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Best PCIe Card: High-end and Beyond

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: April 2013
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Honourable Mention:
GeForce GTX Titan

Excellent 2560x1600 performance

GeForce GTX Titan
Codename: GK110
Process: 28 nm
Universal Shaders: 2,688
Texture Units: 224
ROPs: 48
Memory Bus: 384-bit
Core Speed (Turbo) MHz: 837 (836)
Memory Speed MHz: 1,502 (6,008 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5
Max TDP:
250 W

The GeForce GTX Titan sports the fastest GPU ever seen: GK110. Unfortunately, that one chip isn't quite as fast as two GK104s, which you find on Nvidia's GeForce GTX 690, even though it also costs near £900. 

Although we're impressed by what GK110 can do, the Titan is overpriced by most accounts. Two GeForce GTX 680s are faster, and for less money. Nevertheless, GeForce GTX Titan gets an honorable mention for the two applications where it really shines: small form factor and multi-card machines.

Also plaguing the Titan right now is availability. We simply cannot find any in stock in the U.S.

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

Honourable Mention:
GeForce GTX 690

Excellent 2560x1600 performance

GeForce GTX 690
Codename: 2 x GK104
Process: 28 nm
Universal Shaders: 3,072 (2 x 1,536)
Texture Units: 256 (2 x 128)
ROPs: 64 (2 x 32)
Memory Bus: 256-bit
Core Speed MHz: 915
Memory Speed MHz: 1,502 (6,008 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5
Max TDP:
300 W

Nvidia's GeForce GTX 690 is one of the fastest graphics cards in the world. It's essentially two GeForce GTX 680s on a single PCB, with a slightly lower core clock and a 300 W TDP. The company sets this card's MSRP right around £800, a little pricier than two GeForce GTX 680s in SLI. Although it used to suffer from availability issues, the card can be found right around its launch price without too much trouble.

While a few companies launched custom-built dual-Tahiti cards, they're very power-hungry and tend to be loud under load. HIS' solution never even made it to market. Asus' is no longer available. PowerColor's triple-slot monster is the only one left, and even then it's a de-tuned version. As such, we removed them all from our column. But AMD recent showed off a prototype Radeon HD 7990 that may improve AMD's standing in the ultra high-end space. Perhaps the GeForce GTX 690 will be challenged in the near future.

Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 690 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.

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  • 0 Hide
    Blahman11 , 19 April 2013 17:49
    I have seen DDR5 6670s on ebuyer for not much more than £50. It's worth stretching to the DDR5 version, the available bandwidth doubles
  • 0 Hide
    Hazzacanary , 21 April 2013 14:56
    A 7750 for £80? I'm pretty sure you can get the 7770 for £80-£90 on numerous websties, making it much more competitive. Also, some special offers on the 7790 get it down to £110-£120, making it stiffer competition for the 650 ti surely (unless you also point out that the 650 ti can be had for around £100 now anyway)? Where were the quoted prices from, as they all seem slightly high.
  • 0 Hide
    jakjawagon , 24 April 2013 19:14
    Missing chart on the last page.