Which Graphic Card should I go for?

[WarrenCKC]

Hi, I want to build myself a new PC and my choice is almost certain for most of the specs but I don't really know which GPU to go for.

My main pc specs will be:-
- Intel Core i5-3570k
- 8 Gb of RAM
- Asus P8Z77-V PRO Motherboard
- 1920 X 1080 Monitor

This pc set up will be mainly for gaming and those are most of the games that I want to play:-
- Assassin's Creed 3
- Far Cry 3
- Hitman Absolution
- Crysis 2 & 3
- Battlefield 3
- Max Payne 3
- The Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings
- Batman Arkham City
- Sleeping dogs
- Dishonored
- Black Ops 2
- Skyrim
- GTA IV (and may be GTA V when it comes to pc)
- Bioshock Infinite
- Etc...

Of course, if I had the money, I would go for the latest GPU like the Gtx 690 but unfortunately that's not the case.
My budget for the GPU will be around US$ 360 or may be less but that's without adding the shipping fees because I'm pretty far away from the US or any other main countries.

I want to play the above-mentioned games at an fps of around 35 and above.

Therefore, which GPU will you advice me to buy? If possible advice me on a GPU considering my budget above and another one if my budget was higher at around US$ 420.

My initial thoughts were to go with the Geforce Gtx 580. Do you think this Graphic card will be able to handle and play the above-named games at an FPS of 35+?

 

[WarrenCKC]

Sorry for adding a comment to my thread but I wanted to add that I want to be able to play the above-named games a the highest settings where possible.

 

[Michael31]

This GTX 670 FTW is a little out of your budget but will perform like a monster -380$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

Also comes with Borderlands 2 and AC3

This thing destroys games at its price - 360$ right at the top of your budget HD7970
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

Comes with
- FarCry3
- HitMan
- Sleeping Dogs
- Medal of Honor WarFighter Limited Edition (20% off digital deluxe)

I would go with the HD 7970

It beats the GTX 670
http://www.hwcompare.com/12508/geforce-gtx-670-vs-radeon-hd-7970/

And its verry well priced. I hope this helped,

Note: you will need a big power supply to run this card should be bigger than 600 Watts min.

Hope this helped!

 

[WarrenCKC]

This GTX 670 FTW is a little out of your budget but will perform like a monster -380$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

Also comes with Borderlands 2 and AC3

This thing destroys games at its price - 360$ right at the top of your budget HD7970
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

Comes with
- FarCry3
- HitMan
- Sleeping Dogs
- Medal of Honor WarFighter Limited Edition (20% off digital deluxe)

I would go with the HD 7970

It beats the GTX 670
http://www.hwcompare.com/12508/geforce-gtx-670-vs-radeon-hd-7970/

And its verry well priced. I hope this helped,

Note: you will need a big power supply to run this card should be bigger than 600 Watts min.

Hope this helped!

Thanks a lot for the reply.

The Gtx 670 Ftw and the Sapphire HD 7970 do seem really good but I think that they are still outside of my price range 🙁 because I need to consider the shipping fee and tax charges :/

What other graphic card would you recommend me below the 340 $ mark? I will try to see how much will the HD 7970 or the Gtx 670 Ftw might cost with the value added but a recommendation for another GPU is more than welcome.
Also, do you think that the old Gtx 580 will be able to handle the mentioned games at a FPS of 35+ with the graphic settings set to the maximum?

 

[mohit9206]

get this sapphire 7950 vapor X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202003
7950 is more than you will need at 1080p and it will play all those games you mentioned at 40+ fps on highest settings and its also well under your budget !!

 

[dscudella]

get this sapphire 7950 vapor X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202003
7950 is more than you will need at 1080p and it will play all those games you mentioned at 40+ fps on highest settings and its also well under your budget !!

+1

At your price range the 7950 is a great find. You also can't beat the Vapor-X cooler, rebate and game bundle.

 

[burbee]

GTX660 Ti? Also comes with PhysX, which can be great.
And to be honest, nVidia is a bit further ahead at the moment imo..

 

[dscudella]

And to be honest, nVidia is a bit further ahead at the moment imo..

Please explain this statement.

 

[WarrenCKC]

+1

At your price range the 7950 is a great find. You also can't beat the Vapor-X cooler, rebate and game bundle.

Thanks a lot. I'm really considering the HD 7950/7970.

Is it too much to ask what are the advantages of the Gtx 670 FTW over the Sapphire HD 7950/7970 and vice-versa?

I initially had a preference for the EVGA Nvidia Gtx 670 ftw but the Sapphire HD 7950 or 7970 seem really good especially for their prices.

Hope someone can reply soon because I have to buy my GPU by the end of this week.

 

[dscudella]

Thanks a lot. I'm really considering the HD 7950/7970.

Is it too much to ask what are the advantages of the Gtx 670 FTW over the Sapphire HD 7950/7970 and vice-versa?

I initially had a preference for the EVGA Nvidia Gtx 670 ftw but the Sapphire HD 7950 or 7970 seem really good especially for their prices.

Hope someone can reply soon because I have to buy my GPU by the end of this week.

It's a tough comparison. The GTX 670 sits somewhere between the 7950 & 7970 in max framerate BUT a lot of reviews say that the 670 is smoother during gameplay. Your framerate won't fluctuate as much or stutter with a 670, it's more consistent. There are TONS of threads on these forums comparing the two.

 

[sam_p_lay]

It's a tough comparison. The GTX 670 sits somewhere between the 7950 & 7970 in max framerate BUT a lot of reviews say that the 670 is smoother during gameplay. Your framerate won't fluctuate as much or stutter with a 670, it's more consistent. There are TONS of threads on these forums comparing the two.

That is the main argument. Also the GTX670 will give you adaptive v-sync, which is another factor in giving smoother gameplay (compared to standard v-sync). I explain more about it if you don't know about v-sync. Is a cheaper GTX670 possible within your budget?

 

[WarrenCKC]

That is the main argument. Also the GTX670 will give you adaptive v-sync, which is another factor in giving smoother gameplay (compared to standard v-sync). I explain more about it if you don't know about v-sync. Is a cheaper GTX670 possible within your budget?

I have a general knowledge about V-Sync from reading and comparing several GPUs since I need one 😛 but a little explanation is always welcome
For my budget, I may increase it up to 440 USD if the GPU is really worth it both in terms of price and features. To put it short, I can spend a little bit more if the GPU is really worth the price. What I don't want is to overspend on a GPU since I'm only planning to play on a single monitor at 1080p or 2560X1600 with settings set to the maximum allowed.

In fact, I'm may buy my GPU in Singapore where my aunt went for holidays and she's coming back next week so I need to decide before the end of this week. Here's the list of GPUs available and do remember that the prices are in Singapore Dollars:

There's not the EVGA Gtx 670 Ftw so out of the list of GPUs above, which one do you think is the more worth it in terms of price and features offered?
And is the EVGA Gtx 670 Ftw worth its price tag? or is it too much for playing the above-mentioned games on a single monitor at 1080p or 2560X1600 with settings set to the maximum allowed?
I hope I'm not asking too much but I don't know where to ask and I can't decide which one to pick too since I originally had a preference for the EVGA gtx 670 ftw.

 

[sam_p_lay]

The EVGA GTX670 FTW is actually what I'd be buying myself if I was buying at the moment (I'm waiting for next year's models instead), so I think it's worth every penny. But EVGA have a huge advantage where I am in warranties, so that is factored in. Not considering warranty, I'd probably grab MSI's Twin Frozr GTX670. Any GTX670 is gonna be an awesome purchase though. As for adaptive v-sync, http://hardocp.com/article/2012/04/16/nvidia_adaptive_vsync_technology_review

"With Adaptive VSync turned on, the feeling of the game felt smoother compared to regular VSync turned on. The performance felt much like the game felt with VSync turned off. This is the kind of technology we like to see which has improved the innate nature of the gameplay experience. If all you need is 60 FPS in a game for it to be playable, then why not just go ahead and cap the game there so it doesn't exceed your refresh rate. Then, if the game has to fall below that, allow the game to perform at its real-time actual framerate, and Adaptive VSync allows that. It really is the best of all worlds, with no drawbacks. We didn't find any negatives to using Adaptive VSync, and we tried it out in a handful of games."

The drawback with standard v-sync (which is all you get on a Radeon) is that if your card drops below 60fps, even just slightly, the framerate will be significantly reduced by v-sync (synced right down to 30fps infact). So if your framerate drops below 60fps and you leave v-sync enabled to prevent tearing, standard v-sync will significantly reduce performance, while adaptive v-sync will deliver smooth, fluid performance, since it won't restrict your framerate like standard v-sync does.

EDIT: Second part of this page http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/geforce-gtx-680-review-benchmark,review-32404-5.html also gives a simple explanation of adaptive v-sync.

 

[WarrenCKC]

The EVGA GTX670 FTW is actually what I'd be buying myself if I was buying at the moment (I'm waiting for next year's models instead), so I think it's worth every penny. But EVGA have a huge advantage where I am in warranties, so that is factored in. Not considering warranty, I'd probably grab MSI's Twin Frozr GTX670. Any GTX670 is gonna be an awesome purchase though. As for adaptive v-sync, http://hardocp.com/article/2012/04/16/nvidia_adaptive_vsync_technology_review

"With Adaptive VSync turned on, the feeling of the game felt smoother compared to regular VSync turned on. The performance felt much like the game felt with VSync turned off. This is the kind of technology we like to see which has improved the innate nature of the gameplay experience. If all you need is 60 FPS in a game for it to be playable, then why not just go ahead and cap the game there so it doesn't exceed your refresh rate. Then, if the game has to fall below that, allow the game to perform at its real-time actual framerate, and Adaptive VSync allows that. It really is the best of all worlds, with no drawbacks. We didn't find any negatives to using Adaptive VSync, and we tried it out in a handful of games."

The drawback with standard v-sync (which is all you get on a Radeon) is that if your card drops below 60fps, even just slightly, the framerate will be significantly reduced by v-sync (synced right down to 30fps infact). So if your framerate drops below 60fps and you leave v-sync enabled to prevent tearing, standard v-sync will significantly reduce performance, while adaptive v-sync will deliver smooth, fluid performance, since it won't restrict your framerate like standard v-sync does.

EDIT: Second part of this page http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/geforce-gtx-680-review-benchmark,review-32404-5.html also gives a simple explanation of adaptive v-sync.

Thanks a lot for the explanation and info on Adaptive VSync Now you've given me another reason to choose the Gtx 670 over any other GPU :lol:
However, the MSI's Twin Frozr GTX670 is not available in the list (Image) that I provided in my previous comment.

These are the only Gtx 670 GPU available:

- Asus GTX 670 2 GB (Priced at SGD 629 & SGD 659 Top)
- MSI N670GTX 2 GB (Priced at SGD 645)
- Palit GTX 670 Jetstream 2 GB (Priced at SGD 559)
- Gigabyte GTX 670 2 GB OC Windforce (Priced at SGD 605)

Out of the 4 670 GTX GPUs above, which one do you think is better?
The Asus and MSI seem to be really expensive. The Palit one has a relatively good price but I've never heard of this brand before so I'm a bit skeptic. The Gigabyte one seem to be just between the Asus and Palit in terms of price and they are a more popular brand compared to Palit.

 

[sam_p_lay]

Hmmm well you're right about that, Palit have been around for a while now and they're always the absolute cheapest of every card. I haven't heard a load of horror stories about their products though, and you've always got the warranty, so it shouldn't fail for at least two years! If you're reluctant though, Gigabyte would be a good option, except their cards can be prone to coil whine (makes annoying high-pitched noise at times). In your position, I'd either grab the Palit (after checking the warranty isn't too short!) or just go for that MSI. My friend's parents have my old MSI motherboard and MSI GeForce MX460 from almost 10 years ago and they're still running!

 

[WarrenCKC]

Best answer selected by WarrenCKC.

 

[WarrenCKC]

Hmmm well you're right about that, Palit have been around for a while now and they're always the absolute cheapest of every card. I haven't heard a load of horror stories about their products though, and you've always got the warranty, so it shouldn't fail for at least two years! If you're reluctant though, Gigabyte would be a good option, except their cards can be prone to coil whine (makes annoying high-pitched noise at times). In your position, I'd either grab the Palit (after checking the warranty isn't too short!) or just go for that MSI. My friend's parents have my old MSI motherboard and MSI GeForce MX460 from almost 10 years ago and they're still running!

Sorry for the late late reply. Been thinking really hard about it and I will finally be getting the MSI Gtx 670 PE I will be receiving the GPU in 1 week so looking forward to test it. Thank a lot for the advices.