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Best PCIe Card: Entry-level

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: January 2013
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Best PCI Express (PCIe) Card For ~£55:

Radeon HD 6670 DDR3

Good 1680x1050 performance in most games

Radeon HD 6670 DDR3
Codename: Turks
Process: 40 nm
Universal Shaders: 480
Texture Units: 24
ROPs: 8
Memory Bus: 128-bit
Core Speed MHz: 800
Memory Speed MHz: 800 (1600 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5.0
Max TDP:66 W

We're still sad that the Radeon HD 5670 was discontinued. Although it's true that the Radeon HD 6670 DDR3 has a more capable GPU featuring a 25 MHz-faster core clock, four more texture units, and 80 additional shader cores, the 5670 wields more than two times the memory bandwidth thanks to its 1 GHz GDDR5 subsystem.

Nevertheless, without any significant competition, the Radeon HD 6670 DDR3 assumes our £55 recommendation.

Best PCIe Card For ~£80: tie

Radeon HD 7750

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

Radeon HD 7750
Codename: Cape Verde
Process: 28 nm
Universal Shaders: 512
Texture Units: 32
ROPs: 16
Memory Bus: 128-bit
Core Speed MHz: 800
Memory Speed MHz: 1125 (4500 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11.1/SM 5.0
Max TDP:55 W

The Radeon HD 7750 is the fastest graphics card you can get right now that doesn't require an auxiliary power input; it draws all that it needs from a 16-lane PCIe slot. If you're upgrading an older machine with limited power supply capacity, that's an attractive point to consider.

And it's a decent performer, too, particularly in light of AMD's most recent Catalyst driver packages.

Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 7750 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.

GeForce GTX 550 Ti

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

GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Codename: GF116
Process: 40 nm
Universal Shaders: 192
Texture Units: 32
ROPs: 24
Memory Bus: 128-bit
Core/Shader Speed MHz:   900/ 1800
Memory Speed MHz: 1025 (3075 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5
Max TDP:116 W

The GeForce GTX 550 Ti was overpriced when Nvidia introduced it (compared to the Radeon HD 5770, at least). In light of recent price drops, however, it's able to contend with AMD's Radeon HD 7750. The previous-gen board does use more power than the AMD card, but its performance is also better as well.

Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 550 Ti for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.

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  • 0 Hide
    MajinCry , 18 January 2013 23:20
    £56 inc Delivery: 6670 GDDR5 from dabs.com

    http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-ati-radeon-6670-hd-810mhz-1gb-pci-e-hdmi-7MMC.html?q=6670&src=16

    For an extra £, you get 10-20% better performance.

    Easy decision.
  • 0 Hide
    bemused_fred , 19 January 2013 02:29
    So buzzed for the next generation of cards. Any idea when they'll be?
  • 0 Hide
    sam_p_lay , 21 January 2013 01:12
    Quote:
    In essence, you're looking at a Radeon HD 7950 with one less compute unit and a 256-bit memory bus (cut down from 386 bits).


    You mean 384 bits.
  • 0 Hide
    kristi_metal , 28 January 2013 01:20
    If it wouldn't be for that inconsistent frame latencies, AMD would be the way to go.
  • 0 Hide
    rhx123 , 30 January 2013 17:12
    You can get a 7850 1GB for Under £130 from scan.co.uk, it beats the 650Ti for only £6 more.
  • 0 Hide
    rhx123 , 30 January 2013 17:15
    rhx123You can get a 7850 1GB for Under £130 from scan.co.uk, it beats the 650Ti for only £6 more.


    Saying that, You can get a 650ti 1GB from scan.co.uk for £105 now.