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Best PCIe Card: High-end

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: April 2012
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Best PCIe Card For ~£240: None

Honourable Mention:
2 x Radeon HD 6850 in CrossFire

Exceptional 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance

2 x Radeon HD 6850 in CrossFire
Codename: RV970 "Barts"
Process: 40 nm
Universal Shaders: 1920 (2 x 960)
Texture Units: 96 (2 x 48)
ROPs: 64 (2 x 32)
Memory Bus: 256-bit
Core Speed MHz: 775
Memory Speed MHz: 1000 (4000 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5.0
Max TDP:254 W (2 x 127 W)

We already know that two Radeon HD 6850s in CrossFire are fast. However, based on our recent exploration of micro-stuttering, there's a fair chance that enthusiasts sensitive to this phenomenon might not be satisfied with the way a pair of these cards behave. If you already know this doesn't affect you, then you're in the clear.

Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 6850 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.

Best PCIe Card For ~£250: None

In the past, Nvidia's GeForce GTX 570 would have locked this price point down. But then along came the Radeon HD 7850. Considering relatively similar performance, it would be hard to ignore the AMD card's ~£50 lower price. That board remains our favorite.

Best PCIe Card For ~£270:

Radeon HD 7870

Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Great 2560x1600 performance

Radeon HD 7850
Codename: Pitcairn
Process: 28 nm
Universal Shaders: 1280
Texture Units: 80
ROPs: 32
Memory Bus: 256-bit
Core Speed MHz: 1000
Memory Speed MHz: 1200 (4800 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11.1/SM 5
Max TDP:175 W

The Radeon HD 7870 sets a new standard for what we expect from a sub-£300 GPU. With performance comparable to the GeForce GTX 580 and kissing the heels of the £350 Radeon HD 7950, this card represents one of the best high-end values we've seen in recent memory.

Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 7800 series for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.

Honourable Mention:
2 x Radeon HD 6870 in CrossFire

Great 2560x1600 performance

2 x Radeon HD 6870 in CrossFire
Codename: RV970 "Barts"
Process: 40 nm
Universal Shaders: 2240 (2 x 1120)
Texture Units: 112 (2 x 56)
ROPs: 64 (2 x 32)
Memory Bus: 256-bit
Core Speed MHz: 900
Memory Speed MHz: 1100 (4200 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5.0
Max TDP:302 W (2 x 151 W)

Two Radeon HD 6870 cards in CrossFire and two GeForce GTX 560 cards in SLI are very powerful, capable combinations. Just keep in mind that, if you plan to employ resolutions above 1080p with anti-aliasing enabled, you may want to consider boards with more than 1 GB of RAM.

Bear in mind, though, that this isn't a full recommendation, either. The Radeon HD 6870s remain honourable mentions in light of the findings in Micro-Stuttering And GPU Scaling In CrossFire And SLI.

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

Honourable Mention:
2x GeForce GTX 560 in SLI

Great 1920x1200 performance in most games

2x GeForce GTX 560 in SLI
Codename: GF114
Process: 40 nm
Universal Shaders: 672 (2 x 336)
Texture Units: 112 (2 x 56)
ROPs: 64 (2 x 32)
Memory Bus: 256-bit
Core/Shader Speed MHz: 810 / 1620
Memory Speed MHz: 1002 (4008 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5
Max TDP:160 W

The new GeForce GTX 560 is essentially a highly overclocked GeForce GTX 460, and two in SLI provide good competition for a dual Radeon HD 6870 CrossFire setup.

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

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