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best gpu for £150-180

Soldato
Joined
19 Feb 2012
Posts
4,409
as per the title really.

this is my current spec if it helps

motherboard: Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68

psu: OCZ ZS Series 650W

cpu Intel Core i5-2500K

ram Kingston hyperx genesis 8gb

thanks for any help
 
Am i the only one who'd rather have a 560 over a 480?

As far as price/performance goes the 480 wins. Yes they run hotter and use more power but for the purpose of a high end budget system the 480 is the best choice. If the OP had stated he may want to go SLI in the future you could weigh the costs up against buying a new PSU in the future, however the difference would be small and performance would still be better with GTX 480 SLI.

Edit: Looking into his motherboard it doesn't appear to support SLI so this would not be an option.
 
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After owning a 480, I could never recommend one, they are just too loud and hot.

If that doesn't bother you then yes, for £185 you aren't going to get a faster card.

Otherwise I'd suggest you look at the 560Ti 2GB, 560Ti 448, or 6950 instead, all of which will give you excellent performance, not a million miles from a 480, for under £200, and won't destroy your hearing. Personally I would choose any of these over the 480. The 560Ti 448 is particularly good for the money.
 
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I am used to the comparative silence of my GTX460 and after calling to see my friends rig with 480 fitted I was dismayed at how much noise was produced by it. In fact as his case was on the bench with the side open it was akin to walking past my 50" Plasma - heat all the way.!
The OP doesn't mention his resolution or preferred games so I would find it difficult to recommend a card like the 480 without knowing that, due to the heat, noise and power consumption of the 480.

+1 to the post above ^^^^ - except I do not know about the noise of the AMD card quoted. My last AMD card was a 4870 which was very loud.
 
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An overclocked 560 is pretty much on par with a 480 whilst still being cooler and quieter. Buying an aftermarket cooler to makes the card even more expensive than a 560 along with more hassle.
 
Another vote for the EVGA 480. I can't see why anyone would opt for the 560 over the far quicker 480 :confused:

Link to comparison

An overclocked 560 is pretty much on par with a 480 whilst still being cooler and quieter. Buying an aftermarket cooler to makes the card even more expensive than a 560 along with more hassle.

You'd have to overclock the nuts off it to get it anywhere near the 480, and let's not forget the 480 clocks very well too! You've also got the added benefit of extra VRAM as the cheapest 2GB 560Ti is quite a bit over the OPs budget.

After owning a 480, I could never recommend one, they are just too loud and hot.

Just out of interest HeX, what case were you using to run your 480?

I've never had this major 'noise' issue with my 480 that people constantly bang on about, but perhaps it's because I'm running it in a well ventilated Silverstone TJ09?
 
After owning a 480, I could never recommend one, they are just too loud and hot.

If that doesn't bother you then yes, for £185 you aren't going to get a faster card.

Otherwise I'd suggest you look at the 560Ti 2GB, 560Ti 448, or 6950 instead, all of which will give you excellent performance, not a million miles from a 480, for under £200, and won't destroy your hearing. Personally I would choose any of these over the 480. The 560Ti 448 is particularly good for the money.


I'd agree with this.
 
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