Thinking about getting a new Gfx card

[iLOVENZB]

My latest card shat itself so I've got a GT-210 in there until I sort out which I'm going to get. I've neglected my gaming box for a couple of years and I've just been working off a laptop and console gaming on the rare occasion. I've got more time now, and want to resurrect my box.

Current specs are as follows:


CPU: Intel Core i7-2600
Mobo: ASRock H61M/U3S3
Video: NVIDIA GeForce 210
RAM: 8175MB (8GB)
HDD: 1TB (SATA)


Still debating which card to invest in. Budget is around $300. Been a few years and I'm a little confused about the Gfx card market. Are AMD cards on par with Nvidia ones? From what I recall with CPU altcoin mining; AMD cards have slower processors but there's a lot more of them. Nvidia have few processors that do more work. Does this mean that Nvidia cards benefit from rendering in games?

Also I've always wondered whats the go with different manufactures doing the same model card

eg.

ASUS Radeon R7 240 2GB,
The ASUS Radeon R7 240 2GB graphics card features a 900MHz memory clock, 2GB 128-bit DDR3 memory, PCI-E 3.0, D-sub, HDMI outputs, and is HDCP supported. Backed by a 3 year ASUS warranty.
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=877&products_id=25972

Gigabyte Radeon R7 240 2GB OC,
The Gigabyte Radeon R7 240 2GB OC graphics card has a core clock of 900MHz, 2048MB 128-bit GDDR3 memory, PCI-E 3.0, 28nm, DVI, HDMI and D-Sub. Backed by a 3 year Gigabyte warranty.
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=877&products_id=25800

Sapphire Radeon R7 240 Boost 2GB
Sapphire Radeon R7 240 graphics card features a 730MHz Core Clock, 2GB 128-bit DDR3 memory, a 28nm chip, 1x D-Sub, 1x HDMI, 1x DVI-D, Sapphire TriXX and more. Backed by a 2 year Sapphire warranty.
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=877&products_id=26518

I'm not after the R7 240, just using it as an example.

Games I'm looking at so far are Battlefield 4 and TitanFall. Recommended cards for BF4 are GeForce GTX 660 or Phenom II X6 1055T.

[nob0xerson]

The GTX 760 @ $250 or R9 270/270x @ $200 would be good choices, the 760 would give you the best performance. Make sure your PSU is good enough before upgrading though.

[iLOVENZB]

Yeah I've been tossing up between the 760 or 770. The GTX 760 seems like the sweep spot with regards to price/performance.

Pretty sure I had a 500W PSU (will check when I get home), should get away with that going by posts on other boards.

[Rart]

Yea I second those recommendations, at the 300$ range you're pretty much looking at the GTX 760 or R9 270. The R9 270 wins out a little bit in terms of price per performance ratio, but ultimately the GTX 760 performs better and is still within your budget.

I would not recommend the R9 270X or above as cryptocurrency mining has driven up their prices beyond what is reasonable for a gaming card.

[Kigaro]

I just recently bought a GTX 760 myself. I almost forgot what smooth frame rates looked like it had been so long. There is good stuff on the way this year, so getting a good upgrade is definitely worth it too.

[iLOVENZB]

GTX 760 it is then. Turns out my PSU is 650W so I should have no issues with power.

Happy days. Thanks guys.

[raidenfx]

I would definitely suggest a nvidia card over ATI.
You should try 680 or 770.

[Wam7]

If you're going 2nd hand then the GTX670 is the best value card around. If you're going new then I'd go 770 which should still be in your budget.