What GPUs are best to use nowadays?

[klinkklink]

Sup, THGF! Now, i'm building my first higher end computer and i'm primarily going to be using this thing for games and the like. The thing is, though, i'm kind-of in the dark when it comes to GPUs. What are things that make a good card? I'd like one that can support the more demanding games like Battlefield 3, Crysis, Borderlands 2, and all that jazz on high to max settings. I would rather not stray TOO far from the $250 mark and i'm considering dabbling in overclocking. I don't really care much for the brand so long as it complements my build which is...

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128509&Tpk=990fxa%20ud5

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Power Supply: Depends On GPU Choice

Feel free to critique my build so far. The only thing I already bought was the motherboard. Everything else, I'll purchase on Black Friday to save money. Just throw out recommendations, Tips, etc. Thanks.

 

[Mike332]

Let's see here, I know a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti "Enthusiast Edition" (overclocked to 850MHz from 822MHz) will run Battlefield 3 quite nicely and you get to use all that eye-candy like motion blur with surprisingly smooth framerates. Also, Skyrim and Fallout 3 / New Vegas will run on Ultra without a hitch. Costs about $250. Good performance for the price.

Oh and if you do consider this card, I'd go with a PSU that supplies at least 700 watts. I have a CORSAIR TX750M and it'll easily power a rig with said GPU with no problems.

 

[klinkklink]

Let's see here, I know a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti "Enthusiast Edition" (overclocked to 850MHz from 822MHz) will run Battlefield 3 quite nicely and you get to use all that eye-candy like motion blur with surprisingly smooth framerates. Also, Skyrim and Fallout 3 / New Vegas will run on Ultra without a hitch. Costs about $250. Good performance for the price.

Oh and if you do consider this card, I'd go with a PSU that supplies at least 700 watts. I have a CORSAIR TX750M and it'll easily power a rig with said GPU with no problems.

HALLELUJAH! A response! Thanks, buddy. I'll consider this one.

 

[austing]

HALLELUJAH! A response! Thanks, buddy. I'll consider this one.

A 660 is Nvidia's replacement for the 560/570, and overclocked, can come close to a GTX580 in preformance,

Check some of them out @ newegg

If you wanna shell out the extra clams, try and get a 660ti

 

[Hazle]

a GTX660 or a 7870 at most should definitely fit in nicely within your budget

 

[Guest]

instead of the FX-8350 save yourself a bunch of cash and get the FX-6300 $139.99

or is the $80 worth 2 fps more?

 

[klinkklink]

a GTX660 or a 7870 at most should definitely fit in nicely within your budget

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/Catalyst_12.11_Performance/images/crysis2_1920_1200.gif

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/Catalyst_12.11_Performance/images/bf3_1920_1200.gif

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/Catalyst_12.11_Performance/images/borderlands2_1920_1200.gif

Thanks for your answer. A quick question, though. What's the difference between the GTX 660 and the 660 Ti? Also, how long does it take for the prices of those super high end monsters to go down?

 

[Limerick]

The 7870 is the better option. Once overclocked it comes close to performances just under the GTX 680.

 

[Hazle]

instead of the FX-8350 save yourself a bunch of cash and get the FX-6300 $139.99

http://www.legionhardware.com/images/review/AMD_FX-8350_FX-6300/Gaming_03.png

or is the $80 worth 2 fps more?

huh. didn't notice that. he's about right though. an FX-6300 will do you better if this is a gaming build. a 4300 isn't so bad either for a few fps' less personally. if you don't care about OCing at all, you could get away with a slightly cheaper non-OCable intel build that should perform a lot better than that 8350, if not close.

Thanks for your answer. A quick question, though. What's the difference between the GTX 660 and the 660 Ti? Also, how long does it take for the prices of those super high end monsters to go down?

the difference between the 660 and 660ti? anywhere between a minor to significant performance increase for a higher price. as for price drops; in Nvidia's case, you're likely to see them several months/weeks prior to new gpu series being released. but black friday's getting closer, so you may get a good deal if you keep looking around then, if you're patient.

 

[Limerick]

Thanks for your answer. A quick question, though. What's the difference between the GTX 660 and the 660 Ti? Also, how long does it take for the prices of those super high end monsters to go down?

The difference is that the 660ti is basiclly a 660 uses the gk106 board and the ti uses the gk104 (used in the 670, 680, and 690) And the prices have already gone down a bit. They'll fall considerably next year as the new cards come out.

 

[klinkklink]

Best answer selected by KlinkKlink.