+1 ^^^
£200 will buy you a really decent graphics card! (to put things into perspective, the PS4 and Xbox One use something with the graphics power of an AMD R7 265)
Here is how the R7 265 compares with the R9 280 linked above (the 7950 Boost is the same chip as the R9 280)
So at 1080p, you'll be able to play on max settings on many/most games, and you can turn down the settings when the games eventually run at too slow a framerate.
Quick question, is dvi better than hdmi cable?
There probably won't be any noticable visual difference from either one.
The main differences are that HDMI can transfer audio in addition to video (if you're using a tv, or if your monitor has speakers)
There are some technical differences, but unless you're pushing extreme resolutions or framerates, you needn't worry.
Probs another thing to add:
What do I need to look for in a graphics card?
Clock speed, streaming processors, the memory size?
Noob in the graphics world lol
It's a combination of all three really, plus things like which AMD parter has modified the card (e.g. sapphire/gigabyte/mis/etc.) It can seem daunting at first, but that's what tech reviews are for!
1. The first thing is to determine your budget (£200 is PLENTY for gaming at 1080p on high to max settings).
2. Next you need to see what cards fall within your budget (the 760 and 280 are the two closest).
3. Next, you need to see which graphics card manufacturer you want to go with (AMD/Nvidia);
Generally speaking;
- Nvidia are more expensive for the same performance
- Nvidia use a bit less power
- AMD give you more video RAM, compared to Nvidia, when looking at cards over about £170 - which is useful when running a 2-card setup
- speaking of 2 card setups, AMD let you pair two cards from the same 'family' whereas Nvidia require the exact same cards
- AMD are MUCH better for mining cryptocoins like Litecoins.
4. Then once you've decided on the make and model of the card you want, you then need to decide which cooler/partner you want - some are quieter, some are better for overclocking, some are clocked higher/lower from the manufacturer, some have 3 fans, some have 2, etc. For this, you can look at review sites such as Anandtech, although you won't find any for the R9 280, as it has just been released. (But, the R9 280 is essentially a 7950 Boost, with a new name, so you can look at reviews for that card and the R9 280X, and get a rough idea of how the card will perform.)
In my opinion, the R9 280 is the better card between it and the GTX 760. As for which 'version'; as it's a pretty new card, so there aren't many versions available yet, OCUK only stock the sapphire and the VTX3D version.... i had a bad experience with the VTX3D version, so personally i'd avoid it. The sapphire version should be good though - i have a sapphire dual-X 7950, which is essentially the same card, and it runs modern games on max or almost max. My only complaints are the fans are a bit noisy, and the plastic shroud developed an annoying rattle.
ANYWAY, as if that wasn't enough info to take in, my last note will be to also consider the R9 270x - it's still a good performer at 1080p, and as it has been around a bit longer, there are many different versions around, such as gigabyte, MSI, sapphire, Asus, etc.
If you manage to get to the end of this post, let me know if you have any more questions
