blahblah454

HD 4870 batman!! You read any reviews on this one yet? It costs $300 Canadian, runs super quiet, super cold, and it performs pretty close to the GTX 280! I don't know how it runs in crossfire, but if 1 card can run that good imagine two!

Makes me kind of sad that I just got a SLI board and 2x 8800GT.

Lasereth

I was at training all day yesterday, I'm gonna check it out today at work!!

Updated every section of the guide. Some major changes have been made with the release of the Radeon HD 4850/4870. They can't be beat in their price ranges right now.......the 4870 beats out both of Nvidia's new $400 and $650 cards multiple times!!

Shauk

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814125089


good?

blahblah454

Amazingly good!! But if they have the same price with eVGA then get that chip manufacturer. They offer lifetime warranty for everything, including if you OC so much you melt the card.

Lasereth

That's a good deal, but it's nothing special if you don't send in that mail in rebate.

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Willravel

I was doing a little digging on the GeForce 8800 GS graphics card in the latest iMac. The performance didn't match up with the GSs that I'd seen. Guess what? It's really the GeForce 8800M GTS. Specs:
Pipelines 64 - unified
Core Speed 500 MHz
Memory Speed 800 MHz
Memory Bus Width 256 Bit
Memory Type GDDR3
Max.Memory 512 MB
Shared Memory No
DirectX DirectX 10, Shader 4.0
Power Consump 35 Watt
Transistors Million

The new card should run anything from COD4 to WoW without issues and can support up to 2560x1600 on an external monitor via Dual-Link DVI-D.

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/43pxg/

blahblah454

The GTX 280 is now available for $470 in many places. Sucks to be the person who spend over $600 for it last week.

Lasereth

Ha ha ha ha I know. It started out at an unbudging $650 on NewEgg and then it dropped like a rock overnight when ATI's new cards came out.

Redjake

News at 11!!!!!

EVGA 512-P3-N800-TR 8800 GT 512MB Video Card $109.99AR Free Shipping, Jul. 23 8 PM

newegg has the EVGA 512-P3-N800-TR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card, for a low $109.99 after rebate and coupon code: VGA72320. Free 3 Business Day Shipping. Tax in CA, NJ, NY, TN, PR.

$20 rebate Exp 7/31/08




Gobble this bad boy up! 8800GT for $109.99! Paid $250 for mine just 5 months ago....

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blahblah454

Holy crap! I paid $150 for each of mine about a month ago, what a steal of a deal!

LoganSnake

Awesome deal. Mine was $220 back in March.

It's an amazing card. I haven't been able to throw anything at it it couldn't handle yet.

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Lasereth

Made some more updates. Videocard prices are plummeting (good for us). It's hilarious that you can now get powerful cards like the Radeon HD 3850 for $99. Even the brand new Radeon HD 4850 that obliterated the market at its old price point is now even low at $175. Watch out for the cards in bold lettering, they're the super crazy deals!

Willravel

Any insight into the Nvidia concerns? Should people with nvidia GPUs be worried about heat?

Lasereth

I haven't read much about it but people have been complaining about the GeForce 8 series and forward with heat but the cards almost always stay stable. Mine gets really hot but it never becomes unstable. Stability is what really matters.

LoganSnake

I played some pretty intensive games on max settings and while the card got pretty hot at times, I haven't had any issues with it. eVGA makes good stuff.

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Reese

So guys, I'm in the market for a new video card.

Here's what it'll have:
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 140W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - Open Box: MSI K9N2 SLI Platinum AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

I really want to get something that matches the rest of the system. I don't want any bottlenecks. I have the budget for a high end card but I don't really know if I'm going to need it. My PC gaming is limited to WoW and probably diablo3 and Starcraft2 when they come out.

Any recommendations?

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Lasereth

The two best deals on the market are the Radeon HD 4850 and the Radeon HD 4870. Either of those will blow away any game you play.

Reese

Cool, There's so many dang naming conventions. Those fricking numbers don't mean shit anymore. Hell, Nvidia has a 9800 now.. I just got rid of a 9800 ATI, It was a stupid 3+ year old POS!

How does the 4870 compare to Nvidia's 300$ card? I was looking at the Newegg.com - PNY VCGGTX260XPB GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Assuming I actually get the 50$ mail in rebate, It's actually cheaper than the ATI 4870. I used to goto Toms hardware to see benchmarks but they don't have either of these cards listed yet :/

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Lasereth

Like I said above, the 4850 and the 4870 are the best deals on the market. the 4870 actually blows the 260 out of the water so bad it's embarrassing. The 4870 is actually just as good as nvidia's GTX 280 which is way expensive.

Reese

It's just.. I've had some bad luck with ATI. I hate the catalyst control center. I really wouldn't mind spending a bit extra for a equivalent Nvidia card.

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Lasereth

There's not one. That's the problem. The GeForce GTX 280 is the competitor to it and it is $400+.

You could buy the GTX 260. It's not a bad card, it's just my duty to tell you that the Radeon HD 4870 is a better deal by a good margin.

So basically, you should get the GeForce GTX 260. It is a powerhouse videocard and you won't be disappointed but its price to performance ratio just isn't up to par as the new Radeon HD 4 series.

Lasereth

Updated. The Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 remain the best high performance cards on the market while the GeForce 8800 GT is still bringing home high FPS at high settings for only $110.

meanSpleen

I'm going to help one of my coworkers/friends build their first computer, and she is going to try to pick out all the components herself. She is on a fairly tight budget, and I think she's willing to go for about 700$ for the tower and components. What are your thoughts on the Radeon HD 4670 that just came out? I read some of the reviews, and for $80 is should be beating the 3850 that you currently have the list (although I have the feeling it is going to be bumped off due to this particular card)

(mild gaming, surfing the net and office tasks, nothing to crazy. more interested in putting components together and getting it to work.)

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Lasereth

I haven't seen any reviews of the 4670 yet. I will update my list as soon as I read them though (been on vacation and super busy at work!).

Lasereth

Updated!! Added the Radeon HD 4670 to the list which offers incredible performance at $80.


Also added the new nvidia GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 video card at $275 which offers performance comparable to the Radeon HD 4870. Prices across the board updated as usual.

Lasereth

Added the new Radeon HD 4870 1 GB to the list.

Frosstbyte

I don't see the GeForce 9800 GT anywhere on the list. Is it just a trashy throwaway sidegrade with a new sticker and a higher number? Are you better off going cheaper with the 9600 or going more expensive to the 9800 GX if you bother with the 9000 series?

Edit: Something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130380

Lasereth

That is a good card. The reason it's not on my list is because quite frankly it is an 8800 GT with a new name. Everything is the same except the name. It is totally worth it but like I said in your other thread with your budget I would be buying an even better card.

powerclown

Lasereth,

I was about to pull the trigger on a card off your list...would you happen to know off the top which card runs the quietest? I currently have a 7800GT and its like theres a helicopter in the room, so I'd like my new card to be as quiet as possible. $200 budget. Thanks man.

Vigilante

Most ones that look like this:

Customer Reviews Of EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail)

Will be quiet. Dual slot coolers have less backpressure to deal with, and usually a larger diameter fan. That loosely translates to quieter operation. In fact on this card several of the reviewers said specifically that it was quiet.

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Cynthetiq

I just bought a pair of these

Newegg.com - ASUS EN9800GT ULTIMATE/HTDP/512M GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

$129.99 MIR

it's pretty quiet...

I also got this PSU with 2GB RAM combo $88 -$50 MIR for $48. PSU is alot quieter than the one I originally had.
Newegg.com - OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V / EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

OCZ SLI-Ready 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

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powerclown

Im leaning towards the 9800 series based upon your guys experience with it...a good price too. Cool power supply Cynthetiq, I'm looking for something either modular or with all the cables sheathed together like the one you have. Surprised to see how inexpensive memory has gotten, it was triple that on my last build.

Lasereth

Yeah you need to just read the reviews for each card to see if it's quiet. The loudness can even change between brands so a specific model may not be quiet across the board.

BTW yeah it is great how cheap memory is. I bought my 2 GB of DDR2 800 memory for $250 2 years ago and I thought it was a great deal. Now it's $25 at some places.

Reese

I went with your advice Lasereth and got the ATI HD 4870 512mb card with my new computer. I got a crossfire ready motherboard and PSU so I'll be able to buy another 4870 in the near future if I get a little extra cash.

__________________
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powerclown

I went with a 9800GTX, happy with it so far. Pretty cool piece of hardware. Much quieter than my 7800GT. The thing is as long as my forearm, luckily I had room in my case for it. Has 2 power outlets on it, bought a Rosewill 500w power supply to power it and everything else. Running FarCry maxed out just fine (if that is saying anything), newer games coming for the holidays. One problem I've been having with it is that on startup sometimes the monitor won't turn on, maybe the card isn't getting a signal from the BIOS? Usually fixed with a hard restart or 3. Great thread, thanks.

Lasereth

Grats on the new cards guys. Those are two good choices.

Lasereth

Updated, added the new Radeon HD 4830 to the guide...finally the GeForce 8800 GT/9800 GT gets a direct competitor!

Lasereth

Updated

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LordEden

Dude, I wanted to thank you for this guide, it helped me out ALOT when I was buying the parts for my new pc. Saved me alot of time and brain cells when it came to buying my video card. Went with the Raedon 4850 which gave me alot of power for the price I was willing to pay. I'd buy you a beer if I lived near you! Thanks.

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Speed_Gibson

the PC2700 memory for my system costs more new than via Ebay or similar sources
It would be a big change and cheaper on parts going to a PCI-E card and that new-fangled SATA, but not ready to go with a new motherboard yet; I suspect this will be at least an 8 year major upgrade cycle this time.
more ontopic here, my Geforce 7600 GS is working marvously for me - quite happy with it.

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