Buying decent graphics card <100$

[notsmart]

Hello,

I hate how there's so many brands and so many series that I can't tell which is better than which. I've looked at this site's reco and saw the Radeon 5570, but on another side they said a 6670 was even better for the same price.

All I want is a card less than 100, heck even 80; to decently game with. I have a 1680x1050 but i'll obviously have to use lower settings for decent graphics.

I bought a stock XPS 8300, b/c i don't have the time to build one as a full-time worker. i5 core SB 2.8Ghz w/ 6GB ram. Currently using NVGEF 8400GS. i believe it's a 460W (max power on sticker) cpu. (I read some things about drawing power; what does it mean? I dont want a card that will eat up my energy bill either )

P.S. It has integrated Intel HD Graphics (2000?) which seems to have a Windows rating of 5.2 and my current 8400GS card has a lower 4.5 rating (?_?) Is my current card that bad?

 

[rolli59]

Great http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540
Good http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102952
Yes 8400GS sucks.

 

[bucknutty]

the 8400gs is the slowest gpu that nvidia currently makes. Its low power and intended for office computers. Its great at excel and word.

For gaming you need something a little better.

If you want Nvidia at under $100 I would suggest this. 9800gt
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5639261&sku=E145-9864&cm_re=Homepage-_-Spot%2006-_-CatId_28_E145-9864
its $75 and it is around 10 times more powerful thant he 8400gs.

If you want AMD for under 100 i would suggest this 6670.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131440

If you can swing it get this 6770.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540

That 6770 would be like 14 times as powerful as your 8400gs.

A little light reading if you get bored. Video cards are sort of arranged by performance. Top tier is really pricey, lower tier is really old.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,3018-7.html

I don't put much stock in what comay makes the cards. They all seem to have similar quality these days. I would go for the one with the best warranty.

 

[notsmart]

the 8400gs is the slowest gpu that nvidia currently makes. Its low power and intended for office computers. Its great at excel and word.

For gaming you need something a little better.

If you want Nvidia at under $100 I would suggest this. 9800gt
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5639261&sku=E145-9864&cm_re=Homepage-_-Spot%2006-_-CatId_28_E145-9864
its $75 and it is around 10 times more powerful thant he 8400gs.

If you want AMD for under 100 i would suggest this 6670.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131440

If you can swing it get this 6770.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540

That 6770 would be like 14 times as powerful as your 8400gs.

A little light reading if you get bored. Video cards are sort of arranged by performance. Top tier is really pricey, lower tier is really old.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,3018-7.html

I don't put much stock in what comay makes the cards. They all seem to have similar quality these days. I would go for the one with the best warranty.

i've never heard of powercolor, is is reliable? Also, i found a 6670 that's ddr5 is that any good?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150545&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Video+Cards-_-XFX-_-14150545

PS. i like the 9800GT price + tier. Still considering getting a quieter card and one that will not eat up my 460W cpu

 

[bucknutty]

Power color has been making ati cards for years and years.. I bought an ati x1650 like 6 years ago and it still works.

The 6670 is a good choice as it is under 75 watts. The other 2 are over 100 watts. Keep in mind the gpus have power saving tech built in. When they are not needed they run in a low power state that only draws a fraction of thier max possible draw. So you really do not need to worry about waisting electricity to much. Basicly they only use alot of electricy when you ask them to do a lot of work... like gaming.

 

[notsmart]

How do i compare graphics cards? What is the determining factor of a card that's good or not?

 

[jeffredo]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131434

If you can spend $10 more now and wait for a rebate the HD 6770 is much better.

 

[Djentleman]

You get what you pay for.

 

[notsmart]

Best answer selected by notsmart.

 

[notsmart]

Interestingly, I've read around. I'm down-pat on 6670 / 6770. They both look huge, will they fit? I'm looking at the internals and there seems to be a heatsink on the mobo right under the pcie slot. Also how do i check if my pcie is 2, 2.1 or 3? or possibly even 1. will it matter? Additionally, i've heard some cards need extra power by connecting pins, does that mean you'll need to attach something to the card?

 

[bucknutty]

I just looked at a few reveiws of the XPS 8300. That dell has an option of a HD5870 from the factory. That is a pretty big high end card. If that card will fit pretty much any card will.

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-xps-8300-desktop/4505-3118_7-34641107.html

 

[notsmart]

I just looked at a few reveiws of the XPS 8300. That dell has an option of a HD5870 from the factory. That is a pretty big high end card. If that card will fit pretty much any card will.

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-xps-8300-desktop/4505-3118_7-34641107.html

thanks for all ur help buck

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey