In this article we compare prices of mid-range graphics cards that typically balance good gaming performance with affordability. Previously we compared entry-level graphics cards on price, if that’s more to your budget requirements.

Below is the listed pricing for the various graphics cards from local online retailers. The lowest prices are highlighted in Bold. If a product is listed as “Sold out”, “Contact for availability” or “Limited stock”, that price does not make it into this table.

Raising the bar a little higher: Geforce GTX650 Ti and Radeon HD7790

• Nvidia Geforce GTX650 Ti ± R1893
• AMD Radeon HD7790 ± R2119

Nvidia GTX650 Ti and AMD Radeon HD7790

The change from the low-end GPU segment to the mid-range starts here with these two contenders, the GTX650 Ti and the HD7790. They’re equally matched in terms of performance and both have their own pros and cons. The HD7790 is better value if you are looking to get some free games on the side, while the GeForce is capable of driving many games along happily at high settings and 1080p resolutions with PhysX enabled.

However, while they’re equal in price overseas, our local market messes up the advantage AMD carries in other countries and prices the HD7790, on average, out of the competition. In most cases its the Sapphire brand you’ll find available at retailers, although Wootware somewhat matches international pricing with its PowerColor brand. Both of the HD7790 models it sells (one with the stock cooler, the other with a better aftermarket design) are attractively priced to compete with the GTX650 Ti.

The Sweet Spot: PowerColor HD7850

• AMD Radeon HD7850 ± R2590

AMD Radeon HD7850 with reference cooler

The sweet spot is the price point where your money buys you good value paired with generally good performance. The HD7850 ticks all those boxes and is mostly quiet too, because it only needs a single 6-pin power connector and generates low amounts of heat. Its the modern replacement for the HD6950 and in most benchmarks beats it by a small margin. However, the headroom left for overclocking and the low power draw means it’s the better deal all-round.

A shout out needs to go to Nvidia’s GTX650 Ti Boost, however. While it’s not so widely available across all brands yet, there are Gigabyte versions floating around. Its a little bit faster than the HD7850 and uses the same amount of power and retails at the same price point. However, while it is a great deal, it doesn’t come with any game bundles and won’t perform as well as the HD7850 when you move to resolutions higher than 1080p.

Shaking things up a little bit: Radeon HD7870 LE

• AMD Radeon HD7870 LE ± R3263

PowerColor HD7870 LE

AMD’s HD7870LE was never supposed to exist. In fact, AMD had little reason to create another card to fill in the gap between the HD7870 and the HD7950 because they were already competitive. However, the Geforce GTX660 and the GTX660 Ti were putting pressure on the red team with better game performance thanks to driver optimisations. So AMD picked out faulty HD7950 chips and sold them to third parties who have all made their own custom cards around it.

The HD7870LE is faster than the competing GTX660 and comes with four free games – Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. There’s also enough overclocking headroom to embarrass a HD7950 and its generally just as fast as the Geforce GTX660 Ti, which costs quite a bit more. Nvidia has no plans to address the HD7870LE, but presumably the upcoming GTX760 will attempt to take care of it.

The edge of reason: Geforce GTX660 Ti or Radeon HD7950

• AMD Radeon HD7950 ± R4100
• Nvidia Geforce GTX660 Ti ± R3589

Nvidia Geforce GTX660 Ti and AMD Radeon HD7950

The edge of reason is where I’d consider stopping if you’re still playing on a single 1080p monitor. Both these cards are behemoths. They’ll run nearly any game at the highest settings with 60 FPS for their target resolution and there’s very little to complain about from either camp. Drivers aside, performance is nearly identical  and they’re reasonably priced.

The Geforce counters AMD’s Never Settle bundle offering with a copy of Metro: Last Light. Whether or not that tickles your fancy may play a part in your decision to choose one or the other. Recent price drops have affected the card’s positions and the Geforce is now the cheaper option, in addition to being more efficient and offering up PhysX acceleration. When it comes to single-card gaming, however, the Radeon is the better performer.

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