Best Graphics Cards for Money: September 2011 (Buyer’s Guide)

Buyer’s guide for Semptember 2011. Updated with newest AMD Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce cards.
Which is the best graphics cards for money this month?
Radeon HD 5670 512MB GDDR3, Radeon HD 6770 1GB GDDR5, Radeon HD 6790 1GB GDDR5, Radeon HD 6850 1GB GDDR5, GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB GDDR5, GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5, GeForce GTX 580 1536MB, GeForce GTX 590 3072MB GDDR5

69$	46€	Radeon HD 5670 512MB GDDR3
		Raster Units	Fragment Pipelines	Texture Units	Core Clock	Memory Clock	Power Draw	Required PSW	3Dmark Vantage P Score
		8	400	20	790	1000	61	350	6367
Radeon HD 5670 has a good performance to energy-saving ratio. It is easy overclockable.

110$	87€	Radeon HD 6770 1GB GDDR5
		Raster Units	Fragment Pipelines	Texture Units	Core Clock	Memory Clock	Power Draw	Required PSW	3Dmark Vantage P Score
		16	800	40	850	2400	108	400	12119
Radeon HD 6770 is actually the same graphics card as Radeon HD 5770, which is slighly slower than Radeon HD 5850. It has decreased memory bus bandwidth and lower number of Fragment Pipelines.

130$	90€	Radeon HD 6790 1GB GDDR5
		Raster Units	Fragment Pipelines	Texture Units	Core Clock	Memory Clock	Power Draw	Required PSW	3Dmark Vantage P Score
		16	800	40	840	2100	150	400	13717
Radeon HD 6790 is refreshed and improved version of Radeon HD 5770. It has wider memory bus width – 256bit.

150$	120€	Radeon HD 6850 1GB GDDR5
		Raster Units	Fragment Pipelines	Texture Units	Core Clock	Memory Clock	Power Draw	Required PSW	3Dmark Vantage P Score
		32	900	48	775	2000	127	400	15708
Radeon HD 6850 is mid-end graphics card from AMD. It is much smarter choice compared to GeForce GTX 460. It is however slower than Radeon HD 5850, but the technology is more power saving.

220$	210€	GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB GDDR5
		Raster Units	Fragment Pipelines	Texture Units	Core Clock	Memory Clock	Power Draw	Required PSW	3Dmark Vantage P Score
		32	384	64	880	1375	300	600	19013
In this price tag you should definately get one of GeForce GTX 560 Ti models. This graphics cards is better solution than Radeon HD 6870.

320$	270€	GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5
		Raster Units	Fragment Pipelines	Texture Units	Core Clock	Memory Clock	Power Draw	Required PSW	3Dmark Vantage P Score
		40	480	60	732	1900	225	600	21953
GeForce GTX 570 is the best graphics card in this price tag. AMD cards can not be compared to NVIDIA’s GTX570 as there aren’t any comparable cards in this price.

450$	400€	GeForce GTX 580 1536MB
		Raster Units	Fragment Pipelines	Texture Units	Core Clock	Memory Clock	Power Draw	Required PSW	3Dmark Vantage P Score
		48	512	128	772	2004	244	600	24426
GeForce GTX 580 represents the newest Fermi graphics family from NVIDIA. Significantly improved provides substantial performance boost.

750$	700€	GeForce GTX 590 3072MB GDDR5
		Raster Units	Fragment Pipelines	Texture Units	Core Clock	Memory Clock	Power Draw	Required PSW	3Dmark Vantage P Score
		96	1024	128	607	3414	365	700	30382
If your budget is unlimited you should probably choose one of GeForce GTX 590 models. This card has no opponent in this price.