Help me return to the future! (Buying Video Card help)

[Aldurin]

So last night my Gigabyte GTX 520 finally ate shit, giving a really cool cyber-tech red distortion effect to the BIOS screen, but then just gives up when it has to do actual graphics. As such I am now going to travel forward in time and get something that works.

My budget is around $125 with wiggle room for better stuff. The 650 series has caught my eye for being within budget and a respectable upgrade. The problem is that I don't know WHICH 650 is the best thing to go for.

For budget, this one (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4501123&Sku=E145-0650) would serve well and seems to be reliable (given how almost every bad review is people bitching about the Assassin's Creed 3 bundle deal).

But then I see this one (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4501126&CatId=7387), which has twice the memory and a slightly faster core clock for an extra 45 bucks.

So in your opinions, does the 650 seem like a good choice and if so would the extra capacity and speed be worth it on the more expensive option?

[akaSM]

First off, you 520 required no extra power to run, the 650 does. Will your PSU handle it?/What PSU do you have?

What resolution will you run your games at? IIRC 1080p and beyond could benefit from 2GB instead of 1GB.

[Aldurin]

First off, you 520 required no extra power to run, the 650 does. Will your PSU handle it?/What PSU do you have?

What resolution will you run your games at? IIRC 1080p and beyond could benefit from 2GB instead of 1GB.

I got a 750 watt power supply, so I'm set on that. And I'm running 1080p single screen for the foreseeable future (if I'm ever extravagant enough to get multiple screens then I will definitely accommodate a card that is meant for that).

Some initial research told me that unless I'm one of those technophiles that get boners from running the Crytek engine smoothly (like TBFP Pat) then the extra gigabyte of vram won't make that much of a difference with the speed of my card.

---------- Post added at 05:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:27 PM ----------

Oh and I'm probably gonna make my decision tonight so that it ships early this week. Persona 3 is fun and Metal Gear Rising is kicking my ass, but I'm gonna go through Smite withdrawals and go mad due to almost beating Ys: Oath in Felghana before The Catastrophe as I will now and forever call it until my next piece of computer fails its fortitude save.

[akaSM]

In that case, have you considered this one (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7757070&CatId=7387)?

It's faster than a regular 650 and isn't as expensive as the 2GB model.

I haven't found any game benchmarks that compare the 2 650s though.

[Aldurin]

In that case, have you considered this one (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7757070&CatId=7387)?

It's faster than a regular 650 and isn't as expensive as the 2GB model.

I haven't found any game benchmarks that compare the 2 650s though.

I'm leery about that since Gigabyte was the brand of the card that just broke, and given how I'll still be processing as so many more SANICs than the 520 with the $100 model (10x memory bandwidth and 5x memory clock is nice), I don't know if I need that few extra SANICs for 35 bucks.

[akaSM]

There's another 650 Ti that's not Gigabyte, a couple buck cheaper too. (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7758776&CatId=7387)

OTOH, if you were happy with the 520 and, won't need the extra power for new games and what not, you should go with the 1GB one.

Wait...you're saying you got enough SANICs? How can you have enough SANICs? You hate freedom too, don't you?

[Aldurin]

There's another 650 Ti that's not Gigabyte, a couple buck cheaper too. (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7758776&CatId=7387)

OTOH, if you were happy with the 520 and, won't need the extra power for new games and what not, you should go with the 1GB one.

Wait...you're saying you got enough SANICs? How can you have enough SANICs? You hate freedom too, don't you?

Yeah, I think I'll just stick with my original plan of getting the cheaper one. It's still an upgrade and once Goat Disco idea makes me rich, I can go fully extravagant.

I don't have enough SANICs, no one does. I only have enough to convince myself that the abysmal void of less SANICs is bearable.