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Best Extreme Graphics Cards

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

Excellent 2560x1600 performance

GeForce GTX Titan
Codename: GK110
Process: 28 nm
Unified Shaders: 2688
Texture Units: 224
ROPs: 48
Memory Bus: 384-bit
Core Speed (Turbo) MHz: 837 (836)
Memory Speed MHz: 1502 (6008 effective)
DirectX/Shader Model: DX 11/SM 5
Max TDP:
250 W

The GeForce GTX Titan sports the fastest GPU ever seen: GK110. As it happens, though, that one chip isn't quite as fast as the two GK104s you find on Nvidia's GeForce GTX 690 (even though it also costs £800). 

We're impressed by what GK110 can do. But the GeForce GTX Titan is overpriced by most accounts. Two GeForce GTX 770s are faster, and for far 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. They're pretty rare, and as of this writing, there's only one in stock on Newegg. Nvidia admits it underestimated demand, and ramping production up isn't an easy matter. It's consequently not clear when this top-tier board might get easier to find. 

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
Unified Shaders: 3072 (2 x 1536)
Texture Units: 256 (2 x 128)
ROPs: 64 (2 x 32)
Memory Bus: 256-bit
Core Speed MHz: 915
Memory Speed MHz: 1502 (6008 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, roughly £50 pricier than two GeForce GTX 680s in SLI. The card remains difficult to find though; only one model is available on Newegg in the U.S. at the time of this writing.

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. AMD's recently-introduced Radeon HD 7990 improves on those third-party designs, but comes up short in too many other ways to earn a recommendation here.

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
    MajinCry , 24 June 2013 18:11
    I'm getting tired of the low/mid-end stagnating. I mean, the Ati 4670 is, afaik, 50% faster than the 3670. The 5670 is also around 50% faster than the 4670. The 6670, however, is virtually the same as the 5670. There's also no 7670.

    Come on! Gi'es us something new already.
  • 0 Hide
    tstebbens , 28 June 2013 11:43
    At the beginning of this month I bought a VTX3D 7870 Black Edition. This is a 7870 based on the Tahiti GPU. Tom's are saying this is best value at the £200 price point so I'm feeling rather smug that I got mine for £165. I was replacing my venerable GTX 260 and I have to say it is an amazingly good card for the money.

    I was worried about buying VTX3D as they aren't a well known brand to me, but so far it has been rock solid. The card feels well constructed and the single fan (something else I was worried about; I wanted a dual-fan card originally) is much quieter than I would have guessed - even under load.

    If you're looking to get a new graphics card in the £160 - £180 region then you'd be stupid not to consider this card.
  • 0 Hide
    Cyberoam , 28 June 2013 12:36
    As Don says, the card to get is on your needs and budget. Obviously budget needs to be in line with your requirement.

    For years I've been good with integrated and <£30/$50 GPU's. But now after getting more into PC gaming and video editing, decided to get the best I could afford... A Gigabyte 770 OC 4GB. Should be good enough for a few years.