PCI Express Interface: $150 To $300
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR $150
| GeForce 8800 GT 512MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | G92 |
| Process: | 65nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 112 |
| Texture Units: | 56 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 600 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 900 (1800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The 8800 GT offers incredible GeForce 8800 GTX class performance at almost half the price. It beats both the Radeon 3870 and GeForce 9600 GT by a notable margin, and only costs a few dollars more. As far as raw performance goes, if you have $150 to spend on a graphics card, you couldn’t do better than a nice 8800 GT.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR $175:
| Radeon 4850 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV770 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 800 |
| Texture Units: | 40 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 625 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 993 (1986 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
The Radeon 4850 is the new people’s champion, instantly bringing yesterday’s $300 performance level down to the mainstream $175 price point. The Radeon 4850 will best the GeForce 9800 GTX, stand toe-to-toe with the newer GeForce 9800 GTX+, and do it all for less money. This card has a lot of potential when used on its own, and becomes a devastating force when paired with a second 4850 in a Crossfire configuration.
Best PCI-E Card For $280:
| Radeon 4870 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV770 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 800 |
| Texture Units: | 40 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 750 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 900 (3600 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
The Radeon 4870 offers the same architecture of the 4850 series paired with its secret weapon: brand new GDDR5 memory. Because GDDR5 provides about twice as much throughput as GDDR3, its 900 MHz clock speed is comparable to a 3600 MHz effective memory speed! This edge allows the 4870 to up the ante and offer very compelling performance for the price, competing with the more expensive GeForce GTX 260 and sometimes even the GTX 280!
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The 2x 9800gtx's specs are wrong
Accidentally took the same specs as the 4850 in crossfire.
Not that it matters a lot, but hey
Serious look here http://support.ati.com/ics/support [...] erID=10551
I wish i could get HD4850 for only 175$.
And that is the cheapest Gigabyte model.
It costs 230$ where i live
And HD4870 costs 340$.
I think you need to revise the texts on the AGP cards. Both for drivers (as noted above) and a few more clues regarding the performance.
Would someone fix the table on the last page of this article.
I guess you forgot to mention the 9800GT. Its out for purchase and you can get one for around 140$-160$.
4850 costs $250 here and at that price it's still worth it.
First time in a LONG time that ATI is dominating Tom's recommend list. Good to see.
There is something wrong with the table on the last page
THe 9800GT is mentioned... it's the 8800GT. :-D
Can they take the time to write new paragraphs? Even just to slightly change the wording so we can see that the authors actually give a #$%5.
Official drivers now work for AGP ATI cards. Get with it.
Good to see another update; the list needed one. Though there are some comments I have to make... As well, of course, as my slight disappointment that it appears that while still a pinned thread, it appears that the thread in the Graphics & Displays forum is no longer quite connected with the list itself.
Can they take the time to write new paragraphs? Even just to slightly change the wording so we can see that the authors actually give a #$%5.Official drivers now work for AGP ATI cards. Get with it.
Alot of Work Goes into Testing the cards ALOT! and besides this is a monthly article that most people will simply flip through to thier price point see what card they need then run to Newegg. So extra work on the article may fall on deaf ears.
I agree I like to hears each persons opinion on each card, but even I just like to skim this article each month.
It's very pleasant to see Radeon finally get some Face time on the BVCftM charts. It's been a GeForce world for so long, and even if I have dabbled in the dark side, it's always a pleasant relief to see my champion back on the board.
great work guys! Keep it up!
I still think Tom's should recommend single board graphics cards at the higher end even though some crossfire/SLI configurations are better. Some people don't want SLI/CF configurations, power requirements, and some can't run it due to their chipset or limited PCIe slots.
I still think Tom's should recommend single board graphics cards at the higher end even though some crossfire/SLI configurations are better. Some people don't want SLI/CF configurations, power requirements, and some can't run it due to their chipset or limited PCIe slots.
I did. The 4870 is in there... that's the best performing single card for the money. The 260 and 280 are overpriced by my reckoning.
If they lower the price, or the 4870 X2 comes in at a reasonable price, those will be put on the list too.
Even if the 280 is overpriced, isn't it still faster than the 4870? It's still good to see the 4870 in there and I'm sure the x2 will make it in somewhere.
I think this review is much, much better than the July. Good stuff and thanks for the disclaimers at the beginning!!!
Keep up the good work!