Performance ratings

Calculations are based on gaming, 3DMark and Unigine test results. The calculation method is described here.

You may have noticed our ratings have changed a bit. Now we only have two: capability and usability. The capability rating compares each graphics card with GeForce GT 430 which is considered a baseline, or 100%. The rating is based on both synthetic and gaming results and shows, as the name implies, what a product is capable of.

The usability rating is obtained by dividing each card's capability rating by its price. It basically shows whether a given product is over or underpriced, considering what it can do, and thus how reasonable it is to buy it.

Below are two tables sorted by different ratings.

Sorted by capability (high to low)

Sorted by usability (high to low)

Top solutions like Radeon HD 79xx and GeForce GTX 670/680/690 should only be considered in terms of their capability ratings, because they are made for enthusiasts willing to spend no matter how much to get the best performance.

For other graphics cards, price plays a more important role, and the lower the product category the more critical the price is. You can see that overclocked variants occupy leading spots in the Usability Rating. Note: Remember that for our calculations we assume that prices for regular and overclocked variants are the same. The reason is that 90% of graphics cards can be overclocked rather easily.

We can also see that the long rule of the Radeon HD 77xx/78xx series has ended and that GeForce cards have also fought their way to the top. As of early January 2012, GeForce GTX 550 Ti/660, Radeon HD 7770/7850 and similar products are the best buy, offering the highest usability.

We express gratitude to AMD, ASUS, Chaintech, Corsair, Gainward, HIS, KFA2, MSI, NVIDIA, OCZ Technology, Palit, Sapphire Technology, Seagate, TUL (PowerColor), XFX, Zotac.

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