Best option for under $100

[imaurer269]

Hi I recently built two PC's and put them up for sale to see what type of demand and market I might be able to make a lil cash on the side from. I had hoped that I could just build decent everyday PC's for general use but it seems like I should have gone with gaming rigs cause that's been the main source of the replies that came in. So now I wanted to toss in a card in one possibly both if I can find some decent deals/options. Currently thinking about getting a HD 5570 @$50 or a HD 5670 @$70. Any one have some better ideas? Looking for just a entry level card for lower res monitors at low to mid settings.

Builds are:

CPU: Athlon II X3 435 2.9GHz
MOBO: BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB
PSU: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W
CASE: XION AXP 100 Gaming Series AXP100-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CPU: Athlon II X3 435 2.9GHz
MOBO: ASRock 890GM PRO3 AM3 AMD 890GX
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W
CASE: Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Also debating maybe throwing in a mid level card like a GTX 460 in the 2nd build.

 

[wiinippongamer]

At that price point the best card you could get is a 1gb 5670, though for the little price difference I'd recommend the vastly superior 5750.

 

[imaurer269]

Wouldn't the 5770 be a bit better than the 5750 for around the same price? I'm also trying to get a better understanding on which cards perform better. GDDR5 outperforms the older ddr3 and ddr2 cards correct? That's about as much as I have gathered at this point. How does the different bit sizes effect performance and when does the memory size matter? Is a 512MB 5670 GDDR5 128-bit better than a 1GB 4850 DDR3 256-bit?

Here are a few cards I have been looking at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600007801&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&CompareItemList=48|14-102-855^14-102-855-TS%2C14-102-875^14-102-875-TS%2C14-131-381^14-131-381-TS%2C14-125-340^14-125-340-TS%2C14-150-482^14-150-482-TS

What I would really like to know is anything really worth 50-90 bucks when trying to step up from onboard graphics or should I just cough up the extra few dollars and get a 5770 like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161338

 

[renz496]

Wouldn't the 5770 be a bit better than the 5750 for around the same price? I'm also trying to get a better understanding on which cards perform better. GDDR5 outperforms the older ddr3 and ddr2 cards correct? That's about as much as I have gathered at this point. How does the different bit sizes effect performance and when does the memory size matter?

you can't judge graphic card performance based on used memory type alone. you have to look the graphic card as a whole. the memory interface (bit) combined with gpu memory will determined the bandwidth. big memory size will not necessarily give you better performance. but it does help if you play on big resolution or if you crank up the game setting such as AA and AF.

Is a 512MB 5670 GDDR5 128-bit better than a 1GB 4850 DDR3 256-bit?

4850 is better. 4850 is comparable to 5750. btw i think you should take that HIS 5770. the card was very cheap after MIR

 

[imaurer269]

Yeah I think that HIS 5770 is a pretty decent deal more than likely will order that and another card in the 50-75 dollar range to see for myself how they perform. Just a ton of options have been looking at like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161315 or one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709&IsNodeId=1&srchInDesc=4670&page=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=48|14-131-381^14-131-381-TS%2C14-130-535^14-130-535-TS%2C14-150-513^14-150-513-TS%2C14-125-304^14-125-304-TS%2C14-102-870^14-102-870-TS

Really hard to pick with not a lot of knowledge on GPU's and have mainly used onboard graphics up until i got a gtx 470 with my gaming rig.

 

[imaurer269]

Best answer selected by imaurer269.