What Is Your Personal Favorite Video Card of All Time?

[mlcarson]

I guess the Nvidia 1080TI. I purchased it 4 years ago for $699 and it's worth more now than it was then. I'd prefer a RX 6800-XT now since I'm using Linux but certainly am not going to pay today's prices for a modest upgrade. I'd have to purchase an RX6900-XT go get any noticeable speed increases and don't want to spend $1600+ for this. So maybe wait for RDNA3 or go with the new Intel Arc Alchemist cards when they get released next year.

 

[cybereality]

Yeah, I decided I was done with Nvidia on Linux and bought a 6800 XT on eBay. It was overpriced as all hell, and somewhat slower than the 2080 Ti it replaced (especially for ray tracing) but it's rock solid on Linux and no bugs.

 

[Jelly]

I've never had a truly high end card while it was current.

I'd say my all time favorite was the 8800 Ultra I had back when I was multiboxing WoW.
Second favorite: I bought a 1070 TI Duke from a user here. Sold it for a mere 250$ in june of 2020. Man I shoulda hung onto that one lol.
Honorable mentions: 1060 6gb Asus Twin.
Lady has a 5600xt and i've got a 6600xt in mine. Got a Rx560 hanging out in my htpc. Kiddo has a 1050 TI in her rig.

 

[cybereality]

First high end card I got I think was the GTX 285. I got it used, right before the new cards came out, but for a brief moment it was the best.

But then 3D Blu-Ray came out and the 200 series didn't have the codec, so I had to sell it like a month later and got a GTX 470, which was a really nice buy.

Eventually got a second GTX 470 for my first SLI rig. I rocked this for 3 or 4 years, it was a pretty solid setup.

 

[daglesj]

Hmmm nearly 30 years of cards to go through here.

I went a long while with my old 5770 and its still in my 'tech cupboard' somewhere. I guess the next one was my RX480 that i just handed down to my brother. Did 1000 hours+ in Fallout 4 with that card no problem.

Good times.

 

[cybereality]

I was digging through the closet yesterday and I think I found a GTX 1060. Or at least the box, maybe another card is in there.

 

[Lamont]

I think when I went from a built in ATI card with 16MB to a Ti4400, that blew my mind (Along with Unreal). Since then I have been nVidia only.

 

[RS_Surge]

I think when I went from a built in ATI card with 16MB to a Ti4400, that blew my mind (Along with Unreal). Since then I have been nVidia only.

Same here. I wen't from ATI AIW Vi/Vo 32mb to TI4400 and was shocked at how much performance I gained.
I was also surprised at how much the performance gained from switching to 6800gt oc from Ti4400. Good times.

When the 8800gtx/Vista came out. I stopped pc gaming for around 5 years and got into PS3 and Xbox 360 and didn''t get back into PC scene until GTX 670 came out.
That was the longest hiatus I took from the PC scene which is around 5 years.

 

[goodrob]

Mine was probably my monster voodoo 2 card. I remember buying it just before a lan party, after it was installed i logged into an old MUD (telnet text based game) used to play and say wow look at these graphics all my friends came running over to look and promptly rolled their eyes. still to this day when i build a new gaming machine first thing I do is log into that and post screenshots for my friends

 

[mjoeTW]

Ti4600, playing Half Life or Unreal Tournament with that on my 21" CRT in 1600x1200 was perfection. Back then the idea of spending $400 on a graphics card was crazy.

 

[Saabjock]

4400Ti and a 6800Ultra

 

[Centauri]

Radeon 8500 or my current 5700 XT.

 

[She loved E]

I 've been super impressed with my lowly GTX 1060. It has a passive mode unlike the 2070 that replaced it. It's showing it's age tho... not sure how much longer it'll last but I'll probably hold onto it forever as a backup.

 

[McClintoc]

For me it would be the Voodoo 3 2000. This was the first video card I ever bought and, after putting that and a NIC into the family Compaq Presario for LAN parties, it solidified me going down the path of PC gaming versus console gaming. I would put the GeForce 6800 Ultra a close second as that was the first card that truly "wowed" me in terms of performance.

 

[PNut12345]

Radeon X800XL.

 

[DresNightfire]

EVGA 8800GT, and I have still it running strong in one of my older pc builds!

 

[madpistol]

I've maintained that my old, trusty 8800 GTX was my favorite GPU of all time, but I'm beginning to really love my RTX 3080 FE. It's become somewhat of a unicorn, and it performs so well in all situations.

BTW, that's really hard for me to say. I've also owned a Geforce 4 Ti 4200 128MB and a Radeon HD 5870, both of which were absolutely killer cards for their time.

 

[funkydmunky]

Radeon 8500 or my current 5700 XT.

This. It started slow but the full 8500 128Gb ran me for so long and kept improving over time. It lasted me my Duron 700 (pencil trick) to my P4 2.8 and held in there for so long. It was also my first dual head and had great analog out for my first ever TV-PC.

 

[ShuttleLuv]

This. It started slow but the full 8500 128Gb ran me for so long and kept improving over time. It lasted me my Duron 700 (pencil trick) to my P4 2.8 and held in there for so long. It was also my first dual head and had great analog out for my first ever TV-PC.

128mb. The card was quick no doubt, but it had a few issues.

 

[funkydmunky]

128mb. The card was quick no doubt, but it had a few issues.

When I first got it I was disappointed with the drivers and quickly returned and swapped it for a GF3 200ti (my last ti card ) but before long others had reported improved stability and I wanted the better features and 128Mb back. Worked flawlessly for after and lived long after on many builds.

 

[wtfnub]

6800GT, for price versus performance it was magic, then a 8800gtx and from there on to my 3070ti which I have now, everything I throw at it the card just keeps on eating it up.

I bypassed a few other cards but those above were the ones that stood out for me.

Forgot to add my evga non castrated 680gtx Classified 4GB, That and my 8800gtx are still running today.

 

[PNut12345]

Damn I forgot my 9800 Pro flashed to 9800 XT. I was so stoked when that flash worked and I didn’t ruin the card lol

 

[stereo55]

My 1080 Ti FTW3 ..... Still own it , runs all current games and will still do my 3 (surround) monitor setup pretty damn well .

 

[cybereality]

Wow, running Surround on a 1080 Ti? That is impressive.

 

[funkydmunky]

Wow, running Surround on a 1080 Ti? That is impressive.

Is it? Weird response.
It is a quite capable card that is probably the first true fully VR able card which is about surround rez depending on the headset. Its large memory for the time also helps.

 

[Ripskin]

Wow, running Surround on a 1080 Ti? That is impressive.

Is it? Weird response.
It is a quite capable card that is probably the first true fully VR able card which is about surround rez depending on the headset. Its large memory for the time also helps.

Agreed, I've been running EyeFinity / Surround since AMD launched EyeFinity and ran 3 1650x1050 displays for years on my AMD 5820. Then in 2011 I got my 3 24"s and somewhere around then an AMD 7970 and I have run 5760 x 1200 ever since. Kept that card till the 1080 Ti finally gave performance & value. Not all games support it so I'll run those on one screen's native resolution but if they do support it the experience is just so much better. And the card is more than capable of driving it. Now if I was pushing more than 60Hz on each screen maybe not but depending on the game I tweak the graphics for a solid image and good frame rates. GTA V Online looks great and runs an average of 50 FPS. FS2020 at medium / high settings is on average 25 to 35 FPS (not counting high altitude). COD Warzone on high / max for a few things delivers 50 to 70 FPS (depending on how hosed their latest patch is).

 

[cybereality]

Is it? Weird response.

I guess so. When I was running Surround it was a kind of crazy setup. So 3 1440p monitors, at 144Hz, in 3D. So 7680 x 1440 144Hz and double that (since it was 3D).

That took a LOT of power. Original I was on GTX 980 Tri-SLI and that was enought to hit 144Hz. Then I upgraded to GTX 1080 SLI and ran that for a while. But this may have been a unique setup.

 

[lopoetve]

I ran eyefinity and surround for a little bit. Outside of a handful of games it kinda was a gimmick that didn't seem to catch on or stick around, so I ditched it after two generations.

 

[Ripskin]

I ran eyefinity and surround for a little bit. Outside of a handful of games it kinda was a gimmick that didn't seem to catch on or stick around, so I ditched it after two generations.

Its still quite usable, but some games like it and others dont for sure. Some genre's are less friendly than others too. Regular productivity and such is another great use for it that after so many years I cant go back from lol.

 

[lopoetve]

Its still quite usable, but some games like it and others dont for sure. Some genre's are less friendly than others too. Regular productivity and such is another great use for it that after so many years I cant go back from lol.

Oh I use multiple screens, but no need to tie them together anymore. I’ve got a Neo G9 if I want super surround, but the number of games that run well on that res is limited

 

[DoubleTap]

It's my Liquid Cooled RTX 3090 with dual MORA3 rads.

Fast, cool, silent - the trifecta.

 

[cybereality]

Can't do multiple screens anymore. I used to love it, and it's nice for work, but I prefer ultrawide now (also, I have a smaller room).

 

[Ripskin]

Can't do multiple screens anymore. I used to love it, and it's nice for work, but I prefer ultrawide now (also, I have a smaller room).

When my screen's finally pack it in I will likely go ultrawide.

 

[cybereality]

Well that's what happened to me. One of my 3 monitors died. Didn't make sense to buy an old monitor to replace it, so I sold the 2 good ones and used that money for an ultrawide (plus some cash).

 

[lopoetve]

Can't do multiple screens anymore. I used to love it, and it's nice for work, but I prefer ultrawide now (also, I have a smaller room).

Too many things, especially older things, get really weird at the extreme resolutions. I love it for work, and things with the right FOV, but others… ugh. That’s why I keep a mix aroubd

 

[erek]

ATI's RV770

basically perfect from launch unlike other cards like the NVIDIA NV40 with some variants having broken PureVideo, or the R600 with broken AA-resolve in HW, etc

you could get a basically top tier card 4850 for $169 on Day 1.

don't know of any other release that was quite this good. R300 was amazing but

"As we've already explained, one card - the Radeon HD 4850 - is targeted at the sub-$200 price point." -- https://hothardware.com/reviews/ati-radeon-hd-4850-and-4870-rv770-has-arrived?page=13

(KarateBob for reference details)

 

[sabrewolf732]

The 4870 was so phenomenally good for the $

 

[TheToE!]

Voodoo 2’s and 9700 pro for me.

 

[madpistol]

The 4870 was so phenomenally good for the $

ATI's $300 card rendered Nvidia's $450 card obsolete. Then AMD/ATI hit with the HD 5870, and retook the crown uncontested for 6 months. It was a great time for GPUs.

 

[Randall Stephens]

Well that's what happened to me. One of my 3 monitors died. Didn't make sense to buy an old monitor to replace it, so I sold the 2 good ones and used that money for an ultrawide (plus some cash).

Think that helps with power usage off the video card? Most cards seem to triple idle power consumption when you hook up a 2nd monitor.