Best deal for under $200?

[broketechjunkie]

What would be the best video card to get for under $200?

Here's my current system:

C2D E6750 @ 3.2GHz
4GB DDR2-800 RAM
500 Watt Xclio Stablebower PSU
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Rev. 2.0 (PCI-E x16 1.0)
XFX Geforce 8800GT 512MB (I Have about 1.5" more space for a video card in my NZXT Apollo case)

I play at 1440x900 resolution.

What card would you choose for this system?

 

[BroHamBone]

Lol, how much are these new cards going to run? the 295's are already 500+ dollars. Go with the 260 if you really want to upgrade for little dollars

 

[dirtmountain]

Like ct1615 said, if you can limp along for just a bit longer and the new cards are released you'd probably see a better choice. If not then a HD4870 1 GB or GTX260 216 would come in under your budget. A HD4890 or a GTX 275 would probably be at the top of your budget or pushing it a bit.

 

[paranoidmage]

I agree with ct1615. Wait until October and get a Radeon 5850.

You wont get much of an upgrade now for under $200. the GTS250 is a slightly higher clocked 8800GT on smaller transistors. The small perfomance upgrade isn't worth the money.

If you really need a card, go for the 4890.

 

[broketechjunkie]

Would I have a problem with my psu and a GTX 260? It says it needs a minimum of a 620W PSU!? Also, I'm not sure if I can fit a 4870 or 4890 in my case since the power connections are at the back. The 260's power connections are on the top (side)

 

[BroHamBone]

Ya know what, dont worry bout the 260 considering "the GTS250 is a slightly higher clocked 8800GT on smaller transistors. The small perfomance upgrade isn't worth the money." I bet if you save another hundred or even keep the 200$ budget, by black friday or christmas there will be an awsome deal out there ....... Hah do what you want man.. at the beginning of the year I bought my first GTX 280(BFG OC) for $239 after MIR or something like that... about 3 months ago i bought another gtx 280(eVGA superclocked) at $214 after MIR .... now the same cards are back up around $250-$270... Just keep an eye open and watch for the deals. I myself use Newegg, TigerDirect, and Amazon to rate prices.

 

[geofelt]

Would I have a problem with my psu and a GTX 260? It says it needs a minimum of a 620W PSU!? Also, I'm not sure if I can fit a 4870 or 4890 in my case since the power connections are at the back. The 260's power connections are on the top (side)

Don't upgrade unless you can jump a couple of levels in performance, otherwise you will be disappointed. In this case, it means to something like a GTX275 or GTX260 class card. You can indeed find one of these for <$200.

But... your psu is barely adequate for your 8800GT, it has only about 24a on the 12v rails. Older style psu's had high wattage for marketing purposes, , but much of it is in the 3 and 5v rails where it does you no good.

Higher powered cards will want 38-40 amps

Newer cards will be built on a 40nm process which might require less power, so perhaps you should wait.

Otherwise plan on an extra $100 for a very good psu.

 

[pauldh]

An HD 4850 or GTS 250 is not going to max out Crysis, Stalker CS, or Supreme Commander FA at 14x9 resolution. And if you are an FSAA junkie, there's easily room to want way more GPU at that resolution.

+1 on the PSU, if it's 24A 12V forget upgrading at all without a buying new one.

Length/power connector location may indeed be an issue. A reference 8800GT is 9 inches long, but some are shorter. The GTX 260 is 10.5". A reference HD 4870 should be about 9.5", but factor extra room for the power cables.

 

[broketechjunkie]

What about these two cards?

XFX 4870 1GB Stock

HIS IceQ4 4870 1GB Overclocked

I love XFX and their warranty is great, but the HIS seems to run cooler and is overclocked to boot! I've never dealt with HIS. Is HIS a good manufacturer?