Best PCIe Card For ~£100
Radeon HD 7790
Good 1920x1200 performance in most games, some with lowered detail
| Radeon HD 7790 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | Bonnaire |
| Process: | 28 nm |
| Unified Shaders: | 896 |
| Texture Units: | 56 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 1000 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1500 MHz GDDR5 |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
| Max TDP: | 85 W |
The Radeon HD 7790 filled a gap in AMD's portfolio, but was quickly overshadowed by a more affordable GeForce GTX 650 Ti. AMD is responding the only way it can, really: by dropping the price on its 7790. As such, the Radeon earns a thumb-up from us at £100.
Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 7790 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
Best PCIe Card For ~£150: Tie
GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2 GB
Good 1920x1200 performance in most games
| GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2 GB | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | GK106 |
| Process: | 28 nm |
| Unified Shaders: | 768 |
| Texture Units: | 64 |
| ROPs: | 24 |
| Memory Bus: | 192-bit |
| Core Speed (Turbo) MHz: | 980 (1033) |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1502 (6008 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5 |
| Max TDP: | 134 W |
In essence, this card is a GeForce GTX 650 Ti with its clock rates and 192-bit memory interface borrowed from the GeForce GTX 660. Presently, the 650 Ti Boost ties AMD's Radeon HD 7850 2 GB as one of our favorite gaming values under £180.
Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce 650 Ti Boost for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
Radeon HD 7850 2GB
Excellent 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games with lowered detail
| Radeon HD 7850 2GB | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | Pitcairn |
| Process: | 28 nm |
| Unified Shaders: | 1024 |
| Texture Units: | 64 |
| ROPs: | 32 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 860 MHz |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1200 MHz GDDR5 |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
| Max TDP: | 130 W |
AMD's Radeon HD 7850 2 GB recently dropped to the £150 range, which means it competes against Nvidia's GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost. With price and performance so closely matched, AMD's impressive game bundle may become a tie-breaker.
Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 7850 2GB for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
Wonder when prices will come down to Earth.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=1914&subid=2294
(Really hope this doesn't get me the bannhammer)
Proposed system:
AMD X4 740 (four cores and 65 watts for only $80!)
Motherboard (is there much difference in power draw between brands?)
8GB Corsair Ballistix Memory
Samsung 840 SSD 500GB
Asus GTX650-E-2GD5 (only about 65 watts!)
Rosewell 80 plus Gold PSU
All told this system will max out at 200 watts, or so that is the estimate. Any recommendations?
Thanks,
Newbie Eric