7850 the best option for the money right now?

Moorfog

Junior Member
Nov 13, 2012
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I'm planning on upgrading the current comp sometime this week, hopefully to make a order tomorrow.

After alot of searching and going over reviews, benchmarks, current prices, etc etc, it looks like the 7850 is the card to pick. Great performance for the money, low power consumption(important in the summer months here), and alot of praise.

I guess my cost cap is around $200, which seems to fall right in that area. I'm not looking to play ultra on duel screens(yet!), but need a card that can do high/ultra at 1080 most games at a decent framerate for the next year or two.

My processor, which was the big selling point when buying the stock comp a few years ago(X4 630) is starting to show it's age in comparison to modern CPU's these days, but I hope it can at least keep up for the next year or two.

I guess what I'm getting at is with the recent lowering of prices about with the 660's out, is the 7850 the solid choice?

Thanks in advance, i'm sure there are alot of varied opinions on the board.
 

Dark Shroud

Golden Member
Mar 26, 2010
1,576
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The 7800 cards are the best bang for your buck. Make sure you get a model with a good cooler, not XFX, and avoid the 1GB models.
 

Eureka

Diamond Member
Sep 6, 2005
3,822
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Are you in the US? 7870 can be had for $180 often and is the sweet point right now.
 

Moorfog

Junior Member
Nov 13, 2012
3
0
0
I considered the 7870 absolutely, but seemingly many reviews said that the 7850 models could be OC'd to past 7870 specs without breathing too hard, and that the 7870 models were more reluctant to OC much past what they already were.

But frankly, the whole OC business is completely alien to me on all points, I've no experience with the process, and unsure if i'd be willing to even try myself. You make a good point, if it's only a few bucks more, why not step up to something faster if i'm not positive I can step it up myself.

As to the XFX comment, with so many manufactures out there making the same card albeit to slightly different specs/cooling abilities, it's hard to know what to go for, as each company seems to have their own fanboys dying to make the difference. MSI has perked my interest though as far as what i've read.

Thanks again for all comments, appreciated very much.
 

Remobz

Platinum Member
Jun 9, 2005
2,563
37
91
I considered the 7870 absolutely, but seemingly many reviews said that the 7850 models could be OC'd to past 7870 specs without breathing too hard, and that the 7870 models were more reluctant to OC much past what they already were.

But frankly, the whole OC business is completely alien to me on all points, I've no experience with the process, and unsure if i'd be willing to even try myself. You make a good point, if it's only a few bucks more, why not step up to something faster if i'm not positive I can step it up myself.

As to the XFX comment, with so many manufactures out there making the same card albeit to slightly different specs/cooling abilities, it's hard to know what to go for, as each company seems to have their own fanboys dying to make the difference. MSI has perked my interest though as far as what i've read.

Thanks again for all comments, appreciated very much.

There is a 7870 overclocked version out as well.
 

Eureka

Diamond Member
Sep 6, 2005
3,822
1
81
I considered the 7870 absolutely, but seemingly many reviews said that the 7850 models could be OC'd to past 7870 specs without breathing too hard, and that the 7870 models were more reluctant to OC much past what they already were.

But frankly, the whole OC business is completely alien to me on all points, I've no experience with the process, and unsure if i'd be willing to even try myself. You make a good point, if it's only a few bucks more, why not step up to something faster if i'm not positive I can step it up myself.

As to the XFX comment, with so many manufactures out there making the same card albeit to slightly different specs/cooling abilities, it's hard to know what to go for, as each company seems to have their own fanboys dying to make the difference. MSI has perked my interest though as far as what i've read.

Thanks again for all comments, appreciated very much.

OC is not guaranteed. Some cards will OC far better than others. Personally I would just go with the cheapest option, especially if you're not OCing at all. Then when you feel like it, OC it, and if it goes far then it's a nice bonus on top of what you already have.
 

alexruiz

Platinum Member
Sep 21, 2001
2,836
556
126
Are you in the US? 7870 can be had for $180 often and is the sweet point right now.

While I agree that the HD7870 is the one tyo get right now, I think the "$180 often" might be too optimistic. Care to share a link?