[Solved] Graphics up grade

hello every one =) im looking for the best possible graphics card that cost less than 200$ any suggestions? here are my specs. i have one PCI E x16 slot version 2.0

as of now the hardware i have is
- 8gb drr2 ram
- i think i have a 600gb hard drive
- Ati Radeon HD 3450 which was stock probly like 2 years old..
- 600 watt psu
- vist 64 bit

here are the ratings for my computer

processor 5.9
ram 5.6
graphics 4.0
gaming graphics 4.1
hard disk 5.9

thanks for reading and let me know what u guys think. :bounce:

Reply to karl1234

Could you please give details of your CPU, model, clock speed, number of cores etc. If you don't know this off your head, use CPU-Z (google).

Also, could you detail the resolution of your monitor, this is important.

Based off what you have already given, i will go with something like a 6870 or a GTX 560Ti, however this could change based on what your answers to the two questions above are.

a HD 6850 should fit well in ur budget, but depending on ur gaming resolution and CPU, u might not even need it

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ True Malaysia
Malaysian Fact
LittleGreg:Core i5-2500,8GB ddr3,MSI P67A-C45,Sapphire HD6950 1GB,3TB Total HDD,Xigmatek NRP-PC602
Lappy: Athlonx2QL62, 4GB ddr2, HD 3200 IGP
Reply to greghome

Hey guys thanks for the replays. any ways i have an intel core 2 quad CPU @ 2.40GHz 2.40Ghz at least thats what it says lol. and the current resolution on my monitors is 1280x 1024 i run two of these they are the stock dell monitors u find in schools. but im planning on getting this monitor.
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/ [...] 2739wm.htm

and here is a link to the case i have
http://www.pacificgeek.com/product [...] 75492&P=F.

let me know if u have any more questions. Thanks =)

Reply to karl1234

greghome wrote :

a HD 6850 should fit well in ur budget, but depending on ur gaming resolution and CPU, u might not even need it

Which HD 6850 would u recommended?

Reply to karl1234

U could try this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130564

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to RobisssLV

RobisssLV wrote :

U could try this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130564

seems like a solid card with good reviews. have u used it before?

also on this card what do the ratings on the box mean ? (SC/SSC/FTW) and do they make a difference?

Message edited by karl1234 on 02-15-2011 at 10:45:13 PM

Reply to karl1234

I say get a 6850, like this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125348

As for you question about the 460, those letters just refer to different speed ratings such as Super Clock, and For The Win!. Basically EVGA just overclocks stock cards and assures you that they will run at those speeds. They are physically the same as other reference cards, so they are simply charging you for the factory overclock if you don't want to overclock the card yourself.

ok thanks for the reply s so so far ive come down to these cards

http://www.nvidia.com/object/produ [...] em-us.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

let me know what u guys think and if u know of any better cards plz let me know.

Reply to karl1234

I highly suggest getting a 5850 for a $200 budget.

I'm not sure how flexible your budget is, but for under $210 with shipping and $176.99 after rebate I suggest this ASUS:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

There is also a DIAMOND 5850 for $194.99 however it doesn't come with power adapters, and may be of lesser quality to the ASUS.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by matteumayo on 02-17-2011 at 02:41:48 AM

Reply to matteumayo

matteumayo wrote :

I highly suggest getting a 5850 for a $200 budget.

I'm not sure how flexible your budget is, but for under $210 with shipping and $176.99 after rebate I suggest this ASUS:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

There is also a DIAMOND 5850 for $194.99 however it doesn't come with power adapters, and may be of lesser quality to the ASUS.

i defentaly want to stay under 200$. how come u prefer this card over the ones i posted above?

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by karl1234 on 02-17-2011 at 03:02:08 AM

Reply to karl1234

karl1234 wrote :

i defentaly want to stay under 200$. how come u prefer this card over the ones i posted above?

The 5850 will get you the best performance for the money, however depending on what you want in the card, you could save money and get a less powerful card, like the 460 or 6850.

6850 is actually rather close to the 5850, but it doesn't have as much raw power.

Although the 6850 is highlighted, you can see the 5850 is quite bit more powerful than the other cards listed.

The 5850 (imo) is definitely worth the extra $10-$20 over the 6850 or 460, and the DIAMOND is a good choice as long as you have two 6-pin power connectors already.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by matteumayo on 02-17-2011 at 03:37:06 AM

Reply to matteumayo

I suggest buying this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127518

MSi's Hawk cards have superior cooling. Also, some overclocking can save money and get you better performance. If you decide to get this, or the 5850, make sure your case has enough space, because these are LARGE cards.

Reply to Vulkkan

matteumayo wrote :

The 5850 will get you the best performance for the money, however depending on what you want in the card, you could save money and get a less powerful card, like the 460 or 6850.

6850 is actually rather close to the 5850, but it doesn't have as much raw power.
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/HIS/Rade [...] erfrel.gif

Although the 6850 is highlighted, you can see the 5850 is quite bit more powerful than the other cards listed.

The 5850 (imo) is definitely worth the extra $10-$20 over the 6850 or 460, and the DIAMOND is a good choice as long as you have two 6-pin power connectors already.

ok so now ive come down to these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130571

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

out of these 3 what do u guys think?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to karl1234

karl1234 wrote :

ok so now ive come down to these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130571

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

out of these 3 what do u guys think?

Hey Karl, I have the Gigabyte 6850 HD at a stock clock, not the pre overclocked version and it's sick!
So far any game I've thrown at it is very, very smooth. Just note that in the future a crossfire of these would be an excellent route as technology grows. I'm sure the price will only continue to drop as time wears on.

Not to mention, I'm pretty sure that when I was doing this research the only card that may out perform the coolers on the Gigabyte is the new MSI Cyclone 6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] _-14127566
Great cooling! Would've grabbed one if they were available when I was making my purchase a few months back.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by hcstnfrd on 02-17-2011 at 09:16:23 AM

Reply to hcstnfrd

hcstnfrd wrote :

Hey Karl, I have the Gigabyte 6850 HD at a stock clock, not the pre overclocked version and it's sick!
So far any game I've thrown at it is very, very smooth. Just note that in the future a crossfire of these would be an excellent route as technology grows. I'm sure the price will only continue to drop as time wears on.

Not to mention, I'm pretty sure that when I was doing this research the only card that may out perform the coolers on the Gigabyte is the new MSI Cyclone 6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] _-14127566
Great cooling! Would've grabbed one if they were available when I was making my purchase a few months back.

whats up dude thanks for the replay =). anyways the gigabyte is the card that ive been leaning towards its seems pretty solid and has excellent ratings. do u know if the oc one isnt as good or something? and for some reason i feel like MSI makes cheap cards. im totaly new to this so im most likely wrong. lol in terms of brands what would u get? MSI or Gigabyte?

Reply to karl1234

Dont buy OCed cards, OC urself and save cash, but seriously there's Hd6870s on newegg around USd220 and USD200 after rebates

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ True Malaysia
Malaysian Fact
LittleGreg:Core i5-2500,8GB ddr3,MSI P67A-C45,Sapphire HD6950 1GB,3TB Total HDD,Xigmatek NRP-PC602
Lappy: Athlonx2QL62, 4GB ddr2, HD 3200 IGP
Reply to greghome

greghome wrote :

Dont buy OCed cards, OC urself and save cash, but seriously there's Hd6870s on newegg around USd220 and USD200 after rebates

ok i wont by any OCed cards but im really trying to stay under 200$ out of these two which do u prefer

http://www.frys.com/product/648086 [...] IN_RSLT_PG

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

i dont really think i need a 6870 im not really doing to much hard core gaming. mostly just wow. do u think its worth it to spend the extra 40$?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to karl1234

Best answer

karl1234 wrote :

ok i wont by any OCed cards but im really trying to stay under 200$ out of these two which do u prefer

http://www.frys.com/product/648086 [...] IN_RSLT_PG

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

i dont really think i need a 6870 im not really doing to much hard core gaming. mostly just wow. do u think its worth it to spend the extra 40$?

The first link is a GTX 460 SE. Frys.com really overpriced that-you can get the same card on newegg or tigerdirect for $139.99.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

Also, take note that it is an SE model, which is a weaker version of the original GTX 460. Also, the Gigabyte HD6850 you were looking at is out of stock. This seems to be the same model, and it's in stock:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125353

And also, MSi doesn't make cheap cards. Their cooling is top-notch. If I were you, I'd get the MSi, instead of the Gigabyte.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by Vulkkan on 02-17-2011 at 08:53:26 PM

Reply to Vulkkan

Vulkkan wrote :

The first link is a GTX 460 SE. Frys.com really overpriced that-you can get the same card on newegg or tigerdirect for $139.99.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

Also, take note that it is an SE model, which is a weaker version of the original GTX 460. Also, the Gigabyte HD6850 you were looking at is out of stock. This seems to be the same model, and it's in stock:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125353

And also, MSi doesn't make cheap cards. Their cooling is top-notch. If I were you, I'd get the MSi, instead of the Gigabyte.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

hmm i might have to go with the msi then. every one seems to thinks its awesome. do u know what the win ratings are for these two cards?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

Reply to karl1234

Here's an HIS HD 6850 for $141.95 right here.

Without a doubt the best deal at the moment.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to sartorius

TBH, if u're only playing WOW, I would go for a GeForce, Blizzard games are more Nvid-friendly

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ True Malaysia
Malaysian Fact
LittleGreg:Core i5-2500,8GB ddr3,MSI P67A-C45,Sapphire HD6950 1GB,3TB Total HDD,Xigmatek NRP-PC602
Lappy: Athlonx2QL62, 4GB ddr2, HD 3200 IGP
Reply to greghome

sartorius wrote :

Here's an HIS HD 6850 for $141.95 right here.

Without a doubt the best deal at the moment.

hmmm idk about ebay.. any other recommendations?

Reply to karl1234

greghome wrote :

TBH, if u're only playing WOW, I would go for a GeForce, Blizzard games are more Nvid-friendly

what geforce card would u recommend? and what do u think about this card?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 63938&SID=

Reply to karl1234

^Dude, that 6850s a beauty,
for WOW, u should grab a GTX 460 1GB. but then again it'll have a higher power consumption as well.

Here's my suggestion: Grab the HD6850 u've found, Grab a GTX 460 1 GB, Grab a GTX550Ti due next month if u're still willing to wait

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ True Malaysia
Malaysian Fact
LittleGreg:Core i5-2500,8GB ddr3,MSI P67A-C45,Sapphire HD6950 1GB,3TB Total HDD,Xigmatek NRP-PC602
Lappy: Athlonx2QL62, 4GB ddr2, HD 3200 IGP
Reply to greghome

greghome wrote :

^Dude, that 6850s a beauty,
for WOW, u should grab a GTX 460 1GB. but then again it'll have a higher power consumption as well.

Here's my suggestion: Grab the HD6850 u've found, Grab a GTX 460 1 GB, Grab a GTX550Ti due next month if u're still willing to wait

lol ok thanks dude i think ive made up my mind.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to karl1234

You don't even need all of these cards for games like WoW. I don't see why people think you do. It's old and ugly as hell.

The game is painfully processor based, like most MMOs. Even then it hasn't been able to use multiple cores up until Cataclysm.

Hell, even a cheapo 5670 for ~$70 can max it out above 60 frames at half the price of a GTX 460. Unless you have a monitor that has a high refresh rate, you wouldn't even notice the higher frames.

I say don't waste your money if WoW is the main thing you'll be playing.

I could understand if you were going to be playing things like Crysis 2 or Metro, LP2, and such, but just for WoW?

Reply to sartorius

karl1234 wrote :

lol ok thanks dude i think ive made up my mind.

What'd you end up with?

Reply to hcstnfrd

We are still waiting and I still hate MMOs

------------------------------ True Malaysia
Malaysian Fact
LittleGreg:Core i5-2500,8GB ddr3,MSI P67A-C45,Sapphire HD6950 1GB,3TB Total HDD,Xigmatek NRP-PC602
Lappy: Athlonx2QL62, 4GB ddr2, HD 3200 IGP
Reply to greghome

I really wanted that cyclone :[

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to hcstnfrd

hcstnfrd wrote :

I really wanted that cyclone :[

Here' ya' GO

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ True Malaysia
Malaysian Fact
LittleGreg:Core i5-2500,8GB ddr3,MSI P67A-C45,Sapphire HD6950 1GB,3TB Total HDD,Xigmatek NRP-PC602
Lappy: Athlonx2QL62, 4GB ddr2, HD 3200 IGP
Reply to greghome

greghome wrote :

Here' ya' GO
http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01027/cyclone.jpg

You just made everyone in my office look at me because i lolled so loudly...

Message quoted 1 times

Griffolion wrote :

You just made everyone in my office look at me because i lolled so loudly...

Have I ever show u this?
My Uber Barts S AMD chip that can beat any GTX 560 Ti out there

Message edited by greghome on 02-21-2011 at 11:09:53 AM

------------------------------ True Malaysia
Malaysian Fact
LittleGreg:Core i5-2500,8GB ddr3,MSI P67A-C45,Sapphire HD6950 1GB,3TB Total HDD,Xigmatek NRP-PC602
Lappy: Athlonx2QL62, 4GB ddr2, HD 3200 IGP
Reply to greghome

Haha that's very clever, here's to hoping AMD make a Homer based card one day

lol srry everyone i decided to go with the MSI R6850 cyclone=) thanks for the replays.

Reply to karl1234

Best answer selected by karl1234.

Reply to karl1234

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