Budget card around 200 USD

[rivman]

I'm looking for a card that can handle the next 4 or so years games
I like playing call of duty and civilization V and will get battlefield 3 when it comes out
i heard these game depend on the CPU more and just require that the GPU just supports the tesselations
here are some graphics cards i have thought about:
Radeon 5870
GTX 560 Ti(when price drops)
Radeon 6850
Radeon 6870
Crossfire/SLI-yes
Overclock-yes
have any more suggestions tell me
oh P.S my CPU is going to be a Intel i5 2500k

 

[jyjjy]

The HD5850 for $150 is the best you can do for $200 or less.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=199805
Otherwise you'll really need to spend $230+ for a GTX 560 Ti or HD6950 for a card that is worth the extra cash.
That HD5850 also overclocks extremely well. I've seen it get up to 1ghz on the core in reviews which is a 38% increase over reference.

 

[Timop]

If you're including the 560Ti, then add the 6950, its already $210AR.

It really depends on your monitor, but your games do seem very CPU intensive and not very much on the GPU. I would say maybe even a 6850 would do fine depending on your resolution. But since you want some longevity, the 6950/560TI are smart choices.

 

[Timop]

The HD5850 for $150 is the best you can do for $200 or less.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=199805
Otherwise you'll really need to spend $230+ for a GTX 560 Ti or HD6950 for a card that is worth the extra cash.
That HD5850 also overclocks extremely well. I've seen it get up to 1ghz on the core in reviews which is a 38% increase over reference.

Thats actually a great deal. Funny thing is I just saw the exact model going for £98(~$160) in the UK, .

 

[rivman]

i'm playing my games at 1366x768 i dont do a lot of AA and just some af
like my textures at high or extra
i heard the 6850 is better in some benchmarks than the 5850
and since the 6850 has a clock of about 790mhz i think it has a lot of headroom for overclocking

 

[Timop]

At that resolution, the 6850 would last you for years. Especially with the games you're playing.

 

[rivman]

Would you recommend a brand or any additional details...

 

[jyjjy]

i'm playing my games at 1366x768 i dont do a lot of AA and just some af
like my textures at high or extra
i heard the 6850 is better in some benchmarks than the 5850
and since the 6850 has a clock of about 790mhz i think it has a lot of headroom for overclocking

The HD6850 is better in some benchmarks but the vast majority have the HD5850 faster on average by about 10%. The HD5850 also starts at 725mhz and has more overclocking headroom. There's not much reason behind getting an HD6850 when the HD5850 is $150 really.
That said either of them are actually overkill for your resolution. If you would like to save a bunch of cash this HD4850 should do very well at a low resolution like yours and is only $50 after rebate($80 before);
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150482

 

[shrkbay]

6850<5850<6870<5870<560<6950, probably if you will OC 6870 will beat the 560 non-OC and 5870, both 5850 and 6850 have huge OC potential and will reach 5870's levels

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The Gigglebyte 900 Mhz 560 Ti was $215 last week on newegg (now $240) ... watch for the MIR's and sales again. I OC'd my son's 900 MHz Asus 560's to 1000MHz w/o having to touch the voltage.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363

Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite, COD-MW, Bad Company 2, Dirt 2, Far Cry 2, Metro 2033, Dawn of Discovery, Crysis Warhead. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) for the various options in parenthesis (single card / SL or CF) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card - CF or SLI:

$155.00 460 (314/592) $0.49 - $0.52
$155.00 6850 (371/634) $0.42 - $0.49
$190.00 6870 (434/701) $0.44 - $0.54
$245.00 6950 (479/751) $0.51 - $0.65
$285.00 6950 Frozr OC (484/759) $0.59 - $0.75
$240.00 560 Ti (455/792) $0.53 - $0.61
$335.00 6970 (526/825) $0.64 - $0.81
$240.00 560 Ti - 900 Mhz (495/862) $0.48 - $0.56
$335.00 570 (524/873) $0.64 - $0.77
$500.00 580 (616/953) $0.81 - $1.05
$725.00 6990 (762/903) $0.95 - $1.61
$700.00 590 (881/982) $0.79 - $1.43

 

[shrkbay]

do not compare the cards' prices in the past, compare them now.