Best Budget Graphics Card ($75-$150)

[bloodspatterJM]

Hello. I wouldn't call it a "Dream PC", but I'm definitely building something that I can be proud of. Everything is in place, and I have already purchased an adequate mid-to-high-end power supply. I'd like to get back into gaming. I like FPS like black ops. I also enjoy playing Crysis 2 as well. That said, I want to be able to play all of the most current games on their highest settings / resolution (Acer 23 in. LCD monitor) without MUCH of a noticeable performance drop from some of the lower settings. This might be slightly picky for the budget I have in mind ($75-$150), but I figured if anyone knew of such an inexpensive little beast of a graphics card, it would be you guys here.

Thanks in advance!

 

[bloodspatterJM]

I thought I should mention...


The rest of my components are as follows:

AMD Phenom II 1090T Black Edition Six Core CPU

G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory

ASRock 970 Extreme3 Motherboard

Corsair Professional Series Power Supply (650w)


Like I said, the goal is to get the absolute highest performance imaginable within a budget of $75-150. I don't mind a few suggestions on the upper end of that range (if they are worth the money), but if possible i'd like to hear more about some cards that you personally know of that in the lower end of the specified range.


Thanks in advance!

 

[geekapproved]

You didn't tell us what resolution your monitor is....that's the most important factor.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fastest-graphics-card-radeon-geforce,3085.html

Keep in mind these prices have come down.

I'm going to assume 1920x1080. You would not be happy with anything less than your upper end ($150+) at that resolution for newer games.

 

[bloodspatterJM]

1900x1080 is the resolution. Do you have any suggestions for video cards that will run Battlefield 3 like a champ on very close to the highest settings at 1920x1080 (my correct resolution - I apologize for leaving that out)?

Basically, I'd like to find the absolute best graphics card money will buy for $100-$150 - keeping the future in mind (don't want to have to buy another for 2-3 years).

Thanks so much!

 

[JackNaylorPE]

< $200 I'd get the 6870 (can be had sometimes for $150)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006519&IsNodeId=1&Description=6870&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

> $200 I'd get the factory OC'd 560 Ti (900 MHz) for $215-230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006519&IsNodeId=1&Description=900Mhz%20560%20Ti&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

Double em up in SLI / CF when things get slow

 

[bloodspatterJM]

For those cards you suggested (the 6870 in particular) - how does that work? 10-15 different cards popped up, most were different brands, but they were all 6870s. What makes one better than the other, and why would the original maker of the 6870 allow different companies to piggyback off of their product?

(sorry was away from the game for a long time.. back when i bought graphics cards, I don't remember there being 5-6 different manufacturers for each model of video card.