We kicked off Tech Chronicle with a graphics card roundup in October last year, so I found it fitting to dedicate an article in November’s first issue to GPUs. There are two other reasons: I believe all graphics cards by AMD and Nvidia have been released this year, and while their prices in the US have remained competitive, prices here are exorbitantly high.
Here’s a summary of good deals you should look for in the market (preferably not on online sites like Flipkart and eBay as prices appear to be inflated there). Note that a GPU with at least 1GB of dedicated Video RAM (VRAM) is the minimum you should consider buying, however more VRAM isn’t usually better for a card.
Under `5,000
AMD’s Radeon HD5670 (GDDR3 version) and HD6670 (GDDR5) should sell at around `4,000 and `4,500 respectively. They don’t make much sense above this price point. They are good entry level cards, suitable for gaming at resolutions under 1366x768. If you already own a GeForce 8800GS, 9600GT, 9800GT or their equivalent, you would not see much benefit upgrading to these cards.
`5000 to 10,000
Nvidia’sGeForce GTS 450 is a good deal for around `5,500. The GTX 550 Ti and Radeon HD7750 have similar performance at the `6500 price point. All three should be handle resolutions of around 1280x1024 and below in very high quality details without a performance hit.
The Radeon HD6790 and GTX560 SE offer exceptional value at `7,000, though `7,500 might be more realistic.
At `8,000, the GTX460 and HD6850 are good deals. The newer HD7770 is not worth buy
ing above this price, as it offers similar performance. There are two versions of the GTX460 — I’m referring to the 1GB version with a 256-bits wide memory bus here.
Finally, the GTX560 and Radeon HD6870 offer similar features just under the `10k mark. They offer a very high performance to price ratio.
The HD6790, and all cards above it, will perform well at and under monitor display resolutions of 1600x900.
`10k to 20k
The GeForce GTX560 Ti and Radeon HD6950 (1GB) are good choices if you can find them below `12k. Going to `13.5k will enable you to purchase AMD’s HD7850 (1GB), or for about a thousand more, the 2GB version. It’s not worth it above this price. At `16k, Nvidia’s GTX660 packs a punch, though if you can find it for under `17k, then the HD7870 is the better buy. While the 560, 6950 and 7850 are good till 1680x1050, 1080p will require the 660 or 7870 to deliver a good experience.
1080p gaming is more suited to the powerful Radeon HD7950 (the 3GB card is a great idea if you are looking to run a CrossFire setup for 1600p and higher resolutions) for around `23k and the GTX670 (not really worth more than `25k).
If you find highly overclocked versions of the 670 and 7950 which, after research, you find perform as well as the more expensive 7970 and 680 cards, spending up to `28k is still all right.
If you are looking to power a 2560x1600 pixel
display, you will find the Radeon HD7970 selling at around `32k. Beyond this, there’s little point spending more on a single GPU.
Remember…
You are always better off buying this stuff from the US or Hong Kong till prices are more acceptable in India. Currently what we are being charged for electronics is outrageous.