Find me the best video card under $250

[MilkyWay]

lol you want your old gtx 260 back, nah im loving it

didnt you get a 4850 then trade that in for a 4870 now want a new card

lmfao thats a lot of card switching, you might end up with one of your old cards sometime


i knew when you said you wanted to downgrade you wouldnt last

 

[PaulieG]

Ah only if you have responded to my PM earlier Paulieg...that GTX 280 had your name written all over it.

Oh sure. You just have to twist the knife.

 

[MilkyWay]

have u decided on a nice 9800gtx2 then?
nice cards that have come down a lot in price since they came out

the 260gtx are good but in the UK cards are still dear you can get a old 260 for the price of a new 55nm or well just about £10-£20 difference

 

[SystemViper]

I might have a 280 for 275....

 

[trt740]

this is about 40.00 to much but a great deal none the less 280 gtx 284.99 after rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143141


also since you want something to play with this has voltage control build in and does like 880 core, ever thought of this bad boy, it is still not as fast as a overclocked 260gtx but will reach 260gtx stock speeds and will match a 4870 1 gb because it has voltage control built into it and very very good cooling. It also has a coolness factor . However, from a performance stand point is about 30.00 overpriced.


ASUS EAH4870 MATRIX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121298

 

[nflesher87]

this is about 40.00 to much but a great deal none the less 280 gtx 284.99 after rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143141


also since you want something to play with this has voltage control build in and does like 880 core, ever thought of this bad boy, it is still not as fast as a overclocked 260gtx but will reach 260gtx stock speeds and will match a 4870 1 gb because it has voltage control built into it and very very good cooling. It also has a coolness factor . However, from a performance stand point is about 30.00 overpriced.


ASUS EAH4870 MATRIX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121298

that would be an amazing deal if 1GB...

 

[trt740]

that would be an amazing deal if 1GB...

yes thats what the reviews say some say it can hit 900 core. It's really not a normal 4870 has a different and improved power system. In a review I just read it did 880 core and that's screaming for a 4870 here is the review it almost quotes ya Nate http://www.legitreviews.com/article/881/1/

 

[nflesher87]

yes thats what the reviews say some say it can hit 900 core. It's really not a normal 4870 has a different and improved power system.

yeah I know exactly what you're talking about, just too bad they didn't couple all of it's advanced features with 1gb ram, then it would be the absolute best 4870 available
(or do they have one with 1gb?)

 

[trt740]

yeah I know exactly what you're talking about, just too bad they didn't couple all of it's advanced features with 1gb ram, then it would be the absolute best 4870 available
(or do they have one with 1gb?)

not yet( but I bet there will be). I would just want to play with it. It just has all the things I like to fool with, it could keep ya busy for hours. It is truly batman's video card, okay well maybe besides this card but it's way out of the price range.

but it's way out of this price range

 

[SystemViper]

ASUS EAH4870 MATRIX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121298

I like the cooler on that card!

 

[trt740]

I like the cooler on that card!

I like everything about it(except 512mb of ram) Asus did it before evga and gave you software voltage control and hardware (switches on the card) or so I read.

 

[PaulieG]

What if I increased my budget, what about this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809

 

[phanbuey]

What if I increased my budget, what about this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809

You cannot go wrong... very nice and very unique.

I always wanted that or the 4870X2 in a phenom II 940 Micro atx system...in a small case... with a handle... and a window... *wakes up* what just happened?

 

[trt740]

What if I increased my budget, what about this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809

Driver trouble and almost zero ati support and a noisy as hell cooler. You would be better off with the BFG 280gtx

 

[Binge]

Driver trouble and almost zero ati support and a noisy as hell cooler. You would be better off with the BFG 280gtx

+1 I've heard the same

 

[ZakkWylde]

4850x2 beats a single 4870 with ease

 

[Duffman]

Yeah, it's almost like Sapphire went to so much trouble just to bring a unique card to market and then decided not to support it...

and i've read the same thing about the cooler being noisy as heck and since it's not heatpipe, you need the crank the fans to get it to cool well.

 

[JrRacinFan]

4850x2 beats a single 4870 with ease

When the drivers work properly ....

@Paulie
If you want something close to 4850X2 performance, get 2x 4830's. I am still sticking my guns with an EVGA GTX 260 216

 

[hv43082]

Oh sure. You just have to twist the knife.

I wished I had saved it for you. The guy I sold to was a douche bag. I switched my normal carrier Fedex to his UPS b/c he does not like Fedex. I handed the package to UPS driver the same day and he was giving me shit for not dropping it off at UPS store so that the tracking information would show up earlier. WTF?!

 

[Wile E]

I say stick with ATI on a Crossfire board. More options that way. The only way I would make an exception is if I jumped straight to the 295.

 

[trt740]

I say stick with ATI on a Crossfire board. More options that way. The only way I would make an exception is if I jumped straight to the 295.

I have had crossfire rigs and they are great when it's supported and when the drivers work, but thats the key and if your going to buy two cards why not avoid that problem and buy the most card you can afford. I had two 4850's in crossfire and they were monsters , however, getting the crossfire drivers to install and work right and then finding a game that supports it was a crap shoot. I had trouble getting crossfire to work at all a bunch of times after new driver releases. Crossfire can be a pain in the ass as SLI can, both suffer from the same troubles. Get a powerful single gpu video card and buy the best one you can afford , with the best resale and then all those problem disappear.

 

[Duffman]

i gotta agree with trt on that one. Xfire, while a very romantic idea, can be more of a headache than it's worth. I can't speak on the dual gpu boards with xfire built in but with two cards, it can be a real PITA

 

[trt740]

i gotta agree with trt on that one. Xfire, while a very romantic idea, can be more of a headache than it's worth. I can't speak on the dual gpu boards with xfire built in but with two cards, it can be a real PITA

I can speak on the 3870x2, because the card had two gpus on one pcb , it was and is very well supported and to this day it worked very well. That sapphire 4850x2 was another story as was the 3850x2 both are not supported right.

 

[Wile E]

Even with the PITA factor, an ATI card still leaves more options open on a Crossfire board than an nVidia card does. If he buys an nVidia card, his ONLY recourse for upgrade after that is to remove and replace. Whereas with the ATI cards, he also has the option to add additional cards instead of mearly replacing them.

And I know about the pains of Crossfire. Try getting a 4870 1GB and a 4850 512MB card to play nice together. lol. All it takes is a little research and tweaking time finding the right driver and settings. Not really a big deal at all.

 

[trt740]

Even with the PITA factor, an ATI card still leaves more options open on a Crossfire board than an nVidia card does. If he buys an nVidia card, his ONLY recourse for upgrade after that is to remove and replace. Whereas with the ATI cards, he also has the option to add additional cards instead of mearly replacing them.

And I know about the pains of Crossfire. Try getting a 4870 1GB and a 4850 512MB card to play nice together. lol. All it takes is a little research and tweaking time finding the right driver and settings. Not really a big deal at all.

Well then there is the horrible ATI resale and it is horrible . Where the geforce cards, especially XFX and EVGA, resell super well. He would be better off with a 260gtx 216 or 280gtx, on both fronts and with either one in your rig nothing gonna overpower it (anytime soon). Night guys, good luck Pauly boy!!!!