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Price to Performance Question (GTX 460, 5850, 6850)

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Last response: November 13, 2010 2:07 AM in Graphics & Displays

maxwellwa

November 12, 2010 7:55:24 PM

I am looking to purchase a video card and want to maximize my value by snatching the best card at the most advantageous price. It really is an interesting time right now, with the introduction of the 68xx series putting the pricing of all models of GTX 460 1gb as well as the 5850 series in flux. As I have read the reviews, the 6850 was probably the best value of the three at its LAUNCH pricing of around $180.

However, the 6850 has ballooned to over $200 in current pricing, at the same time premium models of the GTX 460 (such as the MSI Hawk version) AND 5850 have occasionally dropped in price to as low as $189.

Question:
Looking at the market as it is today, is finding a 5850 for approximately $190 a better value than a 6850? Would a mid to high end GTX460 (MSI Hawk, an overclocked EVGA version) offer a better solution than the 5850 or 6850?

Of course some personal factors that may weigh in on this: I am putting together an AMD computer (crossfire, no sli) and am looking to play WoW, Diablo3, Dragon's Age, Civ5 type games.

More about : price performance question gtx 460 5850 6850

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Frizzo

November 12, 2010 9:57:42 PM

if your power supply is strong get the 5850 over the 460.

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mattimeo005

November 12, 2010 10:23:57 PM

the difference in performance between the cards is fairly minimal, which is reflected in the pricing, and you will be able to play any of the games you cited (who knows about D3...its years away anyways). So in the end it comes down to the extra features and personal preference.

the 5850 is probably the "best" card overall, but the nVidia has games that are optimized for their cards, so if you like to play "The Way Its Meant To Be Played" games, then you will find better performance from the GTX460.

considering that you will not be able to SLI, i'd definitely go with a Radeon card, and probably the 5850 for the better price/performance ratio.