Best Card for 1680x1050 and 22" monitor

Which Video Card - Budget System for 1680x1050

  • 1x GTX260

    Votes: 57 69.5%
  • 2x GTX260

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1x GTX280

    Votes: 17 20.7%
  • 2x GTX280

    Votes: 8 9.8%

  • Total voters
    82

Mike2007x86

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 27, 2007
Messages
127
After years of great gaming with an 8800GTX it finally went out and I am now stuck using a old geforce fx 5200. Since I need a new video card for my system I would like to know what is recommended. I would like to know what video card you guys recommend for a gaming res of 1680x1050. This is off topic, but I am also considering upgrading my CPU from a Q6600 to a E8500 although I could swear that I got a major performance boost when I went from a 2.4Ghz Core2Duo I forget the model to a Q6600 G0 in crysis. I would like advice on this from other gamers. Is it worth the change for game performance?

My most played games are:
Fallout 3, Mass Effect, and Witcher Enhanced.
 
Either the 260 or 280 is good enough. 2 of either would be overkill.
I max out all of the games you listed with the rig in my sig.
 
Personally, I was looking at the Sparkle gtx 260 core 216 on newegg. $179 + COD5 WAW included = ~$129.
 
I play Mass Effect with everything turned up and 8x AA forced in Catalyst, with no lag or slowdowns. Gaming rez is 1680x1050. Rig is in the signature.

I'd say for 1680x1050, the sweet spot would be the 4870s or 260gtx core 216. Both are similarly priced right now.
 
I have never heard of sparkle - Other than warranty and bundle how does this compare to my normal E-VGA or BFG? I never use the install cd's since they are old and I don't use bundles either. I looked up what you suggested and its a great value.

What is the difference between these boards to each manufacturer?
 
Wait for the new GTX 275, sweetest $250 card ever, or if you prefer bad drivers, wait for the 4890 :p
 
I have never heard of sparkle - Other than warranty and bundle how does this compare to my normal E-VGA or BFG? I never use the install cd's since they are old and I don't use bundles either. I looked up what you suggested and its a great value.

What is the difference between these boards to each manufacturer?

Well, Sparkle has been around in the Power Supply arena for quite a while and are known for quality. They are trying to break into the GPU market and I'd say they are doing a decent job on price/bundle/quality, they have a 24 month warrenty = 2years. Beyond that the choice is your's XFX = transferable lifetime warranty, BFG = 100 day step up program, lifetime warranty, EVGA = 90 day step up program lifetime warranty.
 
After years of great gaming with an 8800GTX it finally went out and I am now stuck using a old geforce fx 5200. Since I need a new video card for my system I would like to know what is recommended. I would like to know what video card you guys recommend for a gaming res of 1680x1050. This is off topic, but I am also considering upgrading my CPU from a Q6600 to a E8500 although I could swear that I got a major performance boost when I went from a 2.4Ghz Core2Duo I forget the model to a Q6600 G0 in crysis. I would like advice on this from other gamers. Is it worth the change for game performance?

My most played games are:
Fallout 3, Mass Effect, and Witcher Enhanced.

first I would keep the CPU, not worth loosing two cores over the difference.

and at your resolution the best bang for the buck right now is the 4870 512mb for 135AR. your not going to miss the extra memory on your screen (maybe one or two games, none you listed) next would be the GTX260 if its less then the 4870 1gb. (they are so close there is no practical difference.)
 
Why only GTX2-0?

I run an ATI HD4850 at 1650x1050 on a Samsung 216BW 22" and I have had absolutely zero problems playing any games at that resolution, including Mass Effect. I don't really see you needing anything more than that or a 4870 unless you foresee yourself gaming at a higher res like 1920x1200 or higher in the near future. I'm also running a Q6600 @ 3.2.
 
first I would keep the CPU, not worth loosing two cores over the difference.

and at your resolution the best bang for the buck right now is the 4870 512mb for 135AR. your not going to miss the extra memory on your screen (maybe one or two games, none you listed) next would be the GTX260 if its less then the 4870 1gb. (they are so close there is no practical difference.)
sure the 4870 512mb is this best bang for buck but that doesnt mean squat if you want to play something like FC 2 with good settings and AA even at 1680. 4870 512mb cards may no longer a very wise investment if you want to run all the settings that the card is capable of. even Fallout 3 with high texture mods and lots of AA would be pushing it for the 4870 512mb. 4870 1gb and gtx260 are the cards he should be choosing from.
 
I am trying to keep nhancer as it is a program I find very useful. This can only be used with nvidia - I don't mind ATI at all, but I was disappointed by them in the past. It doesn't mean that I would avoid them it just means that as a consumer I have seen their driver issues first hand with a 1950XTX and 8500LE I had a few years ago. My question on the boards themselves was mainly focused on understanding what I gain build quality wise thru different brands. What is the main difference between a 260 thats bought from sparkle vs a 260 that is bought from xfx, e-vga, asus, or others. Warranty and bundle totally aside.

I do use high texture mods in fallout 3
4Aces and NMC
 
I am trying to keep nhancer as it is a program I find very useful. This can only be used with nvidia - I don't mind ATI at all, but I was disappointed by them in the past. It doesn't mean that I would avoid them it just means that as a consumer I have seen their driver issues first hand with a 1950XTX and 8500LE I had a few years ago. My question on the boards themselves was mainly focused on understanding what I gain build quality wise thru different brands. What is the main difference between a 260 thats bought from sparkle vs a 260 that is bought from xfx, e-vga, asus, or others. Warranty and bundle totally aside.

I do use high texture mods in fallout 3
4Aces and NMC

Well, Sparkle has been around in the Power Supply arena for quite a while and are known for quality. They are trying to break into the GPU market and I'd say they are doing a decent job on price/bundle/quality, they have a 24 month warrenty = 2years. Beyond that the choice is your's XFX = transferable lifetime warranty, BFG = 100 day step up program, lifetime warranty, EVGA = 90 day step up program lifetime warranty. You could also google reviews of the card, I will get some review site links if i find some and post them for u.
 
i want a 22" lcd to um im going to be getting an EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 - 55nm

how would crysis and crysis warhead gta iv fear 2 fallout 3 farcry 2 run on this? no AA
 
i want a 22" lcd to um im going to be getting an EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 - 55nm

how would crysis and crysis warhead gta iv fear 2 fallout 3 farcry 2 run on this? no AA
there are dozens of benchmarks for those games so why not google it to see? I will never understand why people dont do a little research for themselves at the various sites including Hardocp. if you did you would know that FC 2 is not even very demanding so you can easily max it with AA. Fallout 3 will also be a cakewalk at 1680 max settings and 4 or even 8 xAA. gta 4 will run okay as long as you have a decent cpu which you do. Crysis and Warhead will easily run on a mix of high and very settings.
 
sure the 4870 512mb is this best bang for buck but that doesnt mean squat if you want to play something like FC 2 with good settings and AA even at 1680. 4870 512mb cards may no longer a very wise investment if you want to run all the settings that the card is capable of. even Fallout 3 with high texture mods and lots of AA would be pushing it for the 4870 512mb. 4870 1gb and gtx260 are the cards he should be choosing from.

I'm not doubting you but do you have something that shows you having to drop AA at 1680 by 1050 with those games? the 512mb buffer just should not be much of any issue, at least not from the things I have been reading. I would be interested to see it.
 
My 260 runs great in the games I've played. Only game that I couldn't really use AA was crysis.
 
I'm not doubting you but do you have something that shows you having to drop AA at 1680 by 1050 with those games? the 512mb buffer just should not be much of any issue, at least not from the things I have been reading. I would be interested to see it.


just a couple quick examples. for FC 2 even with no AA at just 1680 the 4870 1gb has an advantage. turn on AA and the 4870 512mb gives up 25% compared to what the 4870 1gb can do. that makes the 4870 512mb not even playable with AA on compared to the 1gb model. http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/02/23/sapphire-ati-radeon-hd-4870-1gb-toxic/4

for Fallout 3 4x AA would be just fine but the 4870 1gb already is showing better at just 1680. turn on 8x AA and the 512mb card really starts to struggle with a minimum framerate of just 13 fps. now if you run a high texture mod like many do including myself then even 4x AA would make the 4870 512mb plummet. http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/02/23/sapphire-ati-radeon-hd-4870-1gb-toxic/3

I am sure there may even be other games that would need more than 512 especially modded games like Oblivion. the point is if there are already ANY games that struggle from lack of memory then why be gimped from day one. also who knows what other games will come out in the next few months that need more than 512mb.
 
Thank you, I just ordered a GTX260 216 - Its clear by the poll which card is best for my native res of 1680x1050. I do have one more question. What is the best air cooler to combine with this card? On my 8800GTX I had an HR-03
Someone mentioned the GTX275, when is this supposed to come out?
 
Thank you, I just ordered a GTX260 216 - Its clear by the poll which card is best for my native res of 1680x1050. I do have one more question. What is the best air cooler to combine with this card? On my 8800GTX I had an HR-03
Someone mentioned the GTX275, when is this supposed to come out?
the stock gtx260 cooler does a wonderful job. keeps the card nice and cool and runs extremely quiet. my fan has never spun up during gaming even on hot days and the temps usually dont go over low 70s. if I turn the fan from 40% stock speed to 50% the temps usually wont even go over 60 during gaming.

the gtx275 is an overclocked single gpu from the gtx295. basically its just a gtx260 with all 240sp and 80tmus unlocked. of course it will still be 448bit with 896mb memory. the card will be out the first week of April.
 
Shoot, I'm still getting by at that res with a voltmodded 8800GT.

I hear ya PliotronX, I keep telling myself I need a new GPU but my 8800GTX just keeps going strong - 4xAA / 16xAF with all of my games on a 22" Acer monitor. (crysis at 1400 x 1050, 2xAA).

I don't think anybody considering upgrading should go with a 256-bit, 512MB card at this point. we are already seeing games that are maxing out that bandwidth & memory combination at high resolutions and it's only going to become more common with newer games.

You can see in the benchmark below that virtually all of the 512MB cards have serious vram limitations in Far Cry 2 at 2560 x 1600 resolution - I know that's a super high resolution but I think we will be seeing this limitation at even lower resolutions in the future as newer games make use of more complex shaders that require lots of vram. Even the old 8800GTX & Ultra spank all of the 512MB cards here including the mighty 4870 due to their extra 256MB vram.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/far-cry-2-pc-vga-graphics-performance-review/5
 
A 4870 512MB card might have a slight bang-for-buck advantage, but with prices of GTX 260 cards being as ridiculously low as they are, I don't see why you wouldn't spend the extra $30 or whatever it is for a card w/a larger frame buffer... If only to future proof yourself, be it for future games or for a future display upgrade.

There's GTX 260 cards from EVGA and MSI on Newegg right now coming in at $160-170 with a free bundled game, I think MSI has Far Cry 2 and EVGA has CoD:WaW (I like EVGA more but it's hard to argue with FC2 for $10 less). What's up with 4870 1GB prices anyway?

They all seem to have gone up as of a week ago and they didn't sink again with the 4890 launch, on Newegg at 'least; and it's not just a transitory lack of rebates either, Newegg nuked many of the long-running discounts they had on them. Makes no sense, as there's only two 4870 1GB cards at under $200 with a good chunk of them coming in at $210+, meanwhile 4890's are going for $230 after MIR; being faster and cooler running who would opt for a 4870 1GB?
 
My 260 arrived yesterday and I must say I am impressed with it. The very same day my card arrived from amazon the GTX275's hit the shelves. :eek: I just wonder what kind of performance difference I would have seen if I would have got a GTX275 instead. Well its no biggie, I just wanted to say thanks for the poll data. I have been able to fully max out all of my games ;) :D

A single GTX fits my resolution perfectly... Thanks again!
 
i think you made the right call, anything more would have been overkill at that res, have fun!
 
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