Which GPU for my new system?

[imported_Cota]

System Specifications:

I. Processor/CPU:

i5 2500K

II. Current Graphics Card:

None

III. Display Resolution:

1920 x 1200 on a Dell 2407WFP

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

Seasonic X650 Gold

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

Corsair 550D

Purchase Details:

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

$250ish USD


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

Have mostly used Nvidia in the past. Last couple of brands were BFG and EVGA.

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

No.

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

I've been looking at the 560 Ti, 560 Ti 448, and HD 7850.

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?

Gaming. RPG's, Turn based and Real time strategies.


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

Probably not.

Additional Notes

Feel free to add any details that you feel were not covered within this template!

This will be my first gaming box in about 3 years. All parts will be new. I started looking for build suggestions earlier this year, and everyone told me to wait and see what Nvidia comes out with and what it'll do to the prices. I'm tired of waiting . I'm going to start ordering some of the parts soon, maybe today. I'll save the GPU for the last.

I have a prefered price point $250. I'm flexible on that. It seems like that puts me in the 560Ti/560Ti 448 and HD7850 camp? I can't remember the last time I bought an ATI card. Seems like I've always used Nvidia. I'm not opposed to going ATI though. I just don't want any stabilty/compatiblity issues.

I'd also love to hear recommendations on which brand of 7850 in case I go that route. If I go with Nvidia, I'll almost certainly choose EVGA.

Going to be running Windows 7 if that matters.

Thank you,

-Cota

 

[Jocelyn84]

Buy a used 570 from the f/s section. I'm not sure about here, but they're going for $200-250 over @ [H] This is a great time to buy used

Sent from my Samsung Epic 4G Touch using Tapatalk

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I agree, look in the FS section, lots of great deals there.

 

[BD231]

Go with a 480. They're pretty abundant in FS/FT, have more vram and a better VRM for overclocking.

 

[imported_Cota]

Thanks, but I am not remotely interested in buying used.

-Cota

 

[jacktesterson]

Out of the 3 listed, the 7850 is the best performer per watt.... It can reach levels between a 570-580 without increasing voltages....and consuming less power than either stock Nvidia card.


If you have a decent PSU (600w or Better Quality PSU), the $249 EVGA GTX 480's are probably the best deal new on the net.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130759

 

[aaksheytalwar]

I second the 7850

 

[kalrith]

If going with the 7850 and not overclocking yourself, it might be worth it to buy a model that's already overclocked. An example would be the following for $267 shipped: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125419. It has a 13% core overclock and 4% memory overclock, which is pretty good considering that it's much less than 13% more money than the cheapest 7850.

I would personally buy a less-expensive one and overclock it myself, but that's me.