550Ti

HarryTorry · **550Ti -** 01-25-2012, 18:31 | posts: 23

What's this card like?
I will be buying a new PC in about 5 months, building from scratch. My current graphics card is basically dead, I had to rewrite this post, cause it died beforehand. I'm looking to spend around £100, and I don't mind buying another one in 5 months and SLI them. I'll be playing games such as Battlefield 3, and Rift.

I've read some bad reviews about them, how they died after a few months etc, is this true or was it just by chance that it happened to them?

Xtreme1979 · 01-25-2012, 18:43 | posts: 1,227 | Location: Bay City, MI

Not a bad card. Can't speak about the dying in several months part. Most cards are put together well, and should last several years or more if treated properly. Just buy from a reputable manufacturer like MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, or EVGA and you should be fine.

HarryTorry · 01-25-2012, 19:23 | posts: 23

How long do you think that they will be good for, in terms of games (and software)?

Xtreme1979 · 01-25-2012, 19:47 | posts: 1,227 | Location: Bay City, MI

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryTorry

How long do you think that they will be good for, in terms of games (and software)?

What resolution do you intend to game at? If we're talking about 1080p then you need to re-examine your budget. You cannot expect too much out of a card in that price range. Some DX11 games already put a hurting on that card at high resolutions so I wouldn't expect more than another year before new game titles really show it's weaknesses. 1280x1024 or 1600x900 gaming is the highest I would suggest with that card. SLI would get you to 1080p but even then you will not be able to max out everything in certain titles, i.e. BF3, Metro2033, ect.

HarryTorry · 01-25-2012, 19:58 | posts: 23

At the moment, it's 1280x1024, and I would enjoy playing it at like 60fps, on medium settings, but high would be very nice, I'm not that bothered though

KopyKat007 · 01-25-2012, 20:15 | posts: 127 | Location: Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xtreme1979

What resolution do you intend to game at? If we're talking about 1080p then you need to re-examine your budget. You cannot expect too much out of a card in that price range. Some DX11 games already put a hurting on that card at high resolutions so I wouldn't expect more than another year before new game titles really show it's weaknesses. 1280x1024 or 1600x900 gaming is the highest I would suggest with that card. SLI would get you to 1080p but even then you will not be able to max out everything in certain titles, i.e. BF3, Metro2033, ect.

This is perfectly true, anything 1600x900 and lower its perfect for the price!

I bought one to replace my dead 8800GTS 512 and its double as fast at the same resolution, i also play at 1280x1024 resolution and after some research i found that it only loses like 5 fps max at 1600x900!

I can play Battlefield 3 at the high settings with little to no hiccups at 55-60 fps and every other game 55-60 no problem if not more, but i use vsync so it can't go beyond 60 fps anyways. High settings for every game.

Ive overclocked it to the max as well, stock the EVGA FPB model comes with 951 core and 2178 memory, i easily got it up to 1022 core and 2214 memory before extreme Crysis benchmark testing started to get unstable lol.

Well anyways i bought mine from here and got it for $120 after mail in rebate:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...scrollFullInfo

Its on sale right now from $150 for $140 then the $20 mail in rebate makes it $120. I highly recommend this card for anyone looking for 1600x900 resolution gaming or under and its great for the price of only $120!

Plus its guaranteed to hit at least 1000 core clock which is a for sure 2-3 extra fps

lol.

HarryTorry · 01-25-2012, 20:40 | posts: 23

So KopyKat, are you me then? Same old card, same upgrade card, same res :3

I don't know if I will overclock it, I won't unless I really want more out of it, but I don't fancy replacing the fan or anything, so if it doesn't work as stock then i'll leave it. I live in the UK, the best price I can find is pretty much £90-£95!

So yeah, the prices are the same!

KopyKat007 · 01-25-2012, 20:48 | posts: 127 | Location: Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryTorry

So KopyKat, are you me then? Same old card, same upgrade card, same res :3

I don't know if I will overclock it, I won't unless I really want more out of it, but I don't fancy replacing the fan or anything, so if it doesn't work as stock then i'll leave it. I live in the UK, the best price I can find is pretty much £90-£95!

So yeah, the prices are the same!

lol well i like to overclock using the stock voltage, so its not that drastic of an overclock, for the card fan i made a custom profile as soon as it hits like 48-50 degrees it goes to 70% fan speed so it doesn't burn out the fan when the computer is idling, but makes sure the card is nice and cool during gaming.

Besides, even at stock clocks its great, at least more or less than double our older 8800 series cards. Thats why i mentioned the 1000 core clocks, nvidia even said that this card can easily hit 1000 reliably since they also have a superclocked model at 970 core clock, but why spend another 20 bucks on that if i can just for sure put it at 1000 and be done with it

I love this card for the price and either way you'll be happy with it as well!

Jagman · 01-25-2012, 21:09 | posts: 1,746 | Location: Kent, UK

Nothing against the 550 but what about the old 460.....

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-e...2x-dl-dvi-i-mi

More grunt for only a little more

Xtreme1979 · 01-25-2012, 21:21 | posts: 1,227 | Location: Bay City, MI

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jagman

Nothing against the 550 but what about the old 460.....

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-e...2x-dl-dvi-i-mi

More grunt for only a little more

Nice find! If you can get a GTX 460 256 bit card for close to the same price go that route. Moar cores and memory bandwidth to play with.

KopyKat007 · 01-25-2012, 21:27 | posts: 127 | Location: Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jagman

Nothing against the 550 but what about the old 460.....

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-e...2x-dl-dvi-i-mi

More grunt for only a little more

Yeah thats also really nice, on newegg i couldn't find one of those that where even close to $120 bucks though, cheapest was like $170-$180 when i got my 550Ti for $120 and for only about 5-10 fps more in most gaming tests i didn't find it worth it really for my application.

Plus the 500 cards use alot less power like only 110 watts for the 550Ti FPB vs the 460s 160 watts and run cooler in general, but yeah thats also a great price for only about 20 more L or pounds or whatever its called in the UK lol.

But yeah thats also an awesome card bang for buck wise. Can't go wrong with either one really.

ricardonuno1980 · 01-26-2012, 12:07 | posts: 3,576 | Location: Carvalhos (Gaia)

Do you not bake 8800GT died in your thread "8800GT Sudden Errors"?

gmavignier · 01-26-2012, 13:14 | posts: 1,445 | Location: Brasil Belo Horizonte

I don't know the 550. I just got a 560 Ti and I'm loving it. maybe it's a better choice for you.

HarryTorry · 01-26-2012, 16:44 | posts: 23

I'd prefer the 560, but it's way out of my price range

My friend told me about the 6850, it's slightly better (judging from benchmarks) and is the same price, so it looks like a better choice in my opinion, unless anybody has reasons against that? (Yeah, I know it's MY choice but advice against it would be appreciated, if anybody had any!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricardonuno1980

Do you not bake 8800GT died in your thread "8800GT Sudden Errors"?

I'm going to bake it, once I know a card I can get (for 100%), but before I buy it. That way, I will definitely have a graphics card within a day. I don't want to bake it before considering my options

KopyKat007 · 01-26-2012, 22:38 | posts: 127 | Location: Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryTorry

I'd prefer the 560, but it's way out of my price range

My friend told me about the 6850, it's slightly better (judging from benchmarks) and is the same price, so it looks like a better choice in my opinion, unless anybody has reasons against that? (Yeah, I know it's MY choice but advice against it would be appreciated, if anybody had any!)

I'm going to bake it, once I know a card I can get (for 100%), but before I buy it. That way, I will definitely have a graphics card within a day. I don't want to bake it before considering my options

Well its not really a reason not to get a Radeon card but it seems more games are made with nvidia in mind and ive had both in the past, i will never go back to a Radeon card from nvidia as nvidia seems overall slightly more compatible with most games.

Sgt.Lunchbox · 02-10-2012, 23:14 | posts: 1 | Location: Kentucky

I have 2 EVGA GTX 550TI 2GB superclocked and very happy with them. I know they are not the best card on market, but for price the performance is outstanding. With the little out dated rig I am running now they were good up grade for under $300. I am able to play IL2 Cliffs of Dover on almost full detail with any problems.

PinguX · 02-11-2012, 13:10 | posts: 794

XFX 6850 £105 http://www.ebuyer.com/290512-xfx-hd-...d-hd-685x-zndc

Significantly faster than a 550ti.

ricardonuno1980 · 02-11-2012, 14:26 | posts: 3,576 | Location: Carvalhos (Gaia)

@Sgt.Lunchbox and @PinguX: ok but you have attention to date because about few weeks. lool