6.Best Extreme Graphics Cards: $450 And Up, And Multi-Card Configuration

1-Best Graphics Cards For The Money July 2013

2-Best Entry-Level Graphics Cards: $100 And Under3- Best Mid-Range Graphics Cards: $110 To $150

4-Best Enthusiast Graphics Cards: $160 To $210

5-Best High-End Graphics Cards: $250 To $400

6-Best Extreme Graphics Cards: $450 And Up, And Multi-Card Configuration

7-Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart8-Conclusion: Performance Per Dollar

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Honorable Mentions:
Assorted Multi-Card Configurations

The GeForce GTX 770 delivers such strong performance at $400 that we find it hard to recommend faster (but sometimes-inconsistent) multi-card configurations for more money.

We'll call out some other options, though, mostly for folks with one of these cards already installed: two GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2 GB cards in SLI for $340, two GeForce GTX 660s in SLI for $400, two GeForce GTX 760s in SLI for $500, and finally, two GeForce GTX 770s in SLI for $800.

Honorable Mention:

GeForce GTX 780

$649.99On Amazon.com

Very High-End Gaming Performance

The GeForce GTX 780 is a cut-down version of the fastest single-GPU graphics card available, the GeForce GTX Titan. With an additional two SMXes disabled, the GK110 GPU still sports about 25% more CUDA cores than the GeForce GTX 680/770, and only about 16% fewer than the Titan. Wealthy gamers are excited that the 780 sells for $350 less than the GK110-equipped flagship. So, technically, the GeForce GTX 780 is a better value. However, this is still a very expensive video card. And the 780's value story is overshadowed by the GeForce GTX 770. As a result, we're giving the GeForce GTX 780 an honorable mention for its uncontested speed at an unmatched price.

PERFORMANCES

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

GPU :

GK110 (Kepler)

Process :

28 nm

Shader Units :

2304

Texture Units :

192

ROPs :

48

Core Clock :

863 MHz

Memory Clock :

1502 MHz GDDR5

Memory Bus :

384-bit

Memory Bandwidth :

288.4 GB/s

Memory Capacity :

3 GB

DirectX, Shader, OpenGL :

11/5.0/4.3

Max. TDP :

250 W

Aux. Power Connector(s) :

1 x 6-pin and 1 x 8-pin PCIe

Min. Power Supply :

600 Watt

   

Honorable Mention:

GeForce GTX Titan

$999.99On NCIXUS.com

Small Form Factor Flagship

The GeForce GTX Titan sports the fastest GPU ever seen: GK110. As it happens, though, that one chip isn't quite as fast as the two GK104s you find on Nvidia's GeForce GTX 690 (even though it also costs $1000). We're impressed by what GK110 can do. But the GeForce GTX Titan is overpriced by most accounts. Two GeForce GTX 770s are faster, and for far less money. Nevertheless, GeForce GTX Titan gets an honorable mention for the two applications where it really shines: small form factor and multi-card machines. Also plaguing the Titan right now is availability. They're pretty rare, and as of this writing, there's only one in stock on Newegg. Nvidia admits it underestimated demand, and ramping production up isn't an easy matter. It's consequently not clear when this top-tier board might get easier to find.

PERFORMANCES

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

GPU :

GK110 (Kepler)

Process :

28 nm

Shader Units :

2688

Texture Units :

224

ROPs :

48

Core Clock :

837 MHz

Memory Clock :

1502 MHz GDDR5

Memory Bus :

384-bit

Memory Bandwidth :

288.4 GB/s

Memory Capacity :

6 GB

DirectX, Shader, OpenGL :

11/5.0/4.3

Max. TDP :

250 W

Aux. Power Connector(s) :

1 x 6-pin and 1 x 8-pin PCIe

Min. Power Supply :

600 Watt

Honorable Mention:

GeForce GTX 690

$983.28On PROVANTAGE

Ultimate Dual-GPU Powerhouse

Nvidia's GeForce GTX 690 is one of the fastest graphics cards in the world. It's essentially two GeForce GTX 680s on a single PCB, with a slightly lower core clock and a 300 W TDP. The company sets this card's MSRP right around $1000, $100 pricier than two GeForce GTX 680s in SLI. The card remains difficult to find though; only one model is available on Newegg at the time of this writing. While a few companies launched custom-built dual-Tahiti cards, they're very power-hungry and tend to be loud under load. HIS' solution never even made it to market. Asus' is no longer available. PowerColor's triple-slot monster is the only one left, and even then it's a de-tuned version. As such, we removed them all from our column. AMD's recently-introduced Radeon HD 7990 improves on those third-party designs, but comes up short in too many other ways to earn a recommendation here.

PERFORMANCES

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

GPU :

GK104 (Kepler)

Process :

28 nm

Shader Units :

3072 (2 x 1536)

Texture Units :

256 (2 x 128)

ROPs :

64 (2 x 32)

Core Clock :

915 MHz

Memory Clock :

1502 MHz GDDR5

Memory Bus :

256-bit

Memory Bandwidth :

192.2 GB/s

Memory Capacity :

4 GB

DirectX, Shader, OpenGL :

11/5.0/4.3

Max. TDP :

300 W

Aux. Power Connector(s) :

2 x 8-pin PCIe

Min. Power Supply :

650 Watt