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Best video card for around $200.00?

R

Robert1

Junior Member
I'm looking to upgrade (currently have a 7600GT after my 8800GTX burned out)... I can spend about $200.00 on a card... what would be the best bet?

Or, if you happen across this post and you have a good Heat record and are selling a good card for around 200, please PM me


I'm interested in new or used

(Edited to change amount I can spend)
 
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New or used? I think you're close to 4870/260GTX territory there. Although, I don't think you'll get a 260 216 for that price, and the 4870 is faster than the 192. This is used btw. If you want new, you're looking at something like a 5750 or 5770. I don't think there are any nvidia offerings in that range right now.
 
right now 5770 is really the only choice at this price. It's performance is roughly equal to the 4870 and GTX 260, but it uses less power and newer features (DX11).
5770 usually hovers around 145 though so you have to wait for a good deal to get it at 125 or under. 5750 hovers around 125 and with a deal you can get it for around 100.

Unfortunately the assesment doesn't really change much at $200 except maybe 5830 is an option now. It's a little faster than a 5770, but I don't think it's worth the price difference at $200.
 
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Here are your choices:

Under $100: 250GT or HD4850 or slower.
$150: 5770
$200: 4890
$300: 5850

There simply isn't a viable mainstream product at the $200 level, and the pickings at 150 are likewise slim. Yes, the 5830 can be had for $200 AR/abing, but we're talking 10% faster than the 5770 while using more juice than a 5870. So not worth it.
 
5770 at $150 or if you don't care about DX11 a 4870 1 GB used for under $100. The 5830 is a lousy power-sucking heat-spewing stack of sheets (same with the GTX 465).
 
nonameo said:
New or used? I think you're close to 4870/260GTX territory there. Although, I don't think you'll get a 260 216 for that price, and the 4870 is faster than the 192. This is used btw. If you want new, you're looking at something like a 5750 or 5770. I don't think there are any nvidia offerings in that range right now.
Click to expand...

GTX 260... is $200 on Newegg... $175 or so after rebate.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150438

HD 4890 is the strongest right at $200. HD 5770 a bit slower and cheaper with DX11 support if that's important to you. This is a good one already OC'd and the ultra durable cards have pretty solid components:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125327

On the Nvidia side there isn't much to choose from and nothing with DX11. This is a good GTX 260:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127464

Any of those mentioned will give you a nice boost over an 8800 GTX. I'd probably grab the HD 5770 if I were in the market right now.
 
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MagickMan said:
I hate seeing someone spend that kind of money on a non-DX11 card. When OCed the 5770 is darned close and cheaper still, even though it won't be fast enough to run all those DX11 features at high resolutions and playable frame rates.
Click to expand...

Addendum to your quote. But still, at the $150-200 price range it is still pretty much a no brainer.
 
I know the 5830 got blasted in reviews but when it's on sale for $200-$210 it's actually a pretty good card and there are 2 in that price range on Newegg right now.
 
In [H] review, http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/02/25/amds_ati_radeon_hd_5830_review/ , they found that the 5830 (and at $200 is approaching a decent price) can generally play at higher resolution or with higher IQ than a 5770. If that is worth the price difference is up to you.

Other options include you finding used (or good deals) on 4870/4890 and GTX 260/GTX275.

As for new and at similar prices (or a tiny bit more expensive) I think I would go for either the 5770 or the 5830.
 
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I would definitely still go for the HD 4890. If the HD 5830 goes to around $200, then it becomes a good choice as well.
 
Also, the 4890-vs-5830 argument becomes moot when you include the used market. A used ~$130-140 4890 slaughters everything else at that price range.
 
Of course, if you can grab a used 4890 or GTX 275 for $140, then by all means that would be the best choice. I haven't seen too many for that price, though. Most people are trying to get $180+ for theirs.
 
You could probably get a GTS 250 although that isn't what I call an upgrade other than in the cooling department maybe.
 
Now that's a thought. If you can find two GTS250s or 4850s (1gb version) for around $100 and your motherboard supports CF or SLI, your PSU is up to snuff and you don't mind input lag or microstutter you could get roughly GTX275/280 performance for $200.
 
v8envy said:
Now that's a thought. If you can find two GTS250s or 4850s (1gb version) for around $100 and your motherboard supports CF or SLI, your PSU is up to snuff and you don't mind input lag or microstutter you could get roughly GTX275/280 performance for $200.
Click to expand...

This is a great idea. I got a used 4870 512MB for $85 shipped a few months back on the fs/ft forum here, so you miiiight be able to snag a pair of those for under $200. I don't think that's an easy deal to find, though.

But yeah, basically you're looking at somthing in the ballpark of a 4850 and 4890, performance-wise, for this price bracket.

Here's Tom's Hardware's GPU hierarchy chart (updated every month):

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-geforce-radeon,2646-7.html

They say that you'll want to upgrade to a card that's at least 3 tiers higher than your reference to get significant gains. So, with that in mind, you can see that the SLI/CF of 2 4850/gts 250 is going to give you the best performance in your price range. Also, you can see that, with the exception of the SLI/CF situation, you won't be able to get a setup that's very significantly faster (3 tiers higher) than your old 8800 GTX, but that any of them will still be faster. The question is, even though the 5770 is faster, cooler, has more features, etc than the 4850, you have to ask yourself if it's worth nearly double the cost.
 
yasasvy said:
Apparently, there is a huge sale going on at dell. You might want to check that out. It might be out of your price point but the best deal is evga GTX 480 for $364 before taxes. A 5770 is $140 before tax, but I am not sure about Visiontek's support and products.

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2070020
Click to expand...

Damn, wish I was in the US, id get myself another 4870.

Anyway, the OP's best option for a $200 is a 4890 or 5830.
 
Don't know the prices in the U.S. but what about a 5750CF ?

Could be around 220,- and deliver 5850 performance, provided you are willing to deal with CF.

Is your mainboard capable of running CF at least x8 ?
 
NoQuarter said:
I know the 5830 got blasted in reviews but when it's on sale for $200-$210 it's actually a pretty good card and there are 2 in that price range on Newegg right now.
Click to expand...

The problem with the 5830 at that price is that it's still 33% more money than a 5770 for about 10-15% more performance. I think $200 is still a bang for the buck price point, so that makes it a bit undesireable. And when you factor in the power consumption (to some that's important) it's another knock against it.

But the problem is that the $200 price point is a big hole in the market in general. Nvidia has nothing worthwhile (a 5770 gives you GTX260 performance and DX11 while being cheaper, so I wouldn't consider the GTX260 a good buy). The 5830 is ok, but not really a great option for the reasons I mentioned above. Nothing really worth while in my opinon between the 5770 @ ~$150 and the 5850 @ ~$300.

OP, I'd get a 5770 and overclock it if I was in your shoes. You'd save a few bucks and still get a decent card.
 
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