Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart

The list has really become crowded now. BTW, Radeon 5870 is still better value than GTX480 at their current prices. Waiting for the Cayman series, when the 5870 will finally be replaced.

A quality read as usual.

wow, about 5 ties, great competition

Can't wait until AMD and nVIDIA release their new chipsets this end of the year!

Nice. To me it is de-ja-vue, but then...AMD did release an impressive 6xxx series to tackle nVIDIA.

Implying that the 68xx series was even intended to replace the 58xx cards....

well all of this will change once 6900 series comes out as everyone already knows, we will see how the 6900 series and whatever nvidia has up their sleeves fair in the month to come before upgrading from a 5770, my gut instinct is to go with a single gtx 470 or 6870 and crossfire, however who knows what the coming months will bring and it is too early to jump on the midrange 6800 series bandwagon imo, if they do still offer great price/performance when the rest of amd and nvidias series comes out then i will make a decision at that point. Good read

Also anyone know if the 5850 and 5870 will drop significantly? both of those cards would be great with a reduced pricetag

I look forward to this article every month!

No, explaining to people who would naturally assume that a 6870>5870 that this isn't the case, so don't waste your money.

My dream refreshes every month with your "Best Graphics Cards For The Money" .... but still dreaming of purchasing one. ($$$$$$)

The factory overclocked GTX460s are the true value champions. The $220 Evga FTW easily outpacing the 6870 in most games and providing better scaling in a dual card setup.

Sorry, but no. The overclocked 460 might be on par with a 5850, but a 6870 is right about equivalent to a (non-existent) 5860. And since you can undoubtedly get great overclocks by yourself on the 6870, it would easily outpace the 460.

PS - Buying factory overclocked cards is a waste of money. You spend $20-$40 more for a card that has overclocks easily reached without much effort if you did it yourself.

Why is the HD 4850 X2 in the same tier as th 5870 and not the 5850.

Is this just coincidence that AMD decided to name the high midrange cards 68XX while dropping ATI naming? Maybe they felt that since these are no longer ATI cards they can change the naming scheme?

GTX 470, let alone GTX 470 SLI was recommended? What?

I know its price dropped to competitive levels, but when you can get the 6870, why would you want a power hungry, loud and hot (not in a good way) solution?

so to me.. which are the best option.. buy a gtx460/6850 or another 4870 for xfire?

Radeon 4850: when did it come out, again? June 2008, no? That makes it the granddaddy of all current cards...

"Who's your daddy? Why yes, I am!"

Before the ATi 68xx series came it I was wondering why ATi wouldn't lower their prices of the 58xx series. Man the 6870 is a great card. For the entry level price it is great. 240 might be too much for some but its perfect IMO for that card. Ordering an MSI one off Amazon when I can save up for one.

is 4870x2 on par with gtx295? i don;t think so

5770 is very close to 4870, 2x5770 is almost the same as 1 5870 and as i recall, gtx295 is way faster than 5870.