Spec me a card sub £100

[[FnG]magnolia]

Hi,

Mate is looking for a card to improve on his Radeon x1250. I suggested an 8800GT and got this email reply :

"£95 is a little steep for me. I want a card which can get me above the 40fps mark on high settings constantly in WoW. I don't think i'd want to pay much more than about £60 for it.
£95 i can just about manage, but will it be worth all the money or will a £50 still be quite beneficial?"

Thoughts, suggestions etc?

Thanks

 

[gurusan]

Check the MM for used 8800GT cards, or 38xx series.

 

[Janesy B]

9600GT if he's really tight

 

[BAMBI]

Check out the 7900GS can be found for £35

 

[Makhaira]

If he's literally just after playing WoW, then most cheapies will be fine. www.tomshardware.co.uk for graphics charts is a good place to get a feel for various cards, I don't think WoW specifically is a benchmark though.

 

[Andeh]

you can get a solid 60fps in WoW with a 6800, so long as you have a really good CPU, as WoW's FPS is heavily CPU dependant. My 8800GTS 512 hardly gets me 100fps, but thats because my CPU is only an e6300 dual core.

 

[neon.uk]

yeah, you can get some high end 7 series cards nowadays at dirt cheap prices that would easily do the job. (7900GS for 35quid and a 7950GT for 55). As andeh said WoW seems much more CPU intensive than graphically intensive but a better graphics card will give a reasonable boost.

 

[Trunks9486]

HD3850 512 is the best choice...

Lower than that X1950 PRO is a good performer too

 

[MoRT489]

but thats because my CPU is only an e6300 dual core.

only? clocked to?

 

[Big.Wayne]

good deals on 3850s

I've been looking at the HD3850 as a bang-for-buck card to use in an HTPC for a casual gamer. There are other Radeon cards in the sub £65 range (HD3450, HD3470, HD3650) but they get kinda left in the dust when it comes to pure FPS in current games!

How are you finding the HD3850 then?

 

[Big.Wayne]

Mate is looking for a card to improve on his Radeon x1250

That wouldn't be hard, get a firm maximum budget out of him inc shipping and get back to us.

Hit him with the investment angle!

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

That wouldn't be hard, get a firm maximum budget out of him inc shipping and get back to us.

Hit him with the investment angle!

GPU and investment in the same sentence = hehe

As said earlier, he's looking for the cheaper/est option but can - if necessary - go to just below £100. I haven't dabbled in the GPU market since I paid £155 for my 8800GT on release. Just looking for some up to date thoughts and suggestions.

Thanks to all who have added theirs.

cheers.

 

[Big.Wayne]

GPU and investment in the same sentence = hehe

Hey yeah, you start hanging out in these forums and you will see a lot of people who consider money they spend on a GPU as an Investment!

Very akin to Stocks and Shares I tell ya!

There's a good time to buy GPU's and a good time to sell, taken to the extreme its actually possible to own a GPU for a while and then sell it on for a profit!

Just looking for some up to date thoughts and suggestions.

Ok I'm your man in the sub £100 sector!

Firstly, does your mate need an AGP or PCI-E GPU? I ask this because you didn't mention any details? I gOOgled Radeon x1250 because I have never heard of it before and got this info below, looks like an IGP?

ATI Radeon™ Xpress 1250 (for Intel)

 

[Minstadave]

I've been looking at the HD3850 as a bang-for-buck card to use in an HTPC for a casual gamer. There are other Radeon cards in the sub £65 range (HD3450, HD3470, HD3650) but they get kinda left in the dust when it comes to pure FPS in current games!

How are you finding the HD3850 then?

For the price its excellent, clocks well, HDMI audio support.

Mine had a pretty decent zerotherm cooler on it but no speed control so it was pretty noisey at stock. I was in two minds whether to just cut off the 2 pin plug and solder on a standard 3 pin fan connector or just swap the cooler for my Zalman VF-900. I went for the latter in the end in case I ever need to RMA the card.

Very happy with it, it runs cool, silent and performs well. I'm playing Assassin's creed in DX10, maxed out detail at 1680x1050 which was killing my 7900GTO.

 

[tutu]

Get a 3850 or second hand 3870 (£100) For Wow however, my 7800 GTX handled it extremely well (as you would expect) and I sold that on MM for about £40.