Group test: what's the best budget graphics card?

5. Gigabyte GeForce GT 640 OC review

• Reviewed on: 15 August 12
• RRP: £96 inc VAT
• Rating:

Gigabyte has done what it can with this card but, currently, the nVidia GT 640 simply can’t compete with its AMD Radeon counterparts. The 7750 offers marginally higher performance for considerably less, while the 7770 goes far beyond its capabilities, despite costing just a few pounds more. It’s been some time since we saw nVidia putting up a good fight in the lower price category. On this evidence, only a very large price drop is likely to see the GT 640 break that pattern.

4. PNY GeForce GTX 650 Ti

• Reviewed on: 16 October 12
• RRP: £125 inc VAT
• Rating:

At the time of writing, pricing wasn’t totally clear. However, assuming a price of around £125, the AMD Radeon 7850 is clearly this card’s biggest competitor. That card offers marginally more performance for a price for around £25 more. There may well be some juicy pricing strategies on the 650 Ti in the next couple of months. Currently though, the 7850 is probably better value.

3. Asus Radeon HD 6670

• Reviewed on: 19 July 11
• RRP: £62 inc. VAT
• Rating:

The Radeon HD 6670 is AMD’s most budget-friendly GPU we’ve looked at.

2. Club 3D Radeon HD 7750

• Reviewed on: 20 March 12
• RRP: £85 inc VAT
• Rating:

At around £85, the AMD Radeon HD 7750 is a very affordable card. It's extremely light on power and, when the cooling system has been improved, will even be suitable for home media-centre use. A card like the 6790 will probably offer you slightly more gaming power for not very much more, although on a frame per pound basis, the 7750 remains the best value. Overall, it looks like being a very dependable (if hardly the most exciting) addition to the graphics card market.

1. Gigabyte HD 7770 OC

• Reviewed on: 11 June 12
• RRP: £110 inc VAT
• Rating:

Unless you’re really strapped for cash, the Gigabyte HD 7770 OC is a better card. The superior specifications and improved fan are well worth the extra, and the Gigabyte HD 7770 OC offers quite playable game framerates in today’s titles, just as long as you aren’t expecting fireworks – you’ll still need to spend £250 or more for strong frame rates in titles like Crysis. The 6850 remains a slightly faster bet if you can find it, although the difference is marginal, and the 7770 OC’s architecture may well see it improving slightly in future games. As a value prospect, the Gigabyte HD 7770 OC is an excellent little card.