Best graphics card $500-$600

[Tylerrouse]

Hey guys. Want an all around great card that will let me game on high settings in win 7 for at least a few years and have it handle video projects on OSX. I only do light video projects on OSX, but want to do some extreme gaming on the windows side. So far the best deal I can find is the GTX 680 Classified. I found a couple small threads just asking about compatibility with it which it is, but wanted your views on what you think the best card would be in the $500-$600 range. Thanks in advance!

 

[LEONARDE11]

Just SLI two GTX 770's best solution for the price and will out perform a titan for cheaper (and 680's)

TEAM 770 FOR THE WIN!!

 

[Tylerrouse]

I'm glad you brought up sli because I got my motherboard today (ga-z87x-oc) and could overclock the graphics cards. Does OSX recognize sli or will it only recognize 1? Can I mix different cards in sli or do they have to be the same model? For example can I have a 770 and 660 in sli?

I've also been reading up on AMD Radeon support as a new addition. I know it's not in the buyers guide yet, but this thing won't even be turned on for a few weeks since I'm still mulling over parts. Still haven't decided on what size PSU for these exact reasons. This build is more for hobby so I have patience.

 

[toleda]

Just SLI two GTX 770's

No SLI (or Crossfire) in OS X.

 

[Tylerrouse]

No SLI (or Crossfire) in OS X.

I thought I had read that somewhere it the forums. Thanks for clarifying. I hate to ask for speculation, but should I wait on the graphic card purchase in case we see sli or crossfire come on board? I know the MacPro 2013 has two AMD firepros so should we take that as a possible sign?

 

[LEONARDE11]

yea sadly no sli in osx atm, but your windows system will be booming! and you wouldn't be gaming in osx anyway

 

[LEONARDE11]

Still haven't decided on what size PSU for these exact reasons. This build is more for hobby so I have patience.

I have been questioning the same thing for my build, here is a good video to watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iKk2_1u26tg and take a look at this thread i started over at overclock.net it might answer a few questions for you...http://www.overclock.net/t/1410010/best-psu-for-my-build i have 750w seasonic gold apparently this is plenty for my build even with SLI. have a look, hope this helps

LEONARD

my build
CPU - i7 3770K
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB
Power - Seasonic X-750 Gold
Cooling - Cool Master V8
GPU - GTX 770 2GB SLI
HDD - 2X Crucial m4 128Gb (for windows/OS boot drives)
WIFI - TP-Link PCI Express Wifi Adapter 400Mbps
DVD - OcUK 20xDVD

 

[Tylerrouse]

Great link Leonarde11!

That makes me feel a little better about going with a 750 or 800 PSU vs a 1000 or 1200. I've tried using the calculators, but I get different results with each one which makes me not really trust them. I have read that for most setups even when overclocking with a GPU that your system doesn't need more than 500W. What matters most is one that maintains even power across the board so in short a lower watt of a higher grade is much more important.

I've narrowed down the GPU between two options. Your recommendation of 770 was spot on. It beats the Titan by a ton in SLI. Not even in the same ballpark which shocked me. The only issue I have with the 770 is that it's working off the older gk104 vs 780 with the gk110 which is the same as the Titan, but with less cores. My idea is that if I'm spending the same money on one 780 as I am with two 770s I can still run games maxed out and by the time it starts showing a little age I could SLI 1 or 2 more 780s when they eventually come down in price.

 

[LEONARDE11]

780 has higher performance, 770 has better performance per dollar, the 780 only has 14% better performance compare to the 770 but at nearly double the price, if your prepared to pay that much on a graphics card please be my guest, the performance will be superior when you decide to SLI. i for one hand can t afford it and one GTX 770 will be beast for my needs, when i decide to SLI it will probably be overkill unless its in a couple years when my system really needs it.

also when i started this build it was meant to be a budget build LOL oh did that change....

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_770/27.html

 

[LEONARDE11]

either i think will be a really good choice, just depends on how much you want to spend really