Need video card suggestion since 5850 is out of stock everywhere

[gplracer]

I am rebuilding my son's computer for Christmas. He currently has a 8800gt that will go to my younger son. He plays COD, L4D and other first person shooters. I wanted to get him a 4850 but I might not be able to get that before Christmas although I have not given up yet. What would be a good alternative to this card. His monitor runs at 1680x1050. Thanks!!!

 

[Qbah]

Perhaps a GTS250? Has the same speed as is just a bit more expensive I believe? If you're lucky, you should be able to find a cheap HD4870 which will give a significant speed increase over a HD4850/GTS250.

Personally I wouldn't bother with a 8800GT->HD4850/GTS250 upgrade as the difference is really not that big. Just remember the HD4850/GTS250 are 8800GTS512 performance-class cards, which wasn't a big step above a 8800GT.

A HD4870 / GTX260 should be the minimum jump. The HD4870s can be usually be found for a lot less than a GTX260 these days (the 512MB model for sure) and will offer a significant boost over a 8800GT.

I just took a look at newegg and most of the cards are gone there... And the price is high for what's left. You might want to think about different channels to obtain your present. FS / FT forum perhaps? Hot deals forum? I'd start there.

 

[HOOfan 1]

I am rebuilding my son's computer for Christmas. He currently has a 8800gt that will go to my younger son. He plays COD, L4D and other first person shooters. I wanted to get him a 4850 but I might not be able to get that before Christmas although I have not given up yet. What would be a good alternative to this card. His monitor runs at 1680x1050. Thanks!!!

nVidia GTS 250, 9800GTX, 9800GTX+, ATI HD5750, ATI HD4770(tiny drip down)

none is a very big upgrade from an 8800GT really

 

[gplracer]

Thanks for the responses but I messed up. I meant to say a 5850 not a 4850. You are correct the 4850 would not be enough of a jump

 

[BernardP]

Why not *wait* for the 5850? The 8800GT is still good enough for a few weeks. You can just rebuild the rest of the components and give him a home-made "voucher for a 5850 upgrade" in a nicely-wrapped enveloppe.

It's really worth living with a slight delay to get the videocard you really want.

 

[Creig]

Keep frequently checking the major online stores (Newegg, ZipZoomFly, TigerDirect, etc) as the cards keep going in and out of stock all the time. Just be fast with your trigger finger and you'll get one.

 

[lopri]

You can just rebuild the rest of the components and give him a home-made "voucher for a 5850 upgrade" in a nicely-wrapped enveloppe.

Whether that's going to work may depend on his son's age. :biggrin:

 

[Munky]

There are several 4890's available for under $200 on the web, that would be a big jump over a 8800gt as well.

 

[gplracer]

He is about to turn 13. The problem is that his 8800gt, motherboard, ram, and cpu are going to my 7 year old. This means the 13 year old will be without a video card to play the games he is getting for Christmas. I just added one to my cart at newegg but it was removed due to insufficient inventory. Man, I thought I had one!

 

[AzN]

Dang you missed it. Newegg had xfx 5850 earlier today but for $359

I think that 8800gt is fine for that resolution.

 

[T2k]

I am readying my perfectly working, very nice and powerful 4850 X2 2GB for sale (dual-GPU single card) around $200 - it handles everything up to 1920x1200 with all details and I include all cables and DVD sw suites etc.
PM me ASAP if you are interested so I won't post it anywhere.

 

[gplracer]

Thanks for the offer T2K. I just got a Diamond 5850 at tigerdirect for $309. It is in stock now!!!!!!!

BTW what cpu should I pair with this bad boy? I want the cheapest one that will not bottleneck the performance.

 

[HOOfan 1]

Do you want a Quad Core?

 

[happy medium]

Thanks for the offer T2K. I just got a Diamond 5850 at tigerdirect for $309. It is in stock now!!!!!!!

BTW what cpu should I pair with this bad boy? I want the cheapest one that will not bottleneck the performance.

Get the e5400 90$ and easily overclock it over 3.5 for a dual core.
I'd go with a cheap AMD quad for 99$ if you want a quad core.

 

[McRhea]

Newegg has 5850's and 5870's in stock right now (12/2/09, 3:10PM PST).

Newegg 5850's

*Edit* Haha, nevermind, you found one! Nice man. I agree with the CPU choices above. Solid.

 

[Arkaign]

Thanks for the offer T2K. I just got a Diamond 5850 at tigerdirect for $309. It is in stock now!!!!!!!

BTW what cpu should I pair with this bad boy? I want the cheapest one that will not bottleneck the performance.

I'd have a hard time not getting this then :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649

$119 free shipping, you get 6MB L3 and unlocked multi for super easy overclock that won't affect ram/etc. You also stand a fair chance of unlocking the 4th core.

 

[Medicius]

gplracer,

You're a good dad!

Here's a thought from my point of view:

http://microcenter.com/single_produc...uct_id=0317378

Microcenter has the Intel I7-860 for $229. They advertise that they beat newegg on CPU pricing. It's a great deal and it's what I picked up for my newly built computer. I'm not sure how it works out or if they ship online. I have a store near me (minnesota) so I was able to drive there and pick it up. I also picked up the Gigabyt GA-P55-UD4P which has worked without a hitch for me (and my tech level is average). Not trying to say the Gigabyte is better than another but your build (and I assume price) is similar to mine.

Good luck!

Medicius

Antec 1200
Antec CP-850
Intel I7-860
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P
Two HIS 5770's ("shipping" status from an online e-tailor)
22" WS LCD