Best PCIe Card: ~$100 To $190
Best PCIe Card For ~$105: Tie
Radeon HD 4850 1 GB (Check Prices)
Exceptional 1680x1050 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most games with lowered detail
| Radeon HD 4850 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV770 |
| Process: | 55 nm |
| 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 4.1 |
The Radeon HD 4850 never seems to die. It just keeps on delivering great gaming value. At the $100 price point, Nvidia's GeForce GTS 250 and AMD's Radeon HD 4850 hang on in an eternal battle to deliver fantastic performance to budget-oriented gamers. We don't think you can go wrong with either of these cards.
GeForce GTS 250 1 GB (Check Prices)
Exceptional 1680x1050 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most games with lowered detail
| GeForce GTS 250 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | G92b |
| Process: | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 128 |
| Texture Units: | 64 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core/Shader Speed MHz: | 738 / 1836 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1100 (2200 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 10/SM 4.0 |
Just as tenacious as the Radeon HD 4850, the GeForce GTS 250 hangs on at $100.
With an eye to the future, your choice between these affordable products probably depends more on whether or not your motherboard is CrossFire- or SLI-compatible. Neither the Radeon HD 4850 nor the GeForce GTS 250 offer DirectX 11 support.
Best PCIe Card For ~$135:
Radeon HD 5750 1 GB (Check Prices)
Exceptional 1680x1050 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most games with lowered detail
| Radeon HD 5750 1GB | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV840 "Juniper" |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 720 |
| Texture Units: | 36 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 700 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1150 (4600 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
Although it costs a few dollars more than the Radeon HD 4850 and GeForce GTS 250, the Radeon HD 5750 is more appealing due to its DirectX 11 hardware capabilities. There are other benefits too, such as Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreaming and Eyefinity triple-display output support, making this card a solid $135 choice.
Read our full review of ATI's Radeon HD 5750 for more information on the card and its underlying architecture.
Best PCIe Card For ~$155:
Radeon HD 5770 1 GB (Check Prices)
Great 1920x1200 performance in most games
| Radeon HD 5770 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV840 "Juniper" |
| Process: | 40 nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 800 |
| Texture Units: | 40 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 850 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1200 (4800 effective) |
| DirectX/Shader Model: | DX 11/SM 5.0 |
At $155, nothing compares with the Radeon HD 5770. It offers a worthwhile upgrade beyond the $135 Radeon HD 5750. But not even the new GeForce GTX 460 can cop an easy win compared to the cheaper Radeon HD 5770. This card continues to offer excellent performance for the asking price, and makes a good foundation for building a CrossFire-based gaming PC, too.
Read our full review of ATI's Radeon HD 5770 for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.
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The chart at the end puts the 460 a bit low doesn't it? It benches at 285+ levels, leastways the 1GB one does (and ~260 SLI). Perhaps split the two up? 1GB gets bumped up one level and the 768 stays down a bit?
Although without OCing it doesn't quite match a 5850 sooo...
If you don't need DX 11 support then the ATI Radeon 4770 is the best value. The Radeon 4770 is a budget graphics card only by its price tag, not by its performance. I've yet to find a DX 9 or 10 game that isn't playable at 1920x1080 resolution (single display) with 8x AA, and 16X AF. Clearly the numbers on the benchmarks don't tell the entire story. If ATI did as good of a job with the Radeon 5750 then there's probably no reason to spend more than $150 on a graphics card if you only use a single display.
@techguy378: since the 4850 costs pretty much the same as the 4770 but is, in most cases, a bit to quite more powerful, then no, the 4770 is not that good a deal. Not that it's BAD, mind you, it's just not the best deal.
Well, my 4850 is no longer on the list: I have the 512 Mb version, and now only the 1 Gb version is recommended. I don't mind, 3 years as a recommendation is good enough.
where did ATI Radeon 5850 go o.O
Yeah...I think the ~$280 5850 doesn't deserve to be kicked off the list guys. Did you forget to add it in?
Yeah...I think the ~$280 5850 doesn't deserve to be kicked off the list guys. Did you forget to add it in?
perhaps the falling price of 470 along with driver improvement
I appreciate these guides as much as the next guy, but you shouldn't assume that everyone buys from newegg. I personally buy from the local fry's electronics and the sub-90 gpu prices claimed here are way different.
A great read as always
Thanks for including the Intel CPU graphics on the hierarchy chart.
A much-valued guide as always.
But you forgot the GTX 460 X2.
edit: don't know why I'm getting so many red marks. The GTX460 X2 is missing from the hierarchy chart. Sure there's a review but surely we must also see it on the actual final chart!
How is the 5870 on the same level as the 4850 x 2, using 9.1 drivers or something a 5850 was faster then that I think. 5870 easily compares to the 4870x2 and with the newest drivers it should be faster.
Hmmm... I think the 5850 actually should be on the list as a 280$ card. The HIS iCooler V on newegg is near only 280$. Plus, it's temperature and overclock ability is much better than the 470. Since you can actually OC the 5850 to the point of a 5870. Plus the 470 is FREEAAKING ON FIRE. Well it's just that it runs very hot.
Yay GTX 460!
Thanks
but nVIDIA 460GTX 768 MB in sli better than ATI 5870 at the same price (400$)
Competitors innovate and try to attract customers...
Consumer wins!
"But not even the new GeForce GTX 460 can cop an easy win compared to the cheaper Radeon HD 5570."
Is this a typo? You meant the Radeon HD 5770, right?
I wish I could remember where I read the benchmarks, but it looked like Intel's new HD graphics were in many cases slightly ahead of the AMD HD4200 and even HD3300 IGPs. I'll try to find it, although I'm getting ready for work now.
I appreciate these guides as much as the next guy, but you shouldn't assume that everyone buys from newegg. I personally buy from the local fry's electronics and the sub-90 gpu prices claimed here are way different.
... Why wouldn't you buy from newegg? From my experience, newegg charges 30% less on computer parts than any brick and mortar store. If not cheaper.
newegg doesnt ship internationally as far as i know. if they did the cost of shipping would outweigh thte difference. I dont like buying online either, i prefer if i have a problem with the card, to take it back to a store. HD4xxx series should not even be included in this list, they dont even sell that old tech where I live anymore.
oh my god! i have the ati radeon 4670 1gb from msi GDDR3 i have it 2 years and i still find the 4650 in the list of best buys here!
im happy i didn;t throw much dollars and i have a good VGA than im happy to play with!
here's what the specs are from gpuz!
55nm process gpu clock 750mhz memory 873 mhz
bandwidth 27.9 GB/s shaders 320 and all this for just 55 euros(72 dollars)
The 5850 is perhaps not here because the GTX 470 gives much better performance for a few bucks more.