Group test: what's the best graphics card?

The Top 5 graphics cards you can buy

By | PC Advisor | 26 April 13

PC Advisor reviews and ranks the Top 5 graphics cards you can buy in the UK right now. 

5. HIS 7970 3GB review

HIS 7970 3GB review
  • Reviewed on: 13 February 12
  • RRP: £480 inc VAT
  • Rating: Rated 7 out of 10

At the time of writing, the price of these HIS 7970 cards hadn’t settled. Around £480 seems par for the course, although it may be possible to get the card for around £20-£30 less. At these prices, the 7970 does seem a little expensive. The new architecture marks quite a change for AMD, although this hasn't yet turned into a card that'll blow away gamers. The 7970 is a nice card, but not one that's ground-breaking in terms of performance, and we suspect there is potential for nVidia. With that in mind, we'd recommend waiting a few weeks to see what the new nVidias can do.

 

4. Asus Radeon HD 7870 DirectCU II

Asus Radeon HD 7870 DirectCU II
  • Reviewed on: 16 May 12
  • RRP: £280 inc. VAT
  • Rating: Rated 7 out of 10

Overall the Asus Radeon HD 7870 DirectCU II looks like a pretty good graphics card. The problem is that it finds itself up against the brand new nVidia GTX 670. And on that score it's a loser. The latter card may be more expensive, but for an extra £50 it gives you far more performance, and a slight improvement in power consumption too. Unless you really can't go up the extra, the 7870 remains, without a price drop, the second choice in its category.

3. Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti

Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti
  • Reviewed on: 18 September 12
  • RRP: £280 inc VAT
  • Rating: Rated 8 out of 10

The Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti is a nice card that offers decent performance, and just about gets the nod ahead of the now rather old-fashioned 7870 cards. However, the loss of a memory controller is a significant setback, and given that the price difference between this and the GTX 670s is only around £20, we can't really recommend this over its more expensive sibling. Once the price falls another £20, it may start to become a very interesting product.

2. nVidia GeForce GTX 680

nVidia GeForce GTX 680
  • Reviewed on: 17 April 12
  • RRP: £419 inc. VAT
  • Rating: Rated 9 out of 10

AMD's 7000 series relies on a graphics architecture that is drastically different from previous AMD chips, so we may still see much better performance with driver improvements, but right now, if you have £400 to spend on a graphics card, the GeForce GTX 680 is the clear winner.

1. Nvidia GeForce GTX 670

Nvidia GeForce GTX 670
  • Reviewed on: 16 May 12
  • RRP: £329 inc. VAT
  • Rating: Rated 9 out of 10

Almost identical in performance to the AMD Radeon HD 7970, despite costing £30 less, the nVidia GTX 670 is a fantastic deal. And the best news is that this is only the card running at its default settings. The next few months should bring all manner of new configurations, and an overclocked version of the GTX 670 would be more than a match for the 7970. It's also much lighter on power – around 55 watt – and quieter. It's still not cheap, but it's clearly the card to buy if you want excellent game framerates without a £400+ price tag. 

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Comments

Blaire Nadal said: Theres no denying Nvidia is reigning the GPU in the HD gaming arena Im just not over with the cooling issue though Right now Im using AMD Radeon and its pretty fine for me Thanks for the gadget review

Jdbr0wn1 said: how often do they come up with new better morepowerfulcards im guessing every 2 to 3 months how can they becomingup with new exciting better cards continually than the useless piece of crap you spent 400 on three months ago I think AMD and Nvidia are milking the market and if theyre cards are crap 3 to 6 months after you buy one then spend your money elsewhere

Shanehep05 said: hi just bought a gtx 560 ti overclocked edition what an absolute brilliant card

Dennis McCormack said: Tech It is unfair and not correct The XFXatiradeon 5970 leaves the 580 for dead when fitted with accelero NO CONTEST

Matt Egan - Editor said: Thanks for helping linda guys - in the interests of balance can I also suggest CCL Computers as a good option too they can recommend a good GPU or an entire system and everything in between If you want specific advice on graphics cards do feel free to drop me an email - matteganPCAdvisorcouk and Ill see what I can do I remember only too well my mums travails trying to buy me the correct Leeds United kit in the late 1980s

Rob_08 said: Hi Lindaas Jate suggested in capitals Novatech are a very good option phone and have a chat as they are very helpful and wont bewilder you with jargonGo here http www novatech co uknovatechdont forget the dots Best of luck and happy xmas

JATE ENELEF said: WHY NOT GO ON LINE WITH HIM AND TAKE A LOOK AT NOVATECH IN PORTSMOUTH 1 YOU CAND BUILD A GREAT SYSTEM DOING JUST WHAT HE NEEDS FOR HALF THE PRICE AND THEY WILL ADVISE AND BUILD A SYSTEM TO SPECIFICATIONS FOR YOU AND YOU WONT BE PAYING FOR A SYSTEM AND THEN ADDING BITS TO GET IT TO DO WHAT YOU WANT ITiF I MAY SUGGEST GO FOR AN ATHLON DUAL OR QUAD PROCESSOR WITH 2 GIGABYTES OF RAM ON BOARD GET THEM TO SUGGEST A GOOD GRAPHICS CARD AS MINE ALTHOUGH RUNNING AT 30 FRAMES PER SECOND ON LINE WITH FLIGHT SIM IS NOW OLD HAT I HAVE BUILT ABOUT 80 SYSTEMS SUPPLIED IN BITS TO ORDER FROM NOVATECH I HAVE SENT 2 BACK AS FAULTY IN THE LAST 2 YEARS AND HAD IMMEDIAT REPLACEMENTS WITH NEW WITH NO QUIBBLES I RECKON YOU WILL GET VALUE FOR MONEY AND A HAPPY YOUNGSTER AND HAVE SOME CHANGE FOR YOURSELF IF I MAY ADD DEAREST IS NOT ALWSAYS BESTMERRY CHRISTMASJATE

linda said: wanted to get my 15 year old son a new tower as a suprise but the video card they suggested is manli gtx 285 1g dual dvi I have no idea what any of that means He plays all those new games and the machine he has just no longer cuts it does anyone know frames rate per second for call of duty for example Thanks from a confused Mother

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