Graphics Card Recommendation

Brink · Feb 16, 2008

Hi everyone,

I was wandering what your recommendations would be for a great gaming graphics card for around the $250 mark. There are so many different models and brands out there. I would like to hear from your real world experience instead of just what's on paper.

I would like it to have at least:

PCI Express x16
DVI and analog output
512 MB GDDR3 Memory

WHY:
I upgraded to a 27.5 inch widescreen HDMI monitor and the onboard graphics with a standard analog connection just does not have the power to crankup the full potential for this monitor.

Thank you for suggestions,
Shawn

z3r010 · Feb 16, 2008

Nvidia all the way.

FightingScallion · Feb 16, 2008

My brother would recommend an ATI 3850 as the best bang for the buck these days, and many reviews actually agree. With the money you have to spend, you could wander towards a 3870. You could also (depending on motherboard) consider Crossfire 3850s, which have a few advantages.

If you do go ATI, I'd recommend the Sapphire Tech Atomic edition HD 3870, which has a very interesting cooling system that is single-slot, but is turning out better cooling values than any dual slot solution. It also comes with an HDMI cable, and a converter from DVI to HDMI. If you go ATI, I'd recommend Sapphire, as they tend to take good technology and make it just a bit better (not overclocking, so much as real integration improvments).

I'm not sure about Nvidia cards, but all ATI cards in that range should come with converters from DVI to VGA and HDMI. That has been my experience with them, anyway.

I've always tended towards ATI, while my brother used to be purely Nvidia (how's that for a family civil war?). Lately, he got very upset with Nvidia's driver support, and they're mid-ranges. What I've concluded is that Nvidia makes much better high-end cards, while ATI grabs the majority of people who can't justify over $400 on a video card, but still want something respectable with good support (and yes, ATI driver support is just fine).

But, you've got lots of resources to ask on here. No doubt, you're familiar with Tom's Hardware (if not: Tom's Hardware - Computer Hardware News, Tests, Ratings and Reviews). Their reviews should help. Look primarily at the head-head comparisons. The only downside to their reviews (and most of the others out there) is that they tend to forget that not everyone has an infinitely deep wallet for GPUs.

mathews2010 · Feb 16, 2008

personally i would go with an Nvidia

with $250
i would go for an 88000GTS

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

also just kinda of curious..
whats the model # of the monitor?

hclarkjr · Feb 16, 2008

i would get a radeon 3870, there are lots of options for them at different price points.

Brink · Feb 16, 2008

mathews2010 said:
also just kinda of curious..
whats the model # of the monitor?

Mathews,

It's a Hanns-G HG281DJB.

GO BEYOND with Hanns.G - USA

Shawn

t3m0 · Feb 17, 2008

i would get the 8800gt from bfg...great quality and meets ur requirements listed above

theredraven · Feb 17, 2008

get an Nvidia 8800GTS (G92), its around 270-280$, but totally worth it as it almost outperforms most other video cards

patio furniture · Feb 17, 2008

theredraven said:
get an Nvidia 8800GTS (G92), its around 270-280$, but totally worth it as it almost outperforms most other video cards

i agree with him, yet you can get the 8800 GT and barely notice the difference between to two, cept that I've seen the GT for $220 now

Brink · Feb 18, 2008

Yeah, I was checking out some specs on the 8800 GT OC 512 MB models, and they seem to perform better than most of the 8800 GTS 640 MB models. Plus, it's cheaper. What do you think?

GeForce 8 Series

and

VGA Charts 2007 | Tom's Hardware

Rob Redbeard · Feb 18, 2008

If you get Nvidia - get a G92. The 8800GTS 512 is a great card, and sports the G92. It's a little pricey.

If you go ATI - I'd say get a HD 3870. I did, and I'm happy about it. It's great for gaming, but the 8800 GTS is better.

The difference here was that the 3870 was 1600 RMB and the 8800 GTS 512 was 2500 RMB (both with 512mb gddr4). It isn't faster at the same rate that it's more expensive. techreport.com did a great comparison of them in Crysis, UT3, etc.

patio furniture · Feb 19, 2008

well, the G92 8800 GTS performs near the 8800 GTX

z3r010 · Feb 19, 2008

Looks like the geforce9 series will be launching in a few days - First GeForce 9 series GPU to be launched on Feb 21

Brink · Feb 19, 2008

Thanks John,

I saw something about the Geforce 9, but it did not have a date on it. I will definitely wait until it is released to see what it does for the prices on everything.

Shawn

t3m0 · Feb 24, 2008

i have the 8800 gt oc with 512mb ddr3 and i love it. It can run almost any game in the market today with no problems...so i would definitely go with the gt...btw i read up on the 9 series and the 9800gx2 (or something like that) is supposed to perform 30% to 50% better than the 8800 gts, but im not so sure about the price tag

Brink · Feb 25, 2008

I found this little article on testing the Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT. It's pretty interesting.

Nvidia's GeForce 9600 GT Tested | Tom's Hardware

Shawn

NiTaS · Feb 26, 2008

I would wait till the 9800 series nVidia graphics cards come out. Honestly you are going to bang your head on the wall many times if you buy a 9600GT right now.

I recommend a 8800GT, nevermind the brand. The 8800GTS (the 320mb and the 640mb) are no longer worth the price, as they are easily trumpted by the new 512MB version. But honestly, people who bought the 640MB version were duped. The 320MB is just as good. nVidia pumped up the memory just to make is seem like it was better, when in fact the change isn't that different.

I myself am currently running a 8800GTS 320MB.. and I'm not complaining :D

Brink · Feb 26, 2008

Hi NiTaS,

Yeah, that was the feeling that I was getting. The 9600GT looks good, but the 9800's should be where the real differences come in.

Thank you,
Shawn

skunksmash · Feb 26, 2008

hi shawn....

forget the G92 GTS go with the 8800GT performs nearly aswell as the GTS (the difference is minimal) for less cash
personally i have the PNY model which i am told is a company owned by NVIDIA mine has a 5 year warantee ...this is what it will do ..STABLE ..

take care...:D

badognobisc · Feb 26, 2008

i have the 8800gtx kp 768 mg nvidia card. I am very satisfied with it. I have 2 other pc's running 8500 gt and a gs. All have performed fine. I was an ati guy for 7 years. I finally bailed out when I need ddr3 shading. If you want to keep up on the latest tech then you should grab a vid card with ddr3. Most of the games you are going to see in the future will require ddr3 or direct 10. Currently there are only a handfull of them out there but that is the way tech is leaning. Make sure whatever you do to have a good power supply and check into the warranty of the card, some do have lifetime warranties which are very nice.

Graphics Card Recommendation

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