Best Stop Gap Card?

[Adrian Whitte]

My 8800GTS(640mb) just died. Got 2 1/2 years out of it. Want to wait another 6 months to do a complete rebuild after the new cards (and games that take advantage of them) come out. My question: What card for <$100 will bridge that 4-6 month gap at the 8800gts or better level?

 

[coozie7]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/best-graphics-card,review-31635-6.html

You should be able to find the HD4850/GTS250 class for around your budget if you shop around.

 

[azconnie]

You want to limp for 6 mo? I would say a 9800GT or something. Just match your core count as cheaply as possible. Maybe a GTS250, but there $130.

 

[dirtmountain]

Look for a card that has a double lifetime warranty like XFX, this makes it much easier to sell off later. This HD4770 is $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150369
They also have 4850s or 4870s

 

[hopar]

I am in similar situation and cant decide between a Geforce 250gts and a Radeon 4850, its pretty much down to Nvidia vs ATI drivers for me 🙁

 

[Adrian Whitte]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Ended up buying a Radeon 4870(512) 'like new' on ebay for $120. Once I looked harder at the video card review comparisons here on the site it seemed like a good choice. Thanks again and good luck Hopar. There are plenty more of the same on ebay for just a bit more $$.

 

[djcoolmasterx]

You should try the "oven trick" with your old card 😀

 

[Adrian Whitte]

Ok I'll bite. Is the 'oven trick' just BS or is it real? Did a search and A LOT of people say it works. MY card has yellow lines running throughout the display and won't go above 16 colors. If it's not BS I'll try it. The card is going in the trash anyway... Besides, no one on here would tease a fellow techie right?!?

 

[dirtmountain]

It's not BS, i've never used it myself, but others here have. If you have nothing to lose it's worth a try.

 

[Adrian Whitte]

Holy S**t!!! It worked!!!
I can hardly believe it but the damn thing is up and running great after I baked it in the oven. Took awhile to get the heat sink off and back on but.... It worked!!!

Thanks for the tips guys. I've been in IT for a looong time and had never heard of this technique.

Now I have to figure out what to do with the Radeon 4870 that's on it's way to me, ha