[Jay_LHD3]

I built a budget gaming rig a little over a year ago and want to update my current budget video card to a little better budget video card.

Current card:






Trying to decide if the 'Boost' is worth an extra $30 (after rebate).


ASUS GeForce GTX 650 Ti VS ASUS GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost

[demonik]

check out ebay and find a gtx 580, should be around $250 total to your door and it will perform very well. I bought the evga gtx 580 SC new for $500 a few years ago, bought a 2nd about 4 months ago and now run SLI. I can play BF3 on the highest settings and it rarely dips under 100FPS at 1920x1080.

Once you get into those FPS though a 120hz monitor should be your next purchase.

[Jay_LHD3]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm trying to to stay under $150, but wasn't sure if going $15 over was worth getting the 'Boost' option. I paid right at $100 for the GTX460 when they were trying to move out the last of the stock on hand.

That 580 looks like a beast, sixth from the top on videocardbenchmark.net.

[vinman]

Save your $30 and overclock the non-boosted edition yourself, not very hard to do

[Jay_LHD3]

Originally Posted by vinman

Save your $30 and overclock the non-boosted edition yourself, not very hard to do

Thanks for the feedback.

I didn't even take that into consideration.

[Gigachip]

if you're not against trying AMD cards check them out. They perform quite well.
if Not I'd shoot for the 650 ti boost.

[Jay_LHD3]

Originally Posted by Gigachip

if you're not against trying AMD cards check them out. They perform quite well.
if Not I'd shoot for the 650 ti boost.

Thanks for the feedback.

I did a lot more research last night and changed my parameters on this purchase. Now I'm looking at this card:




I think there is a little more long term value and a better performance to cost ratio. Only thing is I'm going to have a wait a little longer for the price to drop a little or catch it on sale in the hundred and sixty dollar range.

[demonik]

have you checked the benchmarks for that card, real world FPS that its getting? If you are happy with that then its a great buy, just remember that in a year it could struggle on the newer games. But if you aren't hyped on wanting to play things at the highest settings then it will be fine. It's all about finding the balance between budget and performance.

[Jay_LHD3]

Originally Posted by demonik

have you checked the benchmarks for that card, real world FPS that its getting? If you are happy with that then its a great buy, just remember that in a year it could struggle on the newer games. But if you aren't hyped on wanting to play things at the highest settings then it will be fine. It's all about finding the balance between budget and performance.

What site do you use to get real world FPS? I normally go to videocardbencmark.net, but i'm not sure if that is 'real world'.

If I'm reading the chart correctly the GTX660 is ranked 14th vs 23rd for the GTX560 Ti Boost.



Finding the balance is the fun part. Do I drop four or five hundred for a card and keep it for four or five years or buy a card for a hundred and fifty and replace it every other year? Decisions, decisions!

[SgtPickles69]

I would definitely wait for the GTX 660. The new 700 series should be rolling out soon so expect some price reductions. If you can't wait then save your 30 bucks and get the GTX 650 ti and overclock it if you can. "Boost" is a just a factory overclock.

[Jay_LHD3]

Originally Posted by SgtPickles69

I would definitely wait for the GTX 660. The new 700 series should be rolling out soon so expect some price reductions. If you can't wait then save your 30 bucks and get the GTX 650 ti and overclock it if you can. "Boost" is a just a factory overclock.

Thanks for the feedback.

I did. My GTX660 is out for delivery today and I hope to have it installed tonight.

My only concern now is a review on amazon that stated their cpu is now a bottleneck for them. They listed the same CPU i have, an AMD Phenom II 965 Black Edition. My CPU alone is not worth upgrading unless I go to a AM3+ Mobo, which means I have to buy another OEM copy of Windows; all said in done at least another five hundred dollars.

This whole computer building / upgrading reminds me of the little girl from the AT&T commercial, "we want more, we want more, when you really like you want more..."

[Mr_Draco]

Originally Posted by Jay_LHD3

My only concern now is a review on amazon that stated their cpu is now a bottleneck for them. They listed the same CPU i have, an AMD Phenom II 965 Black Edition. My CPU alone is not worth upgrading unless I go to a AM3+ Mobo, which means I have to buy another OEM copy of Windows; all said in done at least another five hundred dollars.

I learned after the first time I built a computer to always buy the CPU and mobo that is more than what you want now. Every other part can easily and fairly cheaply be upgraded in a year or two except for these two for the same reason you came up with, an extra $100 now will save you $500 later. Even when building a budget computer, spend the extra on these two the first time as there are other areas that you can save money, especially since most people who build a budget computer often times upgrade some components shortly after anyway.

[Jay_LHD3]

Originally Posted by Mr_Draco

I learned after the first time I built a computer to always buy the CPU and mobo that is more than what you want now. Every other part can easily and fairly cheaply be upgraded in a year or two except for these two for the same reason you came up with, an extra $100 now will save you $500 later. Even when building a budget computer, spend the extra on these two the first time as there are other areas that you can save money, especially since most people who build a budget computer often times upgrade some components shortly after anyway.

This was my first build and I learned alot along the way for sure!

[Jay_LHD3]

Out with the old (relatively speaking) and in with the new !!