GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Does it actually matter if I'm running DDR1 RAM when this card uses DDR2?

No biggie.

Hey, does that AGP ATI Sapphire card actually support pixel shader 3.0, or what?

Google?

Hey there,
I'm looking to pick up a new graphics card because my current integrated HD 4200 is basically hitting a wall—though, honestly, I'm kind of shocked at how much that little thing can actually pull off before it dies.
Basically, I'm aiming for something in the ballpark of $200
. The kid loves gaming, and since I don't want to dump a massive fortune into this, I'm looking for some solid advice so I can get the best bang for my buck.
Thanks in advance for the help...

$217 cash on the card $193
The card you're looking at is a Gigabyte PCI-E ATI Radeon HD5670 with 1GB GDDR5
If you want to check out other options, just search for "Best Buy" on Google—it's their online store. If you find something else you like, just grab it and it's yours.
Just a heads-up so you don't get tripped up by the MB/GB specs: a card with 512 MB can actually outperform one with a full gig. Personally, I think this one is a pretty solid deal for the price, but hey, you get what you pay for. You'll get exactly what's in this budget range.

If you're rocking a Full HD monitor, try this
http://www.amazon.com/s?k=graphics+card+criteria

No Full HD? Then go with this
http://www.amazon.com/s?k=graphics+card+criteria

Or even better
http://www.amazon.com/s?k=graphics+card+criteria
http://www.amazon.com/s?k=graphics+card+criteria

p.s. You can actually find killer deals on the local marketplaces too—not the flea markets, I mean the forum classifieds 😁. Great stuff for cheap 🙂.

Found a sweet deal for pennies from Taipan (the laptop mod here)
. http://forum.us/showthread.php?t=646227

3. Sapphire HD4830 graphics card, 1GB GDDR3

Links Warranty valid until 08/26/2011. It's fully functional and works perfectly. Just the bare card, no bundles included. Attaching a copy of the receipt here. link

Price: $127 + $6.75 shipping

Not trying to start a whole new thread here...

Looking for some advice on a GPU... a friend of mine is planning to pick up something used for under $333, so I figured I'd see if anyone had any input...

What do you guys think about this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphic-card-listing-1946031

Or maybe...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphic-card-listing-2947465

Thanks...

Grab some more $17 and snatch this one up before it's gone:

Or you could just pick up this one from AMD:

So, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered this card from Protis after you guys kept telling me it was the way to go.
Thanks for the assist...

jaderanger8 said:Maybe grab some more $17 and pick this up if it hasn't sold yet:
http://www.craigslist.org/video-cards-listing-2769106

Or you could just go with this one from Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=9943

Just picked up a GTX 460...

Thanks...

In the end, I pulled the trigger on this. I was really torn between grabbing one of those more heavily branded GTX 460 models or just going with an ATI 5770 instead. Fingers crossed this one actually works out.

So, my graphics card finally showed up, but first I really need to "applaud" the guys over at Protis for their incredible "resourcefulness" and give a heads-up to anyone thinking about buying from them.
Basically, I called them up on Friday to order the card at the price of $195
I give them a ring yesterday and the guys immediately put me in a great mood—telling me the card was just sitting there waiting for me.
Alright, sounds great, right? So I head down there to pick it up, only to find out the price has changed... and yeah, it’s higher now.
When I ask them what the hell happened—since the old price is still listed online and that's what I ordered it for—they basically tell me they changed the price on the system maybe five minutes before I walked in, and there's nothing they can do about it. That's the line, anyway.
But hey, since I was already standing there, I just shut up and paid the difference.
Bravo, Protis, truly top-tier service you've got going there...

Raymond Adams48 said:My graphics card finally arrived, but I really need to give a "shout out" to the guys at Protis for being so incredibly helpful—and maybe warn future customers too.
Basically, I ordered the card over the phone on Friday for $195
. I call them yesterday and the guys are all smiles, telling me the card is ready and waiting for me.
Great, right? So I head down there to pick it up, only to find out the price has changed. It's more expensive now.
When I asked how that was possible—since the old price is still listed online and that's what I ordered it for—they basically told me they changed it in the system maybe five minutes before I walked in, and there's nothing they can do about it.
Well, since I was already standing there, I just shut up and paid.
Bravo, Protis. Real professional..

Here's my experience at Best Buy 🙂

Ordered it a day ahead of time. It was set aside for me at $253 (the old price), then I went to grab it the next day, and the price was $267 (what they have online, in-store, everywhere $267).
I got it the moment I walked in, using the date on the receipt for $253 because that's when I placed the order (I didn't even pay upfront, just told them I wanted it and asked if they could hold it for me)..

I'm building a rig for a buddy over at Micro Center, so I'm trying to figure out which GPU I should throw in there. He’s rocking a 24-inch monitor and an AMD processor. His budget tops out at $367!

Thanks!

hd6850... or maybe the GTX 460...

I haven’t really kept up with what’s actually hitting the shelves lately, so I could use some help here.

I'm looking to pick up a new GPU in the $500 range—strictly sticking with Nvidia this time. Right now, I'm running an 8800 GT, but let's face it, it's finally time for an upgrade.
I've been looking at the GTX 460 and the GTX 560... is the difference really just down to the clock speeds?
Also, cooling is a huge deal for me—it looks like MSI might have a solid cooler design, right?

Any advice would be appreciated. 😁

Clock-by-clock, the 560 is roughly 10% faster than the 460—honestly, the whole architecture is basically identical aside from the actual GPU chip itself... just see which one fits your budget better, since they both handle Overclocking pretty much equally well. When it comes to cooling, the MSI TwinFrozr and Gigabyte WindForce setups are definitely a step above the rest... if you ask me, this one is a total best buy for this class:

Benjamin King2 said:Clock-by-clock, the 560 is about 10% faster than the 460. It’s basically the same architecture, just a different chip... pick whatever fits your budget better. They both handle Overclocking pretty much the same way. For cooling, MSI TwinFrozr and Gigabyte WindForce are top tier compared to the rest... if you want a solid deal in this class, check this out:

Signed! 🙂
A buddy of mine got his rig set up the day before yesterday. I swung by today—you can't hear a thing inside the case. He was playing Black Ops and the card didn't even break a sweat. 👍

I honestly don't get why the Gigabyte versions are always so much more expensive—looking at the MSI GTX 460 vs the Gigabyte GTX 460, $133 there's barely any difference, since they're practically the exact same card. 😕