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Budget NVidia Card

Seb

Seb

Seb

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Joined
24 Apr 2006
Posts
209
Location
Worcester, UK
I'm after a budget (£100-£130) NVidia card for mainly FPS like HL2, COD4, etc.

Ive been looking at the 9600 GT (as PC Pro recommends it, and its available in 1gb flavours) and also the 8800 series cards.

Id assume the 9xxx cards would be better than the 8xxx cards are theyre a newer series, but the bench mark results for the 8800 seem to be better than the 9600.

Does anyone have an recommendations of which card will give me the best bang for my buck?

Thanks.
 
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8xxx = 9xxx they same cards, repackaged.
x800 is better then x600, so thus the 8800 is better then 9600.

Nvidia is very confusing, because they tried to "cash in" with 9xxx cards.
 
theres only 1 choice imo the 9800 gtx + (the + being the all imporant refresh)

The cheapest model being asus DK

slighty over your budget but worth the extra few quid
 
I'm not going to start a new thread as my question is practically the same so this shouldn't be a thread jack but more of a consolidating question :)

My house mate needs a new graphics card to run Call of Duty 5 (his X800 isn't gonna cut it :P) so he's come to me but I have to admit I'm hesitating in what to suggest:

8800 GT
8800 GTX
9800 GTX+
4850

Considering he's looking to spend about £100, that will only realistically get him a 8600 or 9600 card, but if he spends £30-40 more he can get something far more interesting. What would be your suggestion amongst the 4 cards I have mentioned knowing that I have found them all within the same price range? I was tempted by the 8800 GTX but I'm dubious as to why I found it so cheap when it normally retails in the £300-400 region, and I hadn't even looked at the 9600 GTX+ :)
Edit: Called the retailer who confirmed it was new, they must just be clearing stock I guess... So it seems to be between the 8800 GTX and the 9800 GTX+ which are both at comparable prices, I think I'm leaning towards the 9800 GTX+ tbh.
 
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You'll only really need more than 512mb if you game at 1920 res or above. Other than that, forget 1gb cards as your on a budget. They don't add that much benefit for the cost involved.

Consider a 4850 or 9800gtx+ as mentioned. If you can't afford that, try to get a 2nd hand 8800gtx :)
 
reamber the 9800 gtx + is newer than the other cards
As its nivdea counter to it the 4850 every1 at one point was chooseing the 4850 as it was £50 cheaper but the 4850 prices have creaped up now to the save level for decent models.

So now it really is down to personal choice.

Also another thing to factor in is although the 9800 gtx+ is slighty more expensive than the 4850 it performs slighty better too.
 
alex_tank said:
Seb kindly made this thread on my behalf it's actually me looking for a card,

Gainward GeForce 9800 GT "Golden Sample" 1024MB GDDR3 £129.24
I think this seems the best option so far?

My plan is to buy this now and in a year (maybe more) buy a second card the same when it's much cheaper to run in SLI with it. Is this still the best option?
Click to expand...

Waiting a year to SLi is always a bad idea because by the time you get to that stage, the card you have is out of date.

Just get a single 4850, or if you have to have Nvidia, a 9800GTX+. The 9800GT is exactly the same as the 8800GT, and you can get one of those for about £60 these days.

And 1gb of graphics RAM makes very little difference below 2560x1600.
 
MikeHunt79 said:
4670 is an awesome budget card

Shame there isn't an Nvidia equivalent really...
Click to expand...

Does the 9600GT no longer exist or something? :confused:

As for the op I would highly reccomend looking around at both reviews and offers.

In this price segment the HD4850 offers the best bang for buck and is available for just over £100. It roughly matches the performance of the 9800GTX+ for £30 or less.
 
4850 is still the best card for the money in this budget in my opinion. But as it's been said the prices for this card have been creeping up, there's now about £15-£20 difference between the 4850 and 9800gtx+, both have similar performance, i.e. one is better in certain games and vice versa.

I have a 4850 and it's a great card for the money, it's basically down to personal choice, ati or nvidia.

I wouldn't bother with the 9800gt, just a re-branded 8800gt, which you can pick up a lot cheaper. Plus £10 more puts you into the 4850's range.
 
I'd rather not spend quite so much on the 9800 GTX but can do if there's a significant difference I suppose.

I'm put off by ati because I'm told the drivers are terrible, is this not really the case any more though?

Gainward ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB £135.11
Gainward GeForce 9800 GT "Golden Sample" 1024MB £129.24
Gainward GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB £152.74
512MB XFX 9800GT £124.53

Or is there even anything in the 8800 series I should be considering?

I'll be playing 1920x1020 res so 1024mb may be worthwhile or not?


(I like Gainward :) quiet fans)
 
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alex_tank said:
I'd rather not spend quite so much on the 9800 GTX but can do if there's a significant difference I suppose.

I'm put off by ati because I'm told the drivers are terrible, is this not really the case any more though?

Gainward ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB £135.11
Gainward GeForce 9800 GT "Golden Sample" 1024MB £129.24
Gainward GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB £152.74
512MB XFX 9800GT £124.53

Or is there even anything in the 8800 series I should be considering?

I'll be playing 1920x1020 res so 1024mb may be worthwhile or not?


(I like Gainward :) quiet fans)
Click to expand...

The drivers can be a bit buggy but bear in mind that ATi cards are outselling Nvidia cards 5 to 1 right now, so you'll hear about problems more.

1GB of graphics RAM is a gimmick right now, and by the time games need it your card will be out of date. A 512mb 4850 will suit you fine.

The 8800GTX is a warhorse of a card, but it's outperformed by the 4850.

Basically either get an 8800GT for around £60-80, a 4850 for £130 or a 4870 for £180ish.
 
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