Features - QOTW: Which graphics card(s) would you buy on a £300 budget?

[sula]

Assuming I could not find some cheapo promo GTX 780 or R 290 non-X when it does release, then I would go for 280X Toxic most propably.

[Audiothor]

There are still some 7870 Radeons but with the Tahiti LE chips available

https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials...roductId=55140

Two of those in CrossFire would beat most else and still come in below £300 - can I keep the change?

[DemonHighwayman]

From the suggestions already in the comments, I'd go for a 280X for the simple reason its able to run AMD's new API which seems more future proofed than the gtx 770.

[Audiothor]

https://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/XFX+DD+Radeon+HD+7870+GHz+Edition+(Tahiti+LE)+2GB+GDDR5+Graphics+Card+[FX-787A-CNAC]5D+%2B+2+FREE+GAMES!+?productId=55140

Don't know why 1st address didn't work???

[AETAaAS]

I'd go for dual R9 270X. Easy performance.

[sirtrouserpress]

Whilst they're still on offer over at Aria, I'd get a pair of XFX HD7870 Tahiti edition cards. Got one at the moment and it is ace, but I bet a pair would be amazing!

[=assassin=]

I'd go for a GTX 770, because the power consumption figures of the competition, an R9 280X, are pretty poor (around 210watts versus 280watts I think), and I'm a sucker for efficiency. I also don't like the idea of both that much extra heat going into my computer case, nor the significant exra strain it'd place on my PSU, considering that the 770 is quite power hungry to start with.

[Macadee]

Either an Asus Radeon R9 280X Matrix or a pair of 7870XT / 7950's

[Saracen]

Wow, I bet you're fun at parties!

Don't know. I don't go to parties.

I also don't do much gaming these days, and if I do game, I'm happy to just turn down detail and fancy effects.

There are only a few situations in which high priced cards will make any appreciable difference to a user. Gaming is the obvious one. Cards aimed at 3D modelling would be another, and I certainly don't do enough of that to justify it. Driving multiple monitors (more than, say, two) might also be a reason, but I don't need that either.

Therefore, nothing I do would be enhanced by a high-end card, so what's the point in buying one, or even fitting one if given it? Just to get bragging rights, maybe?

I'm old enough, and jaded enough, to have done my time at the cutting edge of computer technology, and high end gear for it's own sake doesn't even rock, let alone float my boat any more. So unless it adds to or improves my computing life and experience, what's the point?

A PC is a tool to do a job. If a £5 screwdriver does the job, would you buy a £50 one because it was made of harder steel? If it does the job, it does the job. And for me, cards at FAR less than £300 do the job.

That okay with you?

[Myss_tree]

A PC is a tool to do a job. If a £5 screwdriver does the job, would you buy a £50 one because it was made of harder steel?

The law of diminishing returns states that a £50 screwdriver will likely be a better buy than a £5 one, just not 10 times better. If the tool is necessary for your job then and used regularly then its a better investment long term to have the better quality even if its far more expensive.
As a PC is not a tool required for my job or is it a toy used for playing games then the graphics card i would buy is the quietest one for my requirements with a little oomph. I have a Sapphire 7770 vapour X which runs very quiet at idle.

[JordanTr]

2xR9 270X in Xfire

[Luke7]

A PC is a tool to do a job. If a £5 screwdriver does the job, would you buy a £50 one because it was made of harder steel?

The law of diminishing returns states that a £50 screwdriver will likely be a better buy than a £5 one, just not 10 times better. If the tool is necessary for your job then and used regularly then its a better investment long term to have the better quality even if its far more expensive.
As a PC is not a tool required for my job or is it a toy used for playing games then the graphics card i would buy is the quietest one for my requirements with a little oomph. I have a Sapphire 7770 vapour X which runs very quiet at idle.

I agree with you. Also I'm wondering what the point in Saracen commenting on this particular post was?

Saracen also a decent GPU will effect your browser, like chrome, through hardware acceleration. Admittedly you wont need a £100+ graphics card for that

[Saracen]

The law of diminishing returns states that a £50 screwdriver will likely be a better buy than a £5 one, just not 10 times better. If the tool is necessary for your job then and used regularly then its a better investment long term to have the better quality even if its far more expensive.
As a PC is not a tool required for my job or is it a toy used for playing games then the graphics card i would buy is the quietest one for my requirements with a little oomph. I have a Sapphire 7770 vapour X which runs very quiet at idle.

Well, I have cheap screwdrivers I bought 40 or so years ago, and they're still driving screws. I even have a couple my father bought an indeterminate number of years before that. Buying a specific card because it's quiet is fair enough, if that's impirtant to you. That's part of the reason why I wouldn't buy a high-end card .... ultimate performance tends to imply heat, which tends to imply relatively noisy cooling.

[Saracen]

I agree with you. Also I'm wondering what the point in Saracen commenting on this particular post was?

Saracen also a decent GPU will effect your browser, like chrome, through hardware acceleration. Admittedly you wont need a £100+ graphics card for that

Post, or thread?

I commented on that post because it took a dig at me. I commented on the thread because it asked

Which .... would you buy on a £300 budget?

That is, it seeks a personal response, which is what I posted ....

1) I wouldn't spend that on a card, and
2) Why I wouldn't.

To put it another way, not everybody wants a £300 card, at all. And believe me, I'm far from alone in that.

Or to put it yet another way, this is a discussion forum, the aim being for people to discuss things. A question was asked, and I answered it as I see it. And why wouldn't I?

[MrRockliffe]

My choice at the moment would probably be a 670. You can get them dirt cheap at the moment and I don't need anything more powerful than that to play games on a 1080p monitor - especially as I don't game that much. 172 on Scan today with shipping - or if you get free shipping its 168!

[rpsgc]

I'd smack myself silly if I had spent that much money on a video card and it only had 2GB VRAM.

I mean, come on, it's 2013.