Good Graphic card in 100-150$

lolstring909

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Oct 20, 2009
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Hey,

PC Config:-

Processor-Intel C2D 2.0 OC-2.5
RAM-2 gb 800mhz
PSU-450W(Kinda old 1 year+)
Motherboard- Asus P5B-MX Wifi-AP
HardDrives- 500GB Raid 1.0
Monitor- Samsung 19"

I am searching for a Graphic Card between 100 to 150$ for playing games- I normally play games(CS-1.6 :| on software mode and Track mania) at this point of time at 1024X768 cause my motherboard graphics are so bad and i couldnt play any more. My previos graphic card 6200 fried out and Then i had boards and *** so i hardly played.

I want to know which graphic card could I buy to play games like (All the nfs titles to date from mostwanted onwards - Includes shift) Fifa 10/09/07, Crysis, Fallout 3, Batman Arkhum Asylum etc. If possible at 1440 X 900 at High quility/Meduim Quility at a really good fps.

Thanks in afvance
 
The best possible card for $150 is the ATI HD 4870. However, for $10 more you can buy the HD5770, which is close in performance, but has immature drivers (which will later improve and increase frames). The new tech is easily worth the $10, especially for Direct-X 11.

Go for the HD4870 if you want 10% performance increase (THAT COULD EASILY BE FIXED LATER, THOUGH!), or the HD5770 if you want lower power consumption, less heat, and DX11/eyefinity.
 
My bad! What brand is it? An OCZ or Corsair PSU might (bit risky though..), but any other brand won't.

See, you're in a pickle. Your PSU will handle an HD4850 (if it has a PCI-E connector!), which is $100. With that $50 you might find a better PSU. But you won't need it.

Consider expanding your budget.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150441&cm_re=HD4870-_-14-150-441-_-Product
XFX HD-487A-YWFC Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$124.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Original Price: $99.99
You Save: $25.00
$74.99
($49.99 after $25.00 Mail-In Rebate Card )
 
1440x900 resolution isn't very high, but with your specific games I'd want nothing less than the 4850. The 4870 option (or 5770) is a good way to go. The ATI 4870 is a proven GPU for what you want. The new 5770 probably has great potential, but there's not a guarantee that driver optimizations will make it any faster than the 4870. It's hard to say. But it does allow for DX11 support.

My guess would be though, the 450W PSU you're using isn't going to run the 4870. The 5xxx series uses less power, but I'm still not sure it'll run the 5770. You'll also need to make sure your PSU has PCI-E power connectors as those will be needed.
 

lolstring909

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As a matter of fact i have only two power connections used which go fr my hard drives nthing else ... i was rather thinking of a 5850 as power consumption is less ... but i m not sure....... i want the 5770 cause my friends got dirt 2 in beta cause his dad was some head... nd he passed it over to me ...

What if i get a 5850 nd inrease ram frm 2 to 4 ? will that be a good option?

my motherboad has a PCI-E 2.0 slot (PSU is unbraded - UMAX UMA450)
 

brockh

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HD 5750 (4850/4770 performance with new generation optimizations) or the HD 5770 (or HD 4870 if you really have to have that extra 10% right now) are your best options really. They both sip power so I really don't think your power supply should be an issue. You definitely need to get an extra two gigabytes of memory as well.

The HD 5850 is not worth it in your system and is way out of your price range.
 

cory1234

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Go with the 4870, it beats the 5770 in most games by 10%. Only one game has dx11 support right now (battleforge). The 5770 will not be able to max out settings anyways (dx11 features like heavy shadowing). Your processor is getting dated and would definitely be bottlenecking a 5850. By the time more games come out with dx11 features their will be new cards out so don't sweat it. The games will look practically the same for now, I can't tell the difference in battleforge between dx10 and dx11 (5850).
 

vjcsmoke

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Jul 29, 2009
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The 4870 is a lot more power hungry though.
If you get the 4870, you MUST get a decent 550W PSU.
And a good new PSU can easily cost $65-100.
Go with the 5770 and you probably wont have to touch your PSU.

The $10 you save on the 4870 and 10% more performance in SOME games is not worth it, plus you also forsake DX11 which is compatible with Win7 and all upcoming dx11 games.
Alien vs Predator, Dirt 2, etc.