Advice on video card

UnknownReverent · 19 May 2012

I'm going to assume that the 550 Ti is better, but I'd like to know to be sure. These are the two I'm choosing between. The 550 is also cheaper and it seems better so it would be great to know that it really is better.

Newegg.com - EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1463-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Joshatdot · 19 May 2012

The 550 Ti is a good card for the money .. but the 560 is a better card.
PassMark - GeForce GTX 550 Ti - Price performance comparison

I'd get a Radeon HD 6790 .. it's about same price as the 550 ti, but performs better.

UnknownReverent · 19 May 2012

Joshatdot said:

The 550 Ti is a good card for the money .. but the 560 is a better card.
PassMark - GeForce GTX 550 Ti - Price performance comparison

I'd get a Radeon HD 6790 .. it's about same price as the 550 ti, but performs better.

Never been a fan of Radeon. I have one right now and it gives me problems. I got it for free, so I can't complain.

How is the 560 better though? It has lower clock speeds. The only thing it has better is the memory interface.

Joshatdot · 19 May 2012

Yep the memory interface. The 256bit interface can process data faster than the 192bit. Just from the Passmark benchmark numbers, 2721 vs 1887, the 560 is almost 50% faster/better then the 550ti.

UnknownReverent · 20 May 2012

The price for the 550 Ti is much cheaper and would be easier to get SLI, and I'm assuming SLI 550 Ti is much better than a 560. Not to mention, either of them would be a huge upgrade from my Radeon HD 4650.

pparks1 · 20 May 2012

^ Well, are you sure you are playing at a resolution high enough to really warrant running SLI? I don't run SLI and have never had a need to run SLI. A couple of my friends have used SLI and CrossFire...but most of them don't. They always seem to have hassles trying to run SLI.

I wouldn't recommend lowering a video card today with plans to SLI it later. Between those 2 cards, I would opt for a 560 or the AMD equivalent.

UnknownReverent · 20 May 2012

I don't plan to get an AMD card at all anymore. I've had too many problems with them and have never liked them. I guess it depends on what the prices are when I get the money.

Zepher · 20 May 2012

What problems have you had with the amd cards?
I've used both with no issues over the years, ati 9600xt, nvidia 6800, 7800, ati x1950 pro, nvidia 9800gt, gtx 260, gtx 285 & 9500gt for triple screens, and currently a amd 5850 for eyefinity.

UnknownReverent · 20 May 2012

I've had many display issues including my monitor going to sleep when it's not set to, or the screen flickering like the drivers are being installed.

This is just the comparison between what I have now and the 550 Ti.

http://www.hwcompare.com/9767/geforc...hd-4650-512mb/

I also just noticed that the GTX 460 out-performs the 550 Ti. I thought the newer ones were supposed to be better?

UnknownReverent · 20 May 2012

It's all between those now, I guess. GTX 560 (kind of expensive for me), 550 Ti, and 460. 550 Ti is the cheapest and takes the lowest power. 460 is around the same as the 550 Ti money-wise, but performs better and costs a tad more. Both the 560 and 460 take the same power consumption. Pretty sure I can run any of them considering I have a 630W power supply. The 560 and 460 take 450W and the 550 Ti takes 400W. I'm leaning towards the 550 Ti or 460 since their price ranges are nice.