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Best PCIe Card: Budget

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: December 2012
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Best PCIe Card For ~£100: Tie

Radeon HD 7770

Good 1920x1200 performance in most games, some with lowered detail

Radeon HD 7770
Codename: Cape Verde
Process:   28 nm
Universal Shaders: 640
Texture Units: 40
ROPs: 16
Memory Bus: 128-bit
Core Speed MHz: 1000
Memory Speed MHz: 1125 (4500 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11.1/SM 5.0
Max TDP:80 W

The Radeon HD 7770 can now be found for £100 or less, which is significantly less than what AMD wanted for the card when it launched. Now it's even more affordable than Nvidia's GeForce GTX 560 SE.

Almost as powerful as the end-of-lifed Radeon HD 6850, this newer card uses only half the power to get its job done. Now that we see a price we like, the Radeon HD 7770 receives a full recommendation.

Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 7770 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.

GeForce GTX 560 SE

Good 1920x1200 performance in most games, some with lowered detail

GeForce GTX 560 SE
Codename: GF114
Process: 40 nm
Universal Shaders: 288
Texture Units: 48
ROPs: 24
Memory Bus: 192-bit
Core/Shader Speed MHz: 776 / 1552
Memory Speed MHz: 957 (3828 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5
Max TDP:150 W

Armed with a crippled version of the GF114 GPU used in Nvidia's GeForce GTX 560 and GTX 560 Ti, the 560 SE delivers performance similar to the company's now-defunct GeForce GTX 460 192-bit card at a lower price point. It also stands up against AMD's similarly-priced Radeon HD 7770, though the AMD board's power consumption is much more conservative. This card is getting harder to find, and we hope the GeForce GTX 650 Ti will drop in price and displace it in the near future.

Best PCIe Card For £115:

GeForce GTX 650 Ti

Good 1920x1200 performance in most games, some with lowered detail

GeForce GTX 650 Ti
Codename: GK106
Process: 28 nm
Universal Shaders: 768
Texture Units: 64
ROPs: 16
Memory Bus: 128-bit
Core Speed MHz: 925
Memory Speed MHz: 1350 (5400 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5
Max TDP:110 W

The new GeForce GTX 650 Ti is the best £115 card out there. It performs in the same league as the Radeon HD 6870 and GeForce GTX 560 at medium settings, but gives up some of its advantage when moderate anti-aliasing is applied due to a memory bandwidth bottleneck. Nevertheless, no other card in this price range can touch it.

It's notably inferior to the Radeon HD 7850 1 GB. However, that card's average price is up to around £130, giving Nvidia's more affordable option some space to makes its value proposition.

Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 650 Ti for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.

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  • 0 Hide
    sam_p_lay , 18 December 2012 04:25
    GTX680s have been available at £370 (and less) for months... are you getting these prices from Amazon or something?
  • 0 Hide
    sam_p_lay , 18 December 2012 04:28
    Also GTX670s have been at £270 for months, not £310... and you say it's £140 for a 2GB 7850, or £260 for two. Is that like a bulk-buy discount?
  • 0 Hide
    Brett928S2 , 18 December 2012 07:09
    Hi :) 

    Umm WHO is this reviewer ??

    7990`s are available from MANY retailers....

    I just bought one for my own gaming machine and my shops have just started stocking them to order....

    And...it BEATS the 690.....

    Please at least TRY and stay up to date....:( 

    Toms Hardware for me and many others is read because of its reviews of up to date hardware, this is now becoming a bit of a joke....

    All the best Brett :) 
  • 1 Hide
    bemused_fred , 18 December 2012 14:40
    Brett928S2Hi Umm WHO is this reviewer ??7990`s are available from MANY retailers....I just bought one for my own gaming machine and my shops have just started stocking them to order....And...it BEATS the 690.....Please at least TRY and stay up to date....Toms Hardware for me and many others is read because of its reviews of up to date hardware, this is now becoming a bit of a joke.... All the best Brett


    Did you see Tom's hardware's review of the 7990? While it does brute-force wins against the 690 in terms of performance, its power consumption and noise are both so high that the 690 is really the better option. Not to mention that there are only 2 vendors for the 7990 as opposed to about 10 for the 690.

    http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/radeon-hd-7990-devil13-7970-x2,review-32563.html
  • 0 Hide
    Brett928S2 , 18 December 2012 16:44
    Quote:
    Did you see Tom's hardware's review of the 7990? While it does brute-force wins against the 690 in terms of performance, its power consumption and noise are both so high that the 690 is really the better option. Not to mention that there are only 2 vendors for the 7990 as opposed to about 10 for the 690.

    http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/radeon-hd-7990-devil13-7970-x2,review-32563.html


    Hi :) 

    Yes I have seen and read it, but the monthly reviewer obviously missed it :( 

    All the best Brett :) 
  • 1 Hide
    Ceee9 , 18 December 2012 20:49
    Typo on high end gpu, gtx 670 on title, gtx 660 on the columm
  • 0 Hide
    gandyhehe , 18 December 2012 22:36
    id like to know y toms hardware doesnt seem to know u can get a 6670 with gdd5, they have been on ebuyer for ages, they alwasy moan about the ddr3 on the 6670 when its fairly common place to get gdd5
  • 0 Hide
    Brett928S2 , 19 December 2012 00:21
    Quote:
    id like to know y toms hardware doesnt seem to know u can get a 6670 with gdd5, they have been on ebuyer for ages, they alwasy moan about the ddr3 on the 6670 when its fairly common place to get gdd5


    Hi :) 

    Yes the reviewer seems to be a little out of date...lol :) 

    All the best Brett :) 
  • 0 Hide
    brianthesnail , 20 December 2012 22:27
    when will the HD6670 be toppled from the entry level card of choice ... personally i thinks its hampered by the gddr3 downgrade compared to the gddr5 version of the card ( the HD5670 was and still is hard to beat when you can find one )
    the GT640 is nvidia,s only offering at this price range and can keep up with the HD6670 across most titles ... but will there be a HD7670.... and will it come with gddr3 memory or gddr5 .. if its the latter then it shall replace the HD6670 without a doubt.. infact even a gddr3 version would probally replace the HD6670 since thats whats currently at the top of the entry level charts
    note for anyone after gddr5 versions of the HD5670 and HD6670.. check out ... HD5670 ( http://www.videocardshop.co.uk/viewproduct.aspx?part=HD-567X-ZNH4&from=http%3a%2f%2fwww.videocardshop.co.uk%2fsearch.aspx%3fsub%3dRadeon%2bHD5000%2bSeries ) and HD6670 ( http://www.videocardshop.co.uk/viewproduct.aspx?part=HD-667X-ZQFC&from=http%3a%2f%2fwww.videocardshop.co.uk%2fsearch.aspx%3fsub%3dRadeon%2bHD6000%2bSeries ) ..
  • -1 Hide
    mrbeanladen , 21 December 2012 07:23
    bemused_fredDid you see Tom's hardware's review of the 7990? While it does brute-force wins against the 690 in terms of performance, its power consumption and noise are both so high that the 690 is really the better option. Not to mention that there are only 2 vendors for the 7990 as opposed to about 10 for the 690.http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/rade [...] 32563.html

    if you give a crap about a few couple of watts more THEN YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T CONSIDER BUYING A GODDAMN 1000 DOLLAR GPU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • -1 Hide
    Brett928S2 , 21 December 2012 07:34
    Quote:
    if you give a crap about a few couple of watts more THEN YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T CONSIDER BUYING A GODDAMN 1000 DOLLAR GPU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



    Hi :) 

    Very true lol...

    Same reason I don't worry about 10-12 mpg in my Porsche...

    The 7990 is not loud normally , but does get louder while gaming, but not unpleasantly so...

    All the best Brett :) 
  • 0 Hide
    bemused_fred , 21 December 2012 14:57
    mrbeanladenif you give a crap about a few couple of watts more THEN YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN'T CONSIDER BUYING A GODDAMN 1000 DOLLAR GPU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    I personally don't consider paying $1000 for a card only to get coil whine and 50+ Db load noise acceptable.
  • 0 Hide
    Brett928S2 , 22 December 2012 01:26
    Quote:
    I personally don't consider paying $1000 for a card only to get coil whine and 50+ Db load noise acceptable.



    Hi :) 

    There is no coil whine and its nowhere near 50 db...

    All the best Brett :) 
  • 0 Hide
    bemused_fred , 22 December 2012 04:23
    Quote:
    Hi :) 

    There is no coil whine and its nowhere near 50 db...

    All the best Brett :) 


    Check the revieiw.
  • 0 Hide
    Brett928S2 , 22 December 2012 05:09
    Quote:
    Check the revieiw.



    Hi :) 

    I HAVE A 7990 !!!

    I repeat there is no coil whine and its nowhere near 50db.... their test was probably done on a test bench...

    Mine is in a Lian-Li case on a carpet.... its NOT any noisier than my previous 5870`s ...

    All the best Brett :) 
  • 0 Hide
    bemused_fred , 22 December 2012 15:37
    Quote:
    Hi :) 

    I HAVE A 7990 !!!

    I repeat there is no coil whine and its nowhere near 50db.... their test was probably done on a test bench...

    Mine is in a Lian-Li case on a carpet.... its NOT any noisier than my previous 5870`s ...

    All the best Brett :) 


    Fair dos.

    I'm still not thrilled about its efficiency though.
  • 0 Hide
    Anonymous , 21 January 2013 20:37
    Is it worth picking up a 7870 or would it be much better to wait until the amd 8800 series comes out?