Best Graphic Cards for money - in India.

[Cilus]

Best Graphic Cards for Money - in India

In this thread we are going to suggest the best Graphics card you can get for your budget which should offer best performance at your budget. In other words we will be trying to summarize the best bang for buck Graphics Card possible at different possible budgets.

But before starting off, you are requested to read the following thread properly as most common technical queries about Graphic cards are answered here: Basic information regarding graphic cards for newbies

For a quick tabular overview, please click here: ThinkDigit Forum GPU Hierarchy Chart

Case 1: My budget is less than 2K.

Requirements:

i. High Definition Content Playback
ii. Use the Graphics card for lossless audio transmission through HDMI port
iii. Very basic gaming is welcome add-on

In case of Intel Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge Processors, HD 2500, HD 3000 and HD 4000 are enough for the requirement. The GPU for AMD configuration without IGP is HD 5450.
So the winner is HD 5450 512MB/1GB GDDR3/DDR3 version. Check Asus, MSI, Sapphire or Power Color for the brands. Most of them are available around 1.8K to 2.1K range.

Case 2: My Budget is between 2.5K to 3.5K

Requirements:

i. High Definition Content Playback
ii. Light gaming experience in lowest setting.

Currently, only Graphics card available at this range is the nVidia GT 610 2GB DDR3 version which happens to be a rebranded GT 520. Cards from brand like Zotac, Sparkle and Gainward are available around 2.6 to 2.7K.
Now at a price of 3.5K, only two cards worth mentioning, AMD HD 5570 1GB DDR3 version and nVidia GT 620 1GB/2GB DDR3 version. However, HD 5570 performs better than the nVidia counterpart. If you prefer nVidia then try to find GT 630 1GB DDR3 version which is around 3.6K. However, only few sites are having them and check for theitdepot.

So, the winners are GT 610 1/2 GB DDR3 and HD 5570 1GB DDR3 respectively. Check for the brands like Zotac, Palit, Power Color, Sparkle etc Their cards are cheaper than the rest of the brands.

Case 3: My budget is 3.5K to 4.5K

Requirements:

i. Mild gaming in very limited budget. Note: *Performance* starts from here.
ii. High Definition Content Playback

If you want to keep your budget around 4K then HD 6570 1 GB DDR3 and GT 440 1GB DDR3 is are the choice. However, HD 6570 performs better. Also Flipkart is currently having our old and good HD 5670 1GB DDR3 card listed around 4.1K and if you find this card, just get it.

At a budget of 4.5K, the only choice is HD 6670 1GB DDR3 version. However, currently FLipkart is listing HIS HD ICEQ 5670 1GB GDDR5 version which is better than HD 6670 DDR3 version due to twice the memory bandwidth.

So, the winners are HD 6570 1GB DDR3 @ 3.9K and HD 6570 1024 MB DDR3 @ 3.9k. HD 5670 GDDR5 didn't get our recommendation because of the poor availability. For brands check Sapphire, MSI, HIS, Gigabyte and Power Color.

PSU Recommendations

For all the cards mentioned above, a good 350W PSU is recommended. Corsair VS350 or Antech BP300 are around 1.7K are the best choices here. Til here graphic cards might run fine on el-cheapo PSUs like Zebronics 500w/600w, but however it is still recommended to have a decent PSU.

From the next case, (except HD 6670).....a good PSU is strictly recommended if you want the safety of your computer.

Case 4: Budget is between 4.5K to 6K

Requirements:

i. Gaming with high details up to 1440X900
ii. Good gaming experience at 1600X900 resolution

If you cannot cross 5.5K range the best card is HD 6670 1GB GDDR5. For brands, look for mainly Sapphire and MSI and fetch whichone is cheaper.

Now 6K price range is quite interesting as AMD HD 7750 from Gigabyte is now available in India at just 6.2K. This card is based on 28 nm fabrication process, blessed with AMD's latest GCN architecture, resulting a lots of advanced features and without the need of external PCI-E power source.
So it is the clear winner here.

So the winner is HD 7750 1GB GDDR5. Currently only Gigabyte HD 7750 Factory overclocked version with a great custom cooler is available in SMC at just 6.2K.

Case 5: Budget is between 7K to 8.5K

Requirements:

i. Gaming with Mid or high setting at 1600X900 resolution
ii. 1080P gaming with lower details

If you want something at 7K, look for the older HD 6770 card which is currently retailing around 6.8K. But remember, it consumes more power compared to the current generation cards and availability is also very limited.

8K and 8.5K Here the winner is HD 7770 GDDR5 without any competition. With the latest driver updates, it performs like a HD 6850 but consumes lot lesser power. For brands, look for Gigabyte, Sapphire and MSI. The reference models are retailing around 8K whereas the Custom Cooler based and factory overclocked versions are available around 8.5K.

So the winner is HD 6770 at 7K range and HD 7770 at 8 to 8.5K range.

Case 6: Budget is between 9K to 11K

Requirements:

i. 1600X900 gaming with very high setting
ii. 1080P gaming with high/higher-mid setting

At 10K price point, GTX 650 Ti is the clear winner and its main competitors like GTX 560 (Non Ti), HD 6870 are either not available or very highly priced. For brands, look for Zotac and MSI.

At 11K, look for the 2GB and factory overclocked models of GTX 650 Ti. Zotac GTX 650 Ti Amp 2 GB is the perfect example of it. As games are becoming more Video Memory intensive even at lower resolution, the 2GB frame buffer impacts the performance positively.

So the winner is GTX 650 Ti 1 GB GDDR5 @ 10K and GTX 650 Ti 2GB factory overclocked version @ 11K.

PSU Recommendations
Note: The PSU choice will also depend on the processor you are using and whether you will overclock or not. Having everything said, Seasonic S12II 520w is the best PSU among the following.

HD 6750, GTS 450, HD 6770, HD 7770, HD 7750, GTX 650 Ti = Corsair CX430v2, Seasonic SS400BT
HD 6790, GTX 460, HD 6850 = FSP Saga II 500w, Corsair CX500v2, Tagan Stonerock TG-500, Seasonic S12II 520w
GTX 550 Ti, GTX 560, HD 6870 = Seasonic S12II 520w

[Cilus]

Case 7: Serious gaming; Budget 12K to 14K

Requirements

i. 1920X1080 Gaming with high details

Until the release of GTX 650 Ti Boost version, currently we have only one contender for this price point, namely HD 7850 1GB and 7850 2GB model. The 1 GB model is retailing at 12.5K and the 2GB model is available around 13.5K. GTX 660 is not getting our recommendation as in most of the Online sites, its price is very close to HD 7870 which by all means, a better card. If you can find it at below 15K price point, grab it.

So the winner is HD 7850 1GB for 12.5K and HD 7850 2GB at 13.5K. For brands, look for Sapphire, Gigabyte, Asus and MSI.
Honorable Mention: GTX 660


Case 8: Serious gaming at Full HD, 16K to 19K

Requirements:
i. 1920X1080 Gaming with very high details
ii. 2560X1600 Gaming with lower details

At a price point of just 16.5K, Sapphire HD 7870 2GB GDDR5 is the best VFM card available now. It can beat the performance of the older king GTX 580 and consumes power lesser than HD 6870.
If you can increase your budget a little then pick up the HD 7870 XT /LE version. Don't be fooled by the name, it is a stripped down HD 7950 and the extra money over a standard 7870 is very much justified.

So the winner is HD 7870 2 GB for 16.5K and HD 7870 XT 2GB at 18K. For brands, look for only Sapphire
Honorable Mention: GTX 660 Ti 2 GB. . It is available around 20K but the price is very closer to HD 7950 Boost Version.


Case 9: Budget is 20 to 22K

Requirements:
i. 1920X1080 Gaming with very high details with good AA and AF setting
ii. 2560X1600 Gaming with medium details


With the release of HD 7950 boost version, the new 12.7 driver and a price cut, now it is the king at this price point. Armed with 3 GB GDDR5 memory, 384 bit Memory bust and 1792 Stream Processors, this card enables us to max out the settings for most of the games ar 1080P resolution, along with high Antialiasing and Anisotrophic Filtering enabled. Also this card is a dam good overclocker, you can easily get past 1000 MHz barrier and touch the performance of the bigger brother stock HD 7970.
So the winner is HD 7950 OC with Boost version. For brands, the best VFM is Sapphire HD 7950 3GB VAPOR-X OC with BOOST, currently available at 21.5K in mdcomputers.in. Another good option is Asus Direct CU II Top version which is available around 22K at the same shop.

PSU Recommendations
Note: The PSU choice will also depend on the processor you are using and whether you will overclock or not.

HD 7850, HD 7870 , GTX 660 = Assuming you have a good quad Core CPU, 1 500W PSU is recommended here. Corsair GS500, Seasonic S12II 520 are the recommended choice.
HD 7870, HD 7870 XT/LE , GTX 660 Ti = Although a good 500/550 W PSU can run them, recommendation is to go with a 600W one. Corsair GS600, Seasonic Eco 600, Seasonic SS12II 620 etc are recommended buy.
HD 7950 Boost = Corsair TX 650 V2, Seasonic SS12II 620

Case 10: Extreme Gaming; Budget 26-34K

Requirements:
i. 1920X1080 Gaming with maximum details
ii. 2560X1600 Gaming with higher settings

At 26K price point, you can find some models of GTX 670 which is a very good performer. I am able to find only one card in the online shops with 26K price tag, MSI Nvidia N670GTX-PM2D2GD5/OC, available at SMCINTERNATIONAL.

Now, from 27.5K to 32K, we just need to look at different models of HD 7970, which is the best buy at this range. At 27.6K, you can get the Sapphire Dual Fan version of the HD 7970, running at reference speed, at 28.5K, you van get the Sapphire OC version as well as the MSI reference design model with factory overclocking.
At 30 to 32K, the two best choices are Sapphire HD 7970 VAPOR-X OC and MSI HD 7970 Lightning. Both of these cards are already clocked over 1000 MHz, resulting equal performance to the GHz edition and better than GTX 680 stock version. Also non reference cooler means for more room for overclocking. With small voltage tweaks, these cards can be pushed close to 1200 MHz clock speed, resulting a very healthy performance boost.
Currently the cheapest GTX 680 is available around 33K and there is no point of going for them.

Winner at sub 30K: Sapphire HD 7970 OC Dual Fan Edition, MSI HD 7970 OC
Winner at sub 32K: Sapphire HD 7970 VAPORX OC and MSI HD 7970 Lightning.


PSU Recommendations
Note: The PSU choice will also depend on the processor you are using and whether you will overclock or not.

GTX 580, HD 7970, HD 7950, GTX 680 = Seasonic S12II 620w and Corsair TX650v2 are going to be the minimum. If you are a hardcore overclocker, you should get a 750w PSU from Corsair and Seasonic.

[Cilus]

WILL BE UPDATED SOON

Spoiler:

ThinkDigit Forum GPU Hierarchy Chart

How to read

GPUs from both the companies are mentioned in two columns respectively. They have been grouped according to their performance and price characteristics. Inside one group, if you are taking a look at both the companies and comparing them, then the GPU has the * after its name signifies our recommendation compared to the alternative GPU from the other company. This can be because of any of the following reasons: more performance, lower power consumption, lower price, more value-for-money or simply better build quality compared to the other one.



* = winning recommendation while doing a head to head comparison.

[Cilus]

Guys, updated the chart with the new Graphics Cards available in the market. Have a look. Post your opinion at the PC Buying thread or PM me. I can also start a discussion thread about it.