Best PCIe Card: ~$80 To $130
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 |
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 great choice on an $80 budget, even if the architecture on which it centers is showing its age. Certainly, this card's continued presence here is a testament to Nvidia's engineering work dating back almost two years ago.
Best PCIe Card For ~$100:
Radeon HD 4850 512MB (Check Prices)
Exceptional 1680x1050 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most games with lowered detail
| Radeon HD 4850 512MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV770 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 800 |
| Texture Units: | 40 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 625 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 993 (1,986 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10.1/SM 4.1 |
With Radeon HD 4850 512 MB prices dropping to a surprisingly low $100, this card takes the price/performance crown. Nvidia's GeForce GTS 250 can now be found for only $10 more than the Radeon HD 4850. However, the powerful Radeon HD 4870 is priced too closely at $125 for the GeForce to be a recommended buy.
If you're considering this graphics card, buy it while you still can. Availability is waning, and these products won't be around much longer now that the Radeon HD 5750 has arrived. On the other hand, bear in mind that the Radeon HD 5750 supports DirectX 11, Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio, and three monitor outputs. Its value might very well be better if gaming isn't your only concern.
Best PCIe Card For ~$125:
Radeon HD 4870 512MB (Check Prices)
Good 1920x1200 performance in most games
| Radeon HD 4870 512MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV770 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 800 |
| Texture Units: | 40 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 750 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 900 (3,600 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10.1/SM 4.1 |
This is the sweet spot, folks. If someone told us the Radeon HD 4870 would be marked down to $125 four months ago, we'd have laughed in their face. Well, who is laughing now? Gamers are, with this very powerful card and its fast GDDR5 memory available at bargain-basement prices.
The parade won't last forever, though. The Radeon HD 4870 is clearly being groomed for extinction to make way for the new Radeon HD 5770. So, if you're interested, get them while you still can.
That was a while ago though and hopefully they've overcome those problems by now. Plus half the idea of the first 40nm chips being released in the mid-range was because there would be less of a rush on them if I remember correctly.
FYI - in the chart the single Radeon 4850 is down as 485, not terrible but could be irritating if people search the page for it
Can you say how many tiers sli/crossfire of a particular card might bump it up the chart? Would 2 8800 ultra's be the same as a single GTX280 or 285? For example.
$75 = £45
$80-$130 = £48-£78
$140-$200 = £84-£120
$200-$300 = £120-£180
$300-$350 = £180-£210
$360$+ = £216+
Usefull info for people using the british version of THG who dont understand american currency
You seem to have forgotten VAT at 15% on that list. UK prices tend to be pretty much $1 to £1 by the time things get here
Fantastic reviews as usual.
However....
The new 5850 was a little underrated in my opinion for the following reasons:
It easily overclocks to the within a whisker of a 5870
It is almost silent
It looks so cool
It's performance is almost double the 4870
It's idle power consumption is so negligable
It supports DX11
Where the hell has Nvidia gone??????
Tips:
Dirt (original) runs BAD on Vista with 5850 (not sure on Widows 7) but on XP its gotta be seen to be belived!!!!! Just lovely!
Turn off Autogen on Flight simulator X.....it looks beautiful!
I bought a 5850 and agree with the previous post. Low idle noise, power consumption, better power management all round than 48xx and hardware protected against overheating. Overclocked the core from 725 to 850 and memory from 1000 to 1250 without raising the voltage. ATI Tool and Crysis Warhead stable. Raising the voltage will give you even higher core clocks - is this even possible with any other card? Asus card with 3 year warranty and voltage tweak advertised on the retail box - you really should factor this into any performance comparisons.
Please can anyone tell me whats the best video card between these 2?
Video Card ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB
NVIDIA GTX 260M 1GB VRAM DDR3 Graphics Card
Another good review Don but I think your being very sympathetic to NVidia considering their availability of some of these cards is far worse than ATI.
The DX 11 factor will also become increasingly important ... pushing the current NVidia cards to the back of the heap.
How well do their cards stack up on frame rates against the new ATI cards on Win7 then?
TNX Tom's Hardware... Big Help!..
^_^
Looks like a 5850 for me then...