New video card help

[Classified1]

Hello all who read this, I am requesting help on searching for a new graphics card. I would like it to be cheap yet effective and be able to work on my pc. Currently, I have a lenovo ideacentre k320 with a changed graphics card (evga gtx 460SE) and a power supply box (I will update the supply box info later). My wish is for the video card to physically fit in my pc, be supported by the power supply box, is in a price range of $250 max and under, and be able to display battlefield 3 and starcraft hots in the best graphics it can (if possible). Thanks in advanced to anyone who would like to help me.

 

[oldikes]

GTX 660. assuming it fits and your PSU is good enough.

 

[Classified1]

More specifically, from what company? (evga, msi, ect.)

 

[oldikes]

Most of them have fairly good feedback. evga is pretty widely used as far as I know. My bro bought and MSI and hasent had any problems with it as far as I know.

 

[Classified1]

I am eyeing the evga one, what I remember with the power supply box is that I specifically bought it to match the one I have now, comparing the 660 and the 460, they both have the same requirements, all but the supply connecter, the one I have now is a 6+2, will it be able to work on 660. Also by the way, I found two different 660's, the only difference is $70 in price, except the more expensive one has more cuda cores whilst the other one has more boost clock and core clock, which is better or whats the difference?

 

[oldikes]

Was the one that cost $70 more a 660Ti?
the 660Ti is pretty much the most sought after gaming card as it can play just about anything right now at highest settings. the 660Ti is better. they are both about the same value referring to price/performance ratio I believe.

IMO the 660Ti would be quite overkill considering the rest of your PC, the rest of it might not let you use a Ti to its potential (mindfart, cant remember the term...when one component is better then the other but the worse one limits the better one...oh well) but you might want to post your CPU specs and stuff so you dont spend money on a video card you cant use to its potential

 

[Classified1]

Nonono, the ti is $70 more expensive than the one that is not . Anyways here is my cpu specs

OS NameMicrosoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
Other OS DescriptionNot Available
OS ManufacturerMicrosoft Corporation
System NameTONYTHEODOREPC
System ManufacturerLENOVO
System ModelIdeaCentre K320
System Typex64-based PC
ProcessorIntel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 650 @ 3.20GHz, 3193 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/DateLENOVO 5LKT42A, 6/8/2010
SMBIOS Version2.6
Windows DirectoryC:\windows
System DirectoryC:\windows\system32
Boot Device\Device\HarddiskVolume1
LocaleUnited States
Hardware Abstraction LayerVersion = "6.1.7601.17514"
User NameTonyTheodorePC\Tony&Theodore
Time ZoneEastern Standard Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM)8.00 GB
Total Physical Memory7.93 GB
Available Physical Memory5.06 GB
Total Virtual Memory15.9 GB
Available Virtual Memory12.8 GB
Page File Space7.93 GB
Page FileC:\pagefile.sys
By the way, my hard drive is a terrabyte large if you needed that info.

 

[slh28]

Nonono, the ti is $70 more expensive than the one that is not .

Yeah the 660Ti is more expensive and faster than the vanilla 660.

I think a 660 (non-Ti) will be fine for your machine, any higher and your CPU might not be able to keep up.

 

[oldikes]

Yea thats what I mean sorry I didnt type well xD
I imagine that a 660 would match an older i5 well, I think a 660Ti might bottleneck (THATS the word) your cpu though. I havent actually used either of the components though so slh or others may be better to listen to.

 

[Classified1]

Regular 660 it is! Does it matter if it is superclocked or not? What is your thoughts on this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826

 

[slh28]

You can always overclock yourself using MSI Afterburner or a similar program. What's probably more important is to look for when choosing a card is the performance of the cooler, a good cooler will reduce temps and noise.

This EVGA GTX 660 FTW has a higher overclock, better cooler and is the same price so I'd go for this one.

 

[oldikes]

Superclocked simply does something you could do yourself. If you dont feel the slightest bit comfortable doing it yourself you could buy the superclocked version. But as he said MSI afterburner can be downloaded and you can tweak stuff yourself.

 

[Classified1]

I don't trust myself to do it lol, besides it's under the budget I was expecting so what the heck, why not.

 

[Classified1]

!!
Before this thread ends, which gtx 660 is better?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130844

One is superclocked and the other is the ftw version, will it bottleneck if I choose the ftw version?

 

[slh28]

The second one you linked to has 3GB of VRAM which you don't need. Just go for that one I linked earlier, or if you're willing to spend closer to $300 then get a 660Ti.

 

[oldikes]

Yea 3GB of vram is rather pointless ATM.

 

[Classified1]

Lol! Hold your horses for a second guys, you said 660 ti will bottleneck me, so I am avoiding it. Does it matter if it has more gb or not? What actually makes a graphics card "good" as to say, the gb's? The cuda cores? I am looking for an inexpensive graphics card that complys with my pc and works very well. I am asking for a card that does everything on ultra. I am not looking for overkill. So is the superclocked one the best choice or the ftw 3 gb and if there is a difference in quality please do not hesitate to let me know.