Best Card for my situation

[Higach]

Hey guys, haven't been on these forums in awhile. Anyway, with WAR coming out, and the fact I am building my brother a computer, I wanted to upgrade my graphics card for the occasion. Anyway, I am a bit confused because I haven't been keeping up with all this (stopped paying attention when the 8800gts g92 just came out) so needless to say I don't know what card is the best bang for your buck.

I can only have 1 card, I can't SLI because my motherboard, and have a $200-$250 limit but would prefer to spend less if I could. Anyway what confuses me is all the bad things I have been hearing about so many different cards.

8800GT 512mb vs 8800GT 1gb I hear makes no difference
8800GTS g92 vs 9800GTX I hear is exactly the same
I also have heard that the whole 9 series is really bad and it would be best to not get them. Anyway, I am just wondering what the best choice would be in your guy's opinions. I realize you probably see these threads all the time and for that I apologize, but the thing is I am probably going to order this week for me and my brother so I should figure this stuff out now. I am not looking for complete top of the line 500+, just something to replace my 7950gt that will rock games (specifically Warhammer Online which is coming out very soon) on max settings and last a good while.

8800GT 512mb, 8800GT 1gb, 8800GTS g92, 9800GTX, or something else (nvidia is all I really know sorry)? Just to give you an example where I am coming from, last time I checked 8800GTS g92s were like $350, and now it seems they have dropped almost $200.

Sorry for the long post to ask, but any help is greatly appreciated.

[vernong1992]

- 1gb is slower due to the 256bit capping 1gb of VRAM
- Its not exactly the same, the 9800gtx is an OCed 8800gts g92 and has better RAM chips for OC'ing (hd 4850 is better than both)

- get either the 9800gtx+ or the HD 4850

[Higach]

Since I figured I would probably need a new Power Supply with a new card (sporting a FSP 400w), would this be sufficient for a 9800GTX along with the rest of my system in my sig (except I now have 3x1GB of ram). I figure it probably has to be, especially because I can't SLI or anything like that.

Newegg.com - OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB/CE/CSA/UL/FCC - Power Supplies

EDIT: and also, I just noticed that the 4870's are only like $270-$280. I could probably squeeze out the extra cash if it is worth it. How much better is a 4870 than a 4850 and how does it compare with a 9800GTX? I want to get the best possible single card I can without spending 300+ basically on something like a GX2 or the new GTX280s.

[vernong1992]

9800GTX < HD 4850 = 9800GTX+ < GTX 260 < HD 4870

That PSU is fine.. There are better ones for the price...

[zedman3d]

Originally Posted by vernong1992

9800GTX < HD 4850 = 9800GTX+ < GTX 260 < HD 4870

That PSU is fine.. There are better ones for the price...

Im guessing thats meant to be <.
But i would go with the 9800GTX+ or 4850.

[vernong1992]

Come again?

[Higach]

Alright thanks for all your help. I am thinking either 4850 or 4870 (gonna be weird because I have been nvidia for so long). Either way I go, it will be a huge huge improvement over the 7950gt I have. I am probably going to go for the 4850 just because it is $100 cheaper for probably non-noticeable FPS drops in the games I am going to play. I am positive that it will be able to run WAR on fully maxed especially if it is better than 9800gtx.

Again thanks for your help, and I am definitely glad these prices have dropped so much. I remember when the 8800GTs came out and they were so extremely popular, and if you found one for $280 it would be good.

Last thing I am going to do is see if there is any better/cheaper power supplies for what I need it for. I have to get one no matter what because I am giving my brother my old one for his build along with my 7950gt, so any suggestions are greatly appreciated

Thanks again

[Redmo0n]

Well my friend runs his 4850 overclocked w/ a q6600 and he only uses the case themaltake psu (430w) (see in my sig) and its fine.

I would look at a Corsair 450vx or 550vx

450vx (with a nice $15 rebate) = Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply 90 - 264 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Power Supplies

550vx ($10 rebate, has a bit more juice) = Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply 90 - 264 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Power Supplies

[Higach]

Hrmm actually now I am leaning towards the 4870 with the memory combo ($49.49 2x1gb ram for free because $30 MIR and $20 combo sale) because while I am upgrading my system, I am building my brother a new one and the free ram will save him some cash. Anyway my question is will the 450watt corsair be able to run a single 4870? I am sure it will be but I just want to make sure. Later today I will post the builds before I buy it all tomorrow.

[Higach]

Ok here is the setup, let me just make sure everything is alright before I order it in a little bit:

Just for the record he is not going to be doing any real overclocking (with the exception of me maybe pushing the e7200 up a bit without raising the voltages)

Motherboard: Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Processor: Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors
Hard Drive: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500AAKS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Case: Newegg.com - APEVIA X-TELSTAR-JR G-Type X-TSJGT-GN Green SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Memory: (free with my video card) Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Video Card: (already have) 7950GT 512mb
Optical Drive: (already have) Newegg.com - ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T OEM - CD / DVD Drives
PSU: (already have) Newegg.com - FSP Group SAGA+ 400R ATX12V 400W Power Supply 120/220 - 240v NEMKO, TUV, CSA, IEC, UL, CE - Power Supplies

It comes to a total of around ~$330

As for my upgrades:

Vid Card: Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100243L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
PSU: Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply 90 - 264 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Power Supplies
Monitor: Newegg.com - Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support 300 cd/m2 700:1 - LCD Monitors

The rest of my build is in my signature, minus of course the PSU/Vid Card