1st time, looking for GPU under $200

[m00nlitblade]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the week.

BUDGET RANGE: Under $200 after tax/rebates

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (Heroes of Newerth, League of Legends, Starcraft II, Diablo III, WoW, Guild Wars 2), movies, dual screens in the near future.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: PC Power & Cooling MKIII Silencer 600W PSU, no current GPU since we're starting to actually build our rig this weekend.

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Here are the parts we have:

Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4 GHz
Gigabyte GA-z77X-UD3H ATX LGA 1155 Motherboard
Cooler master Hyper 212 Plus
PC Power & Cooling MKIII Silencer 600W PSU
Crucial M4 128 GB SSD
Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600
Coolermaster Storm Scout
Windows 7 Home Prem SP1 64-bit
DVD Writer Model SH-222


PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:Microcenter @ Tustin, CA [we live down a few blocks from one so it makes it easy to just go and pick one up]

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: Doesn't matter. Just looking for the best bang for our money

OVERCLOCKING:Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No?

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Currently set at 1280x768 but it can go up to 1360x768 (19" Samsung LCD) but looking to dual screen in the future.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: As stated before, we're building our first computer [for the girlfriend]. Looking to spend $200 or less on a decent GPU that can handle the games above. Not very knowledgeable on GPUs and seeing as how there are so many, we're turning to the community for help. Let us know if you need any additional information! =]

 

[El Tigre]

If you can push your budget to $220, this card will shred any card in this price range and your PSU would be able to handle it fine. (Please folks, sure this card runs a bit warm, but it does not run at nuclear meltdown temperatures.)

You will be able to even play Skyrim and Battlefield 3 on ultra with your current monitor. You will not need to upgrade the card for a good while too. This card from Newegg has free 2 day shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130759

 

[m00nlitblade]

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?N=4294966937

Here's a link to their selection. Reason why I want to buy from Microcenter is that they have a great return policy if anything goes wrong, I don't have to wait or pay for shipping and I have small discounts with them.

 

[Deemo13]

I'm sorta just now realizing there is sort of a gap in the $200 segment.

If the 6950 was $200, it would be perfect.

The 560Ti is like $210 if you want to push it a bit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500196

And if you're the mail-in-rebate type, this is perfect.

If you are really strict on the price, you can go with the Radeon 6870 or the GTX560:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=100006662&isNodeId=1&Description=6870&x=0&y=0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000048%20600094002%20600158457&IsNodeId=1&Tpk=GTX%20560

They both perform the same and have close to the same power draw.

 

[bigcyco1]

SAPPHIRE 11188-22-20G Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (OC Edition) $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102987#top
Free Dirt3 game coupon w/ purchase, limited offer

 

[gamerkila57]

SAPPHIRE 11188-22-20G Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (OC Edition) $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102987#top
Free Dirt3 game coupon w/ purchase, limited offer

+1

 

[Deemo13]

Lol I didn't know they brought down the 6950 again. Great price for that sucker.

 

[lycros]

If you're set on microcenter get http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0356463 or one of these http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0384844 , http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388216

After that consider getting a better monitor, she deserves it

But if you're not set on microcenter, then the cards others have linked are good (6950, 480, 560 TI, 7850)

 

[m00nlitblade]

@ Lycros - Out of those three, I'm guessing the most expensive one would be the better one?

 

[m00nlitblade]

Best answer selected by m00nlitblade.

 

[lycros]

@ Lycros - Out of those three, I'm guessing the most expensive one would be the better one?

Yes, the 560 Ti is the more powerful out of those and is a solid performer.

 

[m00nlitblade]

We actually went with the HIS 7850 IceQ x 2 GB GDDR5 GPU. They had a special and we had a few discounts to knock the price down to something in our range. Thanks for all the help!!

http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-690.shtml

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey