Which video card to buy!?

the 4850 is more then capable to play any game at very high settings at 1280x1024, is the card broken?

what is the rest of your system spec? CPU, RAM, OS?
what games are causing issues for you and what are the issues?

you certainty don't need to spend $300

I mean they sell brand new 4890s from Tigerdirect for 199$ That seams like a good solution, but I'd want like one with a real nice cooler and warranty with it, to be protected or a GTX 275 with the same stuff, for not too much less then 250.

Ok good, yeah my 4850 is broken, and not replaceable, I am upgrading my card now to a good card with a new warranty, I want a nice cooler on it and maybe factory OCED, so I don't have to worry about it, maybe something like a Diamond Radeon HD 4890 XOC. What do you think?

Current system is:

Duo Core 2 3.0Ghz
4GB 6400 DDR2 800mhz
GIGABYTE G31M-ES12L
750 Watt PSU (not a great one, had to buy a 2 molex to 1 6 pin pci-e adapter for 2 6 pin pci-e connections, for a new card I want to get, I don't want a 5770)

Why you don't take HD5750? 4890 is a good card, but still, he is a old model...And about nVidia, better go with GTX260, GTX275 is something like 5850  

Nah GTX 275 is not like the HD 5850, the GTX 470 is as good as the HD 5850. The GTX 275 is about the same as the HD 4890 actually.

ok you have a dual core CPU that will bottleneck most high end cards
your monitor is fairly easy to drive for graphic performance
you dont want the ATI 5770
stay under $250

so I would look into an ATI 4870 or GTX260. You really wont see any added value above that with your current set up. You had an ATI 4850 so I'm guessing you upgrade every 18 months or so. If you don't plan to upgrade your monitor or CPU before 18 months then the ATI 4870 or GTX260 would be the way to go.

What about a HD 4890 or GTX 275? I plan on upgrading my CPU/Mobo and ram in the next 2-3 months.

or maybe get a super powerful and super cooled down version of the GTX 260 like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

or this sweet HD 4890:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

put the $40 saved toward the new monitor fund

of the two the ATI 4890 is priced better, that being said you can certainly OC the ATI 4870 to achieve close to stock 4890 levels.

http://www.techspot.com/review/164-radeon-4890-vs-gefor...

you can OC the 4890 to like hd 5850 performance almost lol

plus it's newer technology, 1GB of GDDR5 memory. It just feels better to get it, unless I can get a GTX 275 for 200$ That would be the compromise. Either a HD 4890 or GTX 275 what do you think? I need to find and see if they sell the GTX 275s anymore

Well either that or actually to be honest I like NVIDIA better, my old Geforce 7950GT lasted me a long time and performed well at the time. I had an old Radeon 9800XT and it was garbage and the HD 4850 I have now well, it's ok, but still.. it is needing to be replaced. So looks like either a GTX 275 or HD 4890.

I don't want a new monitor I like the monitor I have and the 1280x1024 is for for me, no problems with that man.

the 4890 is a nice card and you seem to have your heart set on it

i personally prefer Nvidia because I find their drivers are more stable and the majority of my cards have been Nvidia. That being said, its clear ATI currently has the better cards.

this is the cheapest GTX 275 online
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

but for $30 you can get the GTX 465
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...

but I like the MSI GTX260 you linked, i have the exact same cooler on my GTS250.

465 is garbage, the 275 performs better at stock lol

If I have to pick it'd be between the GTX 260 216 with the real nice cooling and HD 4890, but the 4890 performs a lot better then the gtx 260...and there's a definitive reason why HD 4890s are like sold out everywhere lol

I think im just going to go with the xfx radeon hd 4890, I mean the double lifetime warranty works for me, if it gets too hot over time and starts having issues, once I register it with xfx like the first day, I will be covered for it. It will be able to play anything I throw at it with ease at 1280x1024. It even performs better then the gtx 285 on more then some tests!

But now to pick the right one, I kind of want one with a real nice cooler on it and maybe factory overclocked.

Check out this one from Diamond:

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-4890PE51GXOC-Radeon-256-B...

or this CYCLONE one from MSI:

https://www.eio.com/p-2253-msi-r4890-cyclone-oc-radeon-...

decisions, decisions...

I think I'll be safe just getting the XFX HD 4890 from Tigerdirect for 199$, I am covered double lifetime warranty anyway.

Never buy card for overclocking, overclock only if you need it....

If you think upgrade you'r CPU don't buy 4890, Buy 5770 or better 5850 even 5830. But don't put 4890 on high end Sys... HD4890 is good card, but is little old...

For year or two will be problem with GTX 275 and his vs/ps 4.0 and DirectX10, when engine on all games will work only with DX11 and PS/VS 5.0..

Btw, why you don't like HD5770 and HD5850?

Well I will eventually upgrade my cpu/mobo and ram but that's down the road sometime. maybe even a year. I just don't like the 5770, it's nothing spectacular. the gtx 260 and 4890s are both better then both of those anyway.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091027050...

Lool men, 4890 yes is better of 5770, but GTX260 please. Look some benchmark'
I don't understand you, you tell that gtx260 and hd4890 it's better of HD5850?

No the HD 4890 and GTX 260 216 are better then the HD 5770. The 5850 is very nice but 300$? I'm good with spending that much to upgrade on a 1280x1024 resolution. The HD 4890 seams to be the best choice. Just to pick which brand, cooler, etc.

About HD 4890 yes it's better, but GTX 260 i realy don't know. In some benchmark 260 is better, in some 5770 is better. But between these two, i think 5770 is better buy (maybe im wrong, i don't know)...

Why you don't look for HD5830?
HD5830 is between HD5770 and HD5850...

The HD 5850 is 300$ the radeon 4890 is 100$ less and almost as good performance! I def don't need the hd 5850 for my resolution and the HD 5830? The HD 5830 and HD 4890 are close in benchmarks and the hd 5830 is a bit more expensive.

The HD4890 is the best for the money as you get equal performance with the HD 5830 on just about everything for 30$ less.

thanks for the advice, ill certainly place it where it belongs....now where did I put my trash can???