Video Cards

[adstermoore]

Hey guys! I'm sorting out my new rig! I have got my motherboard, and I have some ram to start off with (3gb). I want to get a graphics card that can:
1) Run most games well (Don't mind about the settings, just as long as it runs at an acceptable framerate)
2) Won't crash! (What I mean is; with my older graphics card [Radeon HD 3870 x2] I would regularly have it freeze for a moment, then tell me my card had crashed, but recovered. This is something I really need to avoid! This seems to happen with a lot of Radeon HD cards [I have had this problem with 5-6 different Radeon HD cards]. I am favouring Nvidia for this reason, but if you can convince me this won't happen with a Radeon card, I will possibly buy one!)
3) Render with a noticeable framerate drop. (I understand, that when rendering a large amount of data, any card is likely to get an fps drop. I would like to keep this to a minimum.)
4) Cope with recording (I like to livestream, and record game footage for videos. So I would like this to remain a possibility [I understand this is also dependent on a quick HDD].)

My budget is around £80, but I will stretch to £150; only if it is really worth it! I don't want to spend more than £80 if possible. If not all the above is possible, that's fine! As long as it does what I need it to fairly well, that's fine.

I'm grateful for any help! Cheers!
_________________

Gingers are awesome!

[adstermoore]

Hey guys! I'm sorting out my new rig! I have got my motherboard, and I have some ram to start off with (3gb). I want to get a graphics card that can:
1) Run most games well (Don't mind about the settings, just as long as it runs at an acceptable framerate)
2) Won't crash! (What I mean is; with my older graphics card [Radeon HD 3870 x2] I would regularly have it freeze for a moment, then tell me my card had crashed, but recovered. This is something I really need to avoid! This seems to happen with a lot of Radeon HD cards [I have had this problem with 5-6 different Radeon HD cards]. I am favouring Nvidia for this reason, but if you can convince me this won't happen with a Radeon card, I will possibly buy one!)
3) Render with a noticeable framerate drop. (I understand, that when rendering a large amount of data, any card is likely to get an fps drop. I would like to keep this to a minimum.)
4) Cope with recording (I like to livestream, and record game footage for videos. So I would like this to remain a possibility [I understand this is also dependent on a quick HDD].)

My budget is around £80, but I will stretch to £150; only if it is really worth it! I don't want to spend more than £80 if possible. If not all the above is possible, that's fine! As long as it does what I need it to fairly well, that's fine.

I'm grateful for any help! Cheers!
_________________

Gingers are awesome!

[Kathya]

It sucks for AMD, but nVidia is the way to go for gaming at the moment. They tend to have the best software and the earliest (and more) updates for new games, so optimizations tend to come earlier and so on, so forth.
The best bang for your buck at the moment would have to be the GTX 560 (or the Ti if you can afford more than £150, though you sound unwilling).
(Though you're not guaranteedly rid of any errors whatsoever, problems arise no matter the card you have.)

No £80's graphic card will run the rig-killer games that are coming soon in any setting without (possibly massive) framerate drops, which are very, very bothering.
My 560 can run every game in the market in acceptable framerate and with my 6-core I can also stream and record fine (livestreaming will be more dependent on your CPU, not your GPU) without any drops whatsoever.

If you have a change of heart and care about running everything on top quality on acceptable FPS, a better budget solution would be the 560 Ti, probably can find it for £170.
Though... AMD has better budget solutions, like their 7850 outperforms either of the nVidia cards.

[Kathya]

It sucks for AMD, but nVidia is the way to go for gaming at the moment. They tend to have the best software and the earliest (and more) updates for new games, so optimizations tend to come earlier and so on, so forth.
The best bang for your buck at the moment would have to be the GTX 560 (or the Ti if you can afford more than £150, though you sound unwilling).
(Though you're not guaranteedly rid of any errors whatsoever, problems arise no matter the card you have.)

No £80's graphic card will run the rig-killer games that are coming soon in any setting without (possibly massive) framerate drops, which are very, very bothering.
My 560 can run every game in the market in acceptable framerate and with my 6-core I can also stream and record fine (livestreaming will be more dependent on your CPU, not your GPU) without any drops whatsoever.

If you have a change of heart and care about running everything on top quality on acceptable FPS, a better budget solution would be the 560 Ti, probably can find it for £170.
Though... AMD has better budget solutions, like their 7850 outperforms either of the nVidia cards.

[Nubnut]

I honestly haven't had many problems with most games with my Radeon HD 5770, crashing wise I mean it's clearly rather dated at the moment. The only game I have any crashing problems on is Skyrim and that's cause that game is infamous when it comes to AMD cards.

I've actually been heavily considering upgrading to the 7850 myself recently, especially considering the fact that if you buy it through Newegg you get free copies of Tomb Raider, Bioshock Infinite and Dirt 3. So essentially you're paying $180, for $180 in games and a free new graphics card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125451&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-Video%20Cards-_-GIGABYTE-_-14125451&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=3962334&SID=

Although admittedly I don't know about Newegg's shipping policies outside of the USA.
_________________

1st place on 8 GH:WoR songs on Expert+ drums! (well, at least for a couple days).
XBL Gamertag: Gavesit
Add me if you wanna play RB 3, GH:WoR, GTA IV, Halo Reach, Left 4 Dead etc. etc.
"THERE IS A DREAM I AM LIVING
THERE IS A LIFE I AM DREAMING OF"

[Nubnut]

I honestly haven't had many problems with most games with my Radeon HD 5770, crashing wise I mean it's clearly rather dated at the moment. The only game I have any crashing problems on is Skyrim and that's cause that game is infamous when it comes to AMD cards.

I've actually been heavily considering upgrading to the 7850 myself recently, especially considering the fact that if you buy it through Newegg you get free copies of Tomb Raider, Bioshock Infinite and Dirt 3. So essentially you're paying $180, for $180 in games and a free new graphics card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125451&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-Video%20Cards-_-GIGABYTE-_-14125451&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=3962334&SID=

Although admittedly I don't know about Newegg's shipping policies outside of the USA.
_________________

1st place on 8 GH:WoR songs on Expert+ drums! (well, at least for a couple days).
XBL Gamertag: Gavesit
Add me if you wanna play RB 3, GH:WoR, GTA IV, Halo Reach, Left 4 Dead etc. etc.
"THERE IS A DREAM I AM LIVING
THERE IS A LIFE I AM DREAMING OF"

[adstermoore]

Thanks for your help guys! I'm not sure what causes the crashes, but it's always been a problem for me with ATI cards :/ The GTX 560 does look like a good way to go!

The GTX 650TI looks pretty reasonable aswell, is that better or worse the the GTX 560?
_________________

Gingers are awesome!

[adstermoore]

Thanks for your help guys! I'm not sure what causes the crashes, but it's always been a problem for me with ATI cards :/ The GTX 560 does look like a good way to go!

The GTX 650TI looks pretty reasonable aswell, is that better or worse the the GTX 560?
_________________

Gingers are awesome!

[Nubnut]

It is a tad bit worse than the 560, though not by a tremendous margin.
_________________

1st place on 8 GH:WoR songs on Expert+ drums! (well, at least for a couple days).
XBL Gamertag: Gavesit
Add me if you wanna play RB 3, GH:WoR, GTA IV, Halo Reach, Left 4 Dead etc. etc.
"THERE IS A DREAM I AM LIVING
THERE IS A LIFE I AM DREAMING OF"

[Nubnut]

It is a tad bit worse than the 560, though not by a tremendous margin.
_________________

1st place on 8 GH:WoR songs on Expert+ drums! (well, at least for a couple days).
XBL Gamertag: Gavesit
Add me if you wanna play RB 3, GH:WoR, GTA IV, Halo Reach, Left 4 Dead etc. etc.
"THERE IS A DREAM I AM LIVING
THERE IS A LIFE I AM DREAMING OF"