Best Graphics Cards For The Money: January 2012 (Archive)

[Novuake]

I agree fully with that argument. Do not agree that its a worth the 50$.
Guess I just do not see the point of such a card, others(Onus and you) do... 😀

if you play games with your igpu and it delivers a large percentage of 6570's performance then no reason to get one. this is the reason for <less than>radeon 6670-class discreet gfx cards' slow death. in the future, igpus will get even more powerful, turning these gfx cards into niche instead of mainstream.

i'd get one if i had weaker igpu. among other reasons: discreet cards are easy to recycle between builds, really useful for boosting older pcs' gaming performance (as long as the pc had weaker gfx).

But the HD6570 price vs HD6670 price is TINY for a HUGE jump in performance.

HD6670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131440
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102988

HD6570
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131496
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102994

 

[Onus]

I would never buy a HD6670 with DDR3 though. For me, the HD6570 is a very unlikely choice, but I believe it could be valid for people buying old used office PCs off ebay who want to play a few games. For someone with a $250-$300 budget, who needs everything but the monitor, it may be their best choice.

 

[mapesdhs]

if not for me wanting to wait and see what kind of memory baseline the xbo/ps4 sets i'd be all over the 7970~$300. i doubt my 1gb 560 will be enough in the near future...

I've done quite a few tests in recent months:

http://sgidepot.co.uk/sgi.html#PC

To give you some idea, two generic 560s are a moderate chunk below one 670. Two
good 560TIs are better than a 670. RAM issues not withstanding of course. If you need
any specific tests, do let me know, I have a couple of standard 560s. Meanwhile, I'm
hunting for a 7970 atm.

I was pondering a 770 or 780, decided to get two used 3GB 580s in the end, which are
faster than a 780 and cost a heck of a lot less. 8) Should do me for a long time as I'm
not really playing the very latest titles (Skyrim is tempting, but if I start playing that I'd
never get any work done! 😀). I do however like to play games at high/max settings, so
3GB 580 SLI was a nice step up from 1GB 460 SLI (Crysis2, FC2, etc.).

Atm NVIDIA cards seem overpriced to me. I generally prefer NVIDIA because I've
had fewer driver issues with them, but it's hard to ignore the decent value of the
7950/7970, and the RAM size advantage (IMO the 760 should be 4GB by default).
I ignored the 600 series completely due the RAM normally only being 2GB, decided
that wasn't really much of a jump from 1GB, and nor was the performance enough
better than top-end 850MHz 460 SLI..

Ian.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

X4500HD? Plenty of those about in C2D boards, and a 6570 is a much cheaper upgrade than an A8, new MB, and DDR3.

 

[de5_Roy]

But the HD6570 price vs HD6670 price is TINY for a HUGE jump in performance.

HD6670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131440
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102988

HD6570
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131496
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102994

you know that you're comparing present prices, likely not the price at the time this article was written/researched, yes?

 

[Sakkura]

But the HD6570 price vs HD6670 price is TINY for a HUGE jump in performance.

Not really. They use the exact same GPU.

 

[Novuake]

But the HD6570 price vs HD6670 price is TINY for a HUGE jump in performance.

Not really. They use the exact same GPU.

And yet they are 30% apart? At least thats what I remember.
Can't seem to find a review now...

 

[Wisecracker]

Intel HD4k graphics is no where close to an HD 6570

 

[Sakkura]

And yet they are 30% apart? At least thats what I remember.
Can't seem to find a review now...

You seem to have gotten percentages and percentage points mixed up. Tom's review found that the 6670 got 17% higher average FPS and 12% higher minimum FPS.

 

[jessterman21]

I agree fully with that argument. Do not agree that its a worth the 50$.
Guess I just do not see the point of such a card, others(Onus and you) do... 😀

if you play games with your igpu and it delivers a large percentage of 6570's performance then no reason to get one. this is the reason for <less than>radeon 6670-class discreet gfx cards' slow death. in the future, igpus will get even more powerful, turning these gfx cards into niche instead of mainstream.

i'd get one if i had weaker igpu. among other reasons: discreet cards are easy to recycle between builds, really useful for boosting older pcs' gaming performance (as long as the pc had weaker gfx).

But there's literally no reason to get anything less than an HD 7750. If you've got a 300w PSU (like most OEM mini-towers), even the HD 7770 will run fine, it's so power-sipping. And in that card, the performance actually exceeds the percentage of money you pay over cheaper cards.

 

[de5_Roy]

But there's literally no reason to get anything less than an HD 7750. If you've got a 300w PSU, even the HD 7770 will run fine, it's so power-sipping. And in that card, the performance actually exceeds the percentage of money you pay over cheaper cards.

price fluctuation and availability are the reasons 6570 has shown up in the recommendation. it's pretty well-explained in the article's first page. otherwise it wouldn't have. if someone has budget for a 7750/7770, no reason to settle for less.

 

[17seconds]

The new GTX 750 Ti is going to shake this chart up again. GK104 for less than $200 with 7950 performance. How low can AMD keep dropping their prices?
http://www.techpowerup.com/190588/nvidia-geforce-gtx-750-ti-detailed.html
http://www.guru3d.com/news_story/nvidia_preps_geforce_gtx_750_ti.html

 

[RedJaron]

The HD7750 should still be in there as the most powerful card that doesn't need a PCIe power connection. I'd also like to see recommendations for DDR3 cards go away entirely (except maybe the HD6570). The performance jump to GDDR5 is too much not to take it. I found GW2 barely "sufferable" at 1600x900 on a HD6670 with GDDR5, and cannot imagine what it would have been like on a DDR3 card. If you're a kid, mow a lawn or two, walk some dogs, or wash a few cars for the difference. If you're an adult, a [temporary] diet change ought to do it; if not, I cannot help but think that a gaming graphics card may not be your best use of limited funds.

I agreed with you last month, I'm agreeing with you again. On everything ( especially DDR3 recs. ) Doubly so on the 7750 since you can get a low-profile version. It is the card for HTPCs right now.

Once again I must say getting a 2GB 770 over a 3GB 7970 that is just as strong and $90 less is simply mental...

I'm with you 90% of the way. The one caveat is if you're planning a dual-GPU down the road. AMD has made good improvements in XFire, but it's still not up to SLI.

But there's literally no reason to get anything less than an HD 7750. If you've got a 300w PSU (like most OEM mini-towers), even the HD 7770 will run fine, it's so power-sipping. And in that card, the performance actually exceeds the percentage of money you pay over cheaper cards.

The one reason is a very limited budget. If you simply can't go above $50 - $60, then you have to wait for the 7750 to go on sale or clearance. But $25 seems so little a difference I find it hard someone can't bump their budget that much.

 

[Wisecracker]

The new GTX 750 Ti is going to shake this chart up again. GK104 for less than $200 with 7950 performance. How low can AMD keep dropping their prices?
http://www.techpowerup.com/190588/nvidia-geforce-gtx-750-ti-detailed.html
http://www.guru3d.com/news_story/nvidia_preps_geforce_gtx_750_ti.html

I purchased a XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB DD for $199 after rebate 2 weeks ago. 2GB Radeon HD 7870s are starting to hit $160 after rebate.

The Green Team might be a little late to the party

And, your logic is failing ... a GTX 750ti at $200 (or less) going head-to-head with the *Tahiti-Lite* would savage GTX760 sales.

 

[Roger Rogers-1382392]

Nobody posts discount cards to Japan where we live; where no prices came down. Its still way over $1,000 for a HD7990

 

[Roger Rogers-1382392]

P.S.
I run two HD7770s on Crossfire and they get a great Unigene score of between 1250 and 1650.
55 to 65 frames per sec.
Average and Extreme.

 

[mapesdhs]

P.S.
I run two HD7770s on Crossfire and they get a great Unigene score of between 1250 and 1650.
55 to 65 frames per sec.
Average and Extreme.

At what resolution/settings are you running the test? AA or no AA? Is the image quality set
to performance or quality in CCC? Unigine varies wildly depending on settings.

I assume this is for Heaven V4, yes?

Ian.

 

[littleleo]

The new GTX 750 Ti is going to shake this chart up again. GK104 for less than $200 with 7950 performance. How low can AMD keep dropping their prices?
http://www.techpowerup.com/190588/nvidia-geforce-gtx-750-ti-detailed.html
http://www.guru3d.com/news_story/nvidia_preps_geforce_gtx_750_ti.html

AMD seem to be able to drop prices a lot the HD7970 was over $500 now its in the $330 price range. It's all they can do to compete right now.

AMD is sinking in the red, they have a lot invested in the consoles coming out the Xbox one and the PS4. If those don't do well AMD will be really hurting.

They latest AMD CPU roadmaps leaked don't show the FXs in the future so AMD looks to be stopping the AM3+ line.

 

[Psycomo]

Need to fix the comment system. This is Sept 2013 and the comments are from Dec 2012.

 

[Roger Rogers-1382392]

P.S.
I run two HD7770s on Crossfire and they get a great Unigene score of between 1250 and 1650.
55 to 65 frames per sec.
Average and Extreme.

At what resolution/settings are you running the test? AA or no AA? Is the image quality set
to performance or quality in CCC? Unigine varies wildly depending on settings.

I assume this is for Heaven V4, yes?
Ian.

Actually; its the `free version` for Unigine 2.5 basic edition. I buy games rather than tests.
And I never ran any proper bench-marking before.

Settings were:-
API = DX11
Stereo 3D = Disabled (for 2D 22-inch monitor).
Shaders = High
Tesselation = Extreme
Anisotropy = 4 (Mid?)
Anti-aliasing = Off
Full Screen (Samsung 2ms monitor)
Resolution = 1680 x 1050.

Now; just having looked at ALL the DETAILED settings and applying them,
I just ran a new benchmark test with everything on full maxed settings. It is a hot day here (no A/C in this part of the house) and I am sweating;so the scores are what they are...

Anisotropy on 16x and all max settings and my scores were lower with Trilinear filtering on at max etc.
But tbh I dont notice much difference with them on or off in games (except a performance hit).
This is more like what you may be asking about?

Average frame-rate = 31.9
Score = 803
Shaders = High
Texture =High
Filter = Trilinear
Occlusion = Enabled
Refraction = Enabled
Volumetric = Enabled
Tesselation = Extreme

Darn, thats lower. I could see the performance hit during the test.

 

[Roger Rogers-1382392]

Need to fix the comment system. This is Sept 2013 and the comments are from Dec 2012.

I see your point.

How about a color code system?

GREEN SIGNAL = Contemporary messages; under 2 months old? (Fill your boots)

ORANGE SIGNAL = Older messages; Under 1 year old? (Prefer no more replies).

RED SIGNAL = Antique messages; Over 1 year old? (Please dont respond with more replies)

Remember of course, that millions of people read messages from a year or so ago because that is where Google and the like bring us.

 

[Roger Rogers-1382392]

I am confused on how the 560 SE is a tie with the 7770. The 7770 is $10 cheaper, uses less power and is rated one level higher in Tom's Hierarchy of Cards. Seems like it should be the 7770 as the sole suggestion at the price point.

I run two in crossfire and its great for my single 22-inch Samsung 2ms monitor. Until a game that absolutely needs better tech comes along.....

It will run BF4 just great.

 

[mohit9206]

I agree with the inclusion of 6570 ddr3 as its a great little upgrade for 3-4 year old pre-built PC's to play games like LOL,Minecraft,etc.
Next step is the 7750 gddr5.6670 gddr5 as well as 7730 ddr and gddr5 are priced way to close to 7750 to earn a recommendation. I run a 7750 gddr5 and damn it plays all and every intensive modern games at good settings at 900p.

 

[mapesdhs]

Roger Rogers writes:
> Actually; its the `free version` for Unigine 2.5 basic edition. ...

Ah I see! They changed it in V4, one has to set certain things manually. I did do a lot of testing with V2.5,
but after V3 came out I decided to wait a while, and now settled on using V4.


> ... I buy games rather than tests.

I've bought the 3DMark tests, but Heaven V4 is free.


> And I never ran any proper bench-marking before.

I've done a ludicrous number of tests. 😀 Hundreds more to do though. Never enough hours in the day. See:

http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/sgi.html#PC


> Settings were:-

Now I understand why your avg fps was so high. I've been testing kinda either side of what you
used, ie. a lower res with no AA (1280x1024), a higher res with some AA (4x at 1920x1080) and
then max 8x AA at 2560x1440. I use 8X minimum AF though as it doesn't really add much to the load.


> I just ran a new benchmark test with everything on full maxed settings. It is a hot day here (no A/C
> in this part of the house) and I am sweating;so the scores are what they are...

I guess I have an advantage living as I do in Scotland, it's 6C outside atm. 😀


> This is more like what you may be asking about?

Yup, something like that.

I've not yet had a chance to redo many of the tests at high/max res. Kinda hoping I'll be
able to during the winter when work stuff isn't such a time-hog.


> Darn, thats lower. I could see the performance hit during the test.

Indeed, turn on AA, kick up the res and the load really ramps up very fast. Then beyond a
certain point it'll exceed the VRAM capacity of 1GB cards and older GPUs will bottom out
badly, though special versions of some cards do give an extra edge, eg. the 2GB editions
of the GTX 460, 560Ti, etc. Likewise, the 1GB editions of the 8800GT/9800GT/4870/etc.
enable them to hang on somewhat longer than normal.

I almost won a 7970 on eBay today, came very close. Reckon I'll succeed within a week
or so. I do envy the native US pricing; alas a new 7970 is more like $430 here equivalent.

Ian.

 

[Roger Rogers-1382392]

I've bought the 3DMark tests, but Heaven V4 is free.

Thanks; I will look at V4.

I've done a ludicrous number of tests. 😀 Hundreds more to do though. Never enough hours in the day. See:
http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/sgi.html#PC

I`m not sure where to start with that lot.
But looking deeper, there is detail with images for simple minds like mine. 😀

I use 8X minimum AF though as it doesn't really add much to the load.

AA I know.
But AF is new to me; like almost all the PC detail tech terms.

I guess I have an advantage living as I do in Scotland, it's 6C outside atm. 😀

Ah; Scotland; the land of my passed Gran.
I recall a few winters skiing at Aviemore. Many years ago.

almost won a 7970 on eBay today, came very close. Reckon I'll succeed within a week
or so. I do envy the native US pricing; alas a new 7970 is more like $430 here equivalent.
Ian.

Good luck with the competition for the 7970.

I also think the Americans have great pricing. But its hidden by massive national debt.

My family and I live in Central Japan (5 years); and prices here are still way over $1,000 for a 7990.
Its realistic when you consider the tech required to produce em. I guess.
But keep telling the manufacturers they are not perfect, encourages better ones to get produced; dropping the prices of existing ones for the average joe.