Upgrade from 9600gt to .... ?

[Arglebargle]

I am looking to upgrade my video card soon. Moving from a 9600GT to ....? I don't like to upgrade without getting at least a third more ooomph out of the new card. I game at 16x10 on a 20 inch screen, with a 7200cpu and 4G of ram. Single card slot only. XP now, but Win7 soon.

I'd like to know where the minimum boost is on cards for my system, so I can figure out price/performance issues. Not sure if a GT250 is enough of a boost. A 260 should be, but would the 196 shader version be acceptable? My main games like Nvidia better than ATI, but I assume the 4870s would give an acceptable performance increase? And at what point would I be wasting money on fancy cards that wouldn't help?

Oh and is there a summer price break coming up anytime soon?
Thanks!

 

[angry hampster]

4870 512 is what I would go for.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: angry hampster
4870 512 is what I would go for.

This. At 1600x1200 the 512mb 4870 will be fine.

 

[brblx]

i would go 4850 minimum, it will be a little more powerful than a 9800. ideally i think i'd go for a 1gb card like the 4870 or gtx260 (okay, .9gb). the non-216 gtx260 will still be a good improvement.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The GTS250 should be about a 1/3 boost, but you may as well go all out for a GTX260 or HD4870 as those are even faster.

 

[angry hampster]

Originally posted by: Sylvanas

Originally posted by: angry hampster
4870 512 is what I would go for.

This. At 1600x1200 the 512mb 4870 will be fine.

I use mine at 1920x1200 with no slowdowns. Was definitely a good investment.

 

[Denithor]

4870 1GB or GTX 260/216

Don't scrimp on the video ram - that's the part that will limit you the soonest going forward.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Originally posted by: angry hampster

Originally posted by: Sylvanas

Originally posted by: angry hampster
4870 512 is what I would go for.

This. At 1600x1200 the 512mb 4870 will be fine.

I use mine at 1920x1200 with no slowdowns. Was definitely a good investment.

Yea, I was suprised at how well the 512MB card runs 19x12 res. I think people get too hung up on video ram some times.

OP, 4870's are dirt cheap and would be a very large jump in performance, that's the route I'd go.

 

[Tullphan]

Wouldn't it really be a toss-up, price-wise, between the 4870 & the GTX 260 (216)?
Looking at Newegg, i've seen some 4870's cheaper by about $20-30 (single-slot) & some around the same price (dual-slot).
If one were a gamer, wouldn't one prefer the GTX 260 over the 4870 if price was the same?

 

[Arglebargle]

Thanks all, gives me a good framework for shooting at the next video card. Looks like the bottom of what I'd want is 512mb 4870s or 260-196s. Been checking the prices, and the low end for the comparable, step up 1gb 4870s and 260-216s seem to run $140-160 now. May wait for the end of the month to see if there is any more downward pressure.