Looking for good lower range HTPC/GP GPU

Because i realized that it is useless to spend much money on a hardware i dont truly need, and that the lifetime is probably just a matter of luck i just seek for a good 7770 or prehaps 7850 for my HTPC. Still, i do no want the weakest GPU because probably some GPGPU tasks can be involved and it could still serve as a backup PC for different matters.

All i want is as less noise as possible, as good as none, and some good quality part is a bonus. But im not sure what to get, so any advise?


My old 7870 Hawk is destroyed, and im unable to RMA that card because there is no other card to exchange with. They are totaly ouf of stock. So i will get money back and instead i simply will get another card but probably a cheaper and weaker card. I only paid so much because i had in mind the Hawk would be superior for endurance, but its the first card that died in such a harsh way, so im feed up somehow. Military parts? My a... i dont think so, but maybe im just as unlucky as usual.

It could be a AMD card or Nvidia too, that doesnt matter. But so far im not to impressed from Nvidias current 600 series. However, recently its totaly crazy how much Nvidia dropped the GPU price of the lower range such as 650 series. Guess even more performance for the bucks than AMD.

Stuff i found so far:

Lower midrange:
-Gigabyte GTX 650 OC 2GB clock @1110/5000 ~160$
-EVGA GTX 650 SC 2GB @1202/5000 ~170-180$
-Gainward Bliss GTX650 2GB @1058/5000 ~140$
-Zotac GeForce GTX650 Ti 2G @941/5400 ~170$ same version but AMP edition: 185 $ (roughly +100 Mhz clock).

-Asus HD7770 2GB @1020/4600 ~170$ (considering the cards bigger size, cooler have to be awesome else its a no go).


Entry level:
???

Im currently using a 650TI in my HTPC and its running very nicelly. The card is efficient and near silent. I paid ~130$ (canadian) for the card, was a weekly special at NCIX.ca

Before this card i had a GTS450 in the same computer.

3Dmark 11 Pscore
2500k @ 4.0ghz + GTS450 : 2476
2500K @ 4.0ghz + GTX650TI : 4851

Hmm, so far im impressed the most by the 650 ti non AMP or AMP, 170-185 $ is a impressive performance to price ratio and the noise seems to be near silent: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_GTX_650_Ti_Amp_Edition/27.html so i wont have any hearable noise i guess.


Some drawbacks, not actually a drawback for me:
--no SLI support but i dont need it for my HTPC.
--high price is not true anymore, seems like Nvidia dropped the price hard, and now its priced at the range of a 7770 but with even better performance, low size and very low noise.
--No GPU boost, but i dont need it for HTPC, it may only increase instability.

It could even serve as a backup PC for gaming, but i will have to use low settings.

I never tryed "hard" title on mu HTPC. Most game i play are games like Worms revoluton and other multiplayer hotseat title. Not that hard on the GPU. I tested the 650TI DCII with folding and it remained under 70°c after a few days of crunching. The card was near silent, even after hours of 100% usage.

Alright, well it seems its the best deal for my needs.

650Ti is much better than the 7770, or anything else in that price range.

It seems that way, when i consider, its lower size, very low noise, performance between 7770 and 7850. I dont find it a waste to get 2 GB because it can serve as backup GPU for gaming and its not truly adding a lot of cost at all. 1 GB GPUs with same performance are not that much cheaper, maybe 20 $** but its just not worth it to save up on that, its just 1 meal at a cheap restaurant and im not dying because of hunger.

** 20$ for +1 GB RAM and 15 $ for factory OC, in term i get the AMP instead of non AMP. Sure, compared to my other PC cost, thats peanuts.

Besides: Saving up is always possible for computers. Just have to wait and wait and wait and wait... more performance for the bucks, it will never end, never!
I wasted so much on totaly overpriced SSDs from 2011 (nowadays same stuff costs 1/3 as much), overpriced RAMs (2011 the price was double) and what else. I dont know why i should care for +1 GB RAM for 20 bucks but some people never stop to make pointless criticsm it seems. GPU price cut was terrible too... half year ago a 7870 was nearly 360 $ and now they are almost 100 $ cheaper. There is always a cut, the time of the cut is the only stuff no one truly knows.

But anyway, a 650 ti currently seems like a deal with low possibility to drop it much harder (near future) because its already very good priced. Difficult to drop it even more in term Nvidia still want to make some bucks out of it.

Generally its better to invest into expensive PSUs because theyr price is way more stable and it will take longer for that price to drop. So i do not find it a waste to invest a lot on a good PSU. If it is useful is "luck related"; when back luck and parts exploding, then the expensive PSU can make the difference between total loss or "other parts still alive"; and those other parts could store valuable data so its never any bucks wasted.

You cant go wrong with a 650ti for your HTPC. I really like my Asus DCII. Its powerefficient and silent.

Right, i made the order already for the 650 ti AMP. I might not need the factory OC but kinda its not much more juice added (just 15 $), and i wanted something special, not just a boring standart.

A 7850 will cost me over 200 $ with just a few more performance (15% or something compared to AMP) and much bigger card with higher power consumption. A 7770 is no real competition (overall they are weaker in performance) and they will cost the same, so its out of competition i feel.

Excellent choice.

Sure for gaming the memory speed (128bit bus but at least its GDDR5) is a bit a lack but only when high AF and other settings added. However, i would not even run the 7850 at always high settings (depends on games), because those cards are simply to weak doing so. For a high setting 1080P Gamer GPU a 7870/660 is minimum attribute to be satisfied with, i would say. So its not a matter, it only need to serve me as a backup gamer GPU and at low setting it works good for almost any games, no matter if we take 7850 or 650ti. Low or medium settings both cards should be sufficient and the 650ti isnt much behind.

The 7850 surely may allow for a bit higher settings but 7850 its clearly a "low to midrange gamer GPU", while the 650ti is more of a backup or "opportunity gamer" GPU, so its not exactly same class and the price isnt same too. 7770 is basically the class 650ti is inside but just as i said, it cant truly compete (as a HTPC and gamer backup GPU), its a bit behind.

Mainly 650ti its still a HTPC GPU** where power consumption and noise, even the size (so it may not become a hinderance for other parts inside a very small case) is by far most important attribute, and in that spot the 650ti is almost a own class. So thats how i made the decision.

**Still, used as a backup gamer GPU the 650ti AMP is not a baby when clocked at 1033/6200, it got some punch even to run a game such as Skyrim when at high settings at above 50 average FPS. So that duty can be performed well, but i would not use it as a "main gamer GPU", for that kind of stuff i got stronger GPUs (currently 7870). While the 2GB memory will indeed be useful because WoW and Skyrim will use above 1 GB RAM, else there is performance drop on high settings (yes, the 650ti can run those games in high settings with fine FPS). The review sites and users who say its useless just got no clue, it always depends on situation. But in some years, even low settings will use above 1 GB, and at that time, 1GB is junk and 2GB can be used as low setting backup GPU without problems. As soon as the new consoles are released the RAM demand will generally go up a lot. The only GPU (and hardware at all) i replace every 1-2 year is the gamer GPU. Because everytime i replace a GPU i get some money loss (have to sell with at least 50% cut), while the launch price of new hardware is dirty high and on a HTPC there is just no need. Other stuff is replaced every 3-4 year but not that frequently.