Looking for suggestions - budget video card

[Super56K]

It's been a little while since I posted around here, but I've always remembered that this is a very helpful board so I've come to get suggestions about what the best value for me is.

Here's the PC specs -

Windows XP 32-bit
AMD x2 BE-2400 mobile CPU (stock)
640gb WD HDD
4gb ddr2 pc6400 (3.25gb recognized)
Foxconn 780g m-atx mobo
Using onboard graphics Ati HD 3200
HP 22" LCD monitor 1680x1050 resolution
Antec Earthwatts Powersupply (I think 380 watts)

So that's my computer. I built it up around fall of last year when those BE-2400 chips were $25, and I pieced together the rest of the computer around it for little money. I'm using an older Antec case I had sitting around. I can't remember the model name, but it's fairly generic and somewhat small.

So that pretty much means I'm in the market for a lower profile, lower power consumption video card, but I still want to get something that could run games at 16x10.

Would a GTS 250 be overkill for my system? Or, on the other end a Radeon 4670 not be powerful enough? I honestly just want to do some catch up on the games of the past few years, and run it at the native 16x10 resolution.

I've come across Tom's Hardware's March 2009 Best value guide which rates the 4670 highly for this month on the budget end. Would around $57 shipped after rebate from Newegg be a smart buy for a HD 4670 card? I'd really prefer to spend as little money as possible, but I understand that if I go too cheap I'll regret it so any suggestions here are welcome.

 

[mazeroth]

That's a dual core CPU, right? You'll probably want to OC it a little bit to help you out if you get a new video card.

I'll let others chime in with opinions as I don't know much at all about the low or mid video cards currently out.

 

[Super56K]

Yeah, I forgot to include the x2 part of it, but it's in there now.

 

[KikassAssassin]

The 4670 is a good budget card for lower-resolution gaming, but you'll probably want something a bit more powerful for 1680x1050. Something too much more powerful would likey be bottlenecked by your CPU, though.

The Radeon 4830 might be a good choice. It's going for under $100 now (as low as $80 with mail-in rebates), and it's a very fast card for the money.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

The 4650 to the 4830 is as far as i would go. Anything else and you'll itch to upgrade your CPU real soon.

I'd go with the 4650/4670 and call it good. Get one on the cheap.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Agreed. 4650s and 4670s are cheap enough compared to even the 4830 to still be good deals. The 4830 does offer significantly higher performance, but it's around $30 more expensive than the 4670 (a decent amount more when we're talking about $50 or $60 video cards). Furthermore, it's larger, hotter, and requires an auxiliary power connector.

 

[WildW]

My old rig that I had last year had the same processor, I think - Athlon X2 BE-2400, stock is 2.3 GHz. I had a 4670 and it's pretty much okay for 1680x1050, at least for the games I was playing - nothing much "new" but older stuff up to and including Oblivion ran fine. Even at the stock 2.3GHz though the CPU was a bottleneck - overclocking to 2.8 gave me a significant gain.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

You should try to get the HD4830. I game a 1280x1024 with my HD3850 (equivalent to the HD4670) and there are some games where I miss more GPU power (like Far Cry 2 and Crysis). The HD4830 will give you better AA and overall performance over the HD4670. And considering games are becoming more multithreaded, all you have to do is drop in a triple or quad core Phenom at some point to instantly get even better performance.

But what games, specifically, do you look forward to playing?

 

[Super56K]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far everybody.

cusideabelincoln - What I'll definitely be playing are games I've recently acquired, but can't really play them well right now which are - The Witcher, Left 4 Dead, and Bioshock.

The Witcher and Left 4 Dead will be no problem with a minimal upgrade, but Bioshock will require a bit more horsepower I'd guess. After that maybe Fallout 3 if I can find it cheap enough.

Overall I tend to prefer RPG's over the intense FPS games.

 

[Super56K]

I think I'm going to aim for a HD4670 GPU. Looks like a good fit for what I have. I decided to wait a little over a month before I buy (to let my college semester finish out) so I'll keep an eye out for exceptional bargains on GPUs, but if nothing amazing pops up I'll probably spend the ~$60 on a 4670 in late April.

Thanks for the help everybody!

 

[Leyawiin]

Are you in the US? If so this is a pretty good deal after rebate:

http://shop4.frys.com/product/...rsL-rlBFuirosJmcliSFgg

Or this - kind of a neat cooling solution:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814125259

As the others have said the HD 4670 would be a good option for your CPU and PS capacity.

 

[octopus41092]

4830 for under $100, for a little more a 4850 or even a 4870 if you're willing to shell out for it.

 

[kmmatney]

The HD4830 really is a great bang for buck. If your willig to overclock some (just moving some sliders in the CCC driver) then you can easily get HD4850 performance. It will easily allow you to play at 1680 X 1050, with some headroom left for AA. My worry would ne that the HD4670 will be just "good enough" but won't give you much head room for the future. If you don't upgrade often, then I think it's worth it to get a little more than you need right now. The card I have is down to $75 after rebate:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102822

While the HD4670 is comparable in the "bang-for-buck" the HD4830 has a lot more bang, at stock, and WAY more bang is you move a few sliders in the driver.

 

[way2fast91]

Originally posted by: kmmatney
The HD4830 really is a great bang for buck. If your willig to overclock some (just moving some sliders in the CCC driver) then you can easily get HD4850 performance. It will easily allow you to play at 1680 X 1050, with some headroom left for AA. My worry would ne that the HD4670 will be just "good enough" but won't give you much head room for the future. If you don't upgrade often, then I think it's worth it to get a little more than you need right now. The card I have is down to $75 after rebate:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102822

While the HD4670 is comparable in the "bang-for-buck" the HD4830 has a lot more bang, at stock, and WAY more bang is you move a few sliders in the driver.

Ditto, I paid $120 for my 4830 about 6 months ago and am totally satisfied. I played through Fallout3 with it on my old setup (2 Ghz athlon, 2 GB ddr) and loved every minute (although my single core cpu bottleneck became apparent immediately). I currently use it for L4D with the setup in my sig and play with everything maxed, chews it up and spits it out. I am running it at 690/900 btw.

 

[Super56K]

I want to thank everyone for the help on this!

I've got a Sapphire HD 4830 out for delivery today! After cashback and rebate it will be ~$80.

In preparation I put an OCZ 500w StealthxStream power supply in that I've had stored away since last year.

I also overclocked my CPU from 2.3ghz to 2.7ghz (235x11.5) about a week ago without bumping any voltages. Everything seems to run smooth with no crashes while gaming using the on board video (oc'd that as well), and the highest the temp has gotten on the CPU is 42 celcius. It looks like the placement of the fan and it's larger size on the OCZ power supply may bring it down a few degrees as I'm noticing my idle temps are a little lower with it. (antec only had a rear 80mm fan, OCZ has 120mm fan sucking air up through the CPU heat sink)

Now the UPS man just needs to hurry up and get me my card!