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Needing to get back into the know about graphics cards
Dhalphir
don't you open that trapdooryou're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
don't you open that trapdooryou're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
Quite a lot of years ago I was pretty in the know about graphics cards (back in the Geforce 4 days), and I knew exactly what to buy to get the best bang for your buck, but since then I've pretty much only bought pre-built computers.
At that time, the best price point for efficiency in graphics cards was about $150-200. My card, a 9800 GTX, is on its way out, and I'm thinking of buying a new one, but I want to stick to that sort of "magic" price point for graphics cards, where its recent enough to last several years but old enough not to have the "latest and greatest tax" applied to it.
Can anyone recommend something, or should I continue trawling the web for graphics card roundup articles on tech sites?
edit: obviously the card I need has to be PCI-Express although perhaps that is the only standard these days?
At that time, the best price point for efficiency in graphics cards was about $150-200. My card, a 9800 GTX, is on its way out, and I'm thinking of buying a new one, but I want to stick to that sort of "magic" price point for graphics cards, where its recent enough to last several years but old enough not to have the "latest and greatest tax" applied to it.
Can anyone recommend something, or should I continue trawling the web for graphics card roundup articles on tech sites?
edit: obviously the card I need has to be PCI-Express although perhaps that is the only standard these days?
Dhalphir on
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As far as I've gathered, the ATI...er... AMD x850 is always a good bang for the buck. So, replace "x" with... what are they on now... 6? I have a 4850 from 2 years ago, and it still works remarkably well.
A quick check at memory express indicates the 6850 is around 200 bucks.
(e: And yes, PCI-e is pretty much the only standard these days. I don't think companies even make low end AGP cards anymore).
Wowsers, do you live on the moon? The 1GB versions is only about 40 dollars more from Newegg US.
That said, if the price difference is 80 bucks where you are, go with the 768 and be a happy panda.
(e: Also, the GTX 460 will be more than a minor upgrade over the 9800GTX. My card, the GTX 260 216 Core, would be a minor upgrade over the 9800GTX. The GTX460 will be a pretty significant upgrade. Probably 2 or 2.5x the raw graphics power).
He's talking Australian dollars I think.
Australian dollars are currently worth more than US dollars but retailers haven't caught up with that yet and I generally prefer not to order hardware components from overseas due to potential of failure. And it might not be $80, I think its only about $60 actually. The GTX460 768mb is $184 and the 1gb is $239.
I've been looking at several benchmarks, in none of them is the 6850 "quite a bit faster". There are certain games it has a slight edge in over the GTX460, and there are other games where the GTX460 has an edge.
I can't really comment on the power draw issue, as it's not something I've ever cared about or researched.
OK, lets say they're the same speed in games, I won't bother debating this. The 6850 is quiter, draws about 83% of the power, and is cheaper. It's still the better buy.
But the one you're gonna buy is cool too.
Haven't seen a huge increase in performance, but wasn't really expecting one given the games I play. Was mostly intended as a replacement for a failing card.
just tweaked the last few settings on Starcraft 2 to Ultra and got about 40 more FPS out of TF2.
Although, if you're happy with the GTX460, than it really doesn't matter.