Please help a total retard pick a videocard for xmas!

T

the tin tub

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Dec 15, 2009
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Hey guys!

I'm decent with computers, but when it comes to videocards I'm at a total loss as to what I should be looking for. I'm trying to buy one for a pretty hardcore gamer, (brother) for christmas. Currently he is running an 8800GT.

He plays lots of FPS games, (Modern Warfare 2 and L4D2 right now) and can run them on medium-high settings currently but wants to get ready for BF Bad Company 2. The rest of his components are decent, (Quad core with 7gb of RAM) so the video card is the weak link. Can you guys suggest a 1gb card that he might have success with for the next run of games?

I'm willing to spend up to $250, but if theres a really good card around $300 I might just give him an IOU and pick it up on boxing day for a bit less.

If anyone can help me make his Christmas I would really appriciate it :)
 
Find a HD 5850 for around $300 and you are GOLD!!!!!

I have a XFX HD 5850, was worth every penny :D
 
If you can find it for a reasonable price, the Radeon HD 5850 is a top performer, with an MSRP of ~$270, but most retailers are selling it for $310+ due to a lack of supply and high customer demand.
 
The two retailers around me that normally have very good prices, (www.ncix.com and www.a-power.com) are both listing it for $320, which I cant really afford :( Is there something a little less heavy-duty in the $250 range that you guys can suggest? I dont expect the card to be totally top of the line, just plenty good enough to let him run BFBC2 and make it look pretty :)
 
Falling Anvil said:
4890 would be good too.
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Is that the ATI HD4890 then?

Also, what about something like this?

All I know is the model number is close to the one you guys suggested, and it also has 1GB on it, but its half the price. Is there anything bad about this card? What does the "lite" at the end mean?
 
I think the 5770 would be a decent card....its more of a mid-range card right now, if you can find a 5850 for the right price(who knows maybe by boxing day it will be on sale and in stock, o one can hope), it is a much better deal for the price....
 
None.

Wait until after Christmas so all the retailers ease away from their bullshit markups and then grab an HD 5850.
 
the tin tub said:
Is there something a little less heavy-duty in the $250 range that you guys can suggest?
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Unfortunately there isn't a 5xxx series card between the 5770 and the 5850. The 5770 is a good card, but the real question would be what resolution is your brother's monitor? If he games at 1680x1050 (22") or lower, then definitely go with the 5770. If he games at 1920x1200 or higher, then really think long and hard about the 5850. If you just can't afford it, the 4890 would be a good fallback (or GTX 275?). You might also consider an IOU and waiting for the prices to drop back down to MSRP. Stock seems to have stabilized a bit - at least its easier to find cards in stock nowadays.
 
kllrnohj said:
Unfortunately there isn't a 5xxx series card between the 5770 and the 5850. The 5770 is a good card, but the real question would be what resolution is your brother's monitor? If he games at 1680x1050 (22") or lower, then definitely go with the 5770. If he games at 1920x1200 or higher, then really think long and hard about the 5850. If you just can't afford it, the 4890 would be a good fallback (or GTX 275?). You might also consider an IOU and waiting for the prices to drop back down to MSRP. Stock seems to have stabilized a bit - at least its easier to find cards in stock nowadays.
Click to expand...

He is running at 1.920 x 1.200. Will the 5770 fall short here?

Thank you very much for the info. I think I might just give him a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig hug and a promise for xmas :p
 
Nickbaldwin86 said:
OK then second pick for me for you would be HD5770 still recommend getting a XFX card ;)
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What kind of a performance impovment will he see over the 8800GT?

And what is the advantage of XFX?

EDIT: Spent some time on google and it seems the only real difference is that XFX has a better warrenty, is that right? Therefore this would be a good buy? The other 5770 I listed seems to be the same specs, but made by Sapphire for the same price.
 
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Here is a good guide for the best video cards at any given price: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-310-5970,2491.html

Anything at or above an ATI 4870 or Nvidia GTX 260 will handle 1920x1200 in almost every game with the settings either maxed out or close to it. I would probably lean towards the ATI 5770 because its DX11 and if his motherboard allows he could run crossfire in six months time when product refreshes come out and prices drop.
 
weuntouchable said:
Here is a good guide for the best video cards at any given price: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-310-5970,2491.html

Anything at or above an ATI 4870 or Nvidia GTX 260 will handle 1920x1200 in almost every game with the settings either maxed out or close to it. I would probably lean towards the ATI 5770 because its DX11 and if his motherboard allows he could run crossfire in six months time when product refreshes come out and prices drop.
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I love you guys so much.

If you ever need any help from a systems analyst for some reason, (I work in the booze industry doing just that) I'm there for you!

Also if you need good beers or scotch I'm your man :)


Thanks so much guys. I think I'll poke around on Toms but probably get the 5770
 
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the tin tub said:
That thread seems to mostly be a big mess of people telling the OP he is an idiot. He should have just been up front about being an idiot like I did :p One or two people have helpful suggestions though. What about something like this? It was suggested in that thread.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858
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Good card but go for this version instead: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121355

Voltage tweak (you can do this on other cards, but requires warranty voiding bios mod) will let you crank it up to 11. check out firingsquad's recent review. I was impressed. BTW check out their Call of Pripyat bench! With DX11 (and same visual quality as DX10, meaning no tessellation, contact shadows, etc) it runs faster than 4890 and GTX 275 at default 5770 clocks. Not bad. Overclocking gets them ~ 15% extra frames with the V.tweak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgfQw8eqoOs
Marty: "Most amps go up to ten."
Nigel: "Exactly."
Marty: "Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?"
Nigel: "You're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?"
Marty: "I don't know."
Nigel: "Nowhere, exactly. What we do is if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?"
Marty: "Put it up to eleven."
Nigel: "Exactly, exactly, one louder."

And try to get the Phoenix cooler (this one: http://www.google.com/products/cata...ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBMQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers). Seems to cool better and lets you exhaust out of the case.
 
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I'd wait until after Christmas. The prices should go down.
 
Oh man. I just found out that my brother has a PCIe 1.1 Mobo, not 2.0. (He is using this) I know 2.0 cards work in 1.0 slots, but will he see a performance loss? If I'm not mistaken, (been doing lots of reading but I'm still a bit of a tard for sure so correct me if I'm wrong) this just limits the amount of data that can be sent between the mobo and card, right? Is this actually an issue with the 5770, or has it not saturated the potential of PCIe 16x 1.1 yet?
 
friend'scatdied said:
None.

Wait until after Christmas so all the retailers ease away from their bullshit markups and then grab an HD 5850.
Click to expand...

this.


OMG OMG OMG GO BUY THE MOST EXPENSIVE CARD THATS OUT DO IT NOW SO I CAN FEEL JUSTIFIED IN MY PURCHASE.

Ok sorry but seriously.

Your value dollar is on the 4890 or GTX260 at $160 if you can rangle one that cheap after rebates. Anything else is a waste of money until after christmas. I have a GTX275 but only because a person was nice enough to sell it to me for $165 on the forums. If you're willing to trade on the forums theres plenty of HD4890 cards and as much as I've become an Nvidia fanboy lately It is the best priced card out right now.

There is NO card out at the moment that costs $300 and is actually worth it. Prices are inflated all to hell.
 
the tin tub said:
Oh man. I just found out that my brother has a PCIe 1.1 Mobo, not 2.0. (He is using this) I know 2.0 cards work in 1.0 slots, but will he see a performance loss? If I'm not mistaken, (been doing lots of reading but I'm still a bit of a tard for sure so correct me if I'm wrong) this just limits the amount of data that can be sent between the mobo and card, right? Is this actually an issue with the 5770, or has it not saturated the potential of PCIe 16x 1.1 yet?
Click to expand...

No. I just moved from a PCIe 2.0 to a PCIe 1.1 motherboard, and there is zero performance difference.
 
I think if you're going best bang for buck... Get a used GTX 280 or GTX 285. It's faster than a 4890. However seeing as this is a Xmas gift, if it has to be new your choices are probably going to be from the list of 4890, 5770, GTX 275. You MIGHT be able to find a new GTX 280 for around 300 but obviously the 5850 is a better card if you can find it at MSRP or around 300.

NCIX has the GTX 280 for 305 but they are out of stock right now.
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=39227&vpn=01G-P3-1282-TR&manufacture=eVGA

Are you in the USA or Canada?

I see that eworld has the GTX280 for 301.
http://www.eworldsale.com/xfx-geforce-gtx-280-1gb-ddr3-pcie-20_5883_25290.html

But at that point why not just spend 10 bucks extra and get the 5850 from newegg?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150442&cm_re=5850-_-14-150-442-_-Product

The 4890 with $20 MIR is a pretty good deal if you're going that route. No DX11 though.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438&cm_re=4890-_-14-150-438-_-Product
 
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Canada. I found the 4890 for 190 at ncix, so I think I will be getting him that. Seems like the best route. By the time dx11 is the norm he will likely upgrade anyway.
 
give him the $250 IOU for a future 5850. I'm sure shortly after christmas it will take care of the entire price.
 
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Omegas said:
used
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Is that a response to my post? Yes I know the 4870x2 can only be found used these days, which is probably a good thing considering they were still retailing for $600+ as recently as this past summer. Interestingly enough, the fact that it is used does not seem to have an impact on performance... (and by performance I mean matching that of a 5870!)
 
Having just gone down this road a bit, I can tell you a few things:

The 4890 is a fine card, but an overclocked HD5770 runs just as fast, runs much cooler, is cheaper on most sites, and consumes far less power at idle.

The only thing I would recommended over it would be a GTX 275 if you can find one for around $220 or so.
 
caw2007 said:
Having just gone down this road a bit, I can tell you a few things:

The 4890 is a fine card, but an overclocked HD5770 runs just as fast, runs much cooler, is cheaper on most sites, and consumes far less power at idle.

The only thing I would recommended over it would be a GTX 275 if you can find one for around $220 or so.
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I, and as far as I know he, dont know a thing about overclocking. And couldnt I just overclock the 4890 to even faster than the OC'ed 5770 if I was going down that road?
 
the tin tub said:
I, and as far as I know he, dont know a thing about overclocking. And couldnt I just overclock the 4890 to even faster than the OC'ed 5770 if I was going down that road?
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Wow he's an avid gamer and doesn't overclock? Well it is REALLY easy to overclock video cards these days. You just go into the control panel and move the sliders to the right for MOAR speed = More FPS. If your games are unstable at the highest speeds, move the sliders back down until it is stable.

Voila, OC in about 5 minutes or less. =) I know that's the case with ATI Overdrive in CCC, I'm not sure about nvidia's overclocking solution but it's probably nearly as easy to use.

If you get the 4890 make sure to get the one with the $20 MIR.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438&cm_re=4890-_-14-150-438-_-Product

An overclocked 4890 could easily punch above its weightclass and run most single 19x12 monitors at high settings with ease.
 
vjcsmoke said:
Wow he's an avid gamer and doesn't overclock? Well it is REALLY easy to overclock video cards these days. You just go into the control panel and move the sliders to the right for MOAR speed = More FPS. If your games are unstable at the highest speeds, move the sliders back down until it is stable.

Voila, OC in about 5 minutes or less. =) I know that's the case with ATI Overdrive in CCC, I'm not sure about nvidia's overclocking solution but it's probably nearly as easy to use.
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Spiffy. So, why would I get the 5770 except for Dx11 support? If I can OC the 5770 to the speed of the 4980, why not just get the 4980 and OC *that* to even faster?
 
the tin tub said:
Spiffy. So, why would I get the 5770 except for Dx11 support? If I can OC the 5770 to the speed of the 4980, why not just get the 4980 and OC *that* to even faster?
Click to expand...

I endorse overclocking because the software these days has made it very easy and painless. Whatever video card you pick is entirely up to you.

If you're asking me to recommend a particular one, all I would say is go with the best performance for the money that you can afford. Right now the 4890 dominates the midrange for price/performance ratio compared to other offerings. All it lacks is DX11/Eyefinity but that's also true of any Nvidia solution, although people will be quick to point out the Physx support that comes with Nvidia cards.
 
vjcsmoke said:
I endorse overclocking because the software these days has made it very easy and painless. Whatever video card you pick is entirely up to you.

If you're asking me to recommend a particular one, all I would say is go with the best performance for the money that you can afford. Right now the 4890 dominates the midrange for price/performance ratio compared to other offerings. All it lacks is DX11/Eyefinity but that's also true of any Nvidia solution, although people will be quick to point out the Physx support that comes with Nvidia cards.
Click to expand...

Yeah, he dosnt, (and probably never will) have 3 monitors. And I figure by the time Dx10 is totally phased out it should be time for an upgrade anyway. I'm leaning strongly towards the 4890, and then just googling how to overclock it to a safe level and helping him with that.
 
BF Bad Company 2. is going to support DX11. Might be a bonus for him to get a card which support that. :)
 
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