Video card advice

Hi all,

I am playing ESO and (was playing GW2) with the Gaiscioch for over a year.

My NVidia GTX 460 4GB RAM died and I got an emergency replacement (NVidia GT 630, 2 GB RAM).

However I am getting much lower FPS on the same settings (used to get >40-50 on high settings), with this new card I am getting only 10-12FPS which is unplayable (short of reducing the settings to medium and disabling a lot of nice video features).

So I am looking at options for a new video card for my PCIe 2.0 motherboard: shall I get the NVidia GT 630 with 4 GB RAM? Is it worth it? Shall I switch to Radeon?

Or shall I just discard the motherboard as well and get a newer one and a newer card?

Any ideas and input are highly appreciated.

Thanks,

@Voidstar

IMO I would stay with NVidia, and I would also stay with the GTX range if you are going to stick with gaming.

I'm not sure how much you want to spend, but there are some really good GTX cards out there within a range of budgets.

What is your budget? There is no reason to spend the extra ATM if your CPU and board run just fine. A 630 GT is an entry level card and you will experience very poor performance compared to a 460.

I personally run 2 Radeon 290X cards and experience no issues. I have owned both AMD and Nvidia, it really has more to do with brand loyalty on which you pick. As each one hits various price points better and has pro and cons in certain scenarios.

The biggest thing is need/budget. With budget being the more important. If you have a really old computer and want to rebuild that is ok too, but if you just need a replacement card, then PCI-E 2.0 will be fine for Any card at this time (non crossfire/SLI)

I  can give you a very good list of cards to choose from if we know how much you can spend.

Here are some cards to look at. There is a big performance range here, but even the cheapest card here will get you over 30 FPS in ESO on medium settings. Please give me a price range you are searching in and i'll help you narrow down you choice. Also here is a good comparison chart Nvidia provides. take a look at the chart labeled "Relative GPU Performance" to see how the card you are looking at compares to others on the market.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

here is a list every gamer should have access too. and does if you look for it. it shows every updated card for low, medium and high end cards to help you get the best card that is the perfect mix of performance and price.

GTX760 is a good budget card. GTX770 is a good high end card. GTX780 is the next best step. Then on to the Titan (which is super fabulous epeen overkill). I would stick to the GTX7xx series and just get the highest number in the line that your budget can afford.

I am looking at no more than $600. I will check the lists you sent.

Thanks to all.

At $600 you can get a top of the line GTX780. You won't regret that. I prefer EVGA or ASUS brand and you should be able to get either well under $600.

630 is actually a downgrade from a 460.  I know, I have a 460.  Its one of the most solid OC GPU sets that nVidia ever made.  When mine dies, I will be very sad and frustrated.  660 is the one true heir to the 460.

Viable upgrades:  When my 460 finally dies (knock on wood), I will try to get a 760.  Money to performance ratio, the x60 lines always seem to be the best bang for the buck.  I'm hoping to hold out until the 860 comes out, because I prefer to stick with the even number models for video cards, because it seems that even # versions are best for nVidia products.  (6600, 8800, 260, 460, 660, etc)  Unlike Microsoft, where even # versions are bad and odd #'s are the best.

I am very happy with my 770, as I believe I would have been with a 760. Key to evaluating model numbers for the NVidia line is not the first (family) number but the second number. 460 would need to be replaced with a 660 or better to see an increase. Good luck.  Personally, what I read was that beyond 2 GB RAM the cost to benefit is not realized. Maybe when we are doing 4K res or 3D but not now.