couple of games out that would max the 1GB if you used ultra texture sizes....

I see you only listed nvidia cards.....at the 200ukp price-point I personally think the 6950 2GB is the best bet......failing that I would be looking at the 560Ti 1GB

[kalniel]

Or consider a 560 (non-ti) 1gb card - almost as fast, especially when speeds are bumped a little, but a lot cheaper.

The 560ti 448 is not really a bargain considering the full 570 used to cost only £20 more.

[foxyrick]

Thanks for the replies folks.

I've not looked at ATI because I've only used nVidia for years. The last ATI card I tried had issues with multiple monitors, but that was a long time ago (I was running multiple monitors for programming and CAD long before even Windows supported it). I've just got used to nVidia I suppose and I'm comfortable with configuring them.

The other graphics-intensive things I tend to use the PC for are Electronics CAD and some science type stuff like 3D molecular visualisation with Accelrys Studio and Chemoffice. I don't think any of those would stress any modern card though as long as it does OpenGL acceptably well.

[shaithis]

You might possibly be better off with nVidia then for CUDA...

http://www.nvidia.com/object/visual_..._dynamics.html

[kalniel]

You might possibly be better off with nVidia then for CUDA...

http://www.nvidia.com/object/visual_..._dynamics.html

VMD is accelerated by any openGL card these days, CUDA doesn't add a great deal. Discovery Studio doesn't use CUDA.

The key thing for any of these packages is to get a workstation class card (AMD firepro or nVidia Quadro) as they're the only ones officially supported. And I say that as a former Accelrys bod

[foxyrick]

Aye, my laptop has a Quadro card, that runs DS quite nicely. I'm not bothered really about it on the PC, as long as it runs, as I'm just an 'enthusiastic amateur' these days in chemistry.

Anyway, I'm still debating with myself. I'm sorely tempted to just take the plunge and build a whole new system now. I'll probably wait for the weekend and see what Scan has on offer.

[Brewster0101]

Just throwing this out there but why not get a 6870 and then another one in a month or two when you have the capital.

[foxyrick]

I tend to think that two cards are overkill for me - I tend to only play games occasionally. Plus I don't want the extra heat and noise.

I'm trying to strike a balance between decent performance when I do play a game, and not wasting money and heating up my office for the majority of time that I'm not.

I don't know if that balance really exists yet though...

Given the number of people mentioning Radeon cards though, I'll have a read-up on them. Thanks!

[Paul_Lye]

Just bought an asus 560 ti direct CUII 1gb and i'm very happy with it. Cost me £155. Runs skyrim on all the highest settings no problem. More importantly for me at least it is extremely quiet, almost whisper quiet. True, this is in comparison to my last card which was a hd 4870 which sounded like a jet engine.

[Terbinator]

FWIW: Should you vever plan on playing BF3 it will use 1.4GB on Ultra/full settings @ 1080p.

[spac3d]

ebuyer have a 560ti for £200 with a free copy of bf3

[Paul_Lye]

ah, didn't think we were allowed to name companies, if not i apologise but amazon do the asus 560 ti direct cuII for £167 atm. If you're a patient guy you could check scans today only deals and their facebook page and you'll probably get a better deal. One bad thing is that asus i mentioned was going on amazon for £152,2 weeks ago and was the best deal by far anywhere.

On a side note. I used to use ebuyer alot but recently they have been losing the price war to Scan and amazon. They do have excellent after purchase service but then again so do the latter companies.

[Pob255]

What was your old card?

I'd not want to try to use both of those monitors together for games, when not playing games you need very little graphics power or ram.

If your running 2 monitors and only playing games on one monitor then a gtx560ti should be plenty.
You could get a 2nd low powered card just to run the other monitor.
You could keep your old card if it's not power hungry or get a gt520 or even a g210 to power the other monitor.

[foxyrick]

Hmm... the 1GB 560Ti is looking a good candidate then.

I use Scan a lot as they're not that far from me (I've used them for years, since they were in a small warehouse in Radcliffe!) I've seen a much better prices on one of the cards though - the 560Ti 448 Core for £220.