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Best graphics card for ~150

C

cnjmorris

Member
I recently purchased a Core i5-3570k and ASRock Z77 Extreme 4

It was my intention to use my old Radeon 4830 graphics card but I can't seem to get it to work and I'm thinking I'll go ahead and purchase a new one.

I do NOT need top of the line graphics, I do not play above 1920 x 1080 in games. I play Warcraft, Diablo III, and my wife has been getting into some Skyrim.

Is this a good card?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150642

(XFX Core Edition FX-785A-ZNL4 Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card)

I would like 256 bit, 1gb or more gddr5, pci express 3.0 with a core clock at or above 850... so this meets that check list but I honestly don't know performance wise if I could get a faster 128bit pci express 2.0, etc.

Also what kind of performance boost does crossfire offer? If I picked up a second of these in the future and hooked them up would that compare to just spending extra cash for a better solo card?
 
A Radeon HD 7850 is great at that price, much better than Nvidia's next best alternative, the Geforce GTX 650 Ti. I will say that it would probably be worth it in the long run to scrounge up a little more money to get the 2 GB version of the 7850, as games will increasingly use up more RAM in coming years. But for the $150 price range, that's great.
 
The 7850 1GB is an acceptable card for 1080p but - like Red Hawk mentioned - you would be better off with a 2GB card if possible.

There are a couple at newegg for $175 after rebate.

Of course, then it's only a small step up to the 7870 2GB GHz edition cards that are about $200 after rebate...
 
Shame Amazon isn't comparable... I've got about $90 in GC there that would make 'finding' the extra a bit easier. Guess I have some thinking to do. =)
 
Red Hawk said:
A Radeon HD 7850 is great at that price, much better than Nvidia's next best alternative, the Geforce GTX 650 Ti. I will say that it would probably be worth it in the long run to scrounge up a little more money to get the 2 GB version of the 7850, as games will increasingly use up more RAM in coming years. But for the $150 price range, that's great.
Click to expand...
Would games in the future need 2Gb even for 'average' settings (low aa) at 1080?
 
Red Hawk said:
A Radeon HD 7850 is great at that price, much better than Nvidia's next best alternative, the Geforce GTX 650 Ti. I will say that it would probably be worth it in the long run to scrounge up a little more money to get the 2 GB version of the 7850, as games will increasingly use up more RAM in coming years. But for the $150 price range, that's great.
Click to expand...


The games he mentioned RedHawk he doesn't need 2GB video card.

I say grab a 460 1GB for 120ish .........or ATI equivlant.... These cards will pownz those games you mentioned....
 
I'd bag a used 6950 or 6970 from for sale forum. ~150 shipped should be doable. Save you tax and you can spend the GC on future purchase.
 
The Alias said:
a 7850 would demolish a 6950/70 anyday
Click to expand...

As a previous owner of a 6950 2GB XFX (it's now in my bro's CF setup), and someone who's installed a few 2GB 7850s, I can attest to this. Maybe not 'demolish' per se, but one great thing is that the 7850 is a lot less hot/loud than a 6950/70.
 
Arkaign said:
As a previous owner of a 6950 2GB XFX (it's now in my bro's CF setup), and someone who's installed a few 2GB 7850s, I can attest to this. Maybe not 'demolish' per se, but one great thing is that the 7850 is a lot less hot/loud than a 6950/70.
Click to expand...


Better for tessellation too.
 
Rvenger said:
Better for tessellation too.
Click to expand...
Not as big an issue since you can curtail tessellation in AMD's drivers, but hey, why not get all the bells and whistles with the new model. 🙂

The 7850 is the way to go, and springing for a 2GB @ 1080p is money well spent.
 
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