Best card for 250$

[Smoblikat]

So the day has finally come where I am sick of the noise level coming from my 470's. Im looking for a new solution that is under 250$, the cheaper the better.

Im looking at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150549
and this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127562

Though I will only get them if they can unlock and are quiet. otherwise I might take the performance hit and grab a 7850, though that might be too large of a drop in performance. My res is 1080P and I love texture mods and cranking detail as high as it will go, so VRAM is a concern as well as texture filtering.

 

[Crap Daddy]

Out of the box the 7850 is faster than the 6950, overclocked it is in the GTX580 area so it's no contest and it's about the only card worth buying at around 250$.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127663

 

[Arkadrel]

Going from 470 SLI -> 1 x 6950 is gonna be a big performance loss.

You need something like a 7970 1ghz custom designed cooler version, to not really lose any performance.
Its possible to get 7970's that stay around 37 db while gameing (with custom coolers).
Its not possible to get that at 250$ though.


*if* its only the noise....this is the best solution:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

ARCTIC COOLING Accelero XTREME Plus II Fluid Dynamic VGA Cooler for NVIDIA ~84$

buy 2 of these, noise goes away.

 

[hokies83]

Used Gtx 580 With a DC CU II Cooler.

 

[Smoblikat]

Used Gtx 580 With a DC CU II Cooler.

Id love to get one of those, I wont find one for 250$ though.

Going from 470 SLI -> 1 x 6950 is gonna be a big performance loss.

You need something like a 7970 1ghz custom designed cooler version, to not really lose any performance.
Its possible to get 7970's that stay around 37 db while gameing (with custom coolers).
Its not possible to get that at 250$ though.


*if* its only the noise....this is the best solution:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

ARCTIC COOLING Accelero XTREME Plus II Fluid Dynamic VGA Cooler for NVIDIA ~84$

buy 2 of these, noise goes away.

Im getting the 250$ from selling my cards, thats why my budget is 250. Plus, I wouldnt waste 85$ on that when I could grab a pair of Khuler 620's and get liquid cooling on my 470's

Out of the box the 7850 is faster than the 6950, overclocked it is in the GTX580 area so it's no contest and it's about the only card worth buying at around 250$.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127663

Perhaps Ill wait then, I think a used 580 is my best bet.

 

[Arkadrel]

If you had ~450$ :

32 dB while gameing seems decent enough.



------------

Perhaps Ill wait then, I think a used 580 is my best bet.

You realise that a 580 means you drop 25-30% performance down from your 470 SLI right?

A 7970 1ghz would atleast be a upgrade
(its like 50% faster than a 580, so the 7970 1ghz edition would beat 470 SLI in performance by ~20% or something).

 

[Haserath]

I could test an unlocked 6950 in Unigine or something if you want hard numbers.

I would say the 7850 is better though. Better at tess, slightly better at stock, and overclocks better.

 

[Smoblikat]

If you had ~450$ :

32 dB while gameing seems decent enough.



------------

You realise that a 580 means you drop 25-30% performance down from your 470 SLI right?

A 7970 1ghz would atleast be a upgrade
(its like 50% faster than a 580, so the 7970 1ghz edition would beat 470 SLI in performance by ~20% or something).

If I could afford a 7970 I would get a 7970, i am under no illusions of performance between 470 SLI and 580. A 580 is the best card that I could sort of afford. My card doesnt have to be dead silent either, It just needs to be much quieter than my 470 SLI. Which anything will be.

 

[RussianSensation]

What about GTX660Ti + Borderlands 2 and trying to sell the game for $40-50? It won't be a performance upgrade though still.

 

[ocre]

What about GTX660Ti + Borderlands 2 and trying to sell the game for $40-50? It won't be a performance upgrade though still.

i want to buy borderlands 2 if your goin this route

 

[Smoblikat]

What about GTX660Ti + Borderlands 2 and trying to sell the game for $40-50? It won't be a performance upgrade though still.

For very silly personal reasons I refuse to buy anything from the 600 series. Plus, isnt that card 300$?

 

[RussianSensation]

For very silly personal reasons I refuse to buy anything from the 600 series. Plus, isnt that card 300$?

Ya, so buy the 660Ti such as this one, and sell BL2 to ocre. He just offered it to you! Might cost you $10 more than a 7870 net but it's a faster card.

 

[Durvelle27]

Sapphire HD 7870 GHz Edition $284.99 AR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102983

 

[dennilfloss]

$205 for a 7850.

http://www.ncix.ca/products/?sku=69558&vpn=AX7850 2GBD5-2DH&manufacture=PowerColor&promoid=1043

Same price in US version of website.

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=69558&vpn=AX7850 2GBD5-2DH&manufacture=PowerColor&promoid=1043

 

[bryanW1995]

I remember seeing a link for $287 for a 7950 the other day, I'd keep my eyes peeled for another deal like that.