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Best card under $200

S

Stefan

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 27, 2003
Messages
266
Hey, my 8800 GTS overheated and friiieeeed a month or so ago.
Been busy with school, so not so much time for video games...
With Starcraft 2 and Natural-Selection 2 on the horizon, not to mention left 4 dead 2... I think I might as well get a video card again.
SO!
I clearly have to get a Geforce...
Which should I get?

PS. I'm in Canada, so deals in the states wont be the same as here...
I'm using www.ncix.com as a reference for prices.

PPS. I have a 24" monitor (if that makes much of a difference)
 
Yeah, for that price the best you are going to get is a 4890 1GB...stellar cards though, have 2 in Crossfire, truly amazing performance!
 
A used GTX 280. its $200 and it rules! I never knew this beast had so much power.
 
I hope you plan on overclocking that 2.13 E6420 cpu a bit. otherwise cards like the gtx260 or faster arent going to come very close to getting fully utlized.
 
Do you mind getting a used card, or does it have to be new?

If you don't upgrade very often, it would be wise to future proof and get a DX11 supported card - so 5xxx ati .. although they're hard to find and expensive right now. Otherwise, you can easily get brand new 260(core 216) for $200. Good cards.
 
Oh.... I thought I had to stick with an nvidia video card, gaaad, I haven't upgraded in so long I completely forgot.
I feel like an idiot :-O
So ATI's the way to go right now?
 
Stefan said:
Oh.... I thought I had to stick with an nvidia video card, gaaad, I haven't upgraded in so long I completely forgot.
I feel like an idiot :-O
So ATI's the way to go right now?
Click to expand...

For the time being. Finding a GTX 280 for <$200 is a challenge, even used. HD4890's the king under $200.
 
The GTX260 looks to be the best bang for the buck over the 4890 right now. I think Nvidia is the way to go for now :cool:
 
PS3 said:
The GTX260 looks to be the best bang for the buck over the 4890 right now. I think Nvidia is the way to go for now :cool:
Click to expand...

Um, No. Why would you draw such conclusions when the 4890 outperforms it significantly and can be found for the same price or even cheaper on average. That is just bad logic.
 
edifyingkarma said:
Um, No. Why would you draw such conclusions when the 4890 outperforms it significantly and can be found for the same price or even cheaper on average. That is just bad logic.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same when I read his post. He could only be a Nvidia fan boy to post an untrue statement like that.
 
Best by far?
Out of curiosity, what makes it the best by far?
I OC'd my 8800 gts and it fried.
I probably will OC the video card again, I'm just worried =[]
 
Overclock your processor, not your video card. That is where you will see the most significant amount of improvement.
 
Stefan said:
Best by far?
Out of curiosity, what makes it the best by far?
I OC'd my 8800 gts and it fried.
I probably will OC the video card again, I'm just worried =[]
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it's the best by far, but it's clearly the better choice here, since it's usually considered to be in the class of the GTX 275, and it's usually about the same price and often cheaper for the big brand name 260s now.
 
Falling Anvil said:
I wouldn't say it's the best by far, but it's clearly the better choice here, since it's usually considered to be in the class of the GTX 275, and it's usually about the same price and often cheaper for the big brand name 260s now.
Click to expand...
he was actually asking about the best brand. he was replying to me but didnt quote me like he should have.

Stefan said:
Best by far?
Out of curiosity, what makes it the best by far?
I OC'd my 8800 gts and it fried.
I probably will OC the video card again, I'm just worried =[]
Click to expand...
its the best because it offers the best warranty and customer service you will get with ATI cards.
 
CruisD64 said:
Overclock your processor, not your video card. That is where you will see the most significant amount of improvement.
Click to expand...
his cpu is basically fine with his current gpu. now going with a much faster gpu he would certainly need to oc it a bit as it will become a limiting factor.
 
I just upgraded to a GTX275 for under $200 and I'm pretty happy about it. My second choice was the 4890. I looked at the 5770 but it's too slow and DX11 just isn't a priority for me. Heck, I still run XP so speed is really the only thing I look for in a videocard.

A GTX260 or 4870 would also come in under $200 and pack a lot of bang for the buck.
 
cannondale06 said:
his cpu is basically fine with his current gpu. now going with a much faster gpu he would certainly need to oc it a bit as it will become a limiting factor.
Click to expand...

I was implying after he purchase a 4890. My 4890 machine is awesome. I almost like it more than my main machine.
 
CruisD64 said:
I was implying after he purchase a 4890. My 4890 machine is awesome. I almost like it more than my main machine.
Click to expand...
oh I see now that he mentioned overclocking the new card and then you replied. if you would have quoted him then I probably would have noticed to begin with. ;)
 
Oh.
I overclocked my CPU to 3.2ghz
I didn't tweak my memory though, couldn't get it stable enough =(.
So... I ended up buying the Saphire 5770... It was $179
The sales person who I purchase from all the time, and helped me build my previous two machines strongly recommended it over the 4890...
Just a few questions... The 5770 was roughly the same price, so did I get a better value for my dollar? Why recommend an older model, that typically gets outperformed by the 5770... (I checked some comparison tests).
Also, what makes the XFX better than the other brands?
The sales guy suggested the saphire, it was only $10 more.
 
Stefan said:
Oh.
I overclocked my CPU to 3.2ghz
I didn't tweak my memory though, couldn't get it stable enough =(.
So... I ended up buying the Saphire 5770... It was $179
The sales person who I purchase from all the time, and helped me build my previous two machines strongly recommended it over the 4890...
Just a few questions... The 5770 was roughly the same price, so did I get a better value for my dollar? Why recommend an older model, that typically gets outperformed by the 5770... (I checked some comparison tests).
Also, what makes the XFX better than the other brands?
The sales guy suggested the saphire, it was only $10 more.
Click to expand...
I dont know what tests you looked at but the 5770 is slower than a 4890. even in the rare case it can match the 4890 in average it still loses out in minimums. http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...4204-xfx-radeon-hd-5770-1gb-gddr5-review.html


the 4890 was the much better deal until it went up in price. now that the 4890 isnt as cheap as it was, the 5770 seems like an okay deal since it offers a better feature set and lower power consumption.
 
Hmm!
You're right.
He seemed to be pretty frantic in showing it.
I'm not suggesting he lied, maybe was mislead by the newer technology it provides...
Apparently the 5850 was on sale for $250... I'm tempted to just buy it... Reg $320 or something.
Spend an extra $70 and be much happier for a much longer time...
 
Stefan said:
Hmm!
You're right.
He seemed to be pretty frantic in showing it.
I'm not suggesting he lied, maybe was mislead by the newer technology it provides...
Apparently the 5850 was on sale for $250... I'm tempted to just buy it... Reg $320 or something.
Spend an extra $70 and be much happier for a much longer time...
Click to expand...
well the original msrp for the 5850 was $259 but considering how hard the 5850 cards are to get at any price I would certainly jump on that deal for $250. your cpu, depending on how much you oc it, is really going to limit the 5850 quite a bit in some games though. what res are you playing at?
 
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