What graphics card to buy?

[Bane Vantyr]

Hi,

My graphics card's fan recently broke and it seems the manufacturer won't replace it. I'm looking to replace it with a good but cheap graphics card.
What is the best low-budget graphics card that I should buy?
Also where would you recommend I buy online?

Thanks!

 

[MickeyD]

Budget amount?

 

[Chevron]

6670.

 

[MickeyD]

6670.

Sapphire HD6670 1Gb GDDR5 - Esquire had it on special for R739 + VAT today. Got one for my wife's PC.

 

[killadoob]

Perhaps look around for a vga cooler that would fit your card, what card do you have?

 

[Chevron]

Even a 5770/6770 is cheap these days.

 

[agentrfr]

http://videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

Problem. Solved.

 

[agentrfr]

Look on esquire an rebeltech.co.za for prices.

 

[MickeyD]

http://videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

Problem. Solved.

Good to see my old old card 3rd on that list!
The HD6670 is 7th ...

 

[Pe-Killer]

This might help
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-2.html

 

[MickeyD]

This might help
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-2.html

That's the GDDR3 model of the HD6670...

 

[Bane Vantyr]

My budget is about R1000 more or less.
My old card isn't really worth it. It's a GT 220.

I have checked at rebeltech and found:
1) The SAPPHIRE HD6670, 1GB 128BIT, but this one is DDR3 and not GDDR5. Price is R766.
2) SAPPHIRE HD5670, 1GB 128BIT 4 CHANNEL DDR5 UPTO 2.8GB HYPER MEMORY for R895. Is that a good card for the price?
3) The CLUB 3D HD6790, 1GB 256BIT DDR5 for R1371. It's the cheapest 256 bit card. Is it worth spending the extra money?

I tried to check at Esquire but I see it's a wholesaler. How do I buy there or see their prices?

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[Chevron]

Out of those definitely the 6790. You should be able to get a 5770/6770 for cheaper though.

Don't get anything less than a DDR5 6670.

 

[Pada]

With the HD5670 you'll struggle to even play CoD4 smoothly (on high detail). I was rather disappointed with the HD5670 graphics card, except that it didn't require an external power source.

If you don't play games, then you don't need to get an expensive graphics card. Like a GT520 would do just fine.

Could you perhaps tell us what you're going to use the graphics card for?

 

[zll]

I would recommend getting the 7750 over the 6790.

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20&products_id=5019

It uses a lot less power, is about R200 less. Speed wise it's either a bit faster or a bit slower than a 6790, depending on the game benchmarked.

From what I could tell in the following review, it's faster than the 6790 with new games, but slower with older ones.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7750_7770_CrossFire/1.html

 

[zll]

Just saw the Club3d is sold out. You could pick up the Sapphire instead.

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20&products_id=4407

 

[Bane Vantyr]

I want to use it mostly for gaming. I don't expect to run all new games at high resolutions with a low-budget card but I would want it to run games at least at medium resolutions.
With my old gt220 I was able to play crysis 2 and Deus Ex HR at medium resolutions and cod mw3 at high resolutions.

The 7750 looks nice. What is the difference between the club3d/sapphire/gigabyte hd7750.
I noticed that the core/memory of the sapphire and the club3d is 800/4500 mhz and the gigabyte is 880/4500mhz. Will that make
a noticeable difference?

 

[Bane Vantyr]

Okay thanks. Saw your reply just after I sent mine.

 

[ponder]

Can't you fit a aftermarket fan to the card?

 

[sand_man]

With the HD5670 you'll struggle to even play CoD4 smoothly (on high detail). I was rather disappointed with the HD5670 graphics card, except that it didn't require an external power source.

What do you mean by external power source? You mean the 6 pin power connectors required to connect the GPU to the PSU?

Does this card draw power straight from the motherboards PCI slot?