Best vid card for light gaming and heavy HTPC movies under $200 ???

[Mfusick]

hey guys,

One last piece to my build.

I need a video card. My budget is $200 or less. $150 really... lol.

I will probably upgrade this card in 12 months time and use it for a HTPC when I do... so it will live on.

I need a card that can do HTPC duties with ease... and do some light gaming.

My current new build is:

CoolerMaster COSMOS II Ultratower Case
OCZ Vertex3 MAX IOPS 120GB SSD
Intel 2600k i7 CPU (Will OC it)
Asus Z68 LGA1155 DELUXE motherboard
G.SKILL RIPJAWZ X series PC12800 1.5v 1600mhz 4x4GB (16GB total DDR3)
RoseWill Lightning Series 1000watt PSW
2 Velociraptors RAID 0
5 WD Green 2TB
2 Samsung F4's 1TB
2 Samsung F3 1TB
Asus BluRay Writer
Asus BluRay Reader
WD USB 3.0 external 3TB

That probably all you need to know for now...

I need a matching performance video card for light gaming and heavy movie playback and HTPC use.

Under $200 for sure. $150 or less is best.

Help me please!

 

[Mfusick]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131378

PowerColor AX6870 1GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
17% off w/ promo code HARDOCPX111C, ends 1/17



vs



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150521
XFX Double D HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Thoughts?

is the top powercolor model the best value and performance for $150 ?

It only has 2 year warranty... but I will live comfortably knowing it if dies after that and I am screwed. does not scare me at all.

On other hand.. the XFX double D is about same price with Lifetime warranty. Is the warranty worth $10 ? Is the performance the same?

 

[Termie]

Just to be clear, the HD6870 is absolutely far more power than you need for your purposes. You could easily use a $50 card. Something like this would work: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102934

Now, if you still want to spend this much, you've found a good card. But the PowerColor is $50 less after rebate/shipping/code, so it's no contest between the two. Just get the PowerColor.

 

[RavenSEAL]

HD 6870 will do anything you throw at it within reason.

 

[SystemPlue]

should have directed some funds more into GPU instead of the CPU/mamaboard combo?
but ya my old 5870 holds up really well even on a old Q6600 setup -_-