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Best PCIe Card: Mid-range

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: March 2012
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Best PCIe Card For ~£130:

Radeon HD 6870

Great 1920x1200 performance, 2560x1600  in most games with lowered detail

Radeon HD 6870
Codename: RV970 "Barts"
Process: 40 nm
Universal Shaders: 1120
Texture Units: 56
ROPs: 32
Memory Bus: 256-bit
Core Speed MHz: 900
Memory Speed MHz: 1050 (4200 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5.0
Max TDP:151 W

Offering performance comparable to Nvidia's GeForce GTX 560, the Radeon HD 6870 also manages to come in at a more aggressive price point. Although this card, based on AMD's older VLIW5 architecture, uses more power at idle than the GeForce GTX 560, it's the more power-friendly option in a taxing first-person shooter.

Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 6870 for more information on this card and its accompanying architecture.

Best PCIe Card For ~£160:

GeForce GTX 560 Ti

Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games with lowered detail

GeForce GTX 560 Ti
Codename: GF114
Process: 40 nm
Universal Shaders: 384
Texture Units: 64
ROPs: 32
Memory Bus: 256-bit
Core/Shader Speed MHz: 822 / 1644
Memory Speed MHz: 1002 (4008 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5

170 W

With the Radeon HD 6950 missing in action, the GeForce GTX 560 Ti takes our lone recommendation at this price point. This card offers respectable value for as low as £160 in light of the hole missing in AMD's portfolio.

Buyers looking to the future may want to hold off in favor of AMD's Radeon HD 7850 though, which the company tells us will be available on March 19th.

Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 560 Ti for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.

Best PCIe Card For ~£200: None

Honourable Mention:
GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 core

Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games with lowered detail

GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores
Codename: GF110
Process: 40 nm
Universal Shaders: 448
Texture Units: 56
ROPs: 40
Memory Bus: 320-bit
Core/Shader Speed MHz: 732 / 1464
Memory Speed MHz: 950 (3800 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5

210 W

Despite a somewhat-confusing name that might suggest otherwise, this card is based on the same GF110 GPU found in the GeForce GTX 580 and 570, further scaled back to achieve the specifications you see in the above chart.

Although the 448-core GeForce GTX 560 Ti can't overtake AMD's Radeon HD 6970 at its stock frequencies, Nvidia's limited edition stunner is highly overclockable. Enthusiasts should be able to push it significantly further than Nvidia's shipping settings, so there's room for significant value here if you're willing to pursue it.

Again, buyers with a mind to the future might want to hold off for the Radeon HD 7850 though, since we're expecting it to arrive within the next week.

Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448-Core for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.

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  • 0 Hide
    MCFCBlue , 16 March 2012 18:11
    How come the gtx 580 isn't in the £320 price bracket instead of the gtx 560 sli set up?
  • -3 Hide
    Arjun_Mishra , 18 March 2012 09:30
    Please take a look at the review of graphic cards that I made … The graphic cards are really budget build performance...
    Please don't forget to join my blog...

    http://knocyc.blogspot.in/p/best-amd-graphic-cards-budget-build.html
  • 0 Hide
    Arjun_Mishra , 18 March 2012 10:10
    Thanks bgtnvdjfckmh I hope you liked my review and hope that you shared 'em with your friends...

    Please join my site if you can...
  • 0 Hide
    MCFCBlue , 18 March 2012 19:20
    The GTX 580 is only £320 the same price as the sli 560 and its only one card so no sli problems.
  • 0 Hide
    Arjun_Mishra , 18 March 2012 19:26
    Please take a look at the review of graphic cards that I made … The graphic cards are really budget build performance...
    Please don't forget to join my blog...


    http://knocyc.blogspot.in/p/best-amd-graphic-cards-budget-build.html