Best 1080p graphics card?

[spencer casey]

Hello I was wondering what the best 1080p graphics card that can run most games on 1080p at medium-high settings I am not interested in any 1440p (as I don't have a 1440p monitor) or 4k (again I don't have a 4k monitor). I was looking at the new GTX 960 (specifically the EVGA SSC one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487091) but it only has 2GB of VRAM and I heard that only having 2GB of VRAM isn't very good for 1080p gaming, is this true? Also I have a corsair cx500W power supply and I would rather not have to get a new power supply but if I have to, oh well.

 

[Brillis Wuce]

The 960 is great for 1080p, and 2 GB is enough for it. Back when I had my GTX 660, Battlefield 4 barely took up 1 GB.

You have to start considering 3 GB and beyond for 1440p and up.

By the way, the SSC version would be a great choice. You can overclock that thing to 1500MHz.

 

[-Lone-]

What's your budget? I'd get the gtx 970 if you can, guarantee you 1080p ultra no problem

 

[-Lone-]

lol, same exact time in two threads 😀

 

[Brillis Wuce]

Ha. And the same badges.

 

[spencer casey]

The 960 is great for 1080p, and 2 GB is enough for it. Back when I had my GTX 660, Battlefield 4 barely took up 1 GB.

You have to start considering 3 GB and beyond for 1440p and up.

By the way, the SSC version would be a great choice. You can overclock that thing to 1500MHz.

I have never overclocked anything before (like a CPU or GPU) so when overclocking a GPU (if I do overclock it if I do get it) do I need some sort of aftermarket cooler for it? Also would overclocking it give a good performance boost?

 

[ERIC J]

for the $350 you simply cannot ask for more than the evga gtx 970 super,super clocked gpu.
this thing can hang with my 780ti superclocked.
at 1080(which is what i game on) you will be able to max most games with ease.

 

[spencer casey]

What's your budget? I'd get the gtx 970 if you can, guarantee you 1080p ultra no problem

I budget would probably be around $250 so would it really be worth it saving an extra $100 and getting a GTX 970 and wouldn't a GTX 970 be a little overkill for 1080p gaming?

 

[ERIC J]

What's your budget? I'd get the gtx 970 if you can, guarantee you 1080p ultra no problem

I budget would probably be around $250 so would it really be worth it saving an extra $100 and getting a GTX 970 and wouldn't a GTX 970 be a little overkill for 1080p gaming?

get the new gtx 960 then

 

[holyrage]

R9 280X if u can push a tiny bit for that 3GB of ram and ver good Price/performance IMO u can get it for 220ish usd maybe less

but well u can get a R9 290 as 270USD but that thing consumes a lot of wattage

EDIT: get a R9 280X if u want something whiten your budget

 

[Brillis Wuce]

The 960 is great for 1080p, and 2 GB is enough for it. Back when I had my GTX 660, Battlefield 4 barely took up 1 GB.

You have to start considering 3 GB and beyond for 1440p and up.

By the way, the SSC version would be a great choice. You can overclock that thing to 1500MHz.

I have never overclocked anything before (like a CPU or GPU) so when overclocking a GPU (if I do overclock it if I do get it) do I need some sort of aftermarket cooler for it? Also would overclocking it give a good performance boost?

Nope. You just need something like EVGA Precision X. You can look up tutorials on how to operate it, but it's very simple. You're just operating a slider.

As far as performance, you can expect anything around a 15% boost on a high overclock. Each card is different, though. Some overclock better than others.

 

[spencer casey]

The 960 is great for 1080p, and 2 GB is enough for it. Back when I had my GTX 660, Battlefield 4 barely took up 1 GB.

You have to start considering 3 GB and beyond for 1440p and up.

By the way, the SSC version would be a great choice. You can overclock that thing to 1500MHz.

I have never overclocked anything before (like a CPU or GPU) so when overclocking a GPU (if I do overclock it if I do get it) do I need some sort of aftermarket cooler for it? Also would overclocking it give a good performance boost?

Nope. You just need something like EVGA Precision X. You can look up tutorials on how to operate it, but it's very simple. You're just operating a slider.

As far as performance, you can expect anything around a 15% boost on a high overclock. Each card is different, though. Some overclock better than others.

What GTX 960 would get the best performance after being overclocked?

 

[Brillis Wuce]

It'll help, definitely. As far as I've seen, adding 130MHz to the SSC version still allows stable running and add about 5 more FPS.

http://www.techspot.com/review/946-nvidia-geforce-gtx-960/page8.html

This is for a different version, but the SSC has higher clocks, so yours would actually do better. You'll basically be able to run everything at max with 60 fps, except for the extremely demanding games (Crysis 3), but even those will get a solid 40 fps.

 

[spencer casey]

It'll help, definitely. As far as I've seen, adding 130MHz to the SSC version still allows stable running and add about 5 more FPS.

http://www.techspot.com/review/946-nvidia-geforce-gtx-960/page8.html

This is for a different version, but the SSC has higher clocks, so yours would actually do better. You'll basically be able to run everything at max with 60 fps, except for the extremely demanding games (Crysis 3), but even those will get a solid 40 fps.

Awsome! I have a few questions 1) Will overclocking the card reduce the cards life span? 2) What will happen if I overclock the card to much? 3) Will the card draw a lot more power if I overclock it? 4) Will a corsari CX500W be enough for this card and to overclock it?

 

[Brillis Wuce]

EVGA Precision X has built in safety features that limit your card from damaging itself. Last time, I saw, it doesn't allow more than 135 MHz to be added to the core clock, so you really can't "overclock too much".

It will draw more power, yes, but not by much. The recommended wattage is 400 watts, so 500 would be plenty. Technically, your PSU can handle it, but its not the best quality. You'll find it under "Tier 3" in this article.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

 

[spencer casey]

EVGA Precision X has built in safety features that limit your card from damaging itself. Last time, I saw, it doesn't allow more than 135 MHz to be added to the core clock, so you really can't "overclock too much".

It will draw more power, yes, but not by much. The recommended wattage is 400 watts, so 500 would be plenty. Technically, your PSU can handle it, but its not the best quality. You'll find it under "Tier 3" in this article.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

Would adding 135MHz to the already factory overclocked card give a noticeable performance boost?

 

[Brillis Wuce]

4-8 fps, depending on the game. Your best off sticking with stock frequencies until you run into a situation where overclocking would be beneficial.

In other words, there's no point in overclocking if you're already getting 60 fps.

 

[spencer casey]

4-8 fps, depending on the game. Your best off sticking with stock frequencies until you run into a situation where overclocking would be beneficial.

In other words, there's no point in overclocking if you're already getting 60 fps.

Ok also I have only had this power supply for about 7 months so sound I upgrade now or would I be fine for a little while?

 

[Brillis Wuce]

I'd upgrade. Corsair is a good brand, but their CX series tend to explode (no exaggeration). Don't risk frying your whole PC, especially when power supplies are so cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094&cm_re=seasonic-_-17-151-094-_-Product

 

[spencer casey]

I'd upgrade. Corsair is a good brand, but their CX series tend to explode (no exaggeration). Don't risk frying your whole PC, especially when power supplies are so cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094&cm_re=seasonic-_-17-151-094-_-Product

Do you think it could wait a little bit? Like 3-5 months because I plan on upgrading my CPU from my x4 760k to an i5 4460 then I will probably get the evga ssc gtx 960 so do you think it could wait a couple of months before upgrading my PSU (I am not using the full 500w from the power supply in other words I am not using the full amount the power supply could output) or should I put off getting a new CPU or GPU a little longer and get a PSU

 

[ERIC J]

4-8 fps, depending on the game. Your best off sticking with stock frequencies until you run into a situation where overclocking would be beneficial.

In other words, there's no point in overclocking if you're already getting 60 fps.

Ok also I have only had this power supply for about 7 months so sound I upgrade now or would I be fine for a little while?

look into the Super nova G2 by EVGA. i used corsair for years until i bought one of these,

 

[Brillis Wuce]

I'd upgrade. Corsair is a good brand, but their CX series tend to explode (no exaggeration). Don't risk frying your whole PC, especially when power supplies are so cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094&cm_re=seasonic-_-17-151-094-_-Product

Do you think it could wait a little bit? Like 3-5 months because I plan on upgrading my CPU from my x4 760k to an i5 4460 then I will probably get the evga ssc gtx 960 so do you think it could wait a couple of months before upgrading my PSU (I am not using the full 500w from the power supply in other words I am not using the full amount the power supply could output) or should I put off getting a new CPU or GPU a little longer and get a PSU

Chances are...you'll be fine. Just upgrade it when you can.

 

[spencer casey]

I'd upgrade. Corsair is a good brand, but their CX series tend to explode (no exaggeration). Don't risk frying your whole PC, especially when power supplies are so cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094&cm_re=seasonic-_-17-151-094-_-Product

Do you think it could wait a little bit? Like 3-5 months because I plan on upgrading my CPU from my x4 760k to an i5 4460 then I will probably get the evga ssc gtx 960 so do you think it could wait a couple of months before upgrading my PSU (I am not using the full 500w from the power supply in other words I am not using the full amount the power supply could output) or should I put off getting a new CPU or GPU a little longer and get a PSU

Chances are...you'll be fine. Just upgrade it when you can.

Ok thanks also what would be the best GTX 960 to get for overclocking? The gigabyte one has 3 fans so I would think that would be better but the EVGA has more clock speed so I think it would get better performance.

 

[ERIC J]

I'd upgrade. Corsair is a good brand, but their CX series tend to explode (no exaggeration). Don't risk frying your whole PC, especially when power supplies are so cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094&cm_re=seasonic-_-17-151-094-_-Product

Do you think it could wait a little bit? Like 3-5 months because I plan on upgrading my CPU from my x4 760k to an i5 4460 then I will probably get the evga ssc gtx 960 so do you think it could wait a couple of months before upgrading my PSU (I am not using the full 500w from the power supply in other words I am not using the full amount the power supply could output) or should I put off getting a new CPU or GPU a little longer and get a PSU

Chances are...you'll be fine. Just upgrade it when you can.

Ok thanks also what would be the best GTX 960 to get for overclocking? The gigabyte one has 3 fans so I would think that would be better but the EVGA has more clock speed so I think it would get better performance.

if you can get the evga super,super clocked version,it has the highest clock out of the box.

 

[Brillis Wuce]

Yep, ^ get the SSC. ACX 2.0 is great (like the card even needs cooling), and it'll give the best performance.