Best GPU out of these?

[Sixsixx]

Hey guys, so over the past six months or so I've been upgrading my shitty old computer piece by piece, and finally, it's time to upgrade my GPU.

I'm upgrading from a single 550 Ti to one of the following setups:

(a) 2x NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti in SLI
(b) 1x Radeon 6970
(c) 1x NVIDIA GTX 660 Ti
(d) 1x Radeon 5850 + 1x Radeon 5830 in CF

So, which would be best from a power per dollar point of view, taking into consideration that overclocking is probable.

Thanks guys,
- Ryan

PC Specs:
CPU: Intel i7-3770K
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK
PSU: Corsair 1000W
Cooling: Corsair H100i
Case: NZXT Phantom 410

 

[TheBigTroll]

let me point out problems with your rig first

-i7s dont perform better for games (they are useful for other things)
-1000w is overkill on any z77 platform. your system power usage is bottlenecking it, causing it to be un-efficient
-i dont see the point of fisher price watercooling when a heatsink is both quieter and cheaper.
-putting a 550ti in this kind of rig is a bottleneck but then again it could be from a older rig

go get a sapphire 7950. there is one for 269.99 after a 20 dollar MIR at newegg

 

[photonboy]

NONE of your choices with the possible exception of the GTX660Ti are any good.

*You want the best single-GPU card that your budget allows. We MUST have a budget to work with.

I'm ASSUMING you want the card for gaming. If so there's a RANGE of cards which will work for between $100 and $600 (not counting the Titan or multiple cards).

**Here's an EXAMPLE of a great value:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202026

Points on this card:
- comes with digital coupons to download CRYSIS 3, and Bioshock Infinite
- free shipping (if applicable)
- $290 after rebate ($170 if you substract $60 per game)
- relatively quiet vs stock cooling
- customer reviews appear good

Summary:
The card above is excellent value for a gamer, and if you bought the parts listed you spent a lot of money so I wouldn't buy anything less. There are more expensive cards as well such as the GTX670, GTX680, HD7970 and HD7970 GHz but again this depends on your budget.

(Not to seem rude, but the choice of cards is very, very strange. I'm going to assume you don't know much about computers rather than this being a joke. If it's the former, then feel free to ask questions if you're confused about anything.)

 

[dish_moose]

It seems if gaming was your main focus, you would have a great deal of money for a gpu had you chosen your other components with greater care. GTX660TI is a good card - HD 7950/70 or GTX670 would be what you should aim for.
-Bruce

 

[Guest]

The rest of you're rig is descent why go with last years cards? I'm thinking a GTX 670 would be a nice balance assuming you only game at 1080, single display?

 

[bryonhowley]

-i dont see the point of fisher price watercooling when a heatsink is both quieter and cheaper.

Well I can say at least on my rig the Corsair H100i is quiet and works very well. For the price and performance it was the best option between a good heatsink/fan and custom water cooler. I did a custom loop on my AMD rigs and just could not afford to do that again on my intel rig. In the end it was the best choose and keeps my CPU much cooler than a heatsink/fan alone could.

 

[TheBigTroll]

Well I can say at least on my rig the Corsair H100i is quiet and works very well. For the price and performance it was the best option between a good heatsink/fan and custom water cooler. I did a custom loop on my AMD rigs and just could not afford to do that again on my intel rig. In the end it was the best choose and keeps my CPU much cooler than a heatsink/fan alone could.

can you run your h100i passive with a ivy bridge chip at 4.2ghz? the h100i is still fisher price watercooling. the only closed loop cooler id look at is the swiftech h220, which uses legitmate watercooling components

 

[smeezekitty]

I would try to go with a single GPU rather than SLI/crossfire.

Maybe 1x7950 or 1xGTX670 if you can afford it. Failing that I would go with either the 6970 or the GTX660

Crossfire/SLI is more important for higher resolution but it tends to lead to less smooth graphics from what I have read.

 

[stickmansam]

Out of those choices the 660ti

 

[photonboy]

Well I can say at least on my rig the Corsair H100i is quiet and works very well. For the price and performance it was the best option between a good heatsink/fan and custom water cooler. I did a custom loop on my AMD rigs and just could not afford to do that again on my intel rig. In the end it was the best choose and keeps my CPU much cooler than a heatsink/fan alone could.

The H100i is a great product; just ignore the negative comments:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-H100i-CPU-Cooler-Review/1719/8

While the i7-3770K provides little benefit over the i5-3570K for gaming (usually), in some tasks such as video encoding it CAN be up to 30% faster. It is also likely to provide at least some benefit vs the 3570K in the future as games become more threaded. (Nor did you ask to be criticized about parts you already own).

I still think the following is the best value:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202026&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Video+Cards-_-Sapphire+Tech-_-14202026

(I could recommend a $500 card, but this card is under $200 when you subtract the games though I can't figure out how the two games are worth "$170 value". If after even a year you decide to upgrade you could sell it and get a high proportion of your money back likely; even if you don't upgrade for three years the system you have is a nice base so you could just get the latest single-GPU card and nothing else for a massive upgrade, like a GTX980 or HD????.)

 

[photonboy]

Update:
If you buy an AMD card then get RadeonPro. I'm using a GTX680 but when I used RadeonPro before this is how I used it:

a) Force VSync - for games with no native support (like Witcher #1)

b) Force Anti-Aliasing - (Mass Effect #1; for ME1 though I recommend forcing SUPER-SAMPLING)

c) Force 50FPS instead of 60FPS (allows to maintain VSYNC while slightly increasing quality. My monitor supported 50Hz at 1280x720 and 1920x1080).

Some features MAY now work via the Catalyst Control Panel, however I strongly recommend at least investigating RadeonPro further. http://www.radeonpro.info/en-US/

 

[smeezekitty]

I agree no need to criticize on parts they already own.

 

[bigcyco1]

Hey guys, so over the past six months or so I've been upgrading my shitty old computer piece by piece, and finally, it's time to upgrade my GPU.

I'm upgrading from a single 550 Ti to one of the following setups:

(a) 2x NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti in SLI
(b) 1x Radeon 6970
(c) 1x NVIDIA GTX 660 Ti
(d) 1x Radeon 5850 + 1x Radeon 5830 in CF

So, which would be best from a power per dollar point of view, taking into consideration that overclocking is probable.

Thanks guys,
- Ryan

PC Specs:
CPU: Intel i7-3770K
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK
PSU: Corsair 1000W
Cooling: Corsair H100i
Case: NZXT Phantom 410

The 660 Ti is the best choice out of the options your giving did you already buy a i7 and 1000W power supply?

 

[photonboy]

*Let's quite commenting until/if we hear back from Sixsixx