Best PCI-E card for £180 (inc VAT): GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB

Codename: G92 Process: 65nm Universal Shaders: 128 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 GTS is essentially an 8800 GT with a little more firepower. It sports 128 universal shaders compared to the GT’s 112. It bests its 8800 GT brother, but not by much, while being more expensive. For most things the GT will do, but if you have £180 burning a hole right through your pocket, then this is your card. At higher price brackets than this performance increases taper off quite a bit, and you’ll only really see benefits at 1920x1200 or higher resolutions. Best PCI-E Card For £200 to £250 (inc VAT): None There’s not much available in this price range that we can wholeheartedly recommend. As for multi-card options, you could set up two 512MB Radeon 3850’s in crossfire mode for as little as £210, but with the 512MB 8800 GT at £155 we’re not convinced that it’s worth it.

Best PCI-E Card For £285 - £310 (inc VAT): Tie Radeon 3870 X2

Codename: RV670 Process: 55nm Universal Shaders: 640 Texture Units: 32 ROPs: 32 Memory Bus: 256-bit Core Speed MHz: 825 Memory Speed MHz: 900 (1800 effective) DirectX / Shader Model DX 10.1 / SM 4.0