super cheap video card recommendation?

[birthdaymonkey]

I'm thinking of putting a video card in the GF's computer so that an extra friend can join in SC2 matches when people come over to play video games. Her monitor is 14x9. Machine is an Athlon X2 5200 on an old nForce board with 2 GB of RAM, and I won't bother with this scheme unless I can do it for extremely cheap (which would mean no RAM/CPU upgrades). Medium/high graphics would be fine. I'm in Canada if anyone knows of any deals to be had up here.

 

[Powermoloch]

WE could use the full specs of her machine before we can make a suggestion. Also price?

 

[OCGuy]

Can you define "Super cheap"? Also, that game is very CPU dependant.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

Specs:
Athlon X2 5200+ (dual core @ 2700MHz)
2 GB DDR2 800
ASRock NF6P-VSTA (nForce 430)
OCZ Fatality 550W PSU
Cheap case, which I at least keep clean
Windows 7 32bit

I know the game is CPU dependent, but I played through the single player game on a 5200+ with 4GB of RAM and an HD 3650 (low or medium, i forget which, but I wish I hadn't sold it when I upgraded to a GTX 460), and it was fairly playable. And one of the dudes who plays with us makes do with a Core2 laptop with an 8400GM. "Super cheap..." would prefer $50 + shipping max, or maybe $70 if there's a great deal to be had.

Can it be done?

 

[blanketyblank]

I'd aim for a 5670 for around $50 or a 460 768 for around $100.

 

[toyota]

a 5570 or 5670 is cheap and makes sense. anything much faster would probably be held back at 1440x900 by that cpu in SC 2 anyway. that cpu is about like a Core 2 duo at only 2.0.

 

[OCGuy]

Honestly for that price range I would try and pick up a used card from a reputable seller, or a new 5670 which will meet your budget after mail in rebates at newegg.ca.

 

[-Slacker-]

An hd 5670 or a gt240 if you can't find the former within budget.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

So it sounds like a 240 or a 5670. How would these cards compare in performance? Newegg.ca has a Zotac for pretty cheap:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...-137-_-Product

AR the price would be just about $50 for that one.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

8800gt

 

[gregoryvg]

At 14x9 resolutions this should be more than adequate: Sapphire Radeon 4650 512MB $44.99/br:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814102829

 

[birthdaymonkey]

Wow, that 4650 is cheap. Would it be significantly worse than the GT 240? A Google search reveals that the 4650 *should* run medium settings at 14x9.

Someone's posted a used 9800 GT for $60 plus shipping on Hardware Canucks. I'm going to see if I can get it for 60 shipped, or at least haggle a bit. A 9800 GT should be more than enough for SC2 if I can make that work.

 

[happy medium]

Wow, that 4650 is cheap. Would it be significantly worse than the GT 240? A Google search reveals that the 4650 *should* run medium settings at 14x9.

Someone's posted a used 9800 GT for $60 plus shipping on Hardware Canucks. I'm going to see if I can get it for 60 shipped, or at least haggle a bit. A 9800 GT should be more than enough for SC2 if I can make that work.

The 9800gt is a good choice, the 4650 is crap.

 

[Leyawiin]

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814131381

HD 4830 would be a pretty good match for the CPU. I think it would be the strongest card in your price range.

I built a PC from old upgrade parts for my sister and used an X2 5200+ for the build. The only thing I needed to buy was a video card and I got an HD 4670 for it. It works great for WoW and LotRO at medium/high settings on her puny monitor.

 

[-Slacker-]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-504-_-Product

The 5670 should be slightly faster than a 4830 and about as fast as a 9800gt

 

[gregoryvg]

Wow, that 4650 is cheap. Would it be significantly worse than the GT 240? A Google search reveals that the 4650 *should* run medium settings at 14x9.

Someone's posted a used 9800 GT for $60 plus shipping on Hardware Canucks. I'm going to see if I can get it for 60 shipped, or at least haggle a bit. A 9800 GT should be more than enough for SC2 if I can make that work.

The 9800GT would be a good deal. Get that if you can!

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I think my first choice would be the 9800... the guy hasn't gotten back to me about that yet. The 4830 looks like a decent fall back plan though. $60 with no rebate hassle/uncertainty.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

Just closed the deal on the 9800 GT. This is my first time buying from an online forum; hopefully it goes smoothly... (I'm a bit nervous.)

 

[TurtleCrusher]

I am currently gaming on a 4830 and it plays all games (including SC2 and Bad Company 2) at 60fps or more at mesium settings at 1680x1050. Adding AA and/or high or ultra settings is hit or miss.

The 4830 is much better that the 8800gt in overclockability results. I can oc to 725mhz core (an 150mhz) overclock if i need to. Read reviews and see stock 4830s beat 8800gt OC cards.

Also i'd buy a new 4830 than a used and possibly abused 8800gt.

I am however upgrading to a new midrange card to play all games on high with AA.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I am currently gaming on a 4830 and it plays all games (including SC2 and Bad Company 2) at 60fps or more at mesium settings at 1680x1050. Adding AA and/or high or ultra settings is hit or miss.

The 4830 is much better that the 8800gt in overclockability results. I can oc to 725mhz core (an 150mhz) overclock if i need to. Read reviews and see stock 4830s beat 8800gt OC cards.

Also i'd buy a new 4830 than a used and possibly abused 8800gt.

I am however upgrading to a new midrange card to play all games on high with AA.

Yeah, like I said I'm a bit nervous, but the 9800 GT was only 60 bucks shipped, which would be about 20 cheaper than the 4830 after taxes and shipping. I figure it's worth a shot.

 

[toyota]

Yeah, like I said I'm a bit nervous, but the 9800 GT was only 60 bucks shipped, which would be about 20 cheaper than the 4830 after taxes and shipping. I figure it's worth a shot.

I would rather have a faster brand new card for just 20 bucks more. just seeing the dumb crap some people do with their pc is enough for me to stay away from used components.

 

[s44]

If it's got the PSU for the 4830, go for it.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-504-_-Product

The 5670 should be slightly faster than a 4830 and about as fast as a 9800gt

Not the case, really.

The 5670 is slightly above the 9600gt. The 9600gt is about 15-25% slower than the 9800gt. Considering the 4830 bests OC'ed versions of the 8800gt, the 4830 is a much better buy. The exception is Far Cry 2, which might just be memory bandwidth constrained across architectures.

I spent a month comparing the 9600gt, 8800gt, 8800gts and the 4830 before I bought. At $60, the 4830 cant really be beat. If it was $100, it would not be on anyones list.

 

[-Slacker-]

^13 months old benchmarks. The 5670 had 4 direct performance increases since then, while the 9000's didn't.

Every recent discussion I've seen on the internet puts the 5670 right below the 9800gt.

edit: oh, doesn't matter...

 

[RavenSEAL]

5670!

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2121739&highlight=