Best Graphics card for $250? Upgrade for Nephew.

bud951 · Dec 3, 2009

Hi, I would like to buy a video card for my nephew as a Holliday gift. I built his PC last year that consists of a Q6600 ,2gigs RAM, Nforce 780i with Nvidia 9800GTX+ (ASUS). It rocks on most games but he wants to run FC2 and others at full resolution and is looking forward to Bioshock2. What card for around $250 would carry him over for at least a year? Thanks!

RaPiDo987 · Dec 3, 2009

My XFX 4890

DirectorC · Dec 3, 2009

GTX275 if not a 4890.

AltecV1 · Dec 3, 2009

5770 hands down.

DirectorC · Dec 3, 2009

AltecV1 said:
5770 hands down.

That is a sub-$200 card which performs more like a 4870/GTX260 than anything else, just has support for DX11.

For $300 you can destroy everything with a 5850.

RaPiDo987 · Dec 3, 2009

DirectorC said:
For an extra $50 you can destroy everything with a 5850.

Ha, you mean $100... with these high prices on the 5850...

DirectorC · Dec 3, 2009

RaPiDo987 said:
Ha, you mean $100... with these high prices on the 5850...

Edited. They are $300 though. Well I guess readily available they are $320.

DirectorC · Dec 3, 2009

RaPiDo987 · Dec 3, 2009

DirectorC said:
Edited. They are $300 though. Well I guess readily available they are $320.

5850 for $350:shadedshu

crazyeyesreaper · Dec 3, 2009

well the msrp of the 5850 is $259 wait a bit longer see if supply increases and when u see it for under $300 buy it

and sell the 9800GTX+ local or on here to cover the extra cost. you can probably get $75-95 for that 9800gtx + that means the 5850 is only around $200 bones

bud951 · Dec 3, 2009

Thanks for input. Is the 5850 the best way to go? Can I get one under $300? I am also gonna OC the processor as everything is stock. 1650x1080 right now but higher res monitor soon. Thanks again!

crazyeyesreaper · Dec 3, 2009

yea 5850 is the way to go if u can get it sub $300 thus why i say buy the 5850 and sell the 9800gtx AFTER u get it installed and recoup some of the cost and your golden

ive run them in crossfire and single card no games give me any issue crysis and crysis warhead run top notch as well so yea wait a bit do the above and call it a good day :toast:

bud951 · Dec 3, 2009

crazyeyesreaper said:
well the msrp of the 5850 is $259 wait a bit longer see if supply increases and when u see it for under $300 buy it and sell the 9800GTX+ local or on here to cover the extra cost. you can probably get $75-95 for that 9800gtx + that means the 5850 is only around $200 bones

Where do I get one for $259? Thanks

I thought your link would direct me to a 5850 for $259.. damm I read it too fast!

crazyeyesreaper · Dec 3, 2009

well i bought mine back at release so they were still MSRP

keep an eye on newegg for a the $309 cards

DonInKansas · Dec 3, 2009

At this point, you don't. What resolution does he game at? That makes a difference in card choice as well.

Maban · Dec 3, 2009

Why not just another GTX+ and get some more ram with the money saved?

bud951 · Dec 3, 2009

Maban said:
Why not just another GTX+ and get some more ram with the money saved?

Way too much heat. I tried two 8800GT's and it crashed from heat time after time.

bud951 · Dec 3, 2009

DonInKansas said:
At this point, you don't. What resolution does he game at? That makes a difference in card choice as well.

1680x1050 right now.

crazyeyesreaper · Dec 3, 2009

but you mentioned a higher resolution screen later correct? as such again makes more sense to get new tech that supports new features at $300 bones the 5850 is still good for its price and if he sells the 9800gtx again it costs less to upgrade

DirectorC · Dec 3, 2009

I don't know for sure, but this site is usually pretty good about mentioning what is in stock and what is out of stock. There is another 5850 they say is clearly out of stock. This one, however: "Limited qty coming in . Shipping time is 12-8-2009"

http://www.antaresdigital.com/customer/product.php?productid=17396&cat=434&page=1

Lionheart · Dec 3, 2009

The HD5850 dude, what those guys said above, get it man!

bud951 · Dec 3, 2009

It's clear.. HD5850 1gb. I am looking for best price. I love Newegg but they are out as of now. If anyone knows of another good vendor, please let me know. Thanks to all of you!!

Binge · Dec 3, 2009

bud951 said:
It's clear.. HD5850 1gb. I am looking for best price. I love Newegg but they are out as of now. If anyone knows of another good vendor, please let me know. Thanks to all of you!!

I'm selling one here, it's more expensive, but my price includes shipping. It's $335

pantherx12 · Dec 3, 2009

bud951 said:
Way too much heat. I tried two 8800GT's and it crashed from heat time after time.

Add some fans man :laugh:

spend $15 on fans then the rest on another 9800 save lots of money : ]

crazyeyesreaper · Dec 3, 2009

or sell the 9800 collect $85 or so pay down on the 5850 and its only $220 and he gets performance and DX11 not mention the sexy batmobile cooler which trumps all nvidia coolers in style ok probably not but still

who dosent like the batmobile :rockout:

System Name	Making Love
Processor	Intel SandyBridge 2600K
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7
Cooling	Corsair H70 Liquid Cooler
Memory	8 GB DDR3 Corsair Dominator 1600
Video Card(s)	Saphire Radeon 6970 2gb + XFX GeForce 8800GT 512mb Hybrid PhysX
Storage	Crucial 128 GB SSD for os and games + WD 2TB for storage
Display(s)	Samsung SyncMaster T260 LCD 26"
Case	Thermaltake Shark Mid Tower (plus Vasoline to make it all fit!)
Audio Device(s)	Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 + Logitech Z-5500 Digital THX Speakers
Power Supply	Corsair AX1200
Software	Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64

System Name	O.G Double O.G.
Processor	AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE 3.7Ghz on 1.437V
Motherboard	BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX 128M
Cooling	Sunbeam CCTF 120mm (CPU), Scythe 3000 rpm "ULTRA KAZE" x 3,
Memory	Kingston HyperX T1 Series 4GB
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon HD 4890 1Gb XT
Storage	1 TB
Display(s)	Acer H233Hbmid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full HD 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor
Case	Thermaltake M9
Power Supply	700w Rocketfish
Software	Win 7 x64

System Name	-= Son of a Whore =-
Processor	E8400 @ 4.0GHz (445 x 9)
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Memory	3GB Corsair XMS2
Video Card(s)	EVGA 8800 GT 512
Storage	74GB Raptor + Caviars in RAID0
Display(s)	I-Inc 19" LCD 1440x900
Audio Device(s)	Audigy SE & Logitech X-540
Power Supply	Corsair 750TX
Software	Win32 v6.1.7600
Benchmark Scores	Logitech KB & Sidewinder X3

Processor	C2D E8400@3.6 ghz
Motherboard	ASUS P5KPL-AM
Cooling	Freezer 7 pro
Memory	Kingston 4GB 800Mhz cl6
Video Card(s)	Sapphire HD4850 700/1000 + Accelero S1 Rev. 2
Storage	WD 250 GB AAKS
Display(s)	22" Samsung SyncMaster 226BW
Audio Device(s)	int.
Power Supply	Forton Blue Storm II 500W
Software	Windows 7 64bit Ultimate

System Name	-= Son of a Whore =-
Processor	E8400 @ 4.0GHz (445 x 9)
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Memory	3GB Corsair XMS2
Video Card(s)	EVGA 8800 GT 512
Storage	74GB Raptor + Caviars in RAID0
Display(s)	I-Inc 19" LCD 1440x900
Audio Device(s)	Audigy SE & Logitech X-540
Power Supply	Corsair 750TX
Software	Win32 v6.1.7600
Benchmark Scores	Logitech KB & Sidewinder X3

System Name	Old reliable
Processor	Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard	MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling	Custom Water
Memory	32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X
Storage	3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s)	Dell U2412M + Samsung TA350
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply	Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse	Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard	Mionix

Processor	Core i5 3570K
Motherboard	AsRock z77 Pro4
Cooling	Zalman CNPS10X Extreme
Memory	2x4GB GSkill Sniper
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX970 Gaming
Storage	240GB OCZ ARC 100, Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Display(s)	LG 23" 1920x1080
Case	Antec P100
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Antec Edge 750W
Software	Windows 8.1 Pro 64

System Name	Boomer Master Race
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS APU
Motherboard	BareBones Mini PC MB
Cooling	Mini PC Cooling
Memory	Crucial 32GB 4800MHz
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 680M 8GB IGPU
Storage	Crucial 500GB M.2 SSD + 2TB Ext HDD
Display(s)	Sony 4K Bravia X85J 43Inch TV 120Hz
Case	Beelink Mini PC Chassis
Audio Device(s)	Built In Realtek Digital Audio HD
Power Supply	120w Power Brick
Mouse	Logitech G203 Lightsync
Keyboard	Atrix RGB Slim Keyboard
VR HMD	( ◔ ʖ̯ ◔ )
Software	Windows 10 Home 64bit
Benchmark Scores	Don't do them anymore.

System Name	Molly
Processor	i5 3570K
Motherboard	Z77 ASRock
Cooling	CooliT Eco
Memory	2x4GB Mushkin Redline Ridgebacks
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GTX 680
Case	Coolermaster CM690 II Advanced
Power Supply	Corsair HX-1000

System Name	My pc
Processor	Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard	Asus Rog b450-f
Cooling	Cooler master 120mm aio
Memory	16gb ddr4 3200mhz
Video Card(s)	MSI Ventus 3x 3070
Storage	2tb intel nvme and 2tb generic ssd
Display(s)	Generic dell 1080p overclocked to 75hz
Case	Phanteks enthoo
Power Supply	650w of borderline fire hazard
Mouse	Some wierd Chinese vertical mouse
Keyboard	Generic mechanical keyboard
Software	Windows ten

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