1080p gaming card recommendations

[Willzzz]

Actually on the 770 front, I think this is better:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-m...6-dport-dvi-hd

I really don't think the 2GB is going to be an issue for a long long time, but that 280X is definitely a strong contender.

[Funkyyy]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm pretty keen on the 280X Toxic, but can't find one for love nor money! They seem to be sold out everywhere, though not surprising I guess, given the price/performance ratio.

There's one on eBay but it's £300 which is way too much. Does anyone know of any stock on UK sites at sensible prices?

Preorder from Scan, it should be back in stock on January 6th ^^

[dannyboy75]

Thanks again for all the suggestions and advice. In the end I went for the Asus 280X TOP (the one with 1070/6400mhz clocks). Granted it's not quite as fast as the Toxic but I was concerned about the noise and heat output of the Toxic.

Was also tempted to spend another £25 or so and get a 4gb 770, but you have to stop somewhere with these things.

I'm sure I'll be happy with my purchase anyway and, best of all, it'll be here tomorrow

[pastymuncher]

I think you will be happy with that. It's only slightly slower on the core than the Toxic with the same memory clock. 3Gb of vram too so that should see you through at least the next couple of years.

[dannyboy75]

Yeah I know it's not the fastest thing out there by a long way, but it'll certainly be a decent step up from a GTX480.

Plus the last ATi/AMD card I owned was about 6 years ago so, if nothing else, it'll be refreshing downloading Catalyst instead of Forceware drivers. I'm also curious to see how this Mantle stuff pans out....

[pastymuncher]

Make sure you get rid of all traces of the Nvidia drivers. It should be a lot cooler than a GTX480 too.

[CrispiusBaconus]

Don't go for a 4gb version of the 770. Its memory bus doesn't support that amount of vram properly, making it just another card to make money, just saying Nvidia

[dannyboy75]

Well I'm glad I went for the Asus card in the end, because it only just fits in my case (with about 2-3mm's to spare). From what I've read, the Toxic is even longer so I don't think it would've fit.

Really pleased with the TOP anyway, I can finally crank up the AA/AF in my newer games without taking a huge drop in framerates. And it's so much quieter than the 480, no more hoover inside my PC

[AraS]

Don't go for a 4gb version of the 770. Its memory bus doesn't support that amount of vram properly, making it just another card to make money, just saying Nvidia

i like when people type bogus, try playing game that exceeds 2 gig video memory you will get stutering and other problems, as with more video memory you will avoid such problems .

[kalniel]

i like when people type bogus, try playing game that exceeds 2 gig video memory you will get stutering and other problems, as with more video memory you will avoid such problems .

Misunderstanding I think. The issue is more that no games use more than 2gb vram until you crank up the settings so high that you need a faster card than a 770 for them to be playable in the first place. So it's not that it can't use 4gb ram, it can, just there's no point.

[Willzzz]

Indeed, the only time the 2GB is ever going to be a limitation will be if you are running in SLI, most likely 3x SLI, and even then only in very specific situations.

A game that utilises the VRAM properly simply isn't going to have any issues, this should cover all major titles.

[AraS]

most likely yes , but there is some games that need more video memory and 770 is still fast to provide grunt for it .

[Willzzz]

Name one.
(that isn't caused by sloppily written mods)

[AraS]

of top of my head, I just recently finished hitman aboslution it used more then 2 gig of video ram

[Willzzz]

Using more than 2GB doesn't mean it needs it.

I play it very happily on a 2GB card.



If it needed more than 2GB you would see the 4GB card leap ahead. Yet all the 770s are almost exactly the same.
And this graph is at 1440p, so there is certainly no difference @ 1080p.

[The Hand]

It might be worth holding off a month, until AMD's Mantle API is launched, it does seem promising.. though 770 is a pretty solid choice at the moment.