PC guys: video card for Diablo3

[CoryM]

Hey guys,

Have a fairly new pc here that needs a video card before Diablo3 comes out (yay!). I don't know too much about what fits, so looking for any suggestions. What I have:

i5 3.3GHZ 6MB sandy bridge (unlocked)
gigabyte Z68X-UD3h-B3 mobo
2x patriot G2 4GB ram
OCZ Vertex 3 60GB SSD (for cache)
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm
Noctua NH-D14 cooler
Corsair TX750M power supply
Cheapy LG DVD writer
Windows 7 Home premium 64bit
All tucked into a Corsair carbide 500R case (black...... with white LED backlighting :rolleyes:)

Budget is under $500. Prefer more like $300. Cars to build ya know ;)
Cheers.

[CrankyOldMan]

I just upgraded my old 8800GT to a GTX 560 Ti. Both have been heralded by hardware review sites as being the "sweet spot" for price/performance ratio. They're easily had on newegg for $200-250. Performance marks put it right around the level of a 570, which still sits around $300. I'm not sure what the recommended specs are for D3 are, but I think that will suffice. I'm assuming that you're using the IGP at the moment, since you didn't list a vid card in your specs.

[CrankyOldMan]

Oh, here's some specs: http://us.battle.net/support/en/article/diablo-iii-system-requirements

[CrankyOldMan]

The "recommended" hardware of a GTX260 or HD4870 was current hardware for 2009. Guru3D's Dec 2009 VGA charts (http://www.guru3d.com/article/vga-charts-december-2009/10) show them with a benchmark around 11000-ish. By comparison, their review of a GTX560 Ti (http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-n560gtx-ti-twin-frozer-ii-review/15) shows the same benchmark scoring around 20000. An HD6950 provides comparable numbers if you're into ATi.

tl;dr: Anything in the current $200 video card range should be more than adequate.

[fnkngrv]

^ yup...and be sure whichever vendor you buy from pay attention to which driver version may end up being optimized for the game.

[47_MasoN_47]

In my experience the NVidia cards have MUCH better drivers. I've got a Radeon 5850 right now because I got it cheap, but the crappy catalyst drivers make me miss my old 9800GTX+. I'm having to run old drivers on my ATI because the current 12.x drivers cause weird artifacts on a lot of games. I never had any trouble like that out of the 9800. I had a Radeon HD2600 prior to the 9800 and had similar problems with drivers, plus it overheated all the time so I had to flash the firmware from another card to it so I could manually specify that the fans run at 100% all the time.

tl;dr buy this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

[enviri]

I have a 560 Ti and i love it! That card is overkill for diablo 3, lol. I played beta and its smooth as silk. Diablo III ran perfect on my 260gtx. The only reason i see you would get ATi is if you're really hurting for power consumption. (less than 350w)

[47_MasoN_47]

lol yeah, but why limit yourself? IMO it's better to spend an extra 50-100 bucks to get a card that'll last a while.

[why?]

overkill is good for video games. Especially MMO's, because they will want to make graphics better every 3 or so years, so its better to get the best card you can now rather than upgrading every time the company does.

[CoryM]

Thanks guys.
The 560 and 570 both look pretty good. I think I'll head to the local NCIX and see what they have. Can't wait to put this pc to work with some games.

[eTiMaGo]

I'd say wait until the day before the game is released to make the upgrade.... potentially get a faster card at a cheaper price...

[CoryM]

I'd say wait until the day before the game is released to make the upgrade.... potentially get a faster card at a cheaper price...

That's good advice, and I think I'm going to take it. Especially since nvidia just released a new card. Hopefully will bring prices down of the others.

Also need to look into a way I can comfortably use keyboard/mouse while on my couch.

Thanks for the input.