Which Nvidia Graphics Card to Buy – Which Is the Best?

So you've decided to go the Nvidia route in buying a new GPU. For those who don't know, GPU stands for 'Graphics Processing Unit'. Also, do not be confused about the term 'video card' either, because it is the exact same thing as a graphics card. Deciding which Nvidia graphics card rank among the best is no simple concept. Statistics of various types all play a roll in the ranking systems. One ranking system, for example, are benchmarks, which measure a video cards capabilities of processing the most intense applications out there.

In this mini write up I'm going to cover which Nvidia grapihcs card have been prominent in the last two generations of cards.

The trend Nvidia has taken with releasing new card series is quite simple. In May of 2010, Nvidia launched the 400 series of video cards. The most common common for gamer enthusiasts, that is, those who enjoy gaming more than the typical person, made a choice of three options when deciding which Nvidia graphics card to purchase. In order of performance they were the GTX 460, GTX 470, or the GTX 480. A HUGE factor in deciding what a cards value is is the cost / performance ratio. It's a number that answers the question, 'is the card worth it's price tag?'. This is definitely something I consider when I upgrade video cards. So bare that in mind. To find this number, Google cost / perf ratio and the name of the graphics card you're interested. You should be able to figure it out from there.

So, now you know the hierarchy of the 400 series that released almost two years ago. What's awesome is that the later installments follow the exact same formula. The 500 series released in November 2010, and the most popular among the cards were, you guessed it, the GTX 560, GTX 570, and the GTX 580. To keep things simple, I'm not going to go into detail about a special model later released, the GTX 560ti. Just know that it's faster version of the original 560. When deciding which graphics card to buy, if it's your first time you want to things simple.

Which Nvidia graphics card is the best today? Well I'm happy to inform you that the GTX 680 just launched today, which is what inspired me to write this article. It is retailing for about $ 500 from most retailers and is the definite card to buy if you want jump into the gaming realm and never look back.

If you're on a tight budget, the GTX 460 or 560 are fine cards indeed and will run you at about $ 130- $ 150. The 560 as you may have guessed, performs at a slight edge over the 460. However, the GTX 470 performs better than the GTX 560. Even though the GTX 560 is of the newer line, the 470 is still a notch higher in Nvidia hierarchy formula. * 60 <* 70 <* 80 or in a real example: 460 <560 <470 <570 <480 <580. Source by Stephen Ross Knight