Best PCIe Card: $60 To $100
Best PCI Express (PCIe) Card For ~$65: Radeon HD 4670
Good 1680x1050 performance in most games
| Radeon HD 4670 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV730 |
| Process: | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 320 |
| Texture Units: | 32 |
| Raster-Operation Processors (ROPs): | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 750 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1,000 (2,000 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10.1/SM 4.1 |
Once again, we start with the $65 price p oint and ATI's Radeon HD 4670. The Radeon HD 4670 is vastly superior to slightly cheaper cards like the GeForce 9500 GT and Radeon HD 4650 because its complex architecture and fast DDR3 memory allow it to deliver remarkablef performance at this low price. Its closest competition is the GeForce 9600 GSO, but for $15 more, we don't think it's worth the difference, especially with the superior GeForce 9600 GT available at virtually the same price. The Radeon HD 4670 is also notable because it's the only card in our recommended list that doesn't require a power connector.
Best PCIe Card For ~$80: GeForce 9600 GT
Good 1680x1050 performance in most games
| GeForce 9600 GT | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | G94 |
| Process: | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 64 |
| Texture Units: | 32 |
| Raster-Operation Processors (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 slim $15 spread gives us just enough room to recommend the GeForce 9600 GT, which offers enough performance over the Radeon HD 4670 to justify that price increase if you have it in your budget. The GeForce 9600 GT is a great performer thanks, in part, to its high-end 256-bit memory interface and speedy DDR3 memory.
Best PCIe Card For ~$95: Radeon HD 4830
Good 1680x1050 performance in most games; 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
| Radeon HD 4830 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV770LE |
| Process: | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 640 |
| Texture Units: | 32 |
| Raster-Operation Processors (ROPs): | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 575 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 900 (1,800 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10.1/SM 4.1 |
The Radeon HD 4830 finally gives AMD something with which to compete against the legendary GeForce 8800 GT/9800 GT and, in doing so, actually one-ups the competition with a sub-$100 price tag. With GeForce 9800 GT prices above $100, the Radeon HD 4830 gets this month's sole recommendation. For most gamers with a 22" or smaller monitor, this low-priced card will give them all they need.
I'm getting a little tired with the ongoing shift in focus of these articles - it's the best card for your money. That to me says "here are some price brackets, here are the best cards for each" not "you'd be stupid to spend this much money when you can go SLI for cheaper".
As a result, it's of no interest to me within the scope of this article that 2x 260GTXs in SLI are better value than a single 4870 X2 (especially as earlier on Mr. Woligroski couldn't justify a single 260GTX). Maybe I don't have SLI or Crossfire, maybe I'm interesting in buying half or third of a monster GPU rig now and doubling-up when the cards are cheaper. Maybe I'm even a moron with too much cash.
Similarly, perhaps all I have is $160 and simply cannot stretch any more, so it's no good not putting a card in the $160 bracket just because a product at $25 more is "better value".
Any way you cut it, I want to know what single card is the best in a certain price bracket. These articles doesn't really do this any more.
Perhaps if the focus of the article was "best value for your money" it would be a different matter - what graphics performance can you get for x amount of money? Yes, then I'd be very interested that a pair of 260GTXs at $360 or 2 4870s at $400 is better value than a single 4870X2.
I'm sure there's room for both here: for each price bracket list best single card and best value option - at the lower price points they'll be one and the same.
it would be good if we saw some reviews of like 2x 150$ cards in xfire/sli vs a 200-300$ card lets actually see something about value for money
and why say get a $520 card when a considerably cheaper card can almost do the same for less.
also surprised you didn't say three 4830's in cf for $285, it would be more powerful than a GTX 285 for less.
What a lot of codswallop "Best for the Price crap" with competition in price variations this is no gauge to suggest that the Card(s) is any good and that it is in fact the best of its class, I’m sure you can do better in varying the Marketing and Sales propaganda and give us some facts and not “Bull Dust”