New GPU to replace GTS 450

Hardware GPU
1

Hi there!

I'm looking to replace my GPU in my gaming PC some time in the near future. As you may have guessed from the title, I'm running a GTS 450. It's the "ASUS ENGTS450" model to be specific. I quite like it and it was pretty cheap when I bought it.

However, the time has come for me to replace it. I don't really mind the brand. I'm happy to stay nVidia or move to AMD.

I plan to continue using this computer for modern games, and probably a lot of Blender Rendering for a friend.

The current basic specs are:

  • FX-8350
  • M5A97 LE R2.0 Motherboard
  • 8GB Corsair Venegance 1600MHz
  • GTS 450 1GDDR5, 925MHz OC'd
  • 550w PSU

My budget is anywhere up to £120-ish ($180), maybe a bit more. Note that the above motherboard does have 2 GPU slots and supports Crossfire, but I don't think it's worth buying 2 cheap cards for £120 over 1 card costing £120.

Thanks in advance :)

 

Also, if anyone doesn't mind, could someone do a quick comparison between nVidia and AMD GPUs? eg, if I was looking for a new card above for nVidia, I would go for an x50 or x60 model, most likely 650 because it's newer. I know with nVidia, the range is the first number (eg 500 series, 600 series), and then the individual cards get more powerful with the second number (eg 560 > 550), but I have no idea for this in terms of AMD graphics :(

2

If you are happy to spend an extra £10-15, you could get a 7850. I think it is a nice little middle-tier card, and the best one at that price, in my opinion.

3

Your question regarding AMD series cards. It is still numerical. 7990 > 7970 > 7950 > 7870 > 7850 > 7770.

This is the same for their 6xxx cards or any series card. E.g xx70 > xx50

4

HD 7850 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-msi-radeon-hd-7850-oc-4800mhz-gddr5-gpu-900mhz-1024-cores-dvi-hdmi-2x-mini-dp-plusfree-games  

Or 650TI boost 

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-gtx-650-ti-boost-armor-fan-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-1006mhz-cores-768-dport-dl-d

5

Sounds pretty good.

Just another question before I go out and buy, is there any downside to buying an "OEM" version of this card? When I look this up on Google, (eg here versus another brand such as Sapphire, MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS? 

Are any brands particularly recommended?

6

I a gtx560m which is literally the laptop version, and I would recommend a 650ti boost 2gb and sli in the future, since that scales really well, and better than most in that price range

7

Edited:

My motherboard only supports Crossfire, not SLI. 

Also, here is how the GPU slots work - would it still be worth using 2xGPU if they are only gonna be x4 speed?

1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue) 
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black)

8

It depends on what card you Crossfire.  Worse/cheaper/less powerful cards might be able to utilize it even with 4x, but any powerful card is gonna eat up all that bandwith by itself.  

Regarding a new card...I had a 450 as well, it was a tough card to replace.  In the end I opted to upgrade to the 660Ti since I think that the 7850 was higher priced at the time.  If I had to choose, I'd go with the 650 Ti Boost, but the 7850 isn't a bad deal either.  Or you could get something more proportional with the rest of your computer, like a 7870, 660 Ti, or 7950.  That 8350 will blow any $200 card out of the water.