GPU decision. Please help

[bigdaz84]

Could you guys please help me decide which graphics card to get? I have some options.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-m...cores-mdp-hdmi

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1280m...1500mhz-448cor

Or wait to see what the 7850 options are when they come out this week hopefully.

In a build with i5-2500k@4.5, Asus gen3 board.

I'm concerned that the 1.25GB of ram in the 560 wont be enough for BF3 and future titles but the card is faster afaik. I do want an MSI card because of the low volume and temperature levels but I'm open to better alternatives. I would spend a little more but not much more. It's my first build so i have no deep seated AMD or Nvidia preference. Probably play on my tv at 1920x1080 but would rather not be limited to this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Lociaberca]

If I have to choose over these options, I would go for msi HD6950. As far as I know, HD6950 is better than GTX 560 Ti. but from what I heard, NVIDIA card works better with Intel and AMD card works better with AMD processor.

You may also consider to get an aftermarket cooler for these cards, it can be quite noisy at load.:-\

[Terbinator]

Wait until next week for the Kepler and 78xx series launches before taking the plunge IMO.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The HD7800 series is already up for sale on Ebuyer:

http://forums.hexus.net/graphics-car...es-out-uk.html

The GTX680 will be launched on the 22nd although it will be around £400 to £450.

[KeyboardDemon]

I would wait and see, it seems too close to too many launch dates to be spending money on any new GPU right now, imho.

[bigdaz84]

Thanks for the replies. Pants thing is that I don't have a GPU at all at the moment so I'd rather not wait too long. I think I'm gonna get this with plans to crossfire in the future.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-m...l-dvi-hdmi-mdp

Surely the days when you should buy Nvidia for an intel cpu and amd for amd are well behind us.

Do I need 2GB of ram for the future?

[Terbinator]

Thanks for the replies. Pants thing is that I don't have a GPU at all at the moment so I'd rather not wait too long. I think I'm gonna get this with plans to crossfire in the future.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-m...l-dvi-hdmi-mdp

Surely the days when you should buy Nvidia for an intel cpu and amd for amd are well behind us.

Do I need 2GB of ram for the future?

Yes. you may as well go with 2GB VRAM now, as BF3 being the staple of DX11(Frostibte 2 engine) uses around 1.5GB on full settings @ 1080p.

[bigdaz84]

Yes. you may as well go with 2GB VRAM now, as BF3 being the staple of DX11(Frostibte 2 engine) uses around 1.5GB on full settings @ 1080p.

So it really is just a straight up choice of what I reckon's most important. The faster 560 or the 7850 with more ram. Not sure what I'll do.

[Terbinator]

So it really is just a straight up choice of what I reckon's most important. The faster 560 or the 7850 with more ram. Not sure what I'll do.

Go with the 7850.

[bigdaz84]

Go with the 7850.

Thanks Terbinator I think I will.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-s...l-dvi-hdmi-mdp

I'm gonna get this because I've seen that I can give it a 15% overclock quite easily and the low power draw means that my 650w psu will do for crossfire if I want to set one up. Temperatures and volume are low so pretty much exactly what I wanted.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would also look at Ebuyer too:

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?store=2&cat=48&subcat=3633

[bigdaz84]

I would also look at Ebuyer too:

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?store=2&cat=48&subcat=3633

I did but I'm not their biggest fan. Standard delivery always takes 5 or 6 days and never comes any sooner. It's like they always just wait 3 days to send it on purpose. Won't be available until March 30th either. I'd imagine then that Scan will be the same but it's next day delivery. Might not get it until the start of April at this rate.

[simplyfred]

Why dont you check out the reviews on this site while you wait, i'd already ruled out the 7850 as the EVGA GTX560 Ti Clasified pretty much knocks the socks of it and often the 7870 as well.

Keep looking at the older EVGA GTX480 too but its harder to find the reviews that compare them.

The 560 may be only 1.2gb but it beats the 3gb 7950 at Battlefield3 on the Hexus review and the 2gb 7870 also.

I've noticed that Nvidia and AMD cards are not so easy to compare on just clock/shader/memory figures
as they are just completely diferent animals.

But what do i know

[KeyboardDemon]

The 560 may be only 1.2gb but it beats the 3gb 7950 at Battlefield3 on the Hexus review and the 2gb 7870 also.

Only having 1.2gb might perform better at 1080x1920, it could struggle at performing as well as a 3gb card at higher resolutions like 2560x1600 or with triple screen displays.

[1pnoe]

If I have to choose over these options, I would go for msi HD6950. As far as I know, HD6950 is better than GTX 560 Ti. but from what I heard, NVIDIA card works better with Intel and AMD card works better with AMD processor.

You may also consider to get an aftermarket cooler for these cards, it can be quite noisy at load.:-\

I can confirm that, on the rigs I have built, depending on what brand CPU's you use, sister brands have better performance together. However this seems to be more present on older chipsets.

[CSF90]

My 1GB GTX 560 Ti (not 448 core edition) struggles on the Back to Karkand BF3 maps, as it runs out of VRAM with everything set to Ultra. FPS generally remains high, but you'll get the odd stutter for a second or so as it refreshes the memory buffer.

For maps that the game shipped with, it's fine. I can run everything on Ultra (I am using SLI though, so naturally improved FPS) with no drops at all but for the B2K maps I have to decrease most of the settings down to High for a 100% smooth experience. I think I've read the B2K maps can use up to 2GB of VRAM (although it will use as much as it can by design), so even 1.25GB on the 448 edition may be pushing it.