Best PCIe Card: $170 To $350
Best PCIe Card For ~$180 : Tie
Good 1920x1200 performance
| Radeon HD 4870 1 GB | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV770 |
| Process: | 55 nm |
| 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 |
For a chunk of change more than the 512 MB version, you can have a full 1 GB of video memory on your Radeon HD 4870. Is it worth it? That depends whether or not you play titles that can take advantage of more graphics RAM. This decision might require a bit more diligence on your part, but if you have the budget for it, a 1 GB Radeon HD 4870 isn't a bad buy by any stretch of the imagination.
| GeForce GTX 260 (Core 216) | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | GT200 |
| Process: | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 192 |
| Texture Units: | 64 |
| ROPs: | 28 |
| Memory Bus: | 448-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 576 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 999 (1,998 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10/SM 4.0 |
While these cards might not sport a full 1 GB of RAM like the Radeon HD 4870 does in the same price range, they do offer advantages in titles that run better on the GeForce GT200 architecture. Once again, a little diligence is required on the part of the buyer to find out which card is the best adapted for his or her favorite titles, and once again, whether or not the motherboard supports SLI or CrossFire.
Note that we are recommending the newer "Core 216" version of the GeForce GTX 260, instead of the older version with 192 shader processors. Check the specifications of any card before you purchase.
Best PCIe Card For ~$260 : Radeon HD 4850 X2
Good 1920x1200 performance, 2560x1600 in most titles with some lowered detail
| Radeon HD 4850 X2 1 GB | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | 2 x RV770 |
| Process: | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 1,600 (2 x 800) |
| Texture Units: | 80 (2 x 40) |
| ROPs: | 32 (2 x 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 |
The Radeon HD 4850 X2 is essentially two Radeon HD 4850s in CrossFire mode on a single card, and it will beat the similarly priced GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 and more expensive GeForce GTX 280 hands down. It will even put the hurt on the new, more expensive GeForce GTX 285.
We're still quite pleased that the Radeon HD 4850 X2 can now be found on Newegg for $260. At this price, it's still cheaper than two Radeon HD 4850 cards which, at $145 each, didn't make the recommended list this month. But buying the Radeon HD 4850 X2 is the same as buying two Radeon HD 4850s for $130 each, and that's a lot of performance for the admission price.
Best PCIe Card For ~$330 : Two Radeon HD 4870 512 MB cards in CrossFire Configuration
Good 1920x1200 performance, 2560x1600 in most titles (some with lowered detail)
| Two Radeon HD 4870 512 MB in CrossFire Configuration | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | 2 x RV770 |
| Process: | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 1,600 (2 x 800) |
| Texture Units: | 80 (2 x 40) |
| ROPs: | 32 (2 x 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 |
The Radeon HD 4870 512 MB card cinched the $165 recommendation, and two of them in CrossFire are a force to behold. Never before has this much performance been available below $350, as a couple months ago this setup would have cost somewhere in the $500 range.
If you're building a fresh system, two Radeon HD 4870s are a great way to go for monster performance on a budget.
you should add the 9400m. I would love to see where that falls in performance.
the 780/790 G chipsets would be good to see in this lineup...
I’d be interested to see if these price points were always the same over the years. Possible resolutions and game demands filtering down. But no real gain at any point. Today’s Fair 1920x1200 was Yesterdays Fair 800x600. You still paid $130 so you didn’t have to put up with 640x480
In short.
Best PCI Express (PCIe) Card For ~$70:
Good 1680x1050 most games
Best PCIe Card For ~$85:
Good 1680x1050 most games
Best PCIe Card For ~$100 :
Good 1680x1050 most games
Fair 1920x1200
Best PCIe Card For ~$130 :
Fair 1920x1200
Best PCIe Card For ~$180 :
Great 1920x1200 most games
Best PCIe Card For ~$260 : (X2)
Great 1920x1200 most games
Fair 2560x1600
Best PCIe Card For ~$330 : (X2)
Great 1920x1200
Fair – Good 2560x1600
Best PCIe Card For ~$400: (X2)
Exceptional 1920x1200
Fair – Good 2560x1600
Best PCIe Card For ~$500:
Exceptional 1920x1200
Good 2560x1600
Huh, how can you say about two GTX260s in SLI "as with the single cards, we recommend the older core 192 versions due to the lower price" when the GTX 260 comment is "we are recommending the newer 'Core 216' version of the GeForce GTX 260, instead of the older version with 192 shader processors."
There's a decent little stat typo in your $180 recommendation. You specifically recommend the "GeForce GTX 260 (Core 216)", yet in its specifications you list "Universal Shaders: 192"
So which one are you recommending? The Core 216, or the original GTX 260?
This is also con fuddled more by the error pointed out by aje21.
Oh yeah, I should point out. I just ordered an MSI GTX 260 Core 216 through NewEgg.com a couple days ago. The Core 216 can be had for $189 before MIR (currently $30MIR = $159). So really, I think I'd be hard pressed to recommend the original GTX 260 based on price.
GTX 260 prices in general have come down recently. And with the original GTX being phased out entirely for the Core 216, I'd think the Core 216 would be the best bet for someone who intends to do SLI later on.
I'd love to see the recent IGP's (780G/790G, G35, G43/G45 etc) included in the hierarchy list. Would be usefull to assess when adding a discreet card actually starts making sense.
Thanks for the interesting article.
Mobile GPUs have a separate page accessible from the homepage, and IGPs, even NVidia's, don't need to be compared here as that isn't the point of the article.
You guys got one fact wrong, a GTX 295 is 2x 260's not 280's hence the same amount of cores per gpu and memory bandwidth.
And if CF was as good as SLI then dual 4870 1gb's would outpace the GTX 295 for $140 cheaper.
In my part of the EU prices are MUCH higher -.-
9600gt cost around 90~120euro in grece how do set at 85$ ok. 100euro it's not 85$. 85$ are less euros or the shop here are extremly expenisve
9600gt cost around 90~120euro in grece how do set at 85$ ok. 100euro it's not 85$. 85$ are less euros or the shop here are extremly expenisve
USA and Canada definately seem to enjoy cheapest graphics cards prices for the most part.