Best card to get for 1680x1050 monitor?

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[H]adouken

[H]ard|Gawd
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For a single slot solution, and a single 1680x1050 monitor, which would be the best card to get for the user, with future games in mind? Meaning, which card would be great now, and age well down the year (or max out games into the high 30FPS)?

Is the GTX295 the best card for this monitor? Or would the 4870x2 be a better option?
 
Both of those will tear up just about any other card on the market.
If you have the money go for the GTX 295 and it will last you for some time to come. If you are fine with lower end models, a 4870 1Gb or GTX 260 should be fine
 
GTX295 or 4870x2 would probably be a little overkill. I'd rather have extra power than not enough though :cool:.
 
A little overkill? It's a copious amount of overkill, even a 4870 1GB is probably more than he needs at 1680x1050, but it'll definitely age better than a 4850 which might falter at max settings with like 5% of current games (read: Crysis).

Spending more than $200 to game at that res is a total waste of cash, you're much better off saving whatever else you were planning to spend and putting it towards a future upgrade a year or two down the line. 'Specially when the more expensive alternatives you're considering are dual-GPU cards that have historically not aged well at all (since they require much more constant driver support on a per-game basis).

Seriously, do some research, don't waste your money like that... Even if you're shooting for overkill or planning on a display upgrade, you've got plenty of more appropriate alternatives. I can guarantee you that $200 spent on a mid-range card now and $200 on a new card within 1-2 years will definitely pan out better than blowing more than twice that right now for no reason whatsoever...
 
16 by 10 gaming is a sweet spot for budget gamers. 8800/9600 series cards can do very well @ that rz.
 
Yeah, I'd been looking at 4xxx cards myself lately because the GTX 260 won't fit in my case, but $160 for a GTX 260 is an amazing deal... I'm actually considering swapping cases with a rig I'm building for a friend just so I can shove a GTX 260 into my next rig. :p
 
Impulse said:
Yeah, I'd been looking at 4xxx cards myself lately because the GTX 260 won't fit in my case, but $160 for a GTX 260 is an amazing deal... I'm actually considering swapping cases with a rig I'm building for a friend just so I can shove a GTX 260 into my next rig. :p
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I went with the 4870 1gb since the GTX260 it wouldn't fit my case either, and it is not supported in "another" OS..
 
Impulse said:
A little overkill? It's a copious amount of overkill, even a 4870 1GB is probably more than he needs at 1680x1050, but it'll definitely age better than a 4850 which might falter at max settings with like 5% of current games (read: Crysis).
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I don't think it would be overkill.
I upgraded from 8800GTX to GTX260 core 216 and i'm disappointed about the perfomance increase.
There is no game which i couldn't max out with 8800GTX which i can now max out with GTX 260.
I will never again do the mistake and buy a too weak GPU, there is lotss of games which GTX 260 can't max out. (yes my monitor is 1680x1050.
Either buy the best or don't buy at all is my new motto.
 
Care to share any of these games that a GTX260 can't max out at 1680x1050? The 8800GTX probably had a longer usable life span than any other card of it's ilk in history, due to the way competition sagged over the course of the last year or two 'till ATI got back into it, etc... Hell NVidia is still milking the 8800/G80 architecture (in it's 9xxx and GTX 250 cards), something that originally debutted in late '06.

I still fail to see what games you could possibly be struggling with at that res though. At 1920x I'm sure there's several that will be borderline on the 4870 1GB, 'specially if you tend to crank the AA, but not at 1680x... Oh and the 8800 GTX was nowhere near a $200 card when it debuted, and the 4870 1GB is a faster card regardless.
 
bigdogchris said:
GTX295 or 4870x2 would probably be a little overkill. I'd rather have extra power than not enough though :cool:.
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After using a GTX285, i dont think a 4870X2 or GTX295 is overkill for at 1680x1050 the GTX285 cannot hold ALL games at a solid 60fps, id imagine the 4870 staggering along.
 
Blackbird said:
I don't think it would be overkill.
I upgraded from 8800GTX to GTX260 core 216 and i'm disappointed about the perfomance increase.
There is no game which i couldn't max out with 8800GTX which i can now max out with GTX 260.
.
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Sounds like a borked card or something failing in your system. You honestly believe using the same basic architecture as the 8800 series that the 260 isn't faster? You just went from 128 shaders to 216 shaders. Thats 88 more shaders. Your buswidth increased to 448-bit. Memory at 896MB. I game with the same card, same resolution. Don't play GTA4, although I did try it and it seemed to work just fine. WoW, COD4, and all Valve games work maxed out at that resolution. Even Crysis can be played at high with some settings higher. But thats crysis for ya.

Something isn't right with your system.:eek:
 
it all depends on your budget, how far would you go, how much do you like playing Crysis :), and how often you update the video card

using a GTX 285 SSC with [email protected] (1680x1050), it’s an overkill for me, I can max everything with no trouble, except Crysis and that’s ok cuz the graphics look awesome without super maxing everything, I think the GTX 260 is good for 1680x1050, I picked the GTX 285 cuz well, I had some extra $$ left in my pocket :)
 
Impulse said:
Care to share any of these games that a GTX260 can't max out at 1680x1050?
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Well i don't play that many games but i know it can't max out Stalker: Clear sky, GTAIV and Crysis.
I'm sure there is more games which GTX260 have problems with, world in conflict maybe? not sure coz i haven't played WiC with my GTX260 but i could imagine that it could have some problems with it.


MrAgmoore said:
Maybe Blackbird is CPU limited.
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I have a E6850 @ 3.37 GHz
 
just get the best card you can afford. Sooner or later 1680x1050 won't be playable on a lower end card. So what is a 295, x2 is considered over kill, it won't always be that way and you won't have to upgrade again as soon.
 
I game at that resolution and for the games currently out an overclocked 8800GTX is very close to making the grade (can play most games at full graphics settings). A GTX260 or GTX260 performance equivalent from ATI would be just fine.
 
Impulse said:
A little overkill? It's a copious amount of overkill, even a 4870 1GB is probably more than he needs at 1680x1050, but it'll definitely age better than a 4850 which might falter at max settings with like 5% of current games (read: Crysis).
Click to expand...
I used to be told that my 8800GTS 512 SLI setup was overkill for 1440x900 resolution but when I disabled SLI my frame rate dropped out almost 40% in some games.
 
Bigbacon said:
just get the best card you can afford. Sooner or later 1680x1050 won't be playable on a lower end card. So what is a 295, x2 is considered over kill, it won't always be that way and you won't have to upgrade again as soon.
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well thats illogical to waste money like that. it would make more sense to buy a gtx285 and then if or when some games out in the future that just happen to tax the card then newer cards with newer tech will be out anyway.
 
Blackbird said:
Well i don't play that many games but i know it can't max out Stalker: Clear sky, GTAIV and Crysis.
I'm sure there is more games which GTX260 have problems with, world in conflict maybe? not sure coz i haven't played WiC with my GTX260 but i could imagine that it could have some problems with it.
Click to expand...

a GTX 260 can max out GTAIV easy. (as long as you have a killer processor)

I agree on crysis and stalker.
Though it is a not very far away from maxing it out. Very close.
 
Bigbacon said:
just get the best card you can afford. Sooner or later 1680x1050 won't be playable on a lower end card. So what is a 295, x2 is considered over kill, it won't always be that way and you won't have to upgrade again as soon.
Click to expand...

Even if it's not overkill and it helps get you 4x AA instead of 2x AA or wtfever on a couple of games, my point was simply that you have to look at what you're getting for the extra money (as much as 2x more by your suggestions and his choices).

In a year or a year and a half, going out and buying a next-gen $200 card is gonna yield him a bigger performance boost and a longer life span on his overall investment than blowing $400 on a card right now now, a card that will be just as easily overshadowed by the next gen as the $200 mid-range card.
 
Put it this way, If you want a fast single card and would like to upgrade again soon get the 260 216 or the 285, if you wish to keep the card a little longer then get the 295.
 
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