Graphic Card Suggestions

[Vykroft]

Sorry for my english

 

Guys, my old GTX 550 TI dies 7 days ago, I literally squeeze it (is a graphic card with only 1GB of VRAM)

My GPU gave me more than 3 years of joy, survived Skyrim intensively modded for 2 years (but with optimized textures and with caution), and even survived when my old power strip, exploded after a short circuit.

But last friday, after almost 4 year of service, my graphic card pass away. I'll throw it to the forge, and the legends will sing the prowess of the the bravest GPU in the world.

 

 

And now... I have to think in a replacement... with at least 3gb of VRAM, no less.

But I intent not to spend more than U$S 250 (250 original price + 50% importing taxes here in Argentina + other taxes T-T = 350 max)

More is useless because in that case I directly prefer to save and upgrade all my machine.

 

So, I would love some tips on the subject. I'm going to use it for game modding, and thats means a lot of VRAM.

 

These are the ones under my radar right now:

 

Windforce Gigabyte GTX 760 OC 4GB

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4670#ov

 

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 760 4GB

http://www.zotac.com/products/graphics-cards/geforce-700-series/gtx-760/product/gtx-760/detail/geforce-gtx-760-4gb.html

 

SAPPHIRE DUAL-X R9 280 3GB GDDR5 OC

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&pid=2194&lid=1

 

SAPPHIRE R9 270X 4GB GDDR5 WITH BOOST & OC

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?pid=2043

 

Please tell my your opinions, or If anybody knows a good alternative I'm all ears (or eyes in this case)

[ragnarok246]

GTX 970, 4GB VRAM, sips power, models like the MSI Gaming Edition switch the fans off below 50C. Bang for buck, performance per watt, nothing comes close to a 970. I have no idea on $ pricing though as I'm in UK.

[xtremeGoose]

I'd second GTX 970. The design has a lot of overhead for overclocking with some manufacturers shipping it at a much higher frequency than the reference cards from NVIDIA. The overclocked cards have been getting very close performance to stock GTX 980s.

 

EDIT: Nevermind, didn't see your $250 max on original price. GTX 970s are aimed at $330.

[Vykroft]

Is like 350... but I have to add the 50% + Taxes.... so in my case that goes to almost $500... 

It should be.... no more than 250-260. I'm editing the first post just in case.

For 500 I prefer to save a little more and upgrade the CPU + Mobo

[zzz72w3r]

Guys, OP already stated that the budget is $250 equivalent of American priced GPU due to extra $100 on taxes and various surcharges that added up to $350.  You cannot get a GTX970 for $250.

 

AMD is better alternatives at that price range but I suggest to wait a bit because AMD needs to repriced its lineup downward due to the recent GTX970 launch.

[Vykroft]

Yup, I was thinking in that, the new 900 nvidia line will probably lower the price of the oldest 700 and R9/R7

[endgameaddiction]

760's are within the $230-$250ish retail store. You can find it cheaper online. That's what I'm still trying to save up for.

[pinky6225]

I'd check your motherboard first to see what it can support as your old card was PCI-E 2.0 x16 and while a new card that is PCI-E 3.0 x16 will work it won't give out its maximum performance.

 

That said i have a SAPPHIRE R9 270X 4GB GDDR5 WITH BOOST & OC and its pretty sweet

[Vykroft]

Already checked that, and usually new graphic cards are backward compatible with PCIE 2.0. You have better performance with a PCIE 3.0 though, but really is not so much unless you are playing at high resolution, and in my case I only have a 1680x1050 monitor.

 

 

You can see the source here:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/07/18/pci_express_20_vs_30_gpu_gaming_performance_review#.VDAuTvl5OVM

 

And yes, the SAPPHIRE R9 270X 4GB GDDR5 WITH BOOST & OC is one of my favorites, I'm seeing all kind of benchmark against the Zotac 760 4GB, and I can't decide between those two.

 

What I really want to know is what is more important for a modded Skyrim, during a normal gameplay (not just the numbers of each graphic card) a higher memory or faster GPU. Because a 760 OC with only 2GB have a similar price to a 760 4GB not OC, and all those benchmark are for vanilla Skyrim.

I want if is posible, some feedback about the real performance of those two in a extremely modded skyrim, I mean when you are really using the VRAM of the graphic card to it maximum.

[bjornk]

Why don't you buy a 2GB 750 TI from Nvidia, at least until you can afford a 970? From what I've heard, it shares the same or similar architecture/technology with the new 9xx series, at least in terms of power consumption. It is almost twice as fast compared to your old card. Currently sold around 150 USD on average.

 

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/nvidia-geforce-gtx-750-and-750-ti-review,1.html

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-750-ti-1225593/review

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2454708,00.asp

[Vykroft]

lol naaaa i want more power....

[TicTacTied]

I've got the Sapphire R9 280X Tri-X OC 3GB GDDR5 and I'm so happy with it.

It cost me 240€ in a promotion, around $300, I think it's worth spending $50 more.

 

Edito: Como veo que eres argentino, te dejo la página donde la compré, es de España, pero puedes hacerte una idea de las características.

[Vykroft]

Ok i'm sending you a PM for details..