Need new graphics card.

[Teufel Eldritch]

I need a new graphics card. My present cards struggle in Guild Wars2 & Planetside 2 when I run them on high graphics settings. I would prefer having one card to save space but running two cards again is okay. The new card/s have to be able to run GW & PS2 on the highest graphical settings possible. I'm looking for something in the $200-$300 range. My current setup...

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz QuadCore (oc'ed to 4.5GHz)
MEMORY: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 1600
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s & a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk External USB 3.0 Hard Drive, 2TB (3TB total)
VIDEO: 2 MSI R6770 Twin Frozr II/OC Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 in CrossFire
SOUND: Realtek HD Audio output
OS: Windows 7 Professional
MBOARD: GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3

 

[Die Alone]

Single more powerful card is always better than 2 less powerful cards(price being nearly equal).


SAPPHIRE 7970 3GB - $298.49 AR

Newegg or Amazon


MSI 7950 3GB - $229.99 AR

Newegg


Or if you want to stick with Nvidia you can get a GTX 660 for a little under $200 but its out preformed by the above 2 chipsets. Probably the only Nvidia choice for you would be the new GTX 770 for around $260 or the GTX 670 for a little over $300. They both out preform the 7950 but loose to the 7970. Also the 670 is only slightly faster than the 760 not worth the $50 more IMO. I couldnt find any good sales on them in my quick search. Hope this helps.

Also I wanted to add that AMD is going to release new 8000 series cards in the next couple of months. One of the reasons there is a spike in sales and rebates on radeons right now. So if you can wait there will be even more better performing choices in the same price ranges soon.

 

[Ogami Itto]

GeForce GTX 760 2 GB, $250-260 price point. PayPal me my consulting fee, kthx!

Seriously, tho...at that price you can choose from the best reviewed manufacturers and models, rather than the one available ATI card at that price point and no waiting or hoping for rebates.

 

[Teufel Eldritch]

These cards you both have suggested can run both GW2 & PS2 on the highest graphical setting possible with no problem? Right now GW2 runs 20-35 FPS and PS2 run 10-25 FPS. I need a higher FPS than that. I like my games to run smooth with no stutter.

 

[Kenadian]

I don't think you're going to find a card that runs Guild Wars 2 at max setting smoothly. The game will perform better in areas where it's you, some AI and some other players but that will be the extent of it.

My system runs virtually every game I throw at it (other than GW2 and ArmAIII) maxed with a minimum of 60 FPS (usually between 80 - 110) and drops to 25 when there's hundreds of us trying to take out a dragon.

Even our Guild Nights see my frames drop into the low 30's.

It's not your hardware, it's the game.

 

[Leftnut]

There is some debate with GW2 on its CPU and GPU usage and the game engine not being optimized very well. Try the guide before you but another card. http://www.guildwars2hub.com/guides/basics/guild-wars-2-tweak-guide-0

 

[Teufel Eldritch]

Bah! Just realized the forum as a Hardware section. Sorry. If this thread can be moved there plz do so.