PCI Express Interface: $100 to $150
Best PCIe Card For $100: Tie
Good 1600x1200 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
| Codename: | RV670 |
| Process: | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 320 |
| Texture Units: | 16 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 775 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1125 (2250 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
Now at $100, the Radeon 3870 is an easy recommendation between the GeForce 8800 GT and the new Radeon 4670.
| Codename: | G92 |
| Process: | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 64 |
| Texture Units: | 32 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 650 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 900 (1800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The 9600 GT is a good match for the Radeon 3870, and both are excellent choices at the $100 price point.
Best PCIe Card For $120
Good 1600x1200 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
| Codename: | G92 |
| Process: | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 112 |
| Texture Units: | 56 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 600 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 900 (1800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The 8800 GT offers incredible GeForce 8800 GTX-class performance at almost half the price. It beats both the Radeon HD 3870 and GeForce 9600 GT by a notable margin, and is priced very well for this performance level. Even with all of the excellent cards in the $90 to $110 category—such as the Radeon HD 3850, GeForce 8800 GS, 9800 GSO, and 9600 GT—the GeForce 8800 GT at $120 trumps them all.
Also look for the 8800 GT’s near-identical sibling, the 9800 GT. It is reported that some 9800 GTs have been found in the wild with three-way SLI support.
Why are the prices on Tom's UK in dollars? Again...
why are you still here?
If you shop around you can get some good cards from reliable sources. Having said that, the prices are more expensive in the UK, than in the USA. Thanks for the article
That card is currently around $81 from some UK online sources - the retail prices can be astronomic (assuming you can even get these cards, as they often sell out-dated harware at grossly inflated prices).
If you don't know what you are buying in the UK for Christmas..get someone who does or you could end up being seriously ripped-off. CPU prices are more harmonised, but historically graphics cards have always been more expensive here.
"Just pay attention to price, warranty, and the manufacturer’s reputation for honoring the warranty if something goes wrong."
Yeah, I learned the hard way by buying a POS INNO3D Nvidia 8800GTX card for a lot of money that broke after 15 months and that unknown to me when I bought it only had 1 years warranty. The cheapskates wont even repair it for me!
I hope the credit crunch wipes INNO3D out!
They finally included an above $500 section....
AT LEAST DO AN ARCTICLE FOR TOMSHARDWARE UK IN POUNDS, what's the point in having a separate site if you use exactly the same arcticles!!!!
They finally included an above $500 section....AT LEAST DO AN ARCTICLE FOR TOMSHARDWARE UK IN POUNDS, what's the point in having a separate site if you use exactly the same arcticles!!!!
Well at least you got the picks of the best hardware..sourcing it should be easy as long as you know the trusted sources
what would use recommend hd4870 1gig or nu 260 + oc ? or just stick with hd4870 512?