$100 video card?

[rking12345678]

Would it be possible to get a $100ish video card that'll both run well on a 500w PSU and be a significant improvement over a HD 4670 going in a system meant both as a HTPC and for gaming or for that money would I be limited to something similar in perfomance? I'm trying to decide if I want to sell an old laptop of mine and if I were to do that I'd only have about $100 to spend after I upgraded my desktop's CPU, if I wouldn't be able to make a noticeable enough improvement I wouldn't want to sell my laptop. Thanks for any info.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Used 4870

 

[cschill1290]

4850's can be had on the forums for $75 or less. That would be a significant improvement over a 4670.

 

[bryanW1995]

5750

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

How important is silence? A 4870 would be good performance-wise for $100, but it would probably be too loud for an HTPC. A 5770 would be much quieter, and there are passively-cooled 5750s that offer about the same performance as a 4850. Both 5700 series cards would be significantly quieter and cooler than their 4800 series counterparts. The only thing is cost; it would probably be pretty hard to find a 5770 for $100, but a 5750 would be doable, and should be a pretty decent upgrade over a 4670.

 

[MentalIlness]

Wow OP. You typed all that, and it is only two sentences.

Just heckling ya

 

[rking12345678]

Silence isn't necessary, as long as it doesn't sound like a vacuum cleaner or something. I would possibly be able to add to that $100 but probably not much more, the number is more or less just a target I'd like to stick close to.

 

[MentalIlness]

How about the XFX 4770 ? From the reviews I have seen, it is just about as fast as a 9800GTX. 128-Bit, but uses GDDR5.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...7eEY3IyQW2zOySCQ&sa=title&ved=0CAoQ8wIwATgA#p

Review http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=25312&PageId=8

 

[blanketyblank]

For cards around $100
ATI: 5750 (120), 5770 (140), 4870 (100?), 4850(80?)
NV: GTS 250(100), 9800GTX (< 100)
For normal prices I'd go for a 5750 since it's newer than the rest and pretty close to your budget. Otherwise it really depends on what specials they have when you are buying. I've seen 9800GTX cards for about $70 before new so I'd probably get one of those before I'd get a non sale 5750. Then again I've seen 5750 for under $100 before so it's really about buying whatever is the best deal at the time.

 

[happy medium]

I've seen a used 48701gb for 100$, 4890 for 115$, a gtx 260 superclocked for 125$, 2 5770's for 110$ each, and numerous other great deals in the for sale/trade section.
Any of them cards will double your gpu power.

 

[BD231]

48xx series is the best bang for your buck in the 100 dollar range as they run everything available at reasonable resolutions and very playable frame rates. They overclock really well to boot.

If you find the cards cheap enough you could get two 4850's/4870's and cross fire for 140-160 if you want next gen performance on the cheap.