Some GFX guidance

[The red barron 41]

Hi all.

I have officially decided it is time I:

A: Came back to the forum

B: Brought a new Graphics card.

I am looking to purchase Nvidia as I know that some of my other games favour Nvidia (I.E they use their physics technology)

My current card is an ATI radion 5770, at 1Gb and 850Mhz

I would preferably like a 2Gb card (again other titles have demanding graphics that need a bigger card)

I would like it to be at least 850Mhz as this is the speed of my current card, and I don't want a slower card.

I have been looking at the GTX 560- 570 and 580, but don't know if it is worth diving into the 600 Series cards, considering some of my other games are fairly recent, (Railworks 3, World of Subways 3, GTA IV.) and of course FSX, I also intend to give some money to PMDG when they launch the 777, and I am also looking at getting the 737 NGX.

So I am basically looking for your advice and your opinion as to which is the best Nvidia card to go for as I know many of you use their cards.

Thanks in advance.

[Jess-b 420]

If you can wait, the new 660 ti looks promising. Rumors are it offers performance on par or very close to the old 580! It should retail around the £200 to £300 mark, probably the former.

Jess B

[The red barron 41]

Thanks for the input, the only thing that concerns me is that:

A, most of the 600 series are PCI-3.0 and my mobo only supports PCI-E 2.1

B, I am going to have to get a new PSU as my current on (650W) is not going to be strong enough when I push the system.

[Jess-b 420]

I think I can answer 'a' at least.

Yes the 600 series are pci-e 3.0 compatable, but they're also backwards compatable with PCI-e2.1. I'm running a 680 on a PCI-e 2.1 motherboard.

As for b, interestingly, the series 600 cards are more power efficient than the 500 series. The 580 for example needs a 600w psu whist the 680 only needs a 550w psu. It's the same with the 570/670 cards, needing a 550w/500w psu respectivly. So I wouldn't worry about running out of juice With the 600 series, in fact I'd say they're a better option.

Best wishes,

Jess B