Upgrading to a Current-Generation GeForce 7950GT Equivalent

[Fluidstream]

I'm building a new system, but I don't have as much money to spend this time around, so I'm having to skimp a little on the video card. My current card is a BFG Tech Nvidia GeForce 7950 GTOC and what I would like to do, since I'm also getting Windows 8 (64-bit) (with DirectX11, which the 7950 does not have), is get a current-generation Nvidia card that's at least equivalent in overall speed and performance to my old 7950GTOC. At the top of my worry list is accidentally getting something that's not even as good as the 7950GT. I want something at LEAST as good as the 7950GT.

Here's an example of what I mean. One of the Facebook games I play is Farmville 2. On my 7950GT, the crops and grass would sway in the breeze, but on my friend's integrated Intel G31/33 graphics chipset, not only is there no swaying in the breeze, the tall grass in unexpanded areas doesn't even show up, much less sway in the breeze, and some of the animation elements are completely missing. Since my old system died, right now I'm using a temporary rig I put together with old parts, one of which is a GeForce 5600XT, which also does not show the animated plants and grass in Farmville 2, and the animation overall is about three frames per second. I want to, above all, make sure that any current graphics card I get will display Farmville 2 the way it's meant to be seen.

Now Farmville 2 is not the ONLY game I'm interested in. I like full-fledged dedicated video games, too, but I won't be able to get any for a while. So I'm essentially wanting to find an Nvidia card that's as good as or a little better than my 7950 GTOC to tide me over while I gather more money for a high-end Nvidia card.

The system I'm going to build at the end of this week includes:

Mobo: Asus Crosshair V Formula Z
CPU: AMD FX-6300 six-core
Memory: 16GB Kingston 2133

And it will include existing hardware:

PSU: Thermaltake 850-watt Smart-M series
Monitor: 27" Acer S271HL @ 1920 x 1080

Thanks for any leads/tips.

 

[EzioAs]

Tell us around how much money are you willing to spend (in USD is much preferable). If you tell us where you're going to buy it as well, that's even better.

 

[Fluidstream]

Well, I have a hundred dollars, maybe a little more, but I'm not so much looking for the best card I can get for the amount of money I have. I just want to make sure I get something that's at LEAST as good as the 7950GT, even if that's only $40. Then I'll look at the options and decide whether or not I want to spend up to a hundred, or maybe even go to $120.

I'll either get it from Newegg.com, which is where I bought everything else, or if I don't want to wait for shipping, I'll go to Best Buy and see what they have so I won't have to wait on UPS to deliver it.

This website used to have benchmark charts that would show some pretty old cards, just to give a comparison of how things have changed, but I haven't been able to find any benchmarks anywhere that include the 7950GT with today's GPUs. That's why I had to just ask. But based on what I've seen that combined something like a 260 with today's GPUs, it seems like even if I get the bottom-of-the-line (but current) Nvidia graphics card, it'll be better than the high-end (but old) 7950GT. Is that correct?

 

[Fluidstream]

[duplicate deleted] -- Some kind of site error made me think the post had not posted, but it had.

 

[EzioAs]

Well, something like a Radeon HD6670 ($60-$80 ) and HD7750 (cheapest is $99) would already perform way better than the 7950GTOC. Those prices are on Newegg btw, I just checked it.

Though tbh, a GT430 ($50-$60) could in fact be enough if you really don't want to spend much. My recommendations for you are as follow: HD7750>HD6670>GT430 (I don't really recommend this but, you know)

 

[Fluidstream]

Thanks. I'm wanting to stick with Nvidia. I guess it's a Chevy vs. Ford kind of thing. I've been using Nvidia since I had my GeForce 2 Ultra (Creative Labs 3D Blaster Annihilator 2 Ultra) and I really like them.

As for "wanting" to spend, I "want" to spend as much as is needed for the best Nvidia card, but "want" doesn't equate to my available cash. I've always bought high-end in the past, but I think hanging on to an OLD high-end card might not be as good as a newer mid-range card.

I would be willing to get this one at $109.

ASUS GT640-2GD3 GeForce GT 640 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121643

 

[EzioAs]

Just so you know, the 7750 performs better than the GT640, but if you're dead set on nvidia have a look at this particular GTX650 ($109) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130827

 

[Fluidstream]

Thanks again. Yes, while I was waiting for replies, I was looking at GPUReview.com and found that the memory bandwidth is significantly lower on the GT640. I then looked at the GT650 and decided that was a better route. It looks significantly faster, based on the comparison chart, than the 7950GT. The GTX 650 is almost twice as fast on pixel fill rate and the memory bandwidth is almost twice as much. The texture fill rate is way beyond twice as fast, I assume because of the PhysX technology.

But I'm going to get the MSI version of the GTX 650. It's ten dollars more than the one you posted, but it has free shipping. I'd rather spend $10 more on a card with free shipping than spend $6.98 on shipping the EVGA version.

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=681&card2=445

Right now, all the games I have are older: Final Fantasy XI, Age of Empires III, and I'd like to have another go-around with Deus Ex: Invisible War. The newest game I have right now is The Sims 3, and that's not all that new. My 7950 played it fine, apart from the animation glitch, which I think was a bad capacitor on the Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32x that was sent over the edge by a new monitor. That was a faulty board from the day I got it back in November 2006, but I never sent it back for a replacement. Once capacitor had some black stuff leaking out of it and I thought it was just ink from the manufacturer until I later examined it after pulling the motherboard out and saw that it was bulging, too. Imagine using a bad motherboard for six years and not knowing for sure that was the problem. The capacitor was right by the PCIe slot I was using, too.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

 

[EzioAs]

You're welcome. Good luck with your new card.

If you're done with this thread don't forget to choose the best answer so that the forum moderators can close it.

 

[Fluidstream]

Best answer selected by Fluidstream.

 

[Fluidstream]

Well, I'm trying to select a best answer, but all I get is a message about selecting a best answer being something that cannot be undone, but after that, nothing happens. I tried in both Opera and Firefox.

Edit: Never mind. I reloaded the page and saw your award graphic. I always get a "site is unavailable" message in the Tom's Hardware style after posting a message. I don't know if it's the site or my flaky modem. Anyway, it's done.

 

[EzioAs]

You already did