how come you can buy a 2GB graphics card for £40 but everyone will recommend the £100 1GB cards, how is the quality of a graphics cards measured and how do i know which to buy (i have £80 any suggestions)
thanks
thanks
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Graphics cards, how do you tell whats good?
post #2 of 6
7/5/12 at 1:42pm
- saint19
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What models? What brand?
My AMD budget build
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|---|---|---|---|
| Phenom II X6 1090T | Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5 | MSI GTX 680 Lightning | Crucial Ballistix Tracer |
| Hard Drive | Hard Drive | Hard Drive | Optical Drive |
| Crucial M4 | Itachi Desktar | Itachi Desktar | LG |
| Cooling | Cooling | Cooling | Cooling |
| EK Supreme HF Full Nickel | Swiftech MCR-320QP | Swiftech MCP655-D | XSPC Reservoir |
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| Crucial RealSSD C300 | None | Extreme cooling | Windows family |
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post #3 of 6
7/5/12 at 5:17pm
- Ganf
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Memory storage is not the largest quantifier of performance. Most current games don't use more than 1 gig, so having 2 for those games would show absolutely no difference. Memory bandwidth is a different story, and has quite an impact on performance. Architecture is important. Most people will recommend a 1gb card over a 2gb card if the 2gb card is a generation older, because the older card will have less core units, shader units, and a lower clock. There are lots and lots of differences between cards, but the basic gist is this: Newer generation cards will have more processing power and memory bandwidth. These, for the moment, are more important than the quantity of memory storage. However, that won't be so for long. 1gb cards will soon be choking pretty bad on newer games as texture qualities go up.
Papa Smurf's Scrivener
(18 items) |
| CPU | Motherboard | Graphics | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel i5 2500k @4.7 stable | Gigabyte Z68ap-d3 | Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 @1250/1750 | 8gb Samsung low profile green series |
| Hard Drive | Hard Drive | Optical Drive | Cooling |
| 500gb, WD caviar blue | OCZ Vertex 4 128gb SSD | 24x dvdrw | XSPC RASA RX360 kit |
| OS | Monitor | Keyboard | Power |
| Windows 7 | 23" Acer | Rosewill RK9000 w/MX cherry black switches | PC Power and cooling 950w |
| Case | Mouse | Mouse Pad | Audio |
| NZXT Switch 810 | Cyborg M.M.O. 7 | Razer Scarab | Asus Xonar D1 |
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| Intel i5 2500k @4.7 stable | Gigabyte Z68ap-d3 | Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 @1250/1750 | 8gb Samsung low profile green series |
| Hard Drive | Hard Drive | Optical Drive | Cooling |
| 500gb, WD caviar blue | OCZ Vertex 4 128gb SSD | 24x dvdrw | XSPC RASA RX360 kit |
| OS | Monitor | Keyboard | Power |
| Windows 7 | 23" Acer | Rosewill RK9000 w/MX cherry black switches | PC Power and cooling 950w |
| Case | Mouse | Mouse Pad | Audio |
| NZXT Switch 810 | Cyborg M.M.O. 7 | Razer Scarab | Asus Xonar D1 |
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| Energy Take Classic 5.1 Home Theater Speaker Sy... | Sony STRDH520 7.1 AV Receiver. | ||
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post #4 of 6
7/5/12 at 5:19pm
- trulsrohk
- Graphics Card Aficionado
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this is from tom's but it is mostly aaccurte in terms of how cards stack up in terms of gaming performance
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
Poison
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| Monitor | Keyboard | Power | Mouse |
| HP 2511x | microsoft Sidewinder | Enermax Modu 87+ 900 | Asus GX800 |
| Mouse Pad | Audio | ||
| none | Yamaha RX-V955, B&W bookshelves and Infinity PS-8 | ||
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Poison
(14 items) |
| CPU | Motherboard | Graphics | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD 1055t | Biostar 890fxe | 5870 | Samsung |
| Hard Drive | Optical Drive | Cooling | OS |
| OCZ Vertex 2 | LG Blu ray | Scythe Ninja 3 rev. B | win7 64 ultimate |
| Monitor | Keyboard | Power | Mouse |
| HP 2511x | microsoft Sidewinder | Enermax Modu 87+ 900 | Asus GX800 |
| Mouse Pad | Audio | ||
| none | Yamaha RX-V955, B&W bookshelves and Infinity PS-8 | ||
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post #5 of 6
7/5/12 at 5:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ganf 
Memory storage is not the largest quantifier of performance. Most current games don't use more than 1 gig, so having 2 for those games would show absolutely no difference. Memory bandwidth is a different story, and has quite an impact on performance. Architecture is important. Most people will recommend a 1gb card over a 2gb card if the 2gb card is a generation older, because the older card will have less core units, shader units, and a lower clock. There are lots and lots of differences between cards, but the basic gist is this: Newer generation cards will have more processing power and memory bandwidth. These, for the moment, are more important than the quantity of memory storage. However, that won't be so for long. 1gb cards will soon be choking pretty bad on newer games as texture qualities go up.
Memory storage is not the largest quantifier of performance. Most current games don't use more than 1 gig, so having 2 for those games would show absolutely no difference. Memory bandwidth is a different story, and has quite an impact on performance. Architecture is important. Most people will recommend a 1gb card over a 2gb card if the 2gb card is a generation older, because the older card will have less core units, shader units, and a lower clock. There are lots and lots of differences between cards, but the basic gist is this: Newer generation cards will have more processing power and memory bandwidth. These, for the moment, are more important than the quantity of memory storage. However, that won't be so for long. 1gb cards will soon be choking pretty bad on newer games as texture qualities go up.
This, exactly. My brother's 1 GB 560ti is way better than say a 4 GB 9800GT, just because of the improvements in technology over time.
OP: What you want to do is look at the games that you plan on playing, compare the minimum system requirements, and choose a specific processor and graphics card as your starting point. Compare prices and specs from different retailers based on your budget.
If you want to find out what card is the best for your $, head on over to the graphics section of the forum and people there can help you out
Just like how 1 GB vs 2 GB is an almost meaningless measure of performance between different graphics cards, NVIDIA and AMD (formerly ATI) also have naming conventions that also aren't the best measure of performance either.
http://www.overclock.net/t/692616/nvidias-geforce-naming-scheme-explained-outdated/0_40
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/132
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/131
Edited by mingqi53 - 7/5/12 at 5:25pm
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| Hard Drive | Cooling | Monitor | Keyboard |
| Samsung 830 SSD (128 GB) | Enermax ETD-T60 (T.B. Silence) | ASUS VH238H | Roccat Isku |
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post #6 of 6
7/6/12 at 6:23am
- saint19
- Overclocker in Training
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All we know that 2GB or more are only important when you want run more that 2 or 3 monitors, but with a single monitor at 1900x1200 or 1900x1080 the important is the technology (model of GPU) instead of memory amount.
|
My AMD budget build
(21 items) |
Ivy Bridge OC rig
(11 items) |
Bulldozer rig
(14 items) |
| CPU | Motherboard | Graphics | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phenom II X6 1090T | Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5 | MSI GTX 680 Lightning | Crucial Ballistix Tracer |
| Hard Drive | Hard Drive | Hard Drive | Optical Drive |
| Crucial M4 | Itachi Desktar | Itachi Desktar | LG |
| Cooling | Cooling | Cooling | Cooling |
| EK Supreme HF Full Nickel | Swiftech MCR-320QP | Swiftech MCP655-D | XSPC Reservoir |
| OS | Monitor | Keyboard | Power |
| Windows 7 Professional | SAMSUNG 2333 SW PLUS 23" 1920x1080 | TT eSports Meka G1 | Corsair 1200AX |
| Case | Mouse | Audio | Other |
| Cooler Master HAF X | TT eSports Saphira | Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Profess... | Plantronics GameCom 780 |
| View all | |||
| CPU | Motherboard | Graphics | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i7-3770k | ASUS Maximus V Gene | MSI GTX 680 Lightning | Corsair Dominator GT |
| Hard Drive | Cooling | OS | Monitor |
| Corsair Force GT | Cooler Master V6GT | Windows family | Samsung SyncMaster 2333SW |
| Keyboard | Power | Mouse | |
| Microsoft Wireless | Corsair AX1200 | Thermaltake Saphira | |
| View all | |||
| CPU | Motherboard | Graphics | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD AM3 and AM3+ line | MSI 990FXA-GD65 | A lot of nVidia GPUs | Corsair Vengeance |
| Hard Drive | Optical Drive | Cooling | OS |
| Crucial RealSSD C300 | None | Extreme cooling | Windows family |
| Monitor | Keyboard | Power | Case |
| Samsung 2333 SW Plus | Microsoft Wireless 3000 V2 | Thermaltake TR2-RX 650W Modular | A box in a desk :) |
| Mouse | |||
| Microsoft Wireless 5000 | |||
| View all | |||
|
My AMD budget build
(21 items) |
Ivy Bridge OC rig
(11 items) |
Bulldozer rig
(14 items) |
| CPU | Motherboard | Graphics | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phenom II X6 1090T | Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5 | MSI GTX 680 Lightning | Crucial Ballistix Tracer |
| Hard Drive | Hard Drive | Hard Drive | Optical Drive |
| Crucial M4 | Itachi Desktar | Itachi Desktar | LG |
| Cooling | Cooling | Cooling | Cooling |
| EK Supreme HF Full Nickel | Swiftech MCR-320QP | Swiftech MCP655-D | XSPC Reservoir |
| OS | Monitor | Keyboard | Power |
| Windows 7 Professional | SAMSUNG 2333 SW PLUS 23" 1920x1080 | TT eSports Meka G1 | Corsair 1200AX |
| Case | Mouse | Audio | Other |
| Cooler Master HAF X | TT eSports Saphira | Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Profess... | Plantronics GameCom 780 |
| View all | |||
| CPU | Motherboard | Graphics | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i7-3770k | ASUS Maximus V Gene | MSI GTX 680 Lightning | Corsair Dominator GT |
| Hard Drive | Cooling | OS | Monitor |
| Corsair Force GT | Cooler Master V6GT | Windows family | Samsung SyncMaster 2333SW |
| Keyboard | Power | Mouse | |
| Microsoft Wireless | Corsair AX1200 | Thermaltake Saphira | |
| View all | |||
| CPU | Motherboard | Graphics | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMD AM3 and AM3+ line | MSI 990FXA-GD65 | A lot of nVidia GPUs | Corsair Vengeance |
| Hard Drive | Optical Drive | Cooling | OS |
| Crucial RealSSD C300 | None | Extreme cooling | Windows family |
| Monitor | Keyboard | Power | Case |
| Samsung 2333 SW Plus | Microsoft Wireless 3000 V2 | Thermaltake TR2-RX 650W Modular | A box in a desk :) |
| Mouse | |||
| Microsoft Wireless 5000 | |||
| View all | |||
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