Whats the best midrange videocard

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dmar001

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Feb 19, 2013
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Hello,

I'm not that knowledgeable on videocards. Haven't been following the gpu advancement since the 8800gt was out and at that time I couldn't afford it. I want to get back into pc gaming I lost interest since the graphic cards I always had were less then decent and the games weren't by any means impressive looking regardless of the rest of the specs on my machine.

I just want to get something that'll blow me away when I see it in action. I'm in a process of building a new system and I don't want to skimp on the machine just want something that'll hold me over for the next 5 years. Was looking into getting an asus desktop since it was 32gb i7 gtx550 but realized it'll be cheaper and can get better specs if I build on my own.

I want to spend at the very most $325 on a video card. But wouldn't mind saving a few bucks and buying something $230 - $280 range. I was set on getting something in the 660 series ti oc but I read somewhere that the difference in performance in the 660ti is not that noticeable to the 660 OC in real gameplay not benchmarks. Now I'm leaning towards gigabit 660oc. After reading more articles it says the 7870 is better. So now I don't what to get.

Specs of my build
i5 3750k
32gb 4 x 8gb 1600 corsair vengance
2 tb sata 3 64mb seagate
asus p8z77
coolermaster haf912
psu 600w
considering a gigabit 660oc 2gb
 
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I'd recommend a 7870 because it offers better performance than the 660 at around the same price. If there's something specific to nvidia you want such as physx, then get the 660. Either way, you cannot go wrong with the 7870 or 660
 
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The HD7870 is generally stronger than the GTX660, but the GTX660 does win in a few titles: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/548?vs=660 although it loses dramatically at most GPGPU tasks. It also uses less power.
If you want to shave some cost off your build, 8GB of RAM is sufficient for games; 16GB would be extremely future-resistant.
A Seasonic-built 550W-600W PSU would also be sufficient. Initial testing is good, but for durability, I'd would not get the 600W Corsair V2 "Builder," as it was made by CWT using some inferior Samxon capacitors known to experience early failure.
 
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PhysX may be used to add a variety of effects; deformable cloth (e.g. "blankets waving in the air") is just one possibility. In Sacred 2, you'll see things like leaves blowing around, and I believe some enhanced spell effects. I think it adds to the game, but I would not call it a dealbreaker by any stretch.
 
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The psu I'm looking to get is Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500w Power Supply (RS500-PCARD3-US) would you know if thats any good?

I'm a performance junkie but my current system feels lame to me want better performance currently running

intel q6600
6gb ddr2
720 gb
gt 420 i think
win 7 64bit

I was thinking about going the 16gb route in the new system but wanted to just max out the memory also. Not sure if I'll be able to tell the difference from running 16gb or 32gb. I run c++ and c# builds for class and personal study. I want to make sure I get great performance out of my future beast regardless the task I throw at it.
 
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No, it sucks, bigtime. Most CM PSUs are near-junk. Here are some examples:
1. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Extreme-2-475-W-Power-Supply-Review/1550/11
2. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Elite-Power-350-W-Power-Supply-Review/1184/9
3. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Elite-Power-460-W-Power-Supply-Review/1005/9
4. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/1034/9
5. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-550-W-Power-Supply-Review/969/9
You want something built by Seasonic (their own, XFX, some Antec), FSP (their own, some Antec), Delta (some Antec), or Superflower (new Kingwin and new Rosewill).
 
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i use a 7950 overclocked to 1150mhz and am using a 2560x1440 monitor and can max out every game except for ultra modded skyrim and crysis 3. for me my skyrim only requires 2xAA at that resolution, any higher and it gets choppy.... and crysis 3 just came out and im having issues and ultra high settings, although i presume soon to come driver updates from amd will boost performance by leaps and bounds. bf3 moh:wf crysis 1 crysis 2, i have no problem maxing out settings.

at 1080p a 7870 is going to perform the same or slightly better than i am getting at 1440p on a 7950
 
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for me personally, i disagree with the 7870le. one huge major issue for me, 2gb vram flat out isn't enough for 1440p gaming. i currently have skyrim regularly using 2.8gb vram, got tired of crashing an unlocked 6950/6970 2gb because of vram crashes.

second, for the extra $40 i would rather have the 7950. the performance difference between the 7970 and 7950 is the same as the difference of a 7950 to a 7870le, of course minus the coveted 3gb 384bit vram vs 2gb 256bit vram.

i seriously dont see the value of this LE card at all, either you game at 1440p and you need a 7950 and the extra vram that is associated, or you game at 1080p and a 7950 provides absolutely no perceivable playability advantage over a common 7870 at that resolution, ultra modded skyrim being the only exception.
 
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I was looking into the 7870Le and non LE cards on newegg from the reviews I read they seem to have a high failure rate which isn't to reassuring. If you look for the the LE review the last 15 reviews are DOA's or some sort of psu problem. Sounds like crap quality control for amd cards for some reason.

I'm thinking of going the gigabyte 660 OC route for around $220 from what I read it can handle just about anything at 1080p with the settings at ultra or high at about 50-60fps depending on the game. I seen the pny 660 ti reference model for $250 was considering it but not sure if its even worth it. I would be OK to spend $300 if the card is going to blow me away. My current videocard is an 8500gt 512mb and its nothing to jump out of bed for.
 
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Would the pny 660 ti reference card be a good buy? The OC version is $40 more. Lol I know the 8500gt is a crap card thats just what came with my hp system at the time. Also whats a good 600w power supply I don't need something meant for gaming just something that'll give me the wattage I need for a good price. Its to many different brands to choose from.
 
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