The Best Affordable Card?

[andylim09]

Whats a the best video card I can get with about $170?

 

[JDFan]

Around that price point would probably be the 5770 -- there isn't much competition currently in the $150 - $200 price point. (This assumes you have a PCI-e slot on the system to put it in and at least a 450W Power supply to run it (can probably run on a smaller PSU but 450 or above is recommended)

 

[Helltech]

What is your computer? What resolution do you play at? We need to know your PSU, motherboard, and CPU before we can help you.

 

[andylim09]

I'm currently gathering parts for a new PC. I will be using a:
ASUS M4A88TD-M/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

as for the PSU I think I will be getting a 550W

 

[andylim09]

Will a 5770 be able to play current games?

 

[Helltech]

At what resolution? Yes it will be able to play all current games, and it will be able to max out most depending on the resolution you play at.

 

[jerreece]

NewEgg.com has the Palit GTX 460 (768MB) for $169.99 AFTER Mail In Rebate right now. You'll shell out about $200 initially, and get your rebate back later. But the GTX 460 is a bit faster than the ATI 5770.

Helltech asked the right question though, what resolution do you play at? You may or may not need something this good.

 

[andylim09]

Hmmm...I don't know. lol. I just started to get into PC gaming. I'm trying to play mafia two and assassins creed(the latest version). What resolution do most people use? lol for asking this, but what is resolution?

 

[Helltech]

The resolution of the monitor you play on. An old square monitor is 1280x1024, where as a 24 inch LCD may be 1920x1200, or a 30 inch LCD may be 2560x1600.

The higher the resolution the better the GPU you may potentially need.

If you are on the monitor you will be using now, just right click the desktop and go to the display properties and it will tell you what resolution you use.

 

[yanje03]

Whats a the best video card I can get with about $170?

GTX460 765M is best video card you can get for $170 if you buy from online.

 

[phenom90]

gtx 460 is the way to go... i've just order my gtx 460 1gb and can't wait to see how good it is... gtx 460 is better than hd 5770... 4890.... and also gtx 275....

 

[JDFan]

gtx 460 is the way to go... i've just order my gtx 460 1gb and can't wait to see how good it is... gtx 460 is better than hd 5770... 4890.... and also gtx 275....

Yes but the 1GB. version is also $50 - $60 more than the stated budget vs. the 5770 which is $20 under that same budget so for the extra $70 it should perform better !! (and the 768Mb 460 performance is pretty much equal to the 5770 while remaining $30 - $40 more expensive)

Depending on the resolution the OP is playing at it may\may not be worth the extra investment (If using a 22" or smaller screen with say 1680x1050 resolution then the 5770 is more than enough card for his needs and fits his budget much better !)

 

[jerreece]

I can't agree with JDFan in saying the GTX 460 768MB is Equal to the ATI 5770.

GTX 460 Win

GTX 460 Win

Same performance with Metro 2033 @ 1680x1050

That's just a couple real quick benchmarks. Everything I've seen on several sites shows the GTX 460 768MB to match or beat (in most cases) the ATI 5770. Look at several reviews for yourself. What I've seen so far is that they match in some titles, and in others the 460 beats out the 5770 by 9+ FPS at resolutions like 1680x1050.

In fact, one benchmark showed the GTX 460 768MB was capable of playing Metro 2033 with DX11 @ 1920x1080 where as the ATI 5770 failed the test.

Here's a good comparison between ATI 5770 & GTX 460 768MB:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/156?vs=172

Technically, the GTX 460 768MB won EVERY FPS test in this chart. The closest they came was 1FPS difference in Left 4 Dead.

GTX 460 768MB vs ATI 5830:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/156?vs=171

 

[jeffredo]

Empty your change jar, check the couch cushions and look under your car seat for the extra $20-$30 you need for a GTX 460. It will be worth it.

 

[phenom90]

yeah... buying cheaper 5770 also meaning less performance.... if you can't afford 1gb version buy the 768mb version....