[Ryan]

So I was just in the middle of playing some Battlefield 3 when my computer blue-screened. I rebooted and now my screen is all messed up and full of funny colours. Rebooted multiple times with the same result. So it seems my graphics card is fried which means I need a new one. My budget is $150-$300. I'm thinking for my price range, the GTX 560Ti, or GTX 570 would be my best bet. I don't really play a ton of games nor do I have to have my settings at maximum.

My system is an Intel Core i7 920, 12GB of DDR3, Asus P6X58D-e, 128GB SSD, 1TB HDD. Monitor resolution is 1680x1050.

Looking at getting whatever I buy from www.ncix.com

Slamman, if you're reading this, don't even bother posting. I need help, not your nonsense.

This post has been edited by Ryan on Monday, Apr 30 2012, 22:46

[vertical limit]

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58366&vp...te&promoid=1058


http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58573&vp...GA&promoid=1058


These 2 look pretty worth it

[Ryan]

Screw Gigabyte and their blue PCB's. Saw that EVGA 570 earlier. Looks like the best deal so far.

[leik oh em jeez!]

QUOTE (Ryan @ Monday, Apr 30 2012, 18:00)

Screw Gigabyte and their blue PCB's. Saw that EVGA 570 earlier. Looks like the best deal so far.

I agree 100%. Who in the hell would want a blue PCB? Black is best but I'd even take green over blue.

OT: I'd look for a 570 or 480. Obviously the 570 will be clocked a bit higher, but at the sacrifice of RAM. So they'll go back and forth between games as far as which is faster.

[Fozzy Fozborne]

What kind of card do you currently have? Almost all cards come with 3 year warranty and if you have an eVGA card it's lifetime. XFX is double lifetime (lifetime for you and lifetime for the first person you sell it to).

But, if you want a new card anyway/don't qualify I do have a bit of advice. From reading reviews people have said the 560Ti 448 core version is very nearly as fast (like 97% as fast) for a bit of a discount.

Check this out, which is $30 cheaper than the 570 at $229.

[Ryan]

It was a generic GTX 285. Came from a pre-built. No warranty on it. Served me well for the last 4 years.

[Stinky12]

Here is a faster GTX560Ti 448 Core by EVGA. Not from NCIX though.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?...N82E16814130758
Or you can get this
http://www.ncix.ca/products/?sku=69864&vpn...anufacture=ASUS
http://www.ncix.ca/products/?sku=70951&vpn...manufacture=XFX

[leik oh em jeez!]

I really don't know why the 480 is always ignored.
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=68760&vp...GA&promoid=1067

$250 with an instant rebate. We all know you'll be too lazy to send in the MIR in time to get it back. (Don't worry, all of us are just as lazy.)
And considering it's faster than some of he more expensive 560's posted, it's a great buy.
http://www.hwcompare.com/11144/geforce-gtx...gtx-560-ti-448/

570 isn't to be forgotten either, at $270 before the MIR.
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58573&vp...GA&promoid=1058
http://www.hwcompare.com/11142/geforce-gtx...eforce-gtx-570/

Both are EVGA cards with a nice black PCB and Lifetime 3-year warranties.
I stand corrected.

This post has been edited by leik oh em jeez! on Tuesday, May 1 2012, 04:02

[Ryan]

I posted the same topic over on another forum and they're all suggesting me I should wait for the GTX 660 to come out. Can't help but wonder if I'm going to be investing $300 into a new GPU if that's what I should do. Ahh, decisions decisions.

[Stinky12]

QUOTE (leik oh em jeez! @ Tuesday, May 1 2012, 02:36)

I really don't know why the 480 is always ignored. http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=68760&vp...GA&promoid=1067 $250 with an instant rebate. We all know you'll be too lazy to send in the MIR in time to get it back. (Don't worry, all of us are just as lazy.) And considering it's faster than some of he more expensive 560's posted, it's a great buy. http://www.hwcompare.com/11144/geforce-gtx...gtx-560-ti-448/ 570 isn't to be forgotten either, at $270 before the MIR. http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58573&vp...GA&promoid=1058 http://www.hwcompare.com/11142/geforce-gtx...eforce-gtx-570/ Both are EVGA cards with a nice black PCB and Lifetime warranties.

Not all of them will have lifetime warranty. It depends on which one you get by looking at the suffix.
From evga/warranty

1 year limited: -B1, -BR*, -BX, -DR, -RX**
2 year limited: -LA, -LE, -LR, -LX, -T1, -T2, -TR, -TX
3 year limited: -KR, -K1, -K2, -KB
5 year limited: -GR
10 year limited: -XR
Limited lifetime: -A1, -A2, -A3, -A4, -AR, -AX, -CR, -CX, -DX, -FR, -FX, -SG, -SX

Both that GTX 480 you picked and the GTX560 Ti 448 I picked ends in -KR so that's only 3 year warranty.
Here is a GTX 570 ending in -AR which gets limited lifetime warranty.
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=57362&vp...GA&promoid=1067
As for the limited lifetime warranty, most will have to make sure what it really means?
Some is you get limited lifetime when the card is still on shelve life. When the card is EOL, your warranty expires.
Others are when a card is EOL, you get a equal to or greater card if the one you purchased is no longer manufactured.


This post has been edited by Stinky12 on Tuesday, May 1 2012, 03:28

[leik oh em jeez!]

QUOTE (Stinky12 @ Monday, Apr 30 2012, 22:22)

Both that GTX 480 you picked and the GTX560 Ti 448 I picked ends in -KR so that's only 3 year warranty.

Well f*ck. They all used to have lifetime warranties.
EVGA must be cheaping out. Times have changed I suppose.

QUOTE (Ryan @ Monday, Apr 30 2012, 21:52)

I posted the same topic over on another forum and they're all suggesting me I should wait for the GTX 660 to come out. Can't help but wonder if I'm going to be investing $300 into a new GPU if that's what I should do. Ahh, decisions decisions.

I'm looking at what is apparently leaked specifications. If it really is a 1536Mb card with 1152 cores that only sips 150 watts with a release price of $250, then I too suggest you wait for it.

This post has been edited by leik oh em jeez! on Tuesday, May 1 2012, 03:55

[Ryan]

QUOTE (leik oh em jeez! @ Tuesday, May 1 2012, 00:51)

QUOTE (Ryan @ Monday, Apr 30 2012, 21:52) I posted the same topic over on another forum and they're all suggesting me I should wait for the GTX 660 to come out. Can't help but wonder if I'm going to be investing $300 into a new GPU if that's what I should do. Ahh, decisions decisions.  I'm looking at what is apparently leaked specifications. If it really is a 1536Mb card with 1152 cores that only sips 150 watts with a release price of $250, then I too suggest you wait for it.

Yeah, I agree. If only there was an estimated release date. If it was in a few weeks, I'd wait, but if it's going to be months, not sure if I can wait that long.

[leik oh em jeez!]

QUOTE (Ryan @ Monday, Apr 30 2012, 23:01)

Yeah, I agree. If only there was an estimated release date. If it was in a few weeks, I'd wait, but if it's going to be months, not sure if I can wait that long.

Do you have a back up card or onboard graphics you can use and play games on low settings, or just refrain from gaming during the wait?

[PrometheusX]

According to this guy from OcUK, the 660 won't be out till 6 months.

If that's true, then a 7870 or 570 should be the main choice currently.

[SyphonPayne]

I would definitely go for the 570 over the 480.

[illegal_luggage]

The 480 is good card but it's like 2 years old now. Same with the Nvidia 5xx series, it's only about a year old but I would recommend you take a look at the ATi 7870 or 7850 like PrometheusX said

[Wolf68k]

Quick question: Are you 100% sure the card is bad and it's not something else that could cause this?
Do you have any other card you can swap out to see if you get the same result?

I just don't want you spending money on a new card to end up with the same issue

[Ryan]

Unfortunately I don't have any other cards to try and I don't have on-board video either. I don't know what else would cause it. The system boots up perfectly fine into Windows and I can see everything behind all the funny colors on the screen. I don't know what else would be the cause other than the video card.

EDIT: Think I just found my problem. I have a fan on my side panel and just noticed one of the two cables had popped out of the connector attached the motherboard fan header and was sitting on top of the PCB

This post has been edited by Ryan on Tuesday, May 1 2012, 17:51

[illegal_luggage]

QUOTE (Ryan @ Tuesday, May 1 2012, 17:43)

EDIT: Think I just found my problem. I have a fan on my side panel and just noticed one of the two cables had popped out of the connector attached the motherboard fan header and was sitting on top of the PCB

So the marks on the screen are gone now and all is normal?

[Ryan]

QUOTE (illegal_luggage @ Tuesday, May 1 2012, 15:09)

QUOTE (Ryan @ Tuesday, May 1 2012, 17:43) EDIT: Think I just found my problem. I have a fan on my side panel and just noticed one of the two cables had popped out of the connector attached the motherboard fan header and was sitting on top of the PCB  So the marks on the screen are gone now and all is normal?

No, still there. I'm guessing the fan cable lying on top of the PCB probably fried it.