Hello,

Hoping for some input on this video card I found today. I'm at work, so can't post my current PC specs. It is pretty decent and runs Skyrim on ultra settings pretty smoothly. But, I'm looking for some better performance now that I have a fairly stable setup with over 100 mods. My current card has about 1.5 GB of video memory.

I'm running a good amount of pretty intense mods. Again, not at my computer, but here are some examples of what I have installed that I think are pretty script-heavy or otherwise "large" mods/changes: Requiem (with a ton of patches for other mods); Immersive Patrols; Interesting NPCs; Inconsequential NPCs; Civil War Overhaul; Dragon Combat Overhaul; Immersive Creatures; SkyTEST; Enhanced Lights & FX; Ultra Realistic World Lighting; Pure Waters; Lanterns of Skyrim; Sounds of Skyrim (and a bunch of other sound mods from STEP only); and quite a number of additional "smaller" mods (painstakingly ensured to create little to no conflicts with Requiem if no patch exists).

Note I am not running a lot of texture mods (just Bethesda Official Hi-Res, a mod that optimizes the Official Skyrim Hi-Res, and Skyrim Distance Overhaul). I'm also running all Unofficial Patches and a number of additional fixes from STEP. I'm only using a handful of animation mods taken directly from the STEP guide. Also, I'm not using a weather mod. I use Mod Organizer as my mod managing program, LOOT to sort my mods, TES5Edit to clean them, and WryeBash for the bashed patch.

Please, before commenting, keep in mind I'm not looking for a mega-beast ridiculously awesome video card, just a solid increase in performance from what I have now. I'm a fairly casual gamer, but love my modded Skyrim setup I currently have and wouldn't mind adding a couple more if possible. I'm not having a lot of horrible problems at the moment, but as I play longer I'm noticing more frequent CTDs (I followed STEP instructions to the letter regarding SKSE, Sheshon memory patch with proper .ini settings, ENBoost, uGrids cell stabilizer, video card settings, Skyrim .ini settings, etc., and am 99% sure all of that is set up properly).

Let me know if you think this card is at least pretty decent based on the above:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8573338&CatId=7387

Thanks a bunch in advance! Sorry for the fairly long post...

Edit: Also looking for input on this one - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8519152&CatId=7387

First of all we do need to know your Computer specs and especially when it comes to your Motherboard and Power Supply.

Yeah I kinda figured that. I will post it later today after work. Thanks!

Which card? The links leads to a list of several cards for me...

Nvm....im on mobile so link gets broken

We do need the rest of your pc specs to make a good determination.

I'm using the R9 270X and it's great for running a modded Skyrim (well, so far anyway!) - the GTX 760 you linked to is a bit more powerful and much what I would have gone for if budget had allowed.

Instead of buying this card: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8519152&CatId=7387

i suggest you to buy one of the two below, for 30 bucks more.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8201546&CatId=7387

OR

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8245492&CatId=7387

The GTX 760 is not going to utilize more than 2GB of ram. It is perfectly geared for 1080p play, and 2GB is what it's designed to use.

At higher resolutions say 1440p for example, just because the GTX 760 has 4GB of VRAM doesn't mean it's going to play like a GTX 780 with 3GB.

It would be like a reference model GTX 760 with 2GB because the hardware simply can't keep up with rendering and post processing. !!!

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The R9 270X is slightly behind the GTX 760, more or less.

The GTX 770 is the fastest of those two...!!!

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What GPU you are using now would be helpful, as some of your system specs as well.

(CPU-RAM-PSU)

I have that exact card (except mine is 2GB) and my heavily modded Skyrim runs great with the 2nd to last driver update at 1920*1080. You will have to use a fps limiter unless you like stuff flying every which way.

Are you sure about that Mark as I've found my R9 270X using over 2 gigs of vram on some games and round about 3 on Daylight and Thief according to Afterburner. Running at 1080p. Obviously it's not going to have the oomph of the 770 but it's doing something with the extra vram!

If you can stretch to the G770, you won't have to upgrade your card for a few years again. Otherwise, the R290 is better value and will work great for a good while yet.

2 GB of VRAM should be good for the most games if only ever intending to use just one screen. More VRAM would be "better" theoretically, but no sense paying for what you won't use.

At higher resolutions until 4K, those cards wouldn't have the power to drive a game at acceptable framerates.
So the problem relies on the power of the engine itself, and it's not VRAM related.

So more VRAM is not equal to more performance.!!!

See here:

Far Cry 3 (Ultra IQ Settings)

at 1920x1080

http://www.legitreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/fc3-19-645x507.png

at 2560x1600

http://www.legitreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/fc3-25-645x507.png

at 3840x2160.

http://www.legitreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/fc3-38-645x507.png

(Indeed the 4GB GPU has more frames - 10 fps, not playable at all)

That's even more impressive:

Battlefield 4 (Ultra settings)

1920x1080 -> http://www.legitreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/bf4-19-645x507.png

2560x1600 -> http://www.legitreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/bf4-25-645x507.png

That's interesting...

3840x2160 -> http://www.legitreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/bf4-38-645x507.png

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Now, we go a bit further. (GTX 770 2GB vs 4 GB)

Let's see what happens:

http://i0.wp.com/alienbabeltech.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/MainChart.jpg?resize=448%2C2041

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Even if you use the extra VRAM your performance gain should be equal to "null" until 1920x1080.

I say that with the argument in mind that he can get for 30 bucks a much better GPU.

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As long you are satisfied with your R9 270X, you are good to go. !!!

Only if Vsync is turned off. Any frame rate above 60 and Skyrim's physics go all wonkey.

I can't stand screen tearing. I rather force triple buffering w/D3Doverrider than play a game without Vsync. Only game I can think of where I did play with it off was Quake III, because no matter how I try to enable or force Vsync in that game (including driver-level overrides) screen tearing still occurred.

I recall it had something to do with a hard-coded software backbuffer bug in Q3 engine. Medal of Honor had similar issues (which happen to use the same engine).

Turn vsync off without triple buffering? Madness.

Thanks for all the replies! Any other suggestions on reasonably priced cards (preferably under $250) are very welcome. I was unable to get my PC specs last night (got sidetracked), but will try to post them later tonight. I may have a few more questions after I have a moment to read these posts in depth...

Radeon 280 or 280X may be up your alley then. TD had the xfx double d 280X fpr $250 just recently after $25 rebate...probably something similar will happen again. Both are better than the gtx 760.

Still need your system specs to say these are reasonable upgrades for you though.