Best upgrade from 260GTX? £200 Budget

[astar0]

Hi,

Im currently looking at purchasing a new graphics card and have a budget of about £200. What should I get? Please see PC spec below

q6600 @ 3.55 Ghz
Gigabyte Motherboard CF able
4GB Ram
260 GTX 216
80GB Intel SSD
500GB WD HDD

Regards,
astar0

 

[realBabelfish]

i bought a 6950 and flashed to 6970. to be honest its been a pain in the backside. looking at swapping it for nvidia now. hopefully a 570, not sure i can stretch to a 580

 

[astar0]

What problems have your experienced with the 6950? I see a lot of people are recommending it.

 

[shadow_boxer]

Upgraded from my GTX260 216 back in December to a GTX470 and found that to be a massive upgrade. What resolution are you gaming at? At you budget a 6950 sounds perfect or a GTX480 for a bit more performance (bit noisier and hotter though).

 

[astar0]

Thanks for reply. Im gaming at 1680 atm but would be looking to move to 1920.

 

[joxang]

If you can stretch a bit (or get one on sale) get a 480GTX. Probably best value for money at the moment, and you can get ones with ultra-quiet coolers. Make sure your PSU is powerful enough though.

Otherwise, 6950.

 

[OCPete]

Gainward GeForce GTX 560Ti "Phantom" 1024MB £200

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-145-GW&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=

EVGA GeForce GTX 470 Superclocked with Backplate/Bracket 1280MB £200

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-127-EA&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1810

OR

MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 2048MB £200

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-128-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=

If you can push to £220 ish there are even more options...

 

[harmony]

Anything around £200 should do fine, except 1GB vram cards. The best bang for the buck is the 6950 2GB.

 

[astar0]

I dont mind stretching an extra £20-£30 if its worth it. I see i can get an 480 for that.

Is this a better option than the 6950?

 

[shadow_boxer]

I dont mind stretching an extra £20-£30 if its worth it. I see i can get an 480 for that.

Is this a better option than the 6950?

Really a trade off. GTX 480 is more powerful and will overclock further. There are not guarantees that the 6950 will unlock to 6970. IMO better drivers from NVIDIA. The 480 is more power hungry and will run hotter and therefore louder. Might be worth checking out reviews of particular games you play and see how they fare against each other.

 

[realBabelfish]

Really a trade off. GTX 480 is more powerful and will overclock further. There are not guarantees that the 6950 will unlock to 6970. IMO better drivers from NVIDIA. The 480 is more power hungry and will run hotter and therefore louder. Might be worth checking out reviews of particular games you play and see how they fare against each other.

with my recent ATI issues i cant recommend them.

 

[Holdon Tight]

I have 2 480's they aren't that loud really. Run great tho' I have over clocked them aswel using msi afterburner. I couldn't recommend them enough!