Anothe BBFTB (best bang for the buck) thread

[Sho'Nuff]

I'm looking to update my video card to take advantage of the eye candy in the nice new games that are coming out (Farcry 2, Fallot 3 etc.). Typically I just buy whatever happens to be the best single card solution out there (regardless of cost), but seeing as how I am using my computer less and less for games, and that I only game at 1680X1050, I am thinking about being more cost concious this go around.

That said, what card is currently the BBFTB for gaming at 1680x1050, and which should let me turn all the sparklies on in the upcoming generation of games? Nvidia is strongly preferred, as my nforce Mobo generally doesn't play well with ATI/AMD or whatever its called now.

Oh, and here is my set up:

C2D 6600 at 3.2 GHZ
2GB ram
Nforce 780i
SB X-Fi
NEC Multisync 20WMGX2

 

[RussianSensation]

9600GT/8800GT/9800GT ~ $100-125

For a little more muscle and better AA performance 4850 ~ $150

 

[zod96]

8800GT, they can be had for as little as $100 if you look around the web. The 8800GT will play just about any game with max AA/AF at 1680x1050. The only game it would suck at is crysis. But no card plays crysis well anyway

 

[Zstream]

8800gt but I would get the 4850 as it can be had for roughly 20-30$ more.

 

[bryanW1995]

yeah, I got my 4850 for $140 AR and sold my used 3870 for $100. that doesn't leave much room for a new 8800gt, and for the difference in AA performance at 16x10 I think it's a no-brainer to go with the nicer card.

edit: whoops, I missed the part about "nvidia preferred". I still think that the 4850 is simply too much better than g92-based cards for you to consider those older ones, but if you must go nvidia then 8800gt is probably your best bet.

 

[wbynum]

You can currently get the eVGA 9800GTX+ for ~$155 shipped at TigerDirect after $30 rebate and 12.5% MS cash back. It's a good alternative to the $150 ATI 4850's deals. I see a lot of people saying the 4850 is a better card but the benchmarks on the various websites show it to be a toss up. For me, I opted for the 9800GTX+ today. The fact that it was a eVGA as opposed to something like a Sapphire and that it had a decent dual slot cooler made the difference for me.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
yeah, I got my 4850 for $140 AR and sold my used 3870 for $100. that doesn't leave much room for a new 8800gt, and for the difference in AA performance at 16x10 I think it's a no-brainer to go with the nicer card.

edit: whoops, I missed the part about "nvidia preferred". I still think that the 4850 is simply too much better than g92-based cards for you to consider those older ones, but if you must go nvidia then 8800gt is probably your best bet.

QFT. The 4850 is so much better with AA and considering the price disparity between the 8800GT and 4850, in the long run it would be better to go the 4850.

 

[MarcVenice]

Originally posted by: zod96
8800GT, they can be had for as little as $100 if you look around the web. The 8800GT will play just about any game with max AA/AF at 1680x1050. The only game it would suck at is crysis. But no card plays crysis well anyway

8800gt suffices for 1680*1050 with AA/AF turned up? You've got to be kidding me? I bet you can't crank up WiC all the way with aa/AF at 1680*1050, nor Conan, doubt you can in Far Cry 2 or Fallout 3. You're out of your mind. A HD4850 is going to struggle at 1680*1050, aa/af turned all the way up together with all the eye candy in Far Cry 2 and Fallout 3.

If he prefers nvidia, he should look for a 9800gtx+, as long as it comes for $160ish, more then that, and you should get a HD4850 for $150 or less.

 

[bonecrusher]

Originally posted by: wbynum
You can currently get the eVGA 9800GTX+ for ~$155 shipped at TigerDirect after $30 rebate and 12.5% MS cash back. It's a good alternative to the $150 ATI 4850's deals. I see a lot of people saying the 4850 is a better card but the benchmarks on the various websites show it to be a toss up. For me, I opted for the 9800GTX+ today. The fact that it was a eVGA as opposed to something like a Sapphire and that it had a decent dual slot cooler made the difference for me.

+1 hehehe

 

[Wreckage]

8800GT @ $110 or so. After that 9800GTX+/4850 but the extra price % does not = performance %

 

[Jax Omen]

@Marc: I dunno. I have I G92 8800GTS, and I've only encountered 3 games I can't max out at 1920x1200 (a step above the OP's resolution, mind you): Crysis, Lost Planet (in DX10 mode only), and Supreme Commander (I have a dualie so I'm severely CPU limited).

To be fair, I haven't played Conan nor WiC due to lack of interest. However, if I can max out things like UT3 and Bioshock (UE3), Devil May Cry 4, and DX9 Lost Planet at 1920x1200, he should be fine with an 8800GT at 1680x1050.

 

[andrei3333]

my 8800 GTS 512 maxes out crysis at 16x10 with 2xaa (my pc is OCed though)