Good Video Card for Videos, games and general use?

Question

I'm sure this will open a can of worms.  What's a good video card for general use of videos and games?  Not an extreme gamer here but would like a card that performs, holds up and doesn't break the bank.

The last card I had was  XFX which had the capacitor plague.   This is where counterfeit parts are used and the results are that the capacitors explode.  XFX did not not replace the card, nor own up to this.  The sound is anywhere from a firecracker to a rifle as pressure builds up and the thing explodes.

I've heard that Nvidia rules.   Also that ATI is on the way out.

C-Man · Accepted Answer

Well, the question is which games are you looking to play and what's your monitor resolution?  Also, what's your computer's power supply rating?  Faster cards require more power, so it's good to know so we can avoid suggesting cards that would require a power supply upgrade.  Do you happen to remember the model of your old XFX card?

Between Nvidia and AMD (who acquired ATI) it's not so simple.  Neither company makes the best cards from top to bottom.  In general, AMD cards offer more value for the dollar, they're priced lower than Nvidia models of equivalent performance.  Depending upon how much you're looking to spend, either an ATI or Nvidia card might be the best option.  Nvidia cards tend to have better drivers and support a couple of proprietary features, but usually aren't competitive from a bang/buck standpoint until you get to midrange  and higher models.

Anyway, moving on...

For easy games like Rift, WoW, and Call of Duty, a Radeon HD 6670 would be plenty.  It's the best card that runs on a stock 300W power supply.  However it's overpriced at $90, since much better cards are available for just $10-$15 more... the only catch is that those better cards require a minimum 400-450 watt power supply.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161397

At a slightly lower price (and performance level) are the Radeon HD 6570 and GeForce GT 440, which are about equivalent in games, roughly 15% slower than the 6670.  The AMD card is priced lower, making it more appealing to buyers in this price range.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102934
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134135

Now moving UP the GPU ladder, towards better cards...

If you have a 450W psu with a 6-pin connector, the Radeon HD 6770 is the best value at $110, and less than $100 after rebate.  Nvidia's rough equivalent is the GeForce GTX 550 Ti, which costs around $125 and is approximately 2-3% faster on average.  This is a good example of how AMD tends to beat Nvidia on pricing.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102940
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134130

The Radeon HD 6770 and GeForce GTX 550 Ti are your baseline midrange cards, good for everything like watching movies and playing mainstream games on high settings at resolutions of 1920x1080 or lower.  They can run most games maxed at 1440x900 or lower resolution.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_GT_520/9.html

For high-end shooters you'd move up a level the Radeon HD 6850 and GeForce GTX 460, which are close competitors at the $140 price point.  The Radeon HD 6870 and GTX 560 compete in the $170-$190 range.  I'm guessing those are more expensive than what you're looking for.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-amp-edition-gtx-560-directcu-ii-top,2944-8.html

Here's a list of best gaming card values in each price range, from Tom's Hardware:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fastest-graphics-card-radeon-geforce,3085.html

Finally, a word about brands.  Back in 2005, XFX was considered a top brand for graphics cards, known for offering excellent overclocked models.  On quality and support, XFX was considered right up there with EVGA and Sapphire, who are the best manufacturers for Nvidia and ATI/AMD based cards respectively.

But since then, XFX has dropped a notch- good, but not elite.  They still offer their famous double-lifetime warranty but it seems more people find themselves NEEDING that warranty these days, as failure rates are much higher than before.  They also became less customer- friendly, quietly removing phone contact numbers from their homepage etc.  So these days XFX is probably the 3rd or 4th best graphics card brand behind EVGA, Sapphire, and MSI.  I'd still rank XFX ahead of budget brands like Gigabyte and Galaxy, who are known for using cheap capacitors on their PCBs.   But they aren't a slam-dunk choice over brands like HIS, Zotac, Powercolor and Palit anymore.

Anonymous · Answer

Generally AMD (ati doesn't exist anymore as a company) are ok but recently they are having driver issues and the price gap is closing between amd and nvidia

for nvidia i would recommend:

1. GTX 550 - will play games on medium- high settings 
2. GTX 560 TI - this is a very nice card and will play most recent games at high - ultra settings 

for amd:

1. HD 6850 - again nice card similar performance to the gtx 550 
2. HD 6950 - equal to the GTX 560 TI

personally i would recommend NVIDIA at the moment, but im sure others will disagree. Its down to preference really.

as for Brand again its down to preference i have an XFX card and for now at least it has been ok but i quite like the look and spec of what asus have to offer.

sam · Answer

Any of those below are good recommendations. Best price to performance ratio. XFX doesn't have any issues anymore. In fact, they're one of the brands I'd recommend due to their modder friendly LIFETIME warranty. Yes, lifetime. 

Nvidia and AMD are both good. ATI got bought out by AMD so they're already out haha. But AMD has done a good job with ATI. AMD's HD 7970 is currently THE fastest single GPU card in existence.

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Anonymous · Answer

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Good Video Card for Videos, games and general use?

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