Best PCI-E card for £100 (inc VAT): Radeon 3850 256MB

Codename: RV670 Process: 55nm Universal Shaders: 320 Texture Units: 16 ROPs: 16 Memory Bus: 256-bit Core Speed MHz: 670 Memory Speed MHz: 833 (1666 effective) DirectX / Shader Model DX 10.1 / SM 4.0

The Radeon 3850 brings us something we’ve been begging for ever since the DirectX 10 cards were introduced: a £100 card with performance similar to more high-end cards. The Radeon 3850 delivers Geforce 8800 GTS 320mb performance for far less dough. Simple as- If you’re looking to get the best bang-for-your-buck this card should hit the spot. Best PCI-E card for £115 (inc VAT): Radeon 3850 512MB

Codename: RV670 Process: 55nm Universal Shaders: 320 Texture Units: 16 ROPs: 16 Memory Bus: 256-bit Core Speed MHz: 670 Memory Speed MHz: 833 (1666 effective) DirectX / Shader Model DX 10.1 / SM 4.0

The 512MB version of the Radeon 3850 offers some high resolution performance gains as well as the ability to use ultra-high texture quality settings. At £115, it competes against the 256MB version of the 8800 GT. While the card has better performance at lower resolutions, it lacks the full 512MB of memory needed for higher resolution gaming and high detail texture settings. Since the 8800 GT 256MB is £130 (15 pounds more expensive) we’re recommending the cheaper 3850 512MB instead.