If you had about $150 to spend on a video card what would it be?

[Hayabusa Rider]

That's subject to very little increase and I don't want to spend the money at all, but I'm going to need something better than a 5 year old card to run Evolve properly.

What would you suggest?

 

[waffleironhead]

Are you okay with rebates?
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2417078

 

[tential]

The "Save some more money and get a new card when the R9 390x/GTX980 Ti come out and push prices down card".

 

[digitaldurandal]

r9 280

 

[shady28]

What kind of PSU do you have, and does it have 2 PCI-E connectors?

Also how hard a limit is the $150?

The R9 270 / 280 series are really just rebranded Radeon 78xx and 79xx cards. Newegg has some of the original 7xxx series cards new, decent prices. This is assuming your PSU can handle it.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
INTEL CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600
AMD CPU: Athlon 64 X2 6400
SYSTEM RAM: 4GB
NVIDIA VIDEO CARD: GeForce GTX 560
ATI VIDEO CARD: Radeon HD 5770
VIDEO MEMORY: 1GB
HARD DRIVE: 50GB

RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS:
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
INTEL CPU: Core i7-920
AMD CPU: A8-3870K
SYSTEM RAM: 6GB
NVIDIA VIDEO CARD: GeForce GTX 670 or GTX 760
ATI VIDEO CARD: Radeon R9 280
VIDEO MEMORY: 2GB
HARD DRIVE: 50GB

7950 for $134 no rebate (R9 280):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161400

7870 for $114 no rebate (R9 270) :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161410

 

[Leyawiin]

Are you okay with rebates?
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2417078

This is what I'd get right now. That rebate is actually in the form of a check you can deposit instead of a "card" that just forces you to buy more stuff (and really doesn't help pay off your purchase).

OT, has anyone notice that in the last couple months Newegg has switch over to having a "VGA Replacement Only" policy for most of their video cards? You better make damn sure its the one you want when you purchase from them because you're pretty much stuck with it.

 

[Pneumothorax]

Another vote for the 280... My 2nd gaming machine in my HT has it and runs majority of my games at 1080P at max settings. Only with DAI do I have to turn down some details.

 

[Wall Street]

I recently bought a used 7970 off of EBay. Great purchase for $150 ($135 plus $15 shipping) if you are comfortable of the risk of using EBay.

 

[Plimogz]

If you're open to used and are within the continental US (always simplifies shipping) you can check out FS/T: guskline is parting from some EVGA 670 at an interesting price.

 

[lavaheadache]

If I only had a $150 to spend on a video card I would probably find a cheaper hobby =P

To be fair to the question, If I absolutely only had $150 to buy I card it would probably be a used 290 that I convinced a someone to sell me

 

[jackstar7]

To be fair to the question, If I absolutely only had $150 to buy I card it would probably be a used 290 that I convinced a someone to sell me

I was going to say the same thing. I'd watch ebay or the fs forums and try to snag a used 290 for that price. There are certainly times I've seen them go for that little and one of them should be plenty to handle that game.

 

[Plimogz]

How common can $150 used 290s be? No very, I'm thinking.

 

[Finalnight]

Another vote for the 280... My 2nd gaming machine in my HT has it and runs majority of my games at 1080P at max settings. Only with DAI do I have to turn down some details.

r9 280

Are you okay with rebates?
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2417078

Thanks guys, was originally planning on getting a GTX 960 to replace my GTX 460, but when I saw the poor memory amount and bandwidth, I ordered the newegg card deal you guys recommended. Got it today and very happy with it so far. My first ATI/AMD card since the Radeon 9500, lol.

 

[DarkKnightDude]

Enjoy it! Its awesome for that price.

 

[Captante]

If you're open to used and are within the continental US (always simplifies shipping) you can check out FS/T: guskline is parting from some EVGA 670 at an interesting price.

This is exactly what I'd do ... oh wait I already did lol!


And that 280 is a great choice ... in fact that was my option for a new card if I couldn't find the right deal on FS/FT.

 

[DigDog]

second hand 770.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I bought two of those HIS 7950 cards that were $130 FS @ Newegg a week or two ago.

Been having some reboot issue on that machine though, kinda strange. UPS software reports the PC and LCD monitor is only using 224W max, PSU is an EarthWatts 500W, with two 6-pin PCI-E power plugs.

 

[Sunaiac]

500W for 2 7950 plus the rest is probably not enough, depending on how your rails are configured.

 

[iiiankiii]

7970. 7950 280. 280x . > Nvidia 2gb GPUs. Some of the games are really using more than 2gb even at 1080.

Used, you can find those AMD GPUs at that price range.

 

[VirtualLarry]

500W for 2 7950 plus the rest is probably not enough, depending on how your rails are configured.

Sorry. To clarify, I only have one 7950 per PC, with a 500W in each PC.

 

[Mondozei]

You can get an 280 for 140 dollars on Newegg. So obviously, that one.

 

[Headfoot]

R9 280 new, or a used R9 280x or R9 290 if you can find them at the right price

 

[crisium]

Find deals for the following, in performance preference from top to bottom:

280X (7970)
280 (7950)
270X (7870)
270 (if you don't count rebates, this is sometimes the best at that bracket)

Used market opens up more possibilities. But in most cases you're looking at the same tier list as above, best case scenario someone is giving away their 290. If your PSU is crap though, you may have to settle for the 1x6pin 270. Otherwise, get the best in the list.

 

[RussianSensation]

second hand 770.

2nd hand 770 4GB is expensive, with prices closer to used after-market R9 290 is 30-40% faster. A lot of gamers have put blinders on but it doesn't change the fact that some modern games bomb with 2GB of VRAM. The reviews all show it, but gamers refuse to accept it. Considering the 770 is also miles slower than an R9 290x reference (afer-market 290), it's a bad buy even in used form.

Specifically for the OP, Evolve shows 7950 3GB > 770 2GB in beta testing.

 

[Attic]

For a rigid $150 i'd get the AMD R9 270 (non x) and be done with it.


If you can bump up $$$ at all the next ones to look at are 960 GTX and R9 280.



R9 280 requires 2x6 pin, 960 and 270 require only 1x6pin for power.