Best PCIe Card For ~£200: Tie
Radeon HD 7870
Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games with lowered detail
| Radeon HD 7870 | |
|---|---|
| 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-£250 GPU. With performance kissing the heels of AMD's own Radeon HD 7950 and the GeForce GTX 660 Ti, this card represents one of the best enthusiast-oriented values we've seen. A recent price drop makes it hard to recommend those more expensive cards because the extra speed they offer is relatively minor compared to what you'd need to pay for them.
Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 7800 series for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
GeForce GTX 660
Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games with lowered detail
| GeForce GTX 660 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | GK106 |
| Process: | 28 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 960 |
| Texture Units: | 80 |
| ROPs: | 24 |
| Memory Bus: | 192-bit |
| Core (Boost) Speed MHz: | 980 (1033) |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1502 (6008 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5 |
| Max TDP: | 140 W |
Nvidia's GeForce GTX 660 is a strong contender compared to the Radeon HD 7870. It serves up fairly similar performance as the AMD card, so long as you use reasonable levels of anti-aliasing. Because the GeForce GTX 660 usually sells for a little less than the Radeon HD 7870's street price, we're sharing the recommendation between them.
Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 660 series for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
Best PCIe Card For ~£280: None
Two Radeon HD 7850 1 GB cards in CrossFire might have received a recommendation. However, we'd rather spend extra to get a Radeon HD 7970 and get similar specifications, but more consistent performance and three times as much graphics memory.
Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart -
You've got GTX 295, 480, 570, listed twice - one line after another.
I think only some of the THG authors actually read the comments on their articles. I think these 'best for the money' roundups attract a lot of criticism so maybe Don doesn't bother with the comments. If there's specific performance differences you want to know about though, just say and I'll try to help.
allthough AMD recommends a 450w psu i would feel safe running the HD7750 with a branded 300w psu or a budget 400w ... and with no 6pin connector required older psu,s may suffice
in terms of performance i expect this to be able to run games such as crysis 2 and far cry 2 at medium detail settings at 1680x1050 ....
its a shame no nvidia cards are showing in the entry level range ... !