Best video card for around $100 (specific conditions inside)

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stop!theradio

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I have some family in the Philippines who are asking what I want them to buy me (they're buying gifts and stuff). They buy stuff on ebay all the time - I never really have, but I looked around a bit and saw a ton of video cards, new and used. They'll be ordering from the Philippines using their own currency, but it will be shipped to me in the USA. I was wondering if someone can point me in the right direction. The most I can probably get would be something worth $100 plus shipping - so, essentially, what is the best video card I can get for that price from ebay? An online, ebay-based 'etailer' would be best, as the people buying this for me probably don't want to sit around and bid on stuff. My motherboard supports CrossfireX and all that stuff, so an ATI card would be preferable.

I know it's a bit of an odd question/situation, but I'd appreciate input! Thanks!
 
I'd say that a GTX 275 or Radeon 4890 would be fine upgrade for you in that $100 range. BUT you better have the powersupply to run them. At least a good 500-550W unit.
 
Thanks for your help! Specs are in the sig - new build with OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W modular PSU, Crossfire and SLI ready. :)

I'm seeing 4890's for no less than $170 (NOT plus tax/shipping), which is definitely too much. Again, $100 plus tax and shipping is the most I can do, really no more than $120 grand total.
 
This 4850 just barely exceeds your $120 budget:
http://cgi.ebay.com/XFX-ATI-Radeon-...814?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item4cf2612f16

but i think it's quite a bit better than these, 5670 and 5750:
http://cgi.ebay.com/XFX-HD567XZNF3-...674?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item5d2bbdb1f2
http://cgi.ebay.com/XFX-ATI-Radeon-...028?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2c582d45d4

XFX is nice because you can transfer the warranty if buying used.

Edit:

Actually a 9800 might be your best bet to effectively stay under your price range, and I think this gtx performs on par with that 4850 in my first link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/PNY-GEFORCE-980...temZ390253704868QQcategoryZ3762QQcmdZViewItem

or a new XFX:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-XFX-GeForce...temZ150510557830QQcategoryZ3762QQcmdZViewItem
 
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The cheapest used 5770 on eBay is $125, so if u can just barely stretch your budget that is definitely the best bet.

Here are some comparisons so you can see how much better it is:

http://www.guruht.com/2009/10/ati-radeon-hd-5770-vs-4850-vs-hd-5750.html
http://www.hwcompare.com/graphics/compare.php?c=GeForce-9800-GTX--vs-Radeon-HD-5770

I don't know why I was inspired to search eBay for the cheapest good card but I found this somewhere on page 23 buried between the 4650's and 430's:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ATI-RADEON-HD48...516?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2a0b426ac4

The benchmarks I sent you only compare the 512mb 4850, so I imagine this 1gb is better, and for $90 brand new... o well it will probably be gone before you can show your relatives
 
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You should be able to easily find a used HD4870 1GB, HD5750 1GB, or GTX260 896MB for $100.

The HD4870 is a touch faster than the HD5770 but only supports DX10.1 (no DX11)

The HD5750 performance is between the HD4850/9800GTX+ and HD4870/HD5770/GTX260. This card supports DX11.

The GTX260 is Nvidia card which is about equal to the HD4870 in performance. It supports DX10.0 only.

Examples:
MSI HD4870 1GB $100 shipped "buy it now".
http://cgi.ebay.com/MSI-ATI-Radeon-...752?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item3361e06fe0

XFX HD5750 $92 shipped "buy it now"
http://cgi.ebay.com/XFX-ATI-Radeon-...273?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item3f043802e9

BFG GTX260 $100 shipped "buy it now"
http://cgi.ebay.com/BFG-Tech-NVIDIA...341?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item230b21077d

The HD4850 (DX10.1) and 9800GTX+ (DX10.0) are slower and don't support DX11, but sell for less than $100 new.
 
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My vote goes to 260 216. It's still very capable card and imo better than what Ati had to offfer with 4xxx series or 5770. Of course Ati drivers have improved since then, but I remember moving from 4850 to 260 and being completely satisfied out of the box with the noticeable amount of performance to boot. Also oc on the gt200 gpu's scale nicely.
If you feel you rather go with Ati offering, I would just go with 1gb 4870. There is no point in going 5770 just for dx11 because it's way to weak of a gpu to benefit much from it unless you have a couple of those in xfire imo.
 
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