[Graphics Card] GTX650Ti 2GB vs. HD7850 1GB

[lorgot]

Hello once again!

Some time ago I upgraded my PC and got new mobo, memory and processor. Currently my rig is a P8B75-M LE, 4+4GB Patriot Viper 1600MHz, Core i3-3220 3.3GHz and a 750W PSU thought I can't remember the brand. My GPU is currently a GTX280 SC EVGA.

So, with all these news games popping up and DirectX9 slowly giving its last breaths I thought it was time for a DX11 card. My budget currently allows me to get one of the three cards from the title - GTX650Ti 2GB or HD7850 1GB. I've seen benchmarks and almost always the HD7850 is ahead but I couldn't find a benchmark that indicated if the GTX650Ti being tested was a 2GB or 1GB version.

My question is: between these two, which one is the best for a 19" screen (1440x900), possibly in the future a 23" (1920x1080)? Also, I read something about these cards being better for some things especifically. Like, the Radeon performs better in a certain type of game and the GTX in others. Can someone explain it better to me?

Final question: yes. I know that it would be best to save and get a GTX660 and be done with it but from where I hail (Brazil) there's a huge difference in price between a 650Ti and a 660 so it's a no go. UNLESS if guys say that a GTX650Ti or a HD7850 probably won't run future games (1, 2 years from now) with medium-high settings and it's best to save and get a 660 and stay with my old GTX280 than buy a GTX650Ti/HD7850 now.

P.S.: For me it would be best to upgrade now because I can sell my GTX280 to help pay for a new one. The longer I wait, the more money I'll have to have to buy a 660 or similar.

What do you guys think?

 

[Aleschusta]

I'm from brazil and just bought a GTX660 SC for R$800. Take a look at kabum! store.

 

[lorgot]

I'm from brazil and just bought a GTX660 SC for R$800. Take a look at kabum! store.

If you're from Brazil then you know that while a GTX660 SC costs R$800, a GTX650Ti is R$580. There's a big difference there for me :/
I'm also seeing these prices in Kabum! hehe

 

[larrym]

A 7850 is real close to a GTX 660. I would get the 7850 over the 650 ti. At your current resolution, any of the cards will work. The 7850 will be a bit more future proof as you can over clock it and add another in cross fire later if you want. As far as the future goes, who knows? But the 7850 is better than the 650 ti..here is a chart you can check out..

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

 

[chrisafp07]

Still the 660 would get beaten by the 7850 in fps performance. Watch this video of a 660ti against a 7850 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSHt_IM-LYk, they are almost neck in neck and that is with alot of games. The 660 does not beat the 7850, make your decision based on tested results not just a post pls though. The 660ti does better in tests in most games but is also over $100 more so it isn't comparing apples with apples. I have 2 7850's in my setup and I love these cards. I upgraded from 550ti's and I must say I think I'll be with AMD for awhile, Xfire has seemed to scale better than SLI in many cases.

In your case I would buy the 7850 2GB card if you can. They definitely are a good bang for your buck product. The Sapphire and Gigabyte models are my favorites but the MSI Twin Frozr and HiS IceQ are also great! The 1 gb card is good too, but for slightly more 2GB gives you more headroom in the future.

 

[lorgot]

Still the 660 would get beaten by the 7850 in fps performance. Watch this video of a 660ti against a 7850 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSHt_IM-LYk, they are almost neck in neck and that is with alot of games. The 660 does not beat the 7850, make your decision based on tested results not just a post pls though. The 660ti does better in tests in most games but is also over $100 more so it isn't comparing apples with apples. I have 2 7850's in my setup and I love these cards. I upgraded from 550ti's and I must say I think I'll be with AMD for awhile, Xfire has seemed to scale better than SLI in many cases.

In your case I would buy the 7850 2GB card if you can. They definitely are a good bang for your buck product. The Sapphire and Gigabyte models are my favorites but the MSI Twin Frozr and HiS IceQ are also great! The 1 gb card is good too, but for slightly more 2GB gives you more headroom in the future.

You made a good point but I just thought of something. How does the 7850 fare with PhysX games? Is the lack of that resource a heavy toll on eye candy or not so much? I usually go with Nvidia cards because of PhysX. I remember Arkham City was quite amazing with PhysX on. Does the lack of that resource compensate for better performance?

 

[chrisafp07]

My buddy has the same cpu as I with a 660ti, I know my friend can point out minor details in games that physx delivers but I really don't notice much difference, we are always comparing our pcs. The physx games I do have run as smooth as his, with higher fps, because I'm running two cards, You should youtube, or google some comparisons between the 7850 and other cards as well as the 7850 scaling in Xfire. It really does rather well, I was on here just a month ago trying to figure out my purchase as well, I was looking at a 7950 or 660 or 660ti but already had 1 7850 and loved it.

Overall, 7850 is a damn good card for the price and due to the fact that it does actually scale well in xfire it really can give you alot of value in the future with a second 7850, or 7870.

 

[lorgot]

My buddy has the same cpu as I with a 660ti, I know my friend can point out minor details in games that physx delivers but I really don't notice much difference, we are always comparing our pcs. The physx games I do have run as smooth as his, with higher fps, because I'm running two cards, You should youtube, or google some comparisons between the 7850 and other cards as well as the 7850 scaling in Xfire. It really does rather well, I was on here just a month ago trying to figure out my purchase as well, I was looking at a 7950 or 660 or 660ti but already had 1 7850 and loved it.

Overall, 7850 is a damn good card for the price and due to the fact that it does actually scale well in xfire it really can give you alot of value in the future with a second 7850, or 7870.

I'll check out some videos regarding that. You said you have two 7850s? Did you get a great boost in performance after crossfire? I mean, is it worth it?

 

[chrisafp07]

Yes I did, in games that are optimized for it it really performs well. I play alot of Battlefield 3 and run 115fps at all times in campaign and 55-60fps in multiplayer with full ultra settings.

You were comparing the 650ti to the 7850 as well so I'd say go 7850 for sure, Xfire later when your budget permits. If you waited though a 7950 or 7970 would be a better option. Maybe not as good raw fps but you could then xfire 2 7900 cards. If the 650ti and 7850 are what you need to decide between know that the 7850 does well in Xfire, at least with my Gigabyte cards, (all cards are different).

You have to also take into account that not all games are optimized for sli or xfire, especially older games. Most newer games that are a decent port will be xfire rdy.

Games that I see improvement are:
Farcry 3
BF 3
Assassin's Creed 3
Just Cause 2

Games that I don't notice much improvement or they don't use Xfire at all:
Sleeping Dogs
GTA4
Saints Row 2

Overall I had wanted to run Xfire and the 7850's have scaled well and really bench impressively for what I paid, they compare in many cases to a much higher end card.

My overall verdict would just be:
A. If you want to stick with your budget get a 7850 (2GB)
B. If you can wait and save alittle more grab a 7950 or 7970 (probably a 7950, better value imo)

 

[DEY123]

a single 7850 is a better choice then a 650ti. look at the hierarchy chart that Toms does for value and they place the 7850 as two steps above the 650ti. I don't think the 2gb will be properly utilized by the 650ti. That being said if you can get the 7850 2GB carrd that is probably a good choice as the previous person said)

 

[lorgot]

Guess I'll stick with the HD7850 then! I'll try to get the 2GB one. I believe that even if my budget doesn't cut it, a HD7850 1GB is still better than a GTX650Ti 2GB?

 

[chrisafp07]

In my opinion yes! Have fun gaming