Best PCIe Card For ~$300:
GeForce GTX 470 (Check Prices)
Exceptional 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games
| GeForce GTX 470 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | GF100 |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 448 |
| Texture Units: | 56 |
| ROPs: | 40 |
| Memory Bus: | 320-bit |
| Core/Shader Speed MHz: | 607 / 1215 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 837 (3348 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
Quite often, it seems that the 470 performs closely to the Radeon HD 5850. But in some cases, the GeForce GTX 470 really stands out, and even gives the Radeon HD 5870 a run for its money. Now priced at $300, the GeForce GTX 470 gets a solid recommendation for being a powerful DirectX 11 card with extra functionality like PhysX and 3D Vision.
Read our full review of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 470 for more information on the card and its underlying architecture.
Best PCIe Card For ~$310: None
Honorable Mention: 2 x Radeon HD 5770 in CrossFire Configuration (Check Prices)
Exceptional 1920x1200 performance, Good 2560x1600 performance in most games
| 2 x Radeon HD 5770 in CrossFire | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV840 "Juniper" |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 1600 (2 x 800) |
| Texture Units: | 80 (2 x 40) |
| ROPs: | 32 (2 x 16) |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 850 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1200 (4800 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
A pair of Radeon HD 5770s in CrossFire is a very effective high-end configuration for the dollar, often besting even AMD's Radeon HD 5850 on the performance front. The extra expense required by CrossFire manifested in high-end motherboards and power supplies prevents a clean recommendation, but this setup remains a viable option.
Read our full review of ATI's Radeon HD 5770 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
