Best gpu for the None overclocker/extreme gamer

[Rob_the_scot]

I'm really unsure on what gpu to pick up so many on the market and yes Iv watched countless video reviews but still stuck.

I have 22 inch monitor 1080p
i5 3450 at 3.1ghz and a 650watt gold rated psu,
I'm looking for a card that will play games smoothly even if its only on medium settings my current 6850 struggles a little with planetside 2 on medium at 720p

I have been eyeing up the 7870 by msi and the gtx 660 (non ti) both around the same price....I am willing to wait and save up for summit a tad better like a 7950 or gtx660ti but I'm not an extreme gamer just want things to run smooth not on how high the frame rates are.

Only other info I can think of is a list of the 3 top demanding games I own
Planetside 2
batman arkhum city
mafia 2
saints row the third

 

[dugdiamond]

IMHO: 660ti

 

[SieB]

Go with the 7950, it's slightly cheaper than the 660ti (depending on the model), you get three free games with it and with AMD's 12.11 beta drivers it performs better, plus it also overclocks higher too.

 

[shaykal]

I own the Gigabyte GTX 670 and I love this card!
it's a little more expensive, but it runs everything on max, it's really quiet, you can't even hear the fans.
Right now it comes with 2 games and every now and then there is a drop of price for limited time.
I highly recommend it.

 

[Deejeta]

7950 with the game bundle FTW
not worried about the bundle go a good 660ti (evga...)

 

[Rob_the_scot]

Cheers for the feedback...Ok Ill do some begging and saving up and get a gtx 660ti

 

[jaw2floor]

Best gpu for the None overclocker

theres no excuse for not overclocking! its really easy. increase core clock 20mhz then run a full heaven bench for temps and stability. if its all good, push another 20. if not, go back 20 and there you go!

 

[CPMFW]

i´d go for the 7950

 

[Cody_h4x]

I'm really unsure on what gpu to pick up so many on the market and yes Iv watched countless video reviews but still stuck.

I have 22 inch monitor 1080p
i5 3450 at 3.1ghz and a 650watt gold rated psu,
I'm looking for a card that will play games smoothly even if its only on medium settings my current 6850 struggles a little with planetside 2 on medium at 720p

I have been eyeing up the 7870 by msi and the gtx 660 (non ti) both around the same price....I am willing to wait and save up for summit a tad better like a 7950 or gtx660ti but I'm not an extreme gamer just want things to run smooth not on how high the frame rates are.

Only other info I can think of is a list of the 3 top demanding games I own
Planetside 2
batman arkhum city
mafia 2
saints row the third

Go with the GTX 670 or 680, those cards are monsters, and even if your not wanting to OC, just go with a stock version instead of gettign one with a bunch of overclocking features.

 

[nickw2142]

If you want a card that performs as well as you need now, go with the 7950. But with more and more demand games coming out, id personally go with a bit higher end gpu like the 7970, 670, 680 etc. It really depends on how much you want to spend and what performance you expect in years to come

 

[Devo234]

if you can stretch to it get a 7970 if then the 7950s are brilliant cards

 

[Rich_]

Most of the performance problems with planetside 2 are CPU based according to them. But upgrading from that 6850 certainly wouldnt hurt. How much are you looking to spend?

 

[MacLeod]

The GTX660 Ti is the way to go. It is fast enough to play any game on the market right now on high settings and 95% of them on max settings.

I dont see any reason for a casual gamer to shell out the extra $50 for a 7950. the 7950 does have better frame rates but the reviews coming out comparing the 7950 and GTX660 Ti are all noting that while the 7950 has higher average frame rates, the GTX660 Ti is giving a very much smoother frame rate and is the card everybody seems to be recommending. The TechReport's review and the HardOCP review both mention this and both recommend the Nvidia card over the AMD card because of it. You can look at the frame rate graphs and see the huge fluctuations with the AMD cards in a lot of the games.