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n00b Video Card Question

O

OrangeWolf

Gawd
Joined
Jan 6, 2011
Messages
884
I've been working on my first build and I've finally gotten most everything ordered except the video card -- I had last minute reservations.

I don't want to spend more than $200 on a graphics card because (1) I think the Radeon 6850 will play everything I want decently at 1920x1080, (2) My professional programs are probably less demanding than games on the GPU and (3) I'm passing this computer to my parents in 1-2 years and they probably don't need more than integrated graphics.

Question:
How much of a performance decrease would I notice playing at 1920x1080 going from a Radeon 6850 to something like a GeForce 460 768MB?
Specifically I was thinking about trying to get a deal on something in the <$130 range ($50 cheaper than the 6850 I planned to buy) -- I've seen some of those 768MB cards in the $100-120 range recently -- and there is something in HOTDeals right now for the 460 1GB for $120.

Other pertinent information:
Quality is important too -- this card will be in use for 5 years or so. I don't want to get a "cheap" brand/card. Quiet is preferable. I am skeptical of Mail-in Rebates and would prefer avoiding them, though this may not be feasible. Main games I play or intend to play are WoW, SC2, Dragon Age, Oblivion, Civ5, perhaps Diablo3. Currently I run my 1920x1080 monitor with my laptop graphics card (256MB Quadro FX 570m) and play games on Low-Fair. Given that this is true I am at a loss to understand why people say that you need a 1GB card to run a monitor at 1920x1080 -- I'm not saying they're wrong to say that, I just don't understand it (if someone could enlighten me that'd be great).

Is it best for me to just bite the bullet and pick up the Radeon 6850 in my original build for quality/performance or would I really even notice stepping down and saving $50?

Thanks!

Edit: I should add that I do not intend to Overclock.
 
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I see no reason to not take advantage of the deal for the 1gb Gtx 460 1gb, rather than going with the 6850.

Don't go for the 768mb version though. It is not that it won't be able to handle the games you list, but you will want the 1gb for using higher resolution textures and antialiasing (and maybe more image quality stuff?)
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150505

This one's $163 after rebate.

That compares to $153 after rebate for the cheapest 1GB GTX460. The HD6850 is the better card, so I'd say the extra $10 is definitely worth it.

If we're disregarding rebates (I've heard plenty of horror stories too and I don't usually like including them for that reason), then the cheapest 460 1GB is $180, versus only $175 for the HD6850:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161348
 
Ok, thanks guys! I'll take your advice and stick to a 6850. I would jump on the deal right now with the 460 1GB but in addition to worries about rebates I'm honestly just bad at remembering to mail them in, and by the time I have the money I don't feel like I "saved" it. Plus the reviews for that specific card make me think it might be loud.

I actually found a pretty good combo deal on Newegg once I decided to take the advice in this thread: Gigabyte Radeon 6850 (great reviews) + 8GB 1333 G.Skill Ripjaws for $250.
 
That's not a bad combo deal actually, it effectively prices the HD6850 at $165, and that's a good version of the HD6850 as well, very quiet.
I actually passed the 460 1GB from Asus as because it sat among the 768MB cards when sorted by price, I assumed it was a 768MB version. Very cheap for what it is. I personally wouldn't buy it, but then I personally wouldn't buy a 460 over a 6850 either.
 
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