Non overclocker seeking new gpu

[Jazz Candy]

hi,

im not very confident in over-clocking and don't really want to buy a GPU based on OC reviews as im not comfortable doing it,
Was wondering if i could get some advise,

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week, unless some super-fantastic is coming out in a few weeks which i should wait for

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: heavy gaming, including things like crysis 3, the new tomb raider & id like a bit of future proofing aswell, i.e will play games on max for 2-3 years ( as much as we can judge, i know we never know whats round the corner )

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: 750w EVGA supernova, current gpu 560 SE ( old card blew, got this one cheap )

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: asrock pro 6 / i5 3570k / 16gb ddr3 vengance

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: any trusted, UK

PARTS PREFERENCES: best value for money

OVERCLOCKING: no

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080,

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: my budget is £200 - £300 but if were leaning to the £300 mark id really like it if it had a considerable boost over the £200-£230 range cards.

Cards ive been considering already :

XFX HD7950 Double Dissipation AMD/ATI Graphics Card - 3GB
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-xfx-radeon-hd-7950-double-d-5000mhz-gddr5-gpu-800mhz-dvi-dvi-hdmi-mdp

EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti FTW Signature 2 NVIDIA Graphics Card - 2GB
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-evga-gtx-660-ti-ftw-signature-2-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-1046mhz-boost-1124mhz-cores

so far im kinda leaning towards the 660ti, purely because my friend has one and it works amazing out the box, all info i find for the 7950 is "it's AMAZING if you overclock"

but i don't know anything about over-clocking, and would rather have a card that works out of the box in that respect.

im not sure if you can get 7950's pre overclocked for you, but that's the kind of advise im looking for.

Thank you for reading, looking forward to some helpful replies

 

[Norlag]

Look for a factory overclocked card. They tend to be around the same price and are great if you don't want to overclock.

I live in the US so I'm not sure about the UK's pricing, but here we can get a 7970 GHz for less than the equivalent of 300 pounds. So if you can get one, that would be the best deal for you.

What is your resolution?

 

[cookybiscuit]

If your after a card that will last I would look past the 660ti, since its framebuffer might not be enough for future games. The 7950 offers the best value at the moment, the 7970 isn't that much faster and it can match/exeed a 670/680... after an overclock. Just saying, OCing a card carries little risk since the software limits your overvolt, and doing it is no harder than watching a Youtube video and moving some sliders in Afterburner.

The only reason people say its so good after an overclock is because its just as good at stock as the other cards in its price bracket, but it has OC headroom the Nvidia cards don't, so people essentially treat them as cards more expensive than they actually are.

 

[Jazz Candy]

@ Norlag 1920x1080

@ cookybiscuit, thats great info ty, so even out of the box, with 0 over-clocking, a 7950 beats the 660ti? if so are there any models you can recommend?

 

[soccerguy271]

Look for a factory overclocked card. They tend to be around the same price and are great if you don't want to overclock.

I live in the US so I'm not sure about the UK's pricing, but here we can get a 7970 GHz for less than the equivalent of 300 pounds. So if you can get one, that would be the best deal for you.

What is your resolution?

He said 1920x1080.

 

[cookybiscuit]

@ Norlag 1920x1080

@ cookybiscuit, thats great info ty, so even out of the box, with 0 over-clocking, a 7950 beats the 660ti? if so are there any models you can recommend?

Marginally.

http://www.techspot.com/review/603-best-graphics-cards/page12.html

I know you said you aren't OCing but after an OC the 660it won't even be anywhere near it. The best 7950's are the HIS ones, very quiet coolers with good temperatures.

 

[Norlag]

Out of the two of those cards you listed the 7950 is the better choice by a wide margin. The 7950 performs better than the 660ti in most cases, and it's cheaper, so that's always good. Also if you ever wanted to overclock, it would be much better than the 660ti, so if you want to extend the lifespan of the card you could simply overclock and get by for a while more.

 

[Jazz Candy]

@ cookybiscuit
I found this one, its right in my budget, seems to have a better clock rate the other 7950's i looked at, what do you think?

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/12942026/art/his/radeon-hd-7950-iceq-x2-bo.html

@ Norlag & cookybiscuit

one other thing, theres 2 things nvidea has that amd doesnt,

Physix & cuda cores

do those actually mean anything or are they just "INCLUDES ELECTROLYTES!" marketing ploys?

 

[Norlag]

Physx is rarely used and generally offers only small improvements. Cuda cores have the same role as stream processors, and for your uses will not improve performance.

 

[Jazz Candy]

thank you very much , i think il get that his iceq2 one,

and then il pest you guys alot about overclocking 😉

 

[Norlag]

Excellent. Good luck and have fun.