Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > [Solved] Suggest a Video Card
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dbar532   10-17-2009 at 05:56:06 PM

Hi can any one give me advice on which video card is best suited for my pc, i'm not much of a techie, so please help

my pc specs are:
Core 2 duo E6750 2.66Ghz
M/B Intel DG33BU, 1333 Mhz
RAM Corsair 2GB DDR2 800Mhz
Western Digital HDD 320 GB, 16MB Cache
DVD Burner
PSU 500W
old busted nvidia XFX 8600GT

i checked out the prices around my place, my budget is limited to a card below nVidia 260GTX, please suggest any video card below it, also interested any equivalent ati cards

i don't mind playing in low resolutions, I usual play games with resolution 1024x768 and never gone beyond 1280X1024

but i like to play with maxed AA settings

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Best answer from coozie7
@ Debar532: Either will be a good choice but if you live in a hot climate I would suggest the GTS250, they tend to have coolers that exhaust out of the case while many HD4850s do not. Performance is very similar and you will find either a big step up from your previous card.
If it is possible to find a HD5850 within budget the get it instantly! It is faster than either the HD4850 or GTS250 and uses less power than either but I suspect it will be too expensive or just not available in your country right now.
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Bronze Graphics badge shadow187   10-17-2009 at 06:07:46 PM

ATI HD 5770. This'll be the best for you.

Reply to shadow187
Bluescreendeath   10-17-2009 at 06:31:56 PM

I recommend any one of these cards, they are all fairly good and the former will be able to max out most games at your resolution, while the latter will max out games in case you ever get a bigger monitor:

1. 4830 ~ $90
2. 4850 ~ $110
3. 4870 512mb ~ $125
4. 4870 1GB ~ $140
5. 5770 ~ $160


Message edited by Bluescreendeath on 10-17-2009 at 06:33:14 PM
Reply to Bluescreendeath
Bronze Graphics badge shadow187   10-17-2009 at 06:35:58 PM

He's running in 1024x768/12x10, which means he won't need much Vram. The 512MB he does have will go to AA/AF.

HD4850->$100
HD5770->160
HD4870->$130
HD4890->$170

Ordered by performance.

Reply to shadow187
Bronze Graphics badge shadow187   10-17-2009 at 06:39:38 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102841
SAPPHIRE VAPOR-X 100269VXL Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Original Price: $209.99
You Save: $10.00
$199.99
($179.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate Card pdf )

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161306
HIS H577F1GDG Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$159.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127451
MSI R4870 Cyclone 1G Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

$154.99
($134.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate

Reply to shadow187
era86   10-17-2009 at 06:50:12 PM

No don't go ATI! NVIDIA ALL THAT WAY!

I felt like being a troll today......

Seriously though, the 4890 perform best at that price range IMO. I would go with the 5770 just for the power consumption (I think), but the 4890 looks like the best choice right now.

shadow187 sums it up nice, so I'll post it again:

HD4850->$100
HD5770->160
HD4870->$130
HD4890->$170

Message quoted 1 times
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Intel I7 860 @ 2.8Ghz - CM Hyper 212+ - Asus P7P55D Pro - HIS Radeon HD 5850 - WD Caviar 160&320 GB - Samsung SH-S223B - CM 690 MidTower - CM 700 SilentPro
 Reply to era86
Bronze Graphics badge shadow187   10-17-2009 at 07:08:22 PM

era86 wrote :

No don't go ATI! NVIDIA ALL THAT WAY!



GTS250 -> $110
GTX260/216 -> $170
GTX275 -> $280
GTX295 -> $500

Would you like a side of, "OverPriced," with that?

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to shadow187
JackNaylorPE   10-17-2009 at 07:34:18 PM

Here's a good read on the current state of affairs:

http://firingsquad.com/hardware/at [...] page18.asp

"Depending on how often you upgrade your graphics card, the 5770 is either a good buy, or a pass in favor of the GeForce GTX 260 or Radeon 4870.

If you plan to upgrade again in 6-12 months, you’ll probably want to go with a Radeon 4870 1GB or GeForce GTX 260. Thanks to their superior memory bandwidth, these cards perform better than the 5770 in today’s games, which are largely based on DX9 or DX10."

I agree....if you'll upgrade again in the next year, GTX 260 or 4870 ..... If you gonna keep longer, 5770.


Message edited by JackNaylorPE on 10-17-2009 at 07:37:07 PM
------------------------------ If a man speaks in the forest and no woman hears him, is he still wrong ?
 Reply to JackNaylorPE
dbar532   10-17-2009 at 07:36:04 PM

cant go for those newegg deals, i live on other side of the planet in asia and electronic goods are so costly here like the 260 GTX costs 11.5 grands thats abt ($250 USD) and HD 4870 is 10 grands($215 USD).

I had my eyes on that HD 4870 card, is my 500w psu sufficient ?

my psu does not have that 6 pin power connector thing, should i go for 1GB or is 512MB sufficient for my requirement?

Reply to dbar532
dbar532   10-17-2009 at 07:40:54 PM

oh please list some good manufactures of ati cards like (EVGA, XFX, MSI, ASUS for nvidia)

Reply to dbar532
obsidian86   10-17-2009 at 07:54:10 PM

xfx/bfg have the best warranties

Reply to obsidian86
Bronze Graphics badge coozie7   10-17-2009 at 08:11:14 PM

If you are going to stay at the 1280x1024 resolution (or below) I would say the cards being suggested are really a little too much for your needs (and budget).
If the PSU has no 6 pin PCI-E connectors I would strongly advise you to lower your aim, the HD4870 and GTX260 both need two such connectors and powering them through Molex/PCI-E adaptors is not recommended.
As a replacement for your dead 8600, the 9600GT would be ideal but if you need more performance then look at the 9800GT or HD4830. For even more performance the HD4850 or GTS250 would be my top choices. Most of those cards need one 6 pin connector (I think some overclocked GTS250 cards need two) and there is even a low power 9800GT that requires none.
Warranty and customer support will vary from country to country but XFX, EVGA and BFG are all highly recommended.

Reply to coozie7
dbar532   10-18-2009 at 04:55:23 AM

Thanks for your advice coozie7
so to choose between GTS250 and HD4850 which is better?

Reply to dbar532
dbar532   10-18-2009 at 05:05:05 AM

should i go for 1GB or is 512MB sufficient for my requirement?

Reply to dbar532
vjcsmoke   10-18-2009 at 05:16:50 AM

Get a 5750 at that pricepoint.
It has all the next gen video card features, DX11, Eyefinity, and it performs just as well as a gts250 or 4850.

Read the Tom's review before deciding to buy old tech.
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2446.html

Reply to vjcsmoke
Bluescreendeath   10-18-2009 at 05:52:10 AM

shadow187 wrote :

GTS250 -> $110
GTX260/216 -> $170
GTX275 -> $280
GTX295 -> $500
Would you like a side of, "OverPriced," with that?


GTX275 don't cost $280


GTX275 for $205 after MIR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] rder=PRICE


The only thing overpriced the is GTX295.

Reply to Bluescreendeath
swifty_morgan   10-18-2009 at 06:13:07 AM

I gave my nephew a 512/4870 and his hardware is better than yours. He has to turn things down for certain games. The best bet with AA is a 4870 with 1gig memory, even at those low resolutions. At $140 American it's hard to beat. A GTX260 for the right price is also good. Too many people say that v-ram at lower res isn't advantageous, they're wrong.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/g [...] 0-review/1

"In our performance evaluations, the Radeon HD 5770 performed well, but didn't set the world on fire - the comparative lack of memory bandwidth severely limits the card's potential when compared to the Radeon HD 4890, which has the same engine clock as this new mid-ranged 5000 series card. What's more, we found that the card was also slower than the GeForce GTX 260-216 and Radeon HD 4870 1GB - especially when anti-aliasing was enabled - but it does manage to keep its head well above the Radeon HD 4850, though."

Reply to swifty_morgan
Bronze Graphics badge coozie7   10-18-2009 at 01:03:06 PM
Best answer

@ Debar532: Either will be a good choice but if you live in a hot climate I would suggest the GTS250, they tend to have coolers that exhaust out of the case while many HD4850s do not. Performance is very similar and you will find either a big step up from your previous card.
If it is possible to find a HD5850 within budget the get it instantly! It is faster than either the HD4850 or GTS250 and uses less power than either but I suspect it will be too expensive or just not available in your country right now.

Reply to coozie7
dbar532   10-20-2009 at 04:27:50 PM

Hi, bought the 250 gts 1gb it has a 8 pin power port( instead of a 6 pin one), but the box came with 4-pin molex x 2-to 6-pin pcie power connector, i have not installed the card yet, i just wanted to confirm if the board is powered through power connectors provided, will not harm the board in anyway?

Reply to dbar532
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