New card time - Seeking ~$250 Recommendations, both sides

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SamuraiInBlack

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Oct 10, 2003
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$250 or less please.

I'm currently running a Visiontek HD4850 with a custom cooling solution. So I'll be looking to step up from that.
 
My budget was about what yours was and I ended up getting a Sapphire 4890, upgrading from a 3850 since I game at 1920x1200 and wanted 1 gb of vram. I'm pretty happy with the upgrade, my system is definitely a better performer with it installed. The cards are down to like 230 with some MIR deals driving them even lower, much cheaper than they were when I bought it a month ago.
 
just like in many other threads every week on here giving card suggestions are pointless without knowing the rest of his specs. OP you have been here nearly 6 years so you should know the drill. please list ALL your specs including res when asking for video card recommendations.
 
Where do you live in the world? What size monitor do you play on? What power supply do you have?

I would personally recommend a Core 216 or a 4870 1GB. They nearly perform on the same level and are well priced. The Core 216's are currently a bit cheaper, at the moment. You will need a decent quality supply with at least 36 amps.
 
rohan23 said:
Where do you live in the world? What size monitor do you play on? What power supply do you have?

I would personally recommend a Core 216 or a 4870 1GB. They nearly perform on the same level and are well priced. The Core 216's are currently a bit cheaper, at the moment. You will need a decent quality supply with at least 36 amps.
Click to expand...
dont forget other important stuff like the cpu.
 
cannondale06 said:
dont forget other important stuff like the cpu.
Click to expand...

Bottlenecks aren't a huge issue with a newer processor and a decent heatsink. I think the power supply is always the first obstacle. Most people always buy cheap higher wattage supples without looking at the efficiency and the amperage.
 
cannondale06 said:
just like in many other threads every week on here giving card suggestions are pointless without knowing the rest of his specs. OP you have been here nearly 6 years so you should know the drill. please list ALL your specs including res when asking for video card recommendations.
Click to expand...

Processor: Q9400 @ 2.66
Memory: Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) 1066 @ 5-5-5-15 2T
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L rev 2.0
Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU-1000HX
Current video card: Visiontek HD4850 512MB with Accelero S1 cooler and Scythe fan
Hard drives 1 & 2: Seagate 1TB
Hard drive 3/backup/dump drive: Seagate 500GB
OS: Dual boot Windows XP Pro SP3 and Windows 7 RC

Monitor: 24" widescreen - Dell 2407WFP
Where I live: USA.
 
rohan23 said:
Bottlenecks aren't a huge issue with a newer processor and a decent heatsink. I think the power supply is always the first obstacle. Most people always buy cheap higher wattage supples without looking at the efficiency and the amperage.
Click to expand...
but when I asked we didnt even know what cpu he had at all. if he was gaming at 1680 with a 3800 X2 or something similar than a much faster card would go to waste.
 
SamuraiInBlack said:
Processor: Q9400 @ 2.66
Memory: Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) 1066 @ 5-5-5-15 2T
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L rev 2.0
Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU-1000HX
Current video card: Visiontek HD4850 512MB with Accelero S1 cooler and Scythe fan
Hard drives 1 & 2: Seagate 1TB
Hard drive 3/backup/dump drive: Seagate 500GB
OS: Dual boot Windows XP Pro SP3 and Windows 7 RC

Monitor: 24" widescreen - Dell 2407WFP
Where I live: USA.
Click to expand...
very good system there but I would certainly overclock that cpu a bit when you go with a faster card. that psu is beyond overkill for a system that wont even hit 275 watts during gaming. 4890 or gtx275 would be your best choices.
 
You guys need to choose whether the PSU is fine or not.

Sometimes I hear people telling others they need 1200 watts for tri-sli when you can easily do it on a 750 watt PCP&C silencer.

Also, sometimes people like to make investments when it comes to power supplys. Knowing you have a 1000 watt to run anything you can stick in your system is reasurring and saves money so you won't have to buy another PSU for 4+ years.
 
cannondale06 said:
but when I asked we didnt even know what cpu he had at all. if he was gaming at 1680 with a 3800 X2 or something similar than a much faster card would go to waste.
Click to expand...

I'm gaming at 1920x1200. Or at least don't do any less than 1680x1050 if I can help it. Sorry for not mentioning specs.

cannondale06 said:
very good system there but I would certainly overclock that cpu a bit when you go with a faster card. that psu is beyond overkill for a system that wont even hit 275 watts during gaming. 4890 or gtx275 would be your best choices.
Click to expand...

I was going to do that once I get an aftermarket HSF. This will be my first overclocked processor.

rohan23 said:
Wow, why a 1000 watt power supply? Your killing efficiency, adding tons of unwanted heat and raising your electric bill. I think a single GTX 260 Core 216 or an ATI 4870 1GB should do you fine.

Core 216:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187074

4870 1GB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150352
Click to expand...

Power supply only draws as much power as the system needs. The efficiency of any PSU in the environment I'm in will be even across the board. The computer is in a room that is hot, no matter how much AC is blasting, no matter how cold it is outside. Only way that PSU is going to run cool enough to make a difference is if I basically run tubing and fans inside it to blow cold air from the A/C vent or my window, directly into the case. As for the electric bill...well, when I'm not gaming, I've got it Folding [H]ard. :D So its going to be put to full use one way or the other.
 
I'd go for the GTX280:
$240 - eVGA 01G-P3-1280-TR GeForce GTX 280 1GB PCI-E Video Card
 
That's a really excellent price for the 280. I would go for that and not look back.
 
that gtx280 is a decent price but doesnt the 4890 pretty much match its performance while using much less power? also there have been 4890 deals for under 200 bucks so that seems to make it a much better purchase than the gx280 to me.
 
This plus free shipping, plus a nice quiet cooler, plus you have an intel chipset = win.

I have had the 285, 295, and they just didn't cut it running @ 2560x1600 (not to say 2x4890's will be better), but the 4890 in CF was best for my current setup and resolution
 
cannondale06 said:
please tell me how that is a better deal than a 4890 for 200.
Click to expand...

Backed by a significantly better company (all of the $200 HD4890s I've seen have been HIS cards), has lifetime warranty, comes with COD:WAW, and slightly higher performance. In addition, the price difference is only $20 as many of the "$200" HD4890 cards usually involve a MIR to drop it down to $200. In fact, even if you were to factor in the MIR for both the HD4890 cards and the eVGA GTX 280 above, the price difference is still only $20. So $20 for lifetime warranty, far better company, COD:WAW and slightly higher performance is totally justified.

Thus the GTX 280 is the far far better deal.
 
Danny Bui said:
Backed by a significantly better company (all of the $200 HD4890s I've seen have been HIS cards), has lifetime warranty, comes with COD:WAW, and slightly higher performance. In addition, the price difference is only $20 as many of the "$200" HD4890 cards usually involve a MIR to drop it down to $200. In fact, even if you were to factor in the MIR for both the HD4890 cards and the eVGA GTX 280 above, the price difference is still only $20. So $20 for lifetime warranty, far better company, COD:WAW and slightly higher performance is totally justified.

Thus the GTX 280 is the far far better deal.
Click to expand...
sounds good enough to me then. :cool:
 
Danny Bui said:
Backed by a significantly better company (all of the $200 HD4890s I've seen have been HIS cards), has lifetime warranty, comes with COD:WAW, and slightly higher performance. In addition, the price difference is only $20 as many of the "$200" HD4890 cards usually involve a MIR to drop it down to $200. In fact, even if you were to factor in the MIR for both the HD4890 cards and the eVGA GTX 280 above, the price difference is still only $20. So $20 for lifetime warranty, far better company, COD:WAW and slightly higher performance is totally justified.

Thus the GTX 280 is the far far better deal.
Click to expand...

Still not very convincing since both 280 are hd 4890 Toxic retail for the same price but toxic is a good 13% faster and is newer tech.
 
im in the same boat.
i have a q6600
8gb of ram @ 5-5-5-12
8800 ultra
corsair 620hx
4 x 1tb wd black drives
2x burners dunno what to go to, or to hold out for the next gen card, and if i do get a gtx 285/295 will i need a new psu?

jesus 8 years :O
 
juicy said:
im in the same boat.
i have a q6600
8gb of ram @ 5-5-5-12
8800 ultra
corsair 620hx
4 x 1tb wd black drives
2x burners dunno what to go to, or to hold out for the next gen card, and if i do get a gtx 285/295 will i need a new psu?

jesus 8 years :O
Click to expand...

no, the 620 is a beast
 
juicy said:
so what would blow my pants off coming from a 8800 ultra? :p

a 285 or 295?

i have a 37" westy that i run @1900x1280

play my games at the same rez
Click to expand...
not unless you had that Q6600 overclocked to take full advantage of a gtx285 and most certainly the gtx295.
 
as cannondale mentioned, you would be come more cpu dependent due to your higher resolution. open up that q6600 to 3.4+

pending on your mobo juicy....b/c honestly an 8800 ultra is still no slouch, my youngest bro still rocks 2x8800 ultra SC in SLi @ 1920x1200 and hasn't had any hiccups in the latest games.

But for a single card solution, you will definitely be "more" blown away by the 295 then the 285....can't say that I was all that impressed w/ the 285 as I literally made it crawl under 2560x1600 resolution
 
yang88she said:
as cannondale mentioned, you would be come more cpu dependent due to your higher resolution. open up that q6600 to 3.4+

pending on your mobo juicy....b/c honestly an 8800 ultra is still no slouch, my youngest bro still rocks 2x8800 ultra SC in SLi @ 1920x1200 and hasn't had any hiccups in the latest games.

But for a single card solution, you will definitely be "more" blown away by the 295 then the 285....can't say that I was all that impressed w/ the 285 as I literally made it crawl under 2560x1600 resolution
Click to expand...
well at higher res he would actually be less cpu dependent. the problem is that a stock Q6600 will not keep the very strong gtx285 not to mention gtx295 fully fed even at 1920x1200.
 
doh, maybe I got that mixed up as I had always thought that it would be more gpu dependent @ lower resolutions and cpu dependent @ higher resolutions?
 
yang88she said:
doh, maybe I got that mixed up as I had always thought that it would be more gpu dependent @ lower resolutions and cpu dependent @ higher resolutions?
Click to expand...
yeah thats backwards. the higher res you go the more gpu dependent you become. of course when you start adding powerful cards especially in sli/crossfire setups a lot of the load can shift back to the cpu no matter how high the res. it just depends on the actual cpu and gpu(s) being used in a given situation.
 
yang88she said:
as cannondale mentioned, you would be come more cpu dependent due to your higher resolution. open up that q6600 to 3.4+

pending on your mobo juicy....b/c honestly an 8800 ultra is still no slouch, my youngest bro still rocks 2x8800 ultra SC in SLi @ 1920x1200 and hasn't had any hiccups in the latest games.

But for a single card solution, you will definitely be "more" blown away by the 295 then the 285....can't say that I was all that impressed w/ the 285 as I literally made it crawl under 2560x1600 resolution
Click to expand...

its at 3.2 right now i guess i could try and push it more.
 
I'm currently running a Visiontek HD4850


I'd just keep that and learn not to let the money burn a hole in your pocket.
 
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