Anyone recogmend a new card for me?

[stewrt]

Hey all,

I think I may be due for an upgraded video card. I'm getting my arse kicked in COD4.

I'm currently using an Nvidia 8800 GTS with 364 MB ram. That is about 2 years old.

My budget is just under $200 and I'm wondering if an upgrade is appropriate with my budget, or what is available that would really best what I have. I've been away for awhile and all the models and Mfg's #'s are confusing the crap outa me.

Also I want to play the new Modern Warfare game when it comes out next month.

Thanks for any and all help,

Stu

Specs:
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6700 2.66 GHz
Memory: 4 Gigs of DDR 2
HHD: Raptor 300 Gig
MB: Intel BX2
Vid: 8800 GTS
Monitor: Samsung 226BW 21"
OS: Win 7 64 bit

 

[latch]

If you don't care for directx 11, you should consider a GTX 260 (NVidia) or 4870 (ATI).

If you want to spend a bit more (and can find them) + to get a bit more longevity (DX11) out of your card, the new 5850 might be the right choice.

 

[latch]

Oh, and to answer your question about whether its even worth to upgrade, check out the comparison between them using Tom's Video Card Chart. (the unnamed one is supposed to be a 260..not sure why it isn't showing up properly).

In my opinion, an upgrade would definitely be noticeable.

 

[crisium]

The Radeon 5770 for $159 is nice because you get DX11 and very, very low power consumption (saves you a bit of cash in the long term). It is undoubtedly slower than the GeForce GTX 260 or Radeon 4870, however. The best performing card you can get for that price range is the Radeon 4890, but it is not DX11 and has very high power consumption.

Here's the general performance ranking of that range:

1. Radeon 4890
2. GTX 260 / Radeon 4870
3. Radeon 5770

Power consumption ranking
1. Radeon 5770
2. GTX 260
3. Radeon 4890 / 4870

I'd get this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127430

$30 more than the cheapest 4870 1GB, but it's slightly faster thanks to a factory Over Clock. You might not make back $30 in power consumption ever, but it does indeed use less than a 4870 or 4890. It's not quite 4890 performance, but it's reasonably close thanks to its OC. It costs less than a 4890, and uses less power. You also get Physx support if you wanna get one of those games.

DX11 support if truly the only wildcard here. If you want it, then the 5770, while good for 1680x1050, is still a bit slower than the other cards you could get. Ponying up to the Radeon 5850 gives you better performance than anything else here, but costs $259.

Here are some tests with the Radeon 5770 compared in Call of Duty WaW (more demanding than CoD4, less than Modern Warfare 2). You wanna pay attention to GTX 260 and Radeon 4890 whenever they are there. Only look at the 1680x1050 results, of course.

http://www.techspot.com/review...eon-hd-5770/page4.html
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com...gb-gddr5-review-9.html
http://www.hexus.net/content/i...php?item=20670&page=10
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardwa...adeon-hd-5770-review/9
http://www.pcgameshardware.com...-Range/Reviews/?page=3

GTX 260 seems very nice. Modern Warfare 2 is only DX9 anyway.

 

[bryanW1995]

I paid $145 AR for that exact msi gtx 260 core 216 card...5 months ago. That is a poor price. You should either go value (4870 1gb ~ $135) or spend a bit more for 5850.

 

[MrK6]

I agree, that GTX260 is overpriced. For raw performance under $200, you really can't beat the 4890 @ $160 - http://slickdeals.net/forums/s....php?sduid=0&t=1614947 . If you want to sacrifice some performance (it won't be much different at 1680x1050) for power consumption, the 5770 is a great alternative.

 

[Munky]

Like others have said, the fastest card under $200 is the 4890. And unless you have a weak power supply, I wouldn't recommend sacrificing performance for lower power usage.

 

[crazylegs]

I purchased a 4890 today, want something with more beef to play COD:MW2 and 5850 are still a little pricey and hard to find in the UK. The 'Greens' will ahte me but power consumption was not my primary concern. Priceerformance is.

Also i'm building a pc for some1 re-using my 9600GT so it works out as a free upgrade for me, in a few months time (i.e. after nv release something) i will probably sell / trade the 4890 for either a more modern ATI or NV offering

 

[MrK6]

Originally posted by: crazylegs
I purchased a 4890 today, want something with more beef to play COD:MW2 and 5850 are still a little pricey and hard to find in the UK. The 'Greens' will ahte me but power consumption was not my primary concern. Priceerformance is.

The 4890 can easily be a "green" card, it just takes a little tweaking. Probably a half hour of clock/voltage testing with Rivatuner and another 10 minutes to rewrite and flash the BIOS and you're done.