Best Graphics Cards For The Money: January 2012

[cleeve]

So you would recommend that someone that allready has a r9 280x to sell it and spend another $500+ on a single GPU card instead of picking up a second card. That is the main reason for the mutiple graphics section, is it not?

That's why I specified FROM SCRATCH - no existing GPU to start with.

Once you are invested in one particular GPU and do not want to give it up, your upgrade path is already set regardless of where your existing GPU stands on the bang-per-buck chart.

Maybe you should change this statement then:

"We'll call out some of the most viable options though, mostly for folks with one of these cards already installed: two GeForce GTX 660s in SLI for $360, two GeForce GTX 760s in SLI for $450, two GeForce GTX 770s in SLI for $660, and finally, two Radeon R9 290s in CrossFire for $780."

Invaliderror never made that statement, actually. I did.

 

[Ahmadjon]

GTX-580 is faster than GTX-760?!?!?!?!?!

 

[coolitic]

Again, why no 770?

 

[cleeve]

Again, why no 770?

Again, because the 280X is only slightly slower but significantly cheaper.

 

[BlankInsanity]

just curious but why is the GTX 770 not featured anymore?

 

[cleeve]

just curious but why is the GTX 770 not featured anymore?

Answered one post above your question!

 

[Jeffrey H]

Yet anything with 600 Watts or more should require the Power Supply be set on 240 Volt Setting given how much power they take, and I know that is not "Power Bill Friendly", which I am sure I going going to get Negative Votes on my post for.

Moderator Edit: NO! The voltage setting on a PSU is set to the input voltage of the mains AC where it is used, e.g. 120V in the USA and 240V in the UK. It has nothing to do with the output power of the PSU. If this switch is present (modern PSUs with Active PFC don't need it), setting it incorrectly can damage the PSU and/or attached components.

 

[InvalidError]

Yet anything with 600 Watts or more should require the Power Supply be set on 240 Volt Setting given how much power they take, and I know that is not "Power Bill Friendly", which I am sure I going going to get Negative Votes on my post for.

If you want to set your PC's power supply on 240V input, you will need a 240V circuit going to that outlet. This is fine for countries that run regular outlets on 220-250V where you would be using the 240V input anyway but in 100-125V countries, this is generally not an option.

Most modern devices and decent quality power supplies have universal input so there is no 120/240V switch on them anymore.

 

[babernet_1]

It'd be nice to know how Iris 5X00 compares. Just saying. It's been YEARS since Intel on-chip graphics have been updated.

 

[The_Icon]

Not a fan of AMD processors, but love their GPUs. Twice in a row I on the red team. Although next time I will jump to the green team only because I usually shift between the two if I have the chance. Speaking of chance, hope Nvidia gives me one and prices them competitively, I am not saying wining in terms of price but just be more competitive.

 

[InvalidError]

It'd be nice to know how Iris 5X00 compares. Just saying. It's been YEARS since Intel on-chip graphics have been updated.

Haswell's IGP (HD4600/GT2) is just over a year old and about 50% faster than Ivy's HD4000. The GT3 almost doubles that but does not get much of a chance to shine until paired with eDRAM in its GT3e variant which is currently only available as mobile/embedded where discrete GPU is often not an option.

So aside from HD4600, there will be no Intel IGP to add until Broadwell-K or Skylake comes out late next year.

 

[babernet_1]

It'd be nice to know how Iris 5X00 compares. Just saying. It's been YEARS since Intel on-chip graphics have been updated.

Haswell's IGP (HD4600/GT2) is just over a year old and about 50% faster than Ivy's HD4000. The GT3 almost doubles that but does not get much of a chance to shine until paired with eDRAM in its GT3e variant which is currently only available as mobile/embedded where discrete GPU is often not an option.

So aside from HD4600, there will be no Intel IGP to add until Broadwell-K or Skylake comes out late next year.

Okay, but the 4200, 4400, and 4700 and more are available now.

 

[Oscaron]

Dollars per performance point are:
6.20
5.00
5.42
6.00
5.36
5.59
5.50
6.09
7.06
8.06
9.67
10.00

Bit of a sweet spot at the Radeon R9 280.

 

[junkeymonkey]

only thing i see is all the -R- card threads here at toms kinda makes me lean towards nvidia just on that point

 

[Foozie]

GTX-580 is faster than GTX-760?!?!?!?!?!

Yes, pretty much. Rather much so , in fact.
GTX 580 owner here.

Base bench comparison I always refer to when comparing cards is :
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

These numbers are base no overclock on that chart.
GeForce GTX 760 4,981
GeForce GTX 580 4,975
THose are passmark video bench figures.

Yes, it is a gross (as in crude) approx of rating but is in my experience accurate enough to understand
the difference in potential performance in any given game. Of course one always compares if possible
to real application benchmarks. That is not always possible, so I rely on Passmark quite a bit if I"m not
familiar with 'hardware X'.
In fact on my system :
Windows 7 64 | 8GB RAM, Asus MB P8Z68-V PRO Gen3
CPU: Intel i7-2600K @4.3 GHz o/c
GPU: Nvidia GTX 580 1.5GB VRAM o/c @ 925Mhz 2120Mhz Memory 1.115V
Main Display: Dell U2410 1920x1200,

I see video Passmark score of 6100 (at GPU overclock above, with CPU overclock) , which is near GTX 770 (non overclock system) numbers on their scale.

Don't laugh. I recently found a game that for the first time has given me a reason to research finding a new card,
European Truck Simulator 2. Game runs fine with max settings at 55 to 60 FPS for me but if
I want to use 'Scaling" in the game at 300 FPS drops to 30 to 55 FPS depending (with no map mods installed)
, the far preferred scaling setting of 400 my card can't really handle.

I researched a lot using reports on forums elsewhere that
there was zero benefit to buy a GTX770, as those people report pretty much the same figures.
Only a GTX780 black or 780 TI would offer tangible rewards for me, with this game at the screen resolution I run at.

So yes, A GTX 580 is still a beast, I have zero reason to upgrade this card as of September 2014 other than that one game , ETS2. LOL. I can wait it runs well enough for me if I put up with 200 scaling. (actually it does okay at 300 scaling but that is only if I run with no map mod installed)

A long reply, perhaps unneeded. but it just highlights that people often falsely assume the numbers of the model number are bigger that something is better. (In case someone nitpicks me I did say do not rely alone on
passmark numbers, one always cross refers to real application performance)

I paid near 500 bucks back in the day for my GTX 580.
The only area it suffers in , from my perspective, is it is only 1.5GB Vram.

Of course, if I had to replace it in an emergency with a near performing Nvidia card, it would be a GTX770 but I have my eyes on the cards Nvidia is expected to release later this year.

 

[HughMann]

Looks like we're missing the Intel 7th gen Chipsets - where do these appear on the scale?
HD 5200
HD 5100
HD 5000
HD 4600
HD 4400
HD 4200
HD 2500

 

[HughMann]

Also Missing the Intel 8th gen Chipsets
HD 6300
HD 6200
HD 6100
HD 6000
HD 5600
HD 5500
HD 5300

 

[Danizzle]

I'm looking to buy a new pc soon and starting to do some research on components and wondering if 2 770s in sli out perform a single 780 ti for the same money.

Thanks!

 

[Hoyzon]

I'm building a new PC, i'll be using it for gaming and some video editing, i wanted to have a system that i can play games on the max settings till 2 or 3 years so i can do the next upgrade, which graphics card you guys recommend me to get ?

 

[ss7900]

You updated this 3 days ago and didn't benchmark the R9 285? Why?

 

[flawlessturd]

yea boy~ R9 290 represent!

 

[Oscaron]

Dollars per performance point are:
6.20
5.00
5.42
6.00
5.36
5.59
5.50
6.09
7.06
8.06
9.67
10.00

Bit of a sweet spot at the Radeon R9 280.

 

[Kannibal Kraut]

I just purchased an XFX R9 280, and it will run Battlefield 4 on Ultra settings at around 50fps....Great card for the money!

 

[Furiano]

580 and 660 were in the same tier for moths/years and now the 580 jump above the 760 ??? what?

 

[Jeffrey H]

Yet anything with 600 Watts or more should require the Power Supply be set on 240 Volt Setting given how much power they take, and I know that is not "Power Bill Friendly", which I am sure I going going to get Negative Votes on my post for.

If you want to set your PC's power supply on 240V input, you will need a 240V circuit going to that outlet. This is fine for countries that run regular outlets on 220-250V where you would be using the 240V input anyway but in 100-125V countries, this is generally not an option.

Most modern devices and decent quality power supplies have universal input so there is no 120/240V switch on them anymore.

Well seeing Onus that I broke one of the Rules for making a "False Statement", I figure he needs to understand the Higher the Wattage on Video Cards Reduces the Energy Efficiency it would be like plugging in a Microwave having it running for a full 24 hours thus using more Power, which is not something I like because it would make someone's Power Bill go up to $100 more a Month, and it is just something that if you want "Realistic" 3D and VR, then it would mean a higher Power Bill compared to someone who is not interested in games like that, I know Onus might warn me again for breaking one of the rules here for Discussion but I am someone who is both on a Budget and not like Computers to be like Microwaves.