Recommend me a graphics card using stickied template :)

[DeeJayeS]

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU: i5-2500K

II. Current Graphics Card: none

III. Display Resolution: 1920x1200 (Dell U2412M) and fyi: no plans (i.e. no space) to upgrade to a bigger monitor or multiple monitors.

IV. Power Supply Unit Specification (Brand, Wattage, Ampage, Age). If possible, please provide a link to a website containing the power supply specifications:

Seasonic SS-460FL (460w fanless, new)

V. Case Specifications(N/A, Model, Length, Low Profile, Cooling, HTPC, Water, Silent):

Antec Solo II (can handle lengthy cards; will be air cooling only; shooting for a "pleasantly" quiet but not necessarily silent build)


Purchase Details:

I. Budget? Please be sure to include currency (If not USD), retailer preferences & specify whether rebates are a viable option.

Must be purchasable (even if not in stock currently) from Amazon as I have ~$325 in gift cards to burn. Rebates are fine. No real upper limit pending spousal approval.

II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?

none

III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?

I'm looking for a single GPU solution.

IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs?

Yes, but I want others opinions.

V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?

Mostly into MMOs and RPGs, with a little FPS on the side. Looking forward to: Tera Online, Mass Effect 3, Diablo III, Guild Wars 2 to name a few. Might also pick up BF3, Skyrim, SW: ToR, etc. Max detail levels if possible.

VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?

Sure, if my power supply has enough juice left over .

Additional Notes

This was a new build as of December, 2011. Missed out on the Sapphire 6950 2GB from Newegg Business for $195 and have been in a state of indecision since. Was hoping the 7000 series would be priced a bit more aggressively. I guess I can continue to wait (for Kepler or the rest of the 7000 series) but its getting old...



Thanks for reading.

 

[Crap Daddy]

While Seasonic PSUs are top quality unfortunately a mid-high end card needs more Watts usually from 550W up. See if Kepler/7870 can bring good performance with lower power requirements.

 

[nitromullet]

I'd go with a 6950 2GB if I was in your shoes.

This MSI is a nice, fairly quiet card. http://www.amazon.com/MSI-R6950-II-...0G5K/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1328821878&sr=8-6

...and your PSU is fine...

Edit: Of course you can wait for 78xx or Kepler, but I'm assuming you want to buy now.

 

[Termie]

As deals go, the HD6950 is a pretty bad one right now - more expensive than it's been in a long time, due to the incredibly high debut prices of the HD7000 series.

So I'll recommend the only card that's remotely a good deal at this time (on Amazon) - the Sapphire HD6870 for $150AR: http://www.amazon.com/SAPPHIRE-Rade...8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1328822648&sr=1-8

You've listed a lot of games, including some where this card will not give you max details (i.e., BF3), but it will certainly play all those games at decent settings.

The only other card I would recommend, based on price/performance, is this HD6970 for $300AR: http://www.amazon.com/Radeon-XFX-69...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1328822851&sr=1-1. Yes, the 6950 is close in performance, but it's simply too close in price to buy it. The only issue is that this is a loud card (reference).

As an aside, the 6870 will likely keep its resale much better than the 6950/6970, which are about to be replaced (Edit: as in next month) by the 7850/7870. Might wait until then just to see if predictions are true regarding these cards.

 

[nitromullet]

the 6950/6970, which are about to be replaced (as in next week) by the 7850/7870. Might wait until Feb. 15th just to see if predictions are true regarding these cards.

If this is true, definitely wait.

 

[Termie]

If this is true, definitely wait.

Correction - only the low-end cards are launching on Feb. 15th. The 7850/7870 are coming in March. Link: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/AMD-Radeon-HD-7000-gpu-video-card,14596.html

If the OP is itching to play now, I wouldn't bother waiting. They'll really only bring higher efficiency, not significantly higher performance.

 

[RavenSEAL]

+1 for the 6950

 

[Stuka87]

Will his 460W PSU be up to a 6950?

I know it will be fine for a 78x0 as they will most likely use less power.

 

[DeeJayeS]

Quite frankly I'm thinking I could make a go of a 7950.

The system I built is almost identical to what is being tested here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1221-page7.html (75w at idle, 129w when stressing the cpu alone, and the 6870 in their build added another 148w at load, for a grand total of 277w)

AT's review of the 7950 (overclocked) had the total system draw at 370w. I'd still be at around 80% of my power supply rating, no? Or am I missing something?

Thanks for the input thus far.

DJ

 

[BallaTheFeared]

More than likely they used a 80% PSU and are testing at the wall which means the system is actually only drawing around 300 watts. Your psu is rated for 460 @ 87% which means it should (I believe) handle up to about 520 watts when measured from the wall.

It's a high quality PSU though, so I'd assume it can go over that some without tripping the OVP.

Bottom-line your PSU is more than enough to handle the power draw that is indicating.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Quite frankly I'm thinking I could make a go of a 7950.

The system I built is almost identical to what is being tested here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1221-page7.html (75w at idle, 129w when stressing the cpu alone, and the 6870 in their build added another 148w at load, for a grand total of 277w)

AT's review of the 7950 (overclocked) had the total system draw at 370w. I'd still be at around 80% of my power supply rating, no? Or am I missing something?

Thanks for the input thus far.

DJ

If you want to make the stretch, the HD 7950 is a great choice :thumbsup: