Finding Mid-High end Graphic card

[chanwhk]

Hi,

Recently I took the $199 i7 920 deal at MicroCenter and starting to build a system from there. Currently I've only gotten the CPU only so my options are not limited to anything but price range. I am planning $140-$240 for one or two cards (Crossfire/SLI). If I do end up getting one card for now, I will crossfire/SLI in the future when the price gone down.

I am leaning towards ATI's offerings base on reviews, recommendations, and the lower price. However, Geforce does look pretty good too.

Some of which i've considered are:
Geforce GTX 260 1Gb
ATI HD 4870 1Gb
ATI HD 4890 1Gb
ATI HD 4870 1Gb Crossfire

I would like to know what card would you get if you were me building a fresh i7 920 system.
Also I would like to know if you guys have a preference on which company make better cards then others for ATI and Nvidia. I've noticed some people saying HIS makes good ATI cards. What else?

 

[gkay09]

I would suggest the 4890 1GB...and you can get HIS 4890s @ newegg for about $190...
I suggested the 4890 because it can hold much longer than the 4870/ GTX 260 until you need and upgrade...
But first give the resolution of the monitor that you have...Maybe even a 4870 can be suffice...

And just a suggestion...you can create a new thread under the New System build section and can get good suggestion for all the components rather than having one thread for each component...So it will be easy for you too...
*How To Ask For New Build Advice*

 

[boudy]

I would get the 4890 1GB. That will allow for Crossfire down the road as well as give you great performance compared to the other options you listed.
(Performance comparison for options listed: GTX 260 1GB ≈ 4870 1GB < 4890 1GB < 4870 1GB Crossfire)

Brands are a huge hassle but for ATI brands I have heard good things about Sapphire, HIS, MSI, and ASUS (XFX is also making ATI cards now but I haven't heard much about their ATI cards).
For Nvidia XFX, EVGA, BFG, MSI, and ASUS are all reputable brands.

 

[amdfangirl]

Well... i7 does scale well with CF.

 

[chanwhk]

I would suggest the 4890 1GB...and you can get HIS 4890s @ newegg for about $190...
I suggested the 4890 because it can hold much longer than the 4870/ GTX 260 until you need and upgrade...
But first give the resolution of the monitor that you have...Maybe even a 4870 can be suffice...

And just a suggestion...you can create a new thread under the New System build section and can get good suggestion for all the components rather than having one thread for each component...So it will be easy for you too...
*How To Ask For New Build Advice*

I don't have a monitor yet. Haven't started research for it. Gonna leave it to the last since I have a HDTV to survive with for a week or two.

Didn't know there is such section here.. (am new here). Will definitely start a post there. Thanks.

 

[chanwhk]

Another question came up, should I get Pre-OC edition cards that cost $40-60 more or just do the trick at home? Could the stock cooler handle home OC?

Is this MSI HD 4890's cooler ok for OC?
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010282&ps=ps=weekly_10010282

 

[jonpaul37]

I would go for the 4890 as well, I personally like the Sapphire brand, but that's all preference. With this card (and possible crossfire) you will not need to worry about the resolution you are playing at unless it is crazy high, LOL

 

[shubham1401]

Why spend more money on oce'd cards when you can do it yourself.