Best PCIe Card: $400 And Up
With exponentially increasing prices over $340 offering smaller and smaller performance boosts, we have a hard time recommending anything more expensive than two Radeon HD 4870 512 MB cards in CrossFire. While the Radeon HD 4870 X2 and the GeForce GTX 295 perform impressively in multiple-card configurations, there’s just not enough of a gain compared to two Radeon HD 4870 512 MB cards, unless you play at resolutions beyond 1920x1200.
Then again, while we often recommend against purchasing any graphics card that retails for more than $340 from a value point of view, there are those of you for whom money might not be much of an object, who can afford a 30” LCD monitor, and who require the best possible performance money can buy. For those of you, we recommend the following cards:
Best PCIe Card For ~$400: Tie
Exceptional 1920x1200 performance in most games, 2560x1600 in most titles (some with lowered detail)
| Two Radeon HD 4870 1 GB in CrossFire Configuration or Radeon HD 4870 X2 | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
While it has been deposed by the new GeForce GTX 295, the former king isn't quite dead—it's just a lot cheaper. With the introduction of the GeForce GTX 295, the Radeon HD 4870 X2 has taken a massive $100 price reduction. Indeed, two Radeon HD 4870 1 GB cards are almost exactly the same price, so both options get our recommendation. The extra RAM compared to two Radeon HD 4870 512 MB cards can help performance in certain games, resolutions, and image-quality settings.
| Two GeForce GTX 260 (Core 192) cards in SLI Configuration | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | 2 x GT200 |
| Process: | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 384 (2 x 192) |
| Texture Units: | 128 (2 x 64) |
| ROPs: | 56 (2 x 28) |
| Memory Bus: | 448-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 576 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 999 (1,998 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10/SM 4.0 |
As we noted with the single-card recommendations, two GeForce GTX 260 cards in SLI offer advantages in titles that run better with the GeForce GT200 architecture. If you have an SLI motherboard, the decision becomes a no-brainer as two GeForce GTX 260 cards are a serious force to reckon with. As with the single cards, we recommend the older core 192 versions due to the lower price, and with two cards involved, this price difference is only magnified.
Best PCIe Card For ~$500:
Exceptional 1920x1200 performance in most games, 2560x1600 in most titles (some with lowered detail)
| GeForce GTX 295 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | 2 x GT200b |
| Process: | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 480 (2 x 240) |
| Texture Units: | 160 (2 x 80) |
| ROPs: | 56 (2 x 28) |
| Memory Bus: | 448-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 576 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 999 (1,998 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10/SM 4.0 |
Nvidia's GeForce GTX 295 sporting SLI-on-a-card is the most powerful single graphics card on the planet. Essentially two attached GeForce GTX 280 cards that have been merged, underclocked, and stripped of a few ROPs, the GeForce GTX 295 offers very notable gains over the Radeon HD 4870 X2 in the great majority of game titles. Even more impressive is that it does so while consuming less power than AMD's flagship does, which is no small feat.
If you want the best of the best, this is the card to get. The only way to get more performance is perhaps to triple-SLI some GeForce GTX 285s or quad-CrossFire two Radeon HD 4870 X2s, but unless you have a 30" monitor, that would likely be a gratuitous waste of money.
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.