Best PCIe Card: Under $85
Best PCI Express (PCIe) Card For ~$50:
Radeon HD 4650 DDR3
Good 1680x1050 performance in most games
| Radeon HD 4650 DDR3 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV730 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 320 |
| Texture Units: | 32 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 600 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 700 (1,400 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10.1/SM 4.1 |
We've seen some DDR3-equipped Radeon HD 4650 cards approaching the $50 price point, and this makes for a card that packs a lot more punch than its DDR2-equipped cousins. Overclocking this card might bring it surprisingly close to Radeon HD 4670-class performance, so it's an especially good value for tweakers.
Best PCI Express (PCIe) Card For ~$70:
Radeon HD 4670 (Check Prices)
Good 1680x1050 performance in most games
| Radeon HD 4670 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV730 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 320 |
| Texture Units: | 32 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 750 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1,000 (4,000 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10.1/SM 4.1 |
The Radeon HD 4670's price has fallen somewhat and now undercuts most GeForce 9600 GSOs with a $10 spread, and that's too much to ignore at this price point.
Spending $10 more on the 9600 GT is a viable option, but the Radeon HD 4670 retains the distinction by being the most powerful PCIe card that doesn't require a dedicated power connector.
Best PCIe Card For ~$80:
GeForce 9600 GT (Check Prices)
Good 1680x1050 performance in most games
| GeForce 9600 GT | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | G94 |
| Process: | 65nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 64 |
| Texture Units: | 32 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 650 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 900 (1,800 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10/SM 4.0 |
A recent price drop lets us recommend the GeForce 9600 GT, which is now within spitting distance of the Radeon HD 4670 and GeForce 9600 GSO.
The GeForce 9600 GT is a great performer thanks, in part, to its high-end 256-bit memory interface and speedy DDR3 memory. It's a good choice if $80 is your budgetary limit, but with the powerful Radeon HD 4850 as low as $95 you might want to consider spending a few more bucks.
My God! AMD are trouncing NVidia this month! roll on 58x0!
Also looking forward to where the mobility 4000 series sit against NVidia.
My my, how things have changed. AMD/ATI are beating NVidia where it matters most, i.e. the mainstream market.
This is big for AMD, i hope they do well
its about time
nexted year or 2 maybe they will get some decent cpu's