top budget graphics card

backtothefuture · 21 Jun 2008 at 09:01

hi

can anyone recommend me a good budget (150 notes max) PCI-E graphics card pls... I have an Opteron 170 (2.2ghz) running on a socket 939, 2 gigs RAM and currently a Geforce 7800GTX

I am looking for a graphics card that will do (fair) justice to Crysis, Gears of War and World in Conflict considering my current system...

thanks

matt100 · 21 Jun 2008 at 09:09

if you want brand new you probably should be looking at the HD4850, that said we've yet to see pricing on the NV GTX260 but given the price of the 280 I can't see it being down there.

Alternatively 2nd hand there are a lot of 8800GTX/Ultra and 9800GTX popping up at or below that sort of price now and there's always the 8800GT which 2nd hand will be well under £100 now.

Its a good time to be looking for a mid range card tbh

What res?

Richdog · 21 Jun 2008 at 09:11

matt100 said:
if you want brand new you probably should be looking at the HD4850, that said we've yet to see pricing on the NV GTX260 but given the price of the 280 I can't see it being down there.

The pricing for the GTX260 is on about ten different online stores... it's £270+

As you suggested, a HD4850 would be a good option for the OP's budget.

backtothefuture · 21 Jun 2008 at 09:25

thanks for the quick responses!

I take it the HD4850 is a new card on the market since haven't noticed it before ... on OCUK's main page, they have a 8800GT 512MB (OCUK brand) for about 95quid (ex VAT) .. would the former be better than this?

cheers

Richdog · 21 Jun 2008 at 09:34

If you read the 4850 threads on the first page in this section you will see a ton of links pointing to professional reviews which will allow you to make a more informed decision. Do a bit of legwork.

matt100 · 21 Jun 2008 at 09:37

sorry.. I'VE yet to see GTX260 pricing

icey_haj · 21 Jun 2008 at 09:47

backtothefuture said:
thanks for the quick responses!

I take it the HD4850 is a new card on the market since haven't noticed it before ... on OCUK's main page, they have a 8800GT 512MB (OCUK brand) for about 95quid (ex VAT) .. would the former be better than this?

cheers

4850>9800GTX>8800GTX>8800GTS>8800GT

easyrider · 21 Jun 2008 at 10:15

icey_haj said:
4850>9800GTX>8800GTX>8800GTS>8800GT

The 9800GTX wins in some games so its not as clear cut as that.

4850 if buying new now though within that budget.

As the price of the 9800 cards are due to be cut to compete.

matt100 · 21 Jun 2008 at 10:24

i asked what res because the 8800gtx still beats the 9800gtx in some cases doesn't it?

easyrider · 21 Jun 2008 at 10:25

matt100 said:
i asked what res because the 8800gtx still beats the 9800gtx in some cases doesn't it?

yes in certain resolutions

krooton · 21 Jun 2008 at 10:37

Would a 4850 in his system be as effective as if he were to sell all the 939 stuff, get a budget C2D + 8800GT and overclock?

matt100 · 21 Jun 2008 at 11:13

krooton said:
Would a 4850 in his system be as effective as if he were to sell all the 939 stuff, get a budget C2D + 8800GT and overclock?

the c2d system would be undoubtably a lot faster but whichever way you cut it that route would cost quite a lot more.

krooton · 21 Jun 2008 at 11:40

matt100 said:
the c2d system would be undoubtably a lot faster but whichever way you cut it that route would cost quite a lot more.

To break even, he would need to sell the Opteron, Mobo, RAM and 7800 for £90, guess that is too much.

backtothefuture · 21 Jun 2008 at 14:18

true... I am looking for max bang per buck assuming I don't have to upgrade the rest of the system for atleast another year ...

the 4850 seems to be getting favourable reviews... I'm not a hardcore gamer but do play the occasional hot FPS (gears of war, crysis) but also strategy (C&C 3, world in conflict) ...

new and upcoming games such as GTAIV , Alan Wake etc I expect to use my PS3 for ...

where possible I intend to use the PS3 for the demanding stuff, unless the title is PC based only ....

Magnum_Force · 21 Jun 2008 at 14:23

lol, buy that HD4850, OC your Opty to 2.6ghz or more, and you'll soon be using your PC for the "demnading" stuff

J.D · 21 Jun 2008 at 14:31

Magnum_Force said:
lol, buy that HD4850, OC your Opty to 2.6ghz or more, and you'll soon be using your PC for the "demnading" stuff

I agree. 2.6Ghz minimal, 2.8 - 3Ghz+ preferable and a 4850 will see you well.

If your current cooler is not up to the job then just buy a decent one and get clocking. My old Arctic Freezer Pro kept my X2 3800 @ 2.8Ghz 24/7 and was only about £17. I think it's cheaper now, you can spend a little more for a better cooler also but I'm just highlighting the cheaper option than upgrading your whole rig

. Get that CPU clock up and you will release more of the 4850's power the higher you go.

What size of resolution do you game at?.

matt100 · 21 Jun 2008 at 14:56

3ghz was very rare for s939 X2s tbh, I wouldn't expect to do that without some pretty extreme cooling.

I had an X2 3800 that would do 2.7/8 on water but I needed pretty extreme phase to get to 3ghz and upwards anywhere near stable.

Greebo · 21 Jun 2008 at 15:13

matt100 said:
3ghz was very rare for s939 X2s tbh, I wouldn't expect to do that without some pretty extreme cooling.

I had an X2 3800 that would do 2.7/8 on water but I needed pretty extreme phase to get to 3ghz and upwards anywhere near stable.

Yeah I needed quality watercooling to get my 4200+ x2 running at 3GHz stable.

However, 2.6-2.8 Ghz was not so demanding voltage and hence cooling wise.

J.D · 21 Jun 2008 at 15:15

matt100 said:
3ghz was very rare for s939 X2s tbh, I wouldn't expect to do that without some pretty extreme cooling.

I had an X2 3800 that would do 2.7/8 on water but I needed pretty extreme phase to get to 3ghz and upwards anywhere near stable.

The OP has an Opteron 170

.

Also, I was at 2.8Ghz 24/7 with a Freezer Pro. It could hit 2.93Ghz or 2.95Ghz but would fail Prime due to heat within ten minutes. The one I got from here only done 2.6Ghz with 1.55v so I sold it on the bay without opening it. A user from Edinburgh that had got his the same day reported this so I just sold it for £3 loss and sourced out a good clocker from America and got that sent to me instead for roughly the same price.

This is the stepping and rig it was in.

CPU: X2 3800+ 2.8Ghz @ 1.48v LDBHE 0601XPMW
Cooler: AC Freezer 64 w/ Coolaboratory Liquid Pro
Mobo: DFI LanParty UT Ultra-D
HD: 2x Hitachi Deskstar 250gb Sata II
RAM: G.Skill ZX DDR400 @ DDR500 1gb (2 x 512Mb) @ 2.5-3-4-6/1T - 2.7v
GFX: C3D X1900XT @ 702/841Mhz
PSU: Thermaltake PurePower 560w
Case: Kandalf (Black)
Sound: X-fi Extreme Gamer & Gigaworks S750 7.1

backtothefuture · 21 Jun 2008 at 20:37

My Opty doesn't like going much above 2.2ghz... 2.4ghz but the system freezes sometimes (I use the in-windows Asus *** to clock ..got an A8N Sli-Deluxe) ... got a Zalman flower heatsink on the CPU ..not sure how that is for the job...according to temp readouts its around 45C idle ...

I wouldn't know what voltage to use for 2.8Ghz!...lol... (and FSB, multiplier etc)

got a Hiper 500W PSU