Best GPU as of January 20th, 2013?? Help

[DaapENT]

Hello folks. As of this day right now what would be the best gpu. Price is of no concern. I was looking at the 7970ghz Ed

Here's my buildlet
Asus p8z77 v pro
950w 80 silver power and cooling mk2 psu
WD 1 tb 7200 rpm
Cooler master hyper 212
Corsair 16g

Thank you leave as many thoughts as possible

 

[completelyrandomname]

7970

 

[timnswede]

If price is no concern then there's always the gtx 690. I recommend the Sapphire 7970 Vapor-X GHz though. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001

 

[DaapENT]

Why would you choose gtx over radeon?

 

[timnswede]

The GTX 690 is the most powerful card, but it's a dual gpu card. It also costs $1000. It's basically two 680s taped together. The most powerful single gpu card is the 7970 ghz though.

 

[redeemer]

7970 price/performance cannot be beat at this time

 

[JKatwyopc]

The most powerful Single GPU card on the planet right now is the ASUS ROG MATRIX 7970. It's also one of the most expensive 7970's at $499.99. You can get one here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0099I7CLO/?tag=pcpapi-20. You better hurry if you want one cuz it looks like it's getting harder to find.

 

[DaapENT]

How about this, can you guys explain why you prefer or "think" amd is better then nvidia? I've heard from a lot of people radeon is great quality, but I haven't heard gtx being worse quality then radeon.
Thanks guys loving the input :d

Also, how IMPORTANT do you guys think ssd's are? For a serious gamer/dj/business type user


LIGHTWEIGHT BABY

 

[timnswede]

obviously a bunch of AMD fanboys. GTX 680 if you want the best gaming experience possible for a single gpu. Or listen to the FanBoys that think there cards beast cos AMD have shoved like 2000 driver updates into it, 680 has had like 3. We'll see which one comes out best

Most are not fanboys, there is just no point in paying the extra money for the 680 when the 7970 beats it in most games. Yes they had driver problems, but now that they are fixed the 7970 is better.

 

[completelyrandomname]

7970 Platinum from ASUS is the fastest single GPU and the fastest DUAL GPU would be the ASUS ARES II Dual 7970. As Linus (from LinusTechTips) said, the GTX 690 can't even OC that much but with the 7970 you can OC so much more.

 

[plasmaj12345]

How about this, can you guys explain why you prefer or "think" amd is better then nvidia? I've heard from a lot of people radeon is great quality, but I haven't heard gtx being worse quality then radeon.
Thanks guys loving the input :d

Also, how IMPORTANT do you guys think ssd's are? For a serious gamer/dj/business type user


LIGHTWEIGHT BABY

The only way to truly tell if one card is better than another is through the benchmarks. It just so happens that in this generation of cards, AMD scores higher in the majority of benchmarks. Next generation may be different. Also, things change as newer drivers get released. I would recommend looking at the GPU hierarchy and Best Graphics Cards for the Money: January 2013 on this site.

 

[DaapENT]

The only way to truly tell if one card is better than another is through the benchmarks. It just so happens that in this generation of cards, AMD scores higher in the majority of benchmarks. Next generation may be different. Also, things change as newer drivers get released. I would recommend looking at the GPU hierarchy and Best Graphics Cards for the Money: January 2013 on this site.

I agree whole heatedly. I have checked out multiple charts and opinions, at this point I'm just absorbing as much private opinion as possible. Because in the end, that's what counts. Thanks 😉

 

[DaapENT]

I think SSDs are horribly overrated but I know a lot of people love them. I think they're a pure luxury device unless you're actually using an application that is demanding on your storage subsystem.

Anyways, there's no fanboys really in here. The 7970 GHz edition is the fastest single GPU out there:
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/VTX3D/Radeon_HD_7870_XT_Black/images/perfrel_1920.gif

The 7990, if you can find it, is a bit faster than the 690 as well, though I'd probably prefer the 690 if I were buying a dual-GPU card as it is single slot and cooler/quieter.

So many charts show gtx as the top and so many private enthusiasts say radeon.... Urrrggggggggggrgrugrugurgugrurgurug I may just go with the Asus 7970 ghz ed

 

[completelyrandomname]

Make sure it's the ASUS MATRIX HD 7970 Platinum.

 

[ismaeljrp]

An SSD would be the single best upgrade you can possibly do at this time if you're using a mechanical drive.

I'm speaking from experience, and I only have a Vertex 2. Overall applications will launch near instantly something as heavy as Photoshop loads fully in 3-5 seconds, boot time is around 8 seconds would be faster if you have Windows 8, and overall faster everything...if you want it for gaming though, don't expect much, except for faster loading.

SSDs are not overrated, the only people who say that are the ones who don't have them.

 

[ikes9711]

obviously a bunch of AMD fanboys. GTX 680 if you want the best gaming experience possible for a single gpu. Or listen to the FanBoys that think there cards beast cos AMD have shoved like 2000 driver updates into it, 680 has had like 3. We'll see which one comes out best

Would you please check out the GPU hierarchy done by Tom's Hardware themselves. It clearly states that the 7970 GHz is better than the 680

 

[alisoncat]

Interesting thread. I was considering upgrading my current GTX 680 2gb to a 690 or sli 680 4 gb.

But these AMD cards are so tempting at the price range. My only issue with AMD (in the past), was the drivers. When I moved over to Nvidia, I found the driver updates were a lot more on the ball, and smoother. And I thought the Kepler cards ran much cooler, and less power consuming.

I wonder what kind of impact the next gen consoles will have on PC gaming, considering they are all built around AMD. Or if that matters at all.

 

[DarkSable]

Also just throwing out there, even if the 7970 were less than what it is, the 680 is STILL a bad pick - it's 5% faster than a 670 BEFORE both are overclocked, and only 3% faster after... for 25% (Or often more) more expense.

 

[DaapENT]

I guess it comes down to whether or not you want to spend that extra bread and whether or not you want the extra slot... I'm not too big with the computer talk but I've had the jist(lol) of it. People say gtx.. People say radeon... Gtx less updates...same issues... Radeon more updates... Same issues.... Could be luck of the draw on just recieving a good gpu. Planning on purchasing the Asus 7970 ghz ed for 499.
Anyone object?

 

[timnswede]

AMD just had problems with drivers before, but they are fixed now. For the 7970 I would recommend any of these 3: Sapphire 7970 Vapor-X GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001
: MSI Lightning 7970 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127670
:ASUS Platinum 7970 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0099I7CLO/?tag=pcpapi-20

I actually don't know much about the platinum, but since everyone here is saying it's good, I'm sure it is.

 

[Sasha Hagen]

Why would you choose gtx over radeon?

Because Nvidia Actually makes graphic cards. Gtx 690 Not gtx titan

 

[Powerhouse-iNC]

Usually I prefer Radeon over Nvidia, but if price is of no concern, go for the Geforce Gtx Titan. It is currently the top graphics card, though they cost over $1000.00.

 

[deluxo]

asus rog matrix hd 7970 platinum or TITAN

 

[The Kasafist]

How about this, can you guys explain why you prefer or "think" amd is better then nvidia? I've heard from a lot of people radeon is great quality, but I haven't heard gtx being worse quality then radeon.
Thanks guys loving the input :d

Also, how IMPORTANT do you guys think ssd's are? For a serious gamer/dj/business type user


LIGHTWEIGHT BABY

Extremly important (for serious gamers) I personally hate loading times. Anyhow this is better for a seperate thread since SSD beling in the storage section of tomshardware. I would also like to remind everyone to be mindful of one another we dont need another AMD vs Nvidia argument. Besides the single most powerful GPU even proven here on tomshardware is in fact the 7970 and the most powerful single card in general is the GTX 690 at the moment due to its dual GPU. So enough arguing over brand take the name away and all you have are video cards with numbers as nomenclachure!

 

[The Kasafist]

When I chose my GPU I chose based on what I was really after I simply chose the GTX 670 cause it performed in the titles where it mattered to me. From what I have noticed that 7970 has crazy compute power if you are a seriousrenderng and editing say for exmaple with large programs like photoshop CS6 the 7970s compute power is highly, highly recommened.

Settings all names aside (Nvidia/AMD) as you can see I am referring to the video cards by their series number not they're brand name. One thing is true for sure both companies update their drivers very differently. Which is better is totally dependant on what kind of user YOU are! I am simply a gamer who couldn't do graphic arts to save my life my fiancee on the other hand is a talented artist both on and off the computer. So the 7970 would be the obvious choice for her. Where the 600 series cards just so happen to suit all needs.