Best Graphics Cards For The Money: April '09

[MasterDOOM]

Guys serios come on .
Yes a 295 Beat 4870x2 but a Price of One 295 you buy 2 X 4870X2 Crossffire = Quad Core GPU = Beat 295 .
AMD - ATI Radeon Best Choice .

 

[Proximon]

[citation][nom]Cleeve[/nom]I'd disagree, the criteria to make this list is price and performance, I don't think the price of a single GTX 285 is justified at all when the 4850 X2 beats it quite soundly.If there's a game that a single 285 beats a 4850 X2 at because of multi-GPU issues, it probably doesn't beat it by much. Conversely, the 4850 X2 can really take it to a 285 from what I've seen.Of course I haven't benched every game under the sun, so if you have evidence of a few notable exceptions to this I'd be happy to review it and coinsider it. But without seeing that eveidence I have a hard time recommending the 285.[/citation]

Thank you, I'll re-evaluate my ideas on this and do some more research.

 

[Onus]

Thank you.

 

[phoenixpavan]

Nice work. Is the HD4830 listed a 1gb version? Because I am thinking of buying it. Can da team be more specific,plz.

 

[montollo]

At $65 starting point, the 4670 is a good card. However, the 9500GT price has been reduced drastically and yestorday I was able to buy one for $39 (after a $20 rebate). At that price the 9500GT is my opinion the best MCE/low-end gaming rig video card right now. It can run most games at a decent frame rate and the card comes in low profile and fan-less versions, depending on the setup you're after. With the way the economy is going... may I suggest a $35 starting point for your next "best card for the money" article? I just think that the main battle between NVIDIA and ATI it's now been fought at the sub-$100 level.

 

[esquire468]

[citation][nom]MasterDOOM[/nom]Guys serios come on .Yes a 295 Beat 4870x2 but a Price of One 295 you buy 2 X 4870X2 Crossffire = Quad Core GPU = Beat 295 .AMD - ATI Radeon Best Choice .[/citation]

Not sure which world you are living in, but last time I checked a 4870X2 was just over $400, at about $430, and a GTX 295 was just over $500, at about $510-$530. Obviously your fanyboy math skills fail miserably.

 

[MasterDOOM]

Hy esquire468
I live in Romania and here 4870X2 is $480 and GTX 295 is $699
Yes i am a little Fanboy becouse in 6 Years i have only use AMD - ATI Radeon and from 2 Ears i use AMD Chipset 790FX and Belive me Rullz
Have a nice day to all. Bye

 

[gsnoorky]

Hellwig, they're still dragging PCI around! People have really old PCs that they have to get going again--often it's an emergency situation after the AGP slot is trashed.

I did purchase a Radeon 3850 AGP Sapphire card: Considering what it is, is a pretty good performer--it needed aftermarket cooling. I added a TT Sorb. It is better, nevertheless, to purchase an economomy mainboard, cheapo 240-pin mem, and an economomy CPU (if money is a really pressing issue) than to use a relatively expensive card with a meant-for-PCI-E GPU that's been compromised and dumbed-down for AGP (or even PCI).

PCI cards also may be useful for SFF (Small Form Factor--mini-ITX) mainboards and systems that are designed to be small size and incorporate low power usage (say, even in an automobile); the onboard video from these boards often leave much to be desired. (PCI-E video at this point defeats the goal of low power usage, at least somewhat.)

Some situations in mainstream machines require using a PCI card when driver config is so screwed up that such an unfortunate needs to be able to see the screen again....

 

[LuxZg]

Cleeve, thanks for comments on HD4850 X2. Since I still haven't ordered my new card I'll take a look once more.. but there is also a problem of power consumption. My power supply is only 450W, plenty for 4890, but I'm affraid X2 won't run on it.. :/ And if cost of PSU+4850X2 is too much (and I'm affraid it will be), I'll still have to pick either 4890 or GTX275.. (ATI probably, as 4870 was good to me )..

we'll see.. but tnx for comments, I've got to research a bit more now

 

[gsnoorky]

Thanks for the article: I've been wanting to know which type of PCI-E ATi GPU cards to consider for my secondary PCI-E system. It seems that ATi has a dizzying number of PCI-E GPU-types available in the low-end GPU market--you helped to clarify that market greatly (your GPU "equivalence" list helps, also). Along with the Radeon 4830 and 4670 GPUs, nVidia's GeForce 9600GT is on my radar, as well (last year, such 9600GT cards in our best now remaining indie/small-chain store were well over double the cost of the same cards for this year). I'll likely have to order from "you-know-who" or their best competitor. (These actually have stuff, and--virtually always--they just cost less!) Thanks again!

 

[Guest]

thinking of upgrading my XPS 400 with the 4830.

Can anyone tell me if upgrading my XPS 400 (i think it's: PCI-e x16, 375w power, nvidia 6800)with the ATI 4830 will be as simple as unclipping and unplugging the old card and plugging in the new one?

anything else I should be thinking about with this upgrade?

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]Bchristensen[/nom]thinking of upgrading my XPS 400 with the 4830.Can anyone tell me if upgrading my XPS 400 (i think it's: PCI-e x16, 375w power, nvidia 6800)with the ATI 4830 will be as simple as unclipping and unplugging the old card and plugging in the new one?anything else I should be thinking about with this upgrade?[/citation]

Yes, if it's PCIe it should be that simple. Well, there's the drivers. So...

1. Download the new ATI drivers
2. Uninstall the Nvidia drivers
3. Shut down the system and swap the cards
4. Reboot and install the ATI drivers

That's it!

The performance increase will likely blow your mind. Have fun!

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]montollo[/nom]...the 9500GT price has been reduced drastically and yestorday I was able to buy one for $39 (after a $20 rebate). ... may I suggest a $35 starting point for your next "best card for the money" article? I just think that the main battle between NVIDIA and ATI it's now been fought at the sub-$100 level.[/citation]

Was that an instant rebate or mail in? We don't really consider mail-in rebates for the list because you have to front the cash.

As far as I can find, the cheapest 9500GT (that's DDR2) and 4650's are $50 to $55. But like I say in the article, if you can find a deal that's acceptable to you and the card makes sense to buy, go to town.

 

[axilon]

I almost wish you guys would put a thermal roundup and a power draw on those card listings. I'm more concerned about heat buildup out here in 'snow one day shorts the next' Louisiana.

 

[achillion]

I've been using an nVidia 8800GT 512 for a year now and instead of upgrading I figured I could get more value for money from getting one more and setting up SLI (cost me 100 euros). Was that a good decision or could I have gotten better performance for the same money by getting a newer card in single configuration?

 

[mikewalker]

Correction: "The only way to get more performance is perhaps to triple-SLI some GeForce GTX 285s" should be written: "The only way to get more performance is perhaps to SLI 2 GeForce GTX 285's or even triple SLI 3 Geforce GTX 285's." 2 Geforce GTX 285's in SLI beat the GTX 295, plain and simple. However, the article states that the "only way to get more performance" is with *3* GTX 285's to beat the GTX 295, and that's just not accurate. This same mistake appeared in last month's article as well.

 

[mikewalker]

Please correct this ASAP, by the way great article guys, we all appreciate the work that goes into this site!

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]achillion[/nom]I've been using an nVidia 8800GT 512 for a year now and instead of upgrading I figured I could get more value for money from getting one more and setting up SLI (cost me 100 euros). Was that a good decision or could I have gotten better performance for the same money by getting a newer card in single configuration?[/citation]

Excellent decision! Two 8800 GTs in SLI will meet or beat $170 cards like the 4870 and GTX 260. Well played.

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]mikewalker[/nom]2 Geforce GTX 285's in SLI beat the GTX 295, plain and simple. [/citation]

Yes, but is the margin significant enough to consider it a viable alternative if more performance is desired? From what I recall the result is prety close, but I'll recheck the benches and see.

 

[Maurice Webb]

I just bought an HD 4890 over and an HD 4870.

Better cooling and power consumption == greater OC headroom w/o turning my rig into a convection oven.

Tsk, tsk, not even mentioning the card. I guess us informed consumers will have to remain "think-for-yourself'ers".

 

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]Maurice Webb[/nom]I just bought an HD 4890 over and an HD 4870...
...I guess us informed consumers will have to remain "think-for-yourself'ers".[/citation]

Well, remember this is a performance/dollar list. The 4890 has very poor performance/dollar value compared to the 4870.

That doesn't necessarily mean in informed buyer will never choose it, but it does mean it has no home on a price/performance list where the 4850 X2 will obliterate it in the same price range.

 

[Proximon]

I typed some huge thing the other night, but probably hit the wrong button

The short version... I did a lot of research and assembled 4 different spreadsheets and crunched a bunch of numbers and re-read a half-dozen reviews and I'm satisfied.

For almost all normal users, the GTX 285 is a waste of cash only exceeded by the GTX 280.

 

[mikewalker]

ORIGINAL POST BY mikewalker: Correction: "The only way to get more performance is perhaps to triple-SLI some GeForce GTX 285s" should be written: "The only way to get more performance is perhaps to SLI 2 GeForce GTX 285's or even triple SLI 3 Geforce GTX 285's." 2 Geforce GTX 285's in SLI beat the GTX 295, plain and simple. However, the article states that the "only way to get more performance" is with *3* GTX 285's to beat the GTX 295, and that's just not accurate. This same mistake appeared in last month's article as well.

REPLY BY Cleeve: Yes, but is the margin significant enough to consider it a viable alternative if more performance is desired? From what I recall the result is prety close, but I'll recheck the benches and see.

FOLLOW-UP BY mikewalker: If anything, what you typed seems to agree with my point - that 2 GTX 285's in SLI is a cheaper solution than 3 GTX 285's in SLI, while still beating the GTX 295. (and having 256 MB more memory which really helps at 1920x1200+ resolutions) The GTX 295 is 2 GTX 275 896 MB cards in SLI, while 2 GTX 285's (1024 MB) represent 2 of the fastest GPU's on the planet and a solution that not only beats any other 2 single GPU cards in SLI, but also beats any single graphics card period, regardless of the number of cores.

Again, the point is that this direct quote from the article is -false- :
"The only way to get more performance (than a GTX 295) is perhaps to triple-SLI some GeForce GTX 285s." It should read "SLI 2 Geforce GTX 285's," *NOT* "triple-SLI some GeForce GTX 285s."

Please fix this, as I'm sure many people would appreciate it judging by the number of people posting who own GTX 285's. (and anyone else who values accuracy.) The GTX 285 is in a class by itself by providing enough of a boost in performance over any other single GPU card, -especially- when overclocked as it runs extremely cool and reaches ultra high speeds, and at the same time being immune to any potential SLI/crossfire issues that other, supposedly better cards are sometimes crippled by.

 

[mikewalker]

I agree with other posters that both the 4890 and GTX 285's should at least get some sort of mention as the fastest single GPU cards by the 2 major players in this market, AMD and Nvidia, repectively. Clearly, many readers feel the same way. A nicely overclocked high end single GPU card is a force to be reckoned with, and one that cannot be stopped by ANY SLI or Crossfire issue, while still providing a smooth gaming experience for almost any game and resolution.

 

[cleeve]

Mike, I checked the benches like I said and it does look like two 285's can take it to a single 295 by a decent margin, so I edited the line accordingly.

I mentioned the 4890 in the intro, and I've mentioned the 285 in previous articles. An overclocked 285 or 4890 might be a force to reckon with, but they're still going to get eaten alive by cheaper solutions. It's not like the old days where SLI and Crossfire would fall over in half the titles out there; now, it's hard to find a popular game where they *don't* work properly. That means multi-card is now fair game for a price/performance comparison.

And that's this article's criteria, price/performance. And frankly the 280/285/4890 can't cut it with those criteria. If the price drops to an appropriate level, I'll be happy to recommend them, but for now I'm not recommending them with a 10-foot pole.