Best PCI-E Card For ~$190
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Radeon 3850 512 MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV670 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 320 |
| Texture Units: | 16 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 670 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 833 (1666 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
The 512 MB version of the Radeon 3850 offers some high-resolution performance gains, as well as the ability to use ultra-high texture quality settings. This card battles the more expensive 256 MB version of the 8800 GT, which is somewhat limited by its lower amount of memory.
Best PCI-E Card For ~$230
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Radeon 3870 | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV670 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 320 |
| Texture Units: | 16 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 775 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1125 (2250 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
The Radeon 3870 is a lot of card for $230. The only reason not to buy a 3870 is the Geforce 8800 GT 512 MB, which can offer noticeably more performance for only slightly more money.
Best PCI-E Card For ~$250
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB | |
|---|---|
| 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 the Radeon 3870 by a notable margin, but it does tend to be a bit more expensive. That said, if you have $250 to spend on a graphics card, you couldn't do better than a nice 8800 GT.
