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[Vendayn]

No idea where this can go as this isn't about other games...but its about games. Sorta. And I can't find any sub forum that this would fit. Unless I'm blind and missed it (though I scanned through twice, but my eyesight is bad I look in the fridge for milk. And then go buy milk only to see it was right in front of me already in the fridge xD).

Doesn't matter if its Nvidia or AMD or whatever. I've always tended to go with Nvidia, but I'm not set on anything. I've had better experience with Nvidia, but I'll go AMD if its a good card and better for the money. It can go slightly past 200 or below, but that is kinda the soft limit. I can't afford a brand new expensive graphics card.

My "old" Geforce GTX260 896MB died the other day. It was only like 4 or so years old. I've been wanting to upgrade my graphics card anyway. I could play most of anything on my graphics cards...I couldn't play Witcher 2 on max (without mods) and Skyrim was rather slow for me on max as well. However, I love pimping out Skyrim (and Witcher 2) with tons of graphics mods. I'm in beta for a Witcher 2 mod (using the new mod kit) that requires a min of a 2gb graphics card. But the forest the mod creator made is intense. My graphics card just couldn't take it. I play a Skyrim mod that isn't playable on anything less than a 1.5 GB graphics card and really 2gb is needed and highly recommended by him. I have a GTAIV collection of mods someone gathered together (and all made to work), that again need a 2gb graphics card (though 1.5 GB if I lower the settings and resolution).

Now I've had a few recommendations. My dad found a couple, and I've been talking to another tech guy. But I would rather get a larger opinion of advice. The tech guy doesn't like nvidia, which isn't a problem really (like I say, I don't stick with just one company)...but I'd like to get a bigger thought process of a good card. Talking to one guys opinion doesn't give an idea of anything.

Dad found:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GTX650Ti-SuperClocked-Dual-Link-Graphics/dp/B00BZB0I3W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369060851&sr=8-1&keywords=GTX+650+Ti+BOOST+2GB+192-bit

Tech guy I talk to said they misadvertised and it doesn't actually use the 2gb or something. The memory channels are mismatched. So it doesn't fully utilize them. So if I'm playing the witcher 2 mod I'm in beta for, and the Skyrim mod, both will use the peak 2gb of the video card. So I don't know if that would be a problem or not.

And the tech guy recommended:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202025

No idea how that one is. But he said it was a lot better than the Nvidia one.

However, if there is one better for the price range (and has 2gb ram)...feel free to share it. Or your thoughts on the two above.

Thanks

[Vendayn]

Well, dad said he would rather go the Nvidia route. AMD is still on table. My system has always worked better with Nvidia cards for some reason, and I haven't had much luck with AMD. Nor has my dad. So I think past experience has him lean more toward Nvidia. So, when we spend that kinda money (I can go up to 250 USD, but that is kinda the hard limit. If its a few dollars off, it doesn't matter)...while not 500 like the brand new...250 is still a lot for us. So when we spend that kinda money, I guess he leans toward with what he knows works. But around 200 is a good price range. Income is limited for us, but we're doing a lot better recently...so computer problems if at all, are good to have when one is doing well money wise.

Anyway, thanks for any advice.

[alway]

In this case, the AMD one does look better for the price. However, the most important thing is making sure you have the correct connectors for them. Mostly in terms of power connectors and the MOBO interface (PCI and such). After all, if those are wrong, you will unwrap it only to find out it is impossible to plug it into your computer. So dig out your mobo specs and make sure those are right.

As for AMD vs NVidia, at the point the only major difference is CUDA. Which is only relevant for people who: A. are efficient at CUDA programming and B. are too lazy to learn OpenCL. Price performance are generally about the same, though NVidia typically leads on the uber-high-end cards by a few months. It mostly comes down to what's on sale on your interwebs shop of choice.


And now for some off-topic info about the future of the GPU market, mostly in regards to cards from NVidia's Titan and 700 series onwards (and whatever AMD's next will be). So, again, irrelevant for you. The future of the GPU market seems to be leaning towards GPGPU, or general purpose GPU use. This is used for all sorts of things, ranging from highly parallel simulations to voxel terrain. From these new/newly announced/nonexistent cards, that is the direction the GPU industry appears to be moving. What that means for you in the right now and near future: the raw pixel-pumping-power for graphics stuff will change more slowly than it has in past generations.

[itisnotlogical]

Since I have a somewhat similar question, I'll just ask here instead of starting a new thread:

I've heard that laptops that can play modern games on medium settings are generally in the $600 price range and I'd like a second opinion on this. I really only know that $200 computers suck for games and $1000 computers will run anything in the history of ever, specifications are all gibberish. If there's a notable price gap I'll accept medium-with-occasional-stutters, and the biggest help to me would be a recommendation of a specific model or brand of computers to pick from.

Thanks in advance!

[jocan2003]

For me, 600$ PC run about every game high to medium so sure you could go portable for the same price, but when it will start to stutter too much youll have to buy a new one, while my PC on the other end will simply need either a better vid card or a better CPU thats about it, wich will be 100 to 20$ depending how high i want the upgrade when the times come, and i usualy upgrade my PC only once a year and throw 300$ MAX a year and i play aything i want.

In the end it all comes down on what you prefer, one big chunk once in a while or the flexibility in upgrades.

But for vid card i always go nvidia personal choice, no real good reason ive always been loyal to them. I once had a bad story with ATI wich is now AMD, hell they got bought while vidia seem to stay alive by themselve and keep churning our higher end stuff and leads in high performance while amd is more about price accessbility. Thats what i gathered so far.

[Intrinsic]

Always worth checking out Tom's monthly list "Best Graphics Cards For The Money: May 2013" : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-3.html

[Tellemurius]

For 200 dollars the HD7870 is best at that price range and can hold itself against a 660TI

That's a first i heard though of something wrong with the 650TI BOOST line, i mean a MAJOR hardware error isn't something people keep quiet but i never heard of any issues with them and work fine for everyone using them. Tech guy seems to be blowing smoke. For a 180 bucks the 650TI BOOST smokes the low-mids of AMD cards

[i2amroy]

Top 3 pieces of advice for getting any new computer hardware for a current computer:
1)Make sure your computer can power it
2)Make sure you have the right plugs or connections to connect it
3)Make sure it fits in your case

Nothing sucks more then spending a couple of hundred dollars on a new piece of equipment, waiting a week or two for shipping, and then finding out that it doesn't work because it work with your current hardware. Seriously, double-check all of this stuff at least once.

[nenjin]

Check the compatability between your board and the video card, older boards may not support the newest or even the last-newest thing. If this is a seismic upgrade for your PC, pay special attention to the power requirements, and as was said, the connector coming off the power supply.

[PrimusRibbus]

I know a number of people that have had great experiences with the GeForce 650 Ti and Ti Boost from various vendors. The 650 Ti is not anywhere near the best card on the market, let's be honest, but you get a lot of bang for your buck with it and it's a solid performer in the lineup of mid-range cards.

If you check out Tom's Hardware's benchmarks for specific games, you'll almost always see the 650 Ti or 650 Ti Boost performing well in the Mid/High benchmarks test. It could even play Neverwinter at 1080p, with Maxed graphics, 4xAA, 16xAF at 50~FPS: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/neverwinter-performance-benchmark,3495-8.html.

[Aoi]

Not sure if this is where the reported problem is, but I the 650 and 660 OEM version are slightly crippled compared to their non-OEM counterparts. The 660 OEM clocks in at something between a regular 650 and 660, as I recall, and only has 1.5gb. (Yeah, I have one of those, that I only learned of the difference after I picked it up... Got a good deal on it, at least.)

[Vendayn]

Not sure if this is where the reported problem is, but I the 650 and 660 OEM version are slightly crippled compared to their non-OEM counterparts. The 660 OEM clocks in at something between a regular 650 and 660, as I recall, and only has 1.5gb. (Yeah, I have one of those, that I only learned of the difference after I picked it up... Got a good deal on it, at least.)

So, would that amazon Nvidia card be part of that, as the tech guy said? Not sure what this exactly means.

[Aoi]

Not sure if this is where the reported problem is, but I the 650 and 660 OEM version are slightly crippled compared to their non-OEM counterparts. The 660 OEM clocks in at something between a regular 650 and 660, as I recall, and only has 1.5gb. (Yeah, I have one of those, that I only learned of the difference after I picked it up... Got a good deal on it, at least.)

So, would that amazon Nvidia card be part of that, as the tech guy said? Not sure what this exactly means.

Shouldn't be, unless you're getting it from weird sources that are sketchy to begin with. I don't think any of NVidia's OEMs are available for retail purchase.

Official specs:
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-660/specifications
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-660-oem/specifications

[Tellemurius]

no, OEM hardware isn't/suppose to be sold to public as their purchase license only allows computer builders access and no, any of the 650TI BOOST chips are OEM in anyway

[Vendayn]

I checked out the Tomshardware link. Sent it to my dad. Any thoughts on either the amazon Nvidia card I linked, or would it be worth it to spend a little extra on a GTX 660? It does appear to perform a bit better according to their chart. And there are prices in the low 200 range on amazon, so it isn't that much more. But, that is 215usd or so, compared to 180usd.