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Best Graphics Cards Worth Getting

I'm really sorry that I'm about to do this ( especially directed to Rolo42;5169652 :) )

But has MSI sorted out that PWM problem or are they just not worth going to anymore?

Reason being , the MSI 670 is the same price as the EVGA ( £10 less than the Sig2 )

MSI GeForce GTX 670 Power Edition OC NVIDIA Graphics Card - 2GB - N670 PE 2GD5/OC - Scan.co.uk

and from Scan it has a 3 year warranty. ( when I bought the 6660Ti from Ebuyer it only had a 2 year which I thought was too short )

I think I'm again slowly moving to the evga 670 ....
 
I'm one louder!


I wouldn't go with MSI. Their products always look promising but they always have serious wide-spread issues. They aren't known for build quality and others are. That 10 quid won't be worth it when your games don't run or you're troubleshooting a manufacturer defect or having to RMA.

I like Gigabyte and I started folding for EVGA bucks, so I'll be going that route.
 
Evga have a 180 day step up program. Not sure if it applies here, but would getting a 660Ti and sort of hoping that there's a similar priced newer card that I could upgrade to, be a bad plan?

Typing that out I guess it is, relying on evga, but what do you guys think?
 
I mean idk, i have heard good things about the MSI 660 Ti PWE, i mean i usually am not one to toot MSI's horn but i think they did a good job with this card...besides it only being 192 bit, not really their fault though...

i think it's a pretty solid card, i will end this off by saying, for once MSI produces decent results.
 
But that PWM problem was only really found by luck. I wonder what else they're hiding ( yes, I know the box says enhanced pwm design, but over volting a part which shouldn't by 90% is a bit far.)
 
I mean idk, i have heard good things about the MSI 660 Ti PWE, i mean i usually am not one to toot MSI's horn but i think they did a good job with this card...besides it only being 192 bit, not really their fault though...

i think it's a pretty solid card, i will end this off by saying, for once MSI produces decent results.

I'm shortly going to start a big rebuild of my PC and part of that will be an MSI Big Bang XPower II mobo. I have pored over pages of reviews and have only read good things about it.
 
Evga have a 180 day step up program. Not sure if it applies here, but would getting a 660Ti and sort of hoping that there's a similar priced newer card that I could upgrade to, be a bad plan?
I shall reiterate: Never buy anything planning to replace it sooner than Moore's Law (2 years); you will spend more and will always have less.

You can't buy any card with that program, only ones they select and you pay the difference plus shipping--both ways. How much of an upgrade do you think you're going to get with 70 quid (that you are planning to spend anyway).

Additionally, 180 days is about when the 700-series may be released (officially, no earlier than March--but it takes a few months to become available), so you're either going to pay a premium (the "early adopter fee") for the new stuff or pay more for the 670 that you could have had today.

"Similar priced" will be the same or less. My 580 was ~$520 2 years ago; it is worth $300 now--the same price as your new 660Ti and performs the same or a smidge better. You want to effectively buy a 2-year old card now with the intent of trading it in at additional expense for who-knows-what "upgrade" (you don't upgrade a video card; you replace it) later. A $300 card later is still likely going to be 2-year-old tech.

After all that, the original question is all that matters: how important is visual quality + FPS to you? I would say, after agonising over it this long, that it is important enough to spend more to get more. (There's a point--and this would have hit that point--where I quit thinking about it and just purchase the item because it simply isn't worth going in circles that much over and, besides, if I'm thinking about it that much, I obviously want it enough to buy it and won't regret it.)

But that PWM problem was only really found by luck. I wonder what else they're hiding ( yes, I know the box says enhanced pwm design, but over volting a part which shouldn't by 90% is a bit far.)
Gigabyte (their roots are 24/7 reliable server platforms) has always overbuilt their power systems and is one reason I swear by them. As far as I'm concerned, everyone else is playing catch-up (or trying to make a cheap version and you don't go cheap with power components).
 
Yep. I have just about reached that point now.

Thanks so much for all, and all of your help.

I'm gonna go for it.
 
Yaaaaay!

You won't regret it.

Oh, and 700's won't be any earlier than May (TSMC issues again), so there goes your 6 month step-up.
 
I wondered why they'd be so "generous".

And now , here it is , the moment everyone has been praying to read.

I bought my graphics card.




My EVGA 670 FTW Signature II With Free Assassins Creed 3

and maybe Borderlands 2 as well?
 
Very nice.

I don't know if you get both; Borderlands is a fun game. Check for rebates too (there are for $).
 
When it was in my basket, or said "nvidia + borderlands 2" abs " nvidia + assassins creed3" with green free logos.

Then in the review your order it said the item is evga 670.....+FREE AC3.

I think it should come tomorrow so I hopefully I don't get much homework :-D

Edit : it comes with both games :-)

But payment isn't authorised so I'm gonna have to reorder soon. It'll be here Monday
 
IT CAME!!!!!!

I have to do my homework first, but looking at the box, it has a few creases and rips in it.... A refurb mabye?
 
...

I don't know. I don't wanna open it cos I know I put it in my case and start her up and never get round to doing my work...

It might also be a return, or just damaged in transit.

I'll let you know soon though.

Edit : although the box is ripped at one point, the seals aren't broken and what's inside is astonishing.

First of all, it's f-ing big! But it looks really good and I can't wait to destroy all my games and borderlands 2 and Ac3!
 
I have my graphics card in my case , and I'm just installing the drivers.

It seems pretty big still ,but my main worry is that I bought the Signature 2 version , which has a dual fan cooler , maybe in addition to blower.

Time will tell if this stays relatively cool , as the fans point downwards not upwards. Ideally , if the pointed upwards then I would have two ( 120mm and 200mm) fans pulling the air out directly without heating up anything else.

At the moment ( from what I think anyway ) the hot air blown out the fans will be pushed out by the 200mm fan at the front. So the air should be making its way out anyhow.


Edit 2: Is it worth me increasing the GPU warranty to 5/10 years? for 20/40 euros which I think is £16 and £32.

I guess the warranty stays with the card , so I don't know fi that's good if I want to sell it in 3-5 years....
 
Don't ever pay for extended warranties; the house always wins.

In 5 years the card won't be worth much anyway and if it's going to break from manufacturer defect, it will do so within the first three years.

The card just has fans, not a blower. The design is the same as a CPU HSF, it blows cooler air onto the heatsink and forced out the back or the back and other side (which may dump into the case but you have case fans to exhaust it).
 
Alright, cheers for that... Again.

I just thought the extended warranty would be good if I were to sell it on...
And someone told me about the blower thing... Guess they were wrong :-!
 
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