Upgrade from 9800 GT ~$100

[lordfan]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week or weekend.

BUDGET RANGE: $100 after rebate.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming [Starcraft2, dawn of war 2, bad company 2(maybe bf3)], movies

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: ZOTAC 9800 GT AMP Edition 512 MB DDRJ 256 bit and Zumax 600W

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q9550@2.83GHz, 1333MHz FSB 12M
MSI P45 Neo 7519-010
2 x Kingston 2GB DDR2 800MHZ [It's 4 GB total]

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Open to suggestion. Newegg is fine with me.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: U.S.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Slight bias towards nvidia if only because this is my current card.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No. Just 1 is enough.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024. Tiny I know, perhaps something larger in the future...

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: My current 9800 has broken down and no longer works properly. I'm debating between getting a minor upgrade or just getting the same or similar card. I think my main reason for a minor upgrade vs getting the same card was for DirectX11. BF3 is looking less and less desirable so I'm not sure anymore. Needs an HDMI port in addition to DVI.

 

[ak21]

I wouldn't get the GS 450, don't think its much of an upgrade. Though theres the GTX 460 1gb for $105 in newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133394 only two bad things its PNY (haven't dealed with them so don't know if there good) and its recertified.

lol, as i was posting this it got out of stock, though just click auto-notify and try looking for a deal like that.

 

[bucknutty]

I got a pny gtx 465 that was a recertified unit. I was able to flash it to a gtx470 and have been using it now for 9 months. I don't think you will find any thing new that is better than a 9800 for around 100. Maybe a 6770 would give you a small upgrade. Your quad core needs something faster like a 5850 or a 460 1gb to really show it's potential.

 

[lordfan]

I would love to just follow your recommendation on the GX 460 if it were still available...

It sounds like my two choices are either to get another 9800 or look for some $150-200 card to be ~$100. Is that about right?

I think this is the one I had before: ZT-98GES5P-FCP.
I think I got it for $200 3 years ago and now it's still $150??? I've never really bought cards separate from the computer before so I wouldn't know but is this normal?

I'm starting to get really confused at just how many different 9800gt are out there and the huge price range of 50-150. Would I be right in saying that getting one of the sub $100 cards would actually be a downgrade?

Is there any real performance difference between http://www.amazon.com/Zotac-ZT-98GES5P-FCP-9800GT-256-Bit-Video/dp/B001B6JL4S and http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5639261&CatId=3669 ?

 

[cheezstik]

well a radeon powercolor 6770 is only $99 and it is only a tiny bit better then the 9800gt but since it is a lot newer it will have more compatibilities and all the good stuff that comes with new cards like directx11. If you want an nvidia under $100 you can get a gt440 which is $85 but it won't be anywhere near as good as your 9800gt which is equal to a gtX50. If you paid $145 you can get a 550gtx which is better than the 9800gt and a lot newer.

 

[lordfan]

HD 5670 $43

GTS 450 $100

GTX 550 Ti $110

So is the gtx 550 ti the best of these and still better than the 9800?