Cheapest perfect card

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gamepassion

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Sep 5, 2011
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what will be be cheapest card (including manufacturer not just model) to run todays games maxed out at 1280x1024 with decent framerates (over 30)?
 
There is no one perfect card. Card performance will also depend on the particular games, and your memory which you list nothing about. When you define decent frame rates as "30", is that minimum or average?

I recommend the HD 6670 as a good option.

As to manufacturer - many are very similar and finding the cheapest is a function of searching a lot of sites to see who has the best deal on a any of a group of manufacturers.

For more information about manufacturers - see this website:

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/brands.html

For a comparison of nVidia vs. AMD cards, see this page at the same site:

http://www.upgradevideocards.com/designers.html

I won't guarantee it is the cheapest, but his XFX HD 6670 is top brand for $64 AR.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150542

It also has a lifetime warranty - although that certainly is not included in your criteria of finding the cheapest - and certainly ads to the manufacturers cost. It might not be the cheapest - but it has great value. And when looking for the cheapest brand - heed the advice that you get what you pay for.
 
when I say cheapest is because I am not looking for a 560 ti or 6950. when I said perfect I meant a quality build. so no, I`m not looking for a non quality card.

I have 4 GB of memory and core 2 duo e8300

I would like to upgrade from my 9800 gt card and would like to keep price down as much as possible but to get the best upgrade. so when I bought my 9800 it could run almost everything at high settings.
 
The 5770/6770, or 550TI are going to be the minimum cards you should look at. The 5750/6750 or GTS450 might work for most games. The 5670 should be weaker then your 9800GT, so avoid it and the identical 6670. I personally would look to the 6850 or GTX460.
 
sirtec 500w psu

the budget is to be decided upon your recomandation. again, I look for a card that will run today`s games max out but with the lower price possible (from recognized manufacturers)
 
I have an HD5870 which varies a LOT from game to game. I would definitely not want less than this.

While the HD5870 can basically "max" out most games it does so just barely, and even then there are stutters, and lower frame rates that would be improved by a better graphics card.

So if you buy a card of lesser quality than the HD5870 you will have to either lower game quality or the frame rates.

So it's really your choice based on price.

*be advised your CPU will bottleneck higher-end graphics card. I'm not certain at which point and it VARIES from one game to another.

My advice:
1) get a GTX560 or GTX560Ti (or wait for the AMD 7000 series near Christmas 2011 and get one with GTX560Ti performance)

2) overclock the CPU by roughly 25% (you may need to first UNDERCLOCK your RAM by about 25%. You'll have to verify this yourself, but many older computers overclock BOTH the CPU and RAM when you overclock just the CPU which caused problems because RAM was too overclocked.)

3) Use MEMTEST before and after changing any RAM settings to ensure stability

4) get a CPU heatsink + fan for roughly $30 (NCIX is good). A good card will run your CPU at, or close to 100% which would be very noisy for a stock fan and also stock heatsinks limit the amount of overclocking.

5) Your Power Supply must supply:
- enough Wattage (find an online calculator to add up parts including graphics card)
- at least 1.25x the AMPS required on the graphics card (for example, a GTX570 requires about 38Amps. I'd get a PSU of 48Amps or higher. Technically this is on the +12V rail or combined rails but this should be clearly stated in the manual or on the side of the power supply.)

6) Recommend two case fans:
- 500 to 800RPM CONSTANT (non-variable)
- 120mm probably
- front-bottom and top-rear
 
as my card broke second time, i`m again interested in this kind of subject. as 9800 is similar with 8800, I am quite curious to see the result of the post.

it`s interesting to see amd cards lead when we talk of mid to low cards and nvidia is almost nonexistant, while mid to high cards they seem to slightly loose agains nvidia.
 
I have 2 case fans, both 80mm: one from and one back, both nexus real silent.

I am no OC fan, I never done it. a 6850 will be better then your 5870? it wil botleneck my cpu? I read somewhere here that 2sli 560 ti worked fine with a e8400, so a 6850 should work fine with my e8300 or am I wrong?
 
I have an HD5870 which varies a LOT from game to game. I would definitely not want less than this.
Click to expand...

But do you game at 1280x1024? The lower the resolution, the less power you need.

a 6850 will be better then your 5870?
Click to expand...

See above. A 5870 is overkill for your resolution. As would be a 560TI/6950. They also all need more power then your Sirtec 500W can do. 5770, 6770, or 6850 is what I'd put on that PSU, and I'm not sure about the 6850.

it`s interesting to see amd cards lead when we talk of mid to low cards and nvidia is almost nonexistant
Click to expand...

One word for this, Fermi. Because Fermi is so large, it scales down poorly. The only low end fermi card that's been released was the GT430. A card that games so badly even the GT240 can beat it. At this point Nvidia HAS to keep making older cards to provide a gaming low end option. And why buy older tech when when you can get AMD's current tech?
 

I have EVGA 460 I will sell you for cheap
 

I have a recertified EVGA 460 that I will sell you for cheap..
 


The 6670 is not identical to the 9800GT - in fact it is 3 steps higher on the THG Hiearchy Chart:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997-7.html

It is also the THG recommended card at the $120 budget level in that same article:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997-3.html

Note that it is recommended for use on a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels, which has 76% more pixels than your 1280x1024 - this requires considerable more power in a video card than your lower resolution monitor.

The HD 6670 I linked at the top meets your stated requirements. If you can afford to go for more - by all means go for it for future proofing.

 
Sorry, I meant the 6670 was identical to the 5670. I'm not sure why I wrote that as the 6670 is a bit faster then the 5670, but not by much.

The 6670 is not three steps higher, its on the same step as the 9800/8800GT, and the 4830. Double check your link. You also linked the wrong card at $120. The 6770 is very different then the 6670. It's confusing I know.
 
The HD 6670 is about 10% faster than the HD 5670. It also includes some circuitry for a little better blu-ray playback quality.

Initially the HD 6670 was selling for around $99 and based on that price, it wasn't worth paying $20 - $30 more for just a 10% performance increase. However, prices have come down and now the price difference between the HD 5670 and HD 6670 is about $10 - $20. Therefore, the price for the HD 6670 is pretty good.
 


What the OP wants is unclear. And I se he havnt replied for a long time.
 
well, in europe was night so I was at sleep. now it`s morning 😉

I read all the reviews. I quite clear know now how every card begaves, but the lines between them is so thick.

to be honest, as I`m nvidia user, I won`t change to AMD plus I heard their drivers are problematic. but the cheapest card in nvidia worth it would be 460 and that`s in the higher half of the price line. as hd 6850 and 6870 are both. this leave me with 6750 or 6770 as 58xx I can`t find in stores near me. And as Tom`s hardware charts sais, I should upgrade at leat 3 tier up, this leaving me with 6770.

Did I sort it right?
 
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