Best PCIe Card: ~$260 To $300
Best PCIe Card For ~$290:
Radeon HD 5850 (Check Prices)
Exceptional 1920x1200 performance, 2560x1600 in most titles
| Radeon HD 5850 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV870 "Cypress" |
| Process: | 40nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 1,440 |
| Texture Units: | 72 |
| ROPs: | 32 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 725 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1,000 (4,000 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
With availability issues seemingly in the past, ATI's Radeon HD 5850 can now be found at the $290 price point it was originally intended to dominate, and thats exactly what it does. This card offers fantastic performance, it doesn't need a CrossFire-compatible motherboard, it sips power at idle, and it sports DirectX 11 and Eyefinity capabilities. If $300 fits your budget, you can't do better than this.
Read our full review of ATI's Radeon HD 5850 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
Best PCIe Card For ~$400:
Two Radeon HD 4890 cards in CrossFire Configuration (Check Prices)
Good 2560x1600 performance in most games
| 2 x Radeon HD 4890 in CrossFire Configuration | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | 2 x RV790 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 1,600 (2 x 800) |
| Texture Units: | 80 (2 x 40) |
| ROPs: | 32 (2 x 16) |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 850 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 975 (3,900 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10.1/SM 4.1 |
Two Radeon HD 4890 cards should, on average, perform on par or better than a single GeForce GTX 295, and will definitely beat out a single Radeon HD 5870. Plus, these Radeons cost less than either option. If you have a CrossFire-compatible motherboard and want some serious performance at high resolutions, this route is the way to go.
Read our full review of ATI's Radeon HD 4890 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
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Amazing, a nVidia card actually made the list.
Whats the best IGP?
Radeons 3300 on the 790GX chipset.. cant see intels thg on the clarkdales though
hello
HD 4860
How come there is no Radeon 5xxx mobility on the chart? I already saw a laptop for sale with 5870 onboard...
Nice to get a rough pic of mobility types in the hierarchy list.
If the low end Radeons get unusable paper features mentioned as positives over and over again like eyefinity and dx 11 (too underpowered to use) why not mention Physx and Cuda cores for Nvidia cards.
you should point out if the 4650 your recommending is the DDR2 or DDR3 version
forgot the "none" for Best PCIe Card For ~$400:
Hmm, would be nice if you threw in some nVidias too, considering not all people enjoy ATI for their own personal reasons.
There's a 9600GT on Newegg for 69.99 at the moment.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814141108
It's amazing just how the fortunes of battle can turn, just two years ago ATI were the ones getting pounded when Nvidia launched the 8000 series and had ATI's number in just about every segment and now it's Nvidia who can't see to catch a break.
There's seemingly no abrupt changes since last month (except for the comeback of 4850). You guys should also consider updating the hierarchy charts to reflect the latest mobile GPUs in the market. (That should include the latest ones from ATI, Nvidia, and although it is hard to mention, Intel too)
@notty22
Sadly, the nVidia features you speak of aren't available in the lower end of their video card segment. While it is still available on the low end card of ATI.
If you lower resolution and visual settings, eyeinfinity and DX11 can be done in low end ATI cards, sadly the same cannot be said of PhsyX and/or CUDA.
Instead of having that hierarchy chart at the end, how about putting in a bit more effort and positioning every card on a plot chart according to its performance?
Good update and nice to see the 5850 earn a place in the lineup.
Unfortunately AMD seem to have botched their latest hotfix to Catalyst 10.1 drivers (or maybe their hardware). It supposedly solves the problem of the dreaded grey screen of death, which does rear its ugly head on rare occasions.
After installing it however, Dirt 2 became choppy and almost unplayable unless, even after the video settings were reduced.
I don't know about you but I'll choose the occasional grey screen with smooth framerates over such a drastic slash in performance any day!
Strange thing, it's been months now but I never seem to get tired of seeing Radeons dominating this list.
OMG! Check out the Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart at the end Intel's best GPU is the same as a Geforce 3 ti500 lol.
Eagerly waiting for Newer Nvidia cards!!
This article will be much more interesting to read then!!
ahh...ATI wins again....hope nVidia gets their act together tho, so i can XFire my 5770s without spending too much more