GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Sorry about any typos... they aren't intentional, I just have a terrible handle on this kind of thing.

So, I'm trying to make sense of these graphics cards, but the price tag is a huge factor too.
I managed to squeeze the other specs into $1587. I’d probably aim for a PC around $600...$0.00 the main thing is that it needs to be DDR5.

One last thing—I might even consider those cards from $633 if there's a massive jump in performance compared to the ones from $400 (quality matters to me, too).

1. MSI Radeon HD5850 1GB DDR5, 256bit, dual HDMI, DX11 - $640

2. AMD Radeon HD 5770, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, dual HDMI, PCI X - $415 (also, what's the deal with "GDDR5" vs just saying "DDR5"?)

3. EVGA GeForce GTX 4890, 2GB GDDR5 256bit, dual HDMI + HDTV out - $563

4. Sapphire HD 4870, 1GB GDDR5 256bit, Vapor-X, dual HDMI, PCI X

Will my motherboard actually support any of these? Or what...

Thanks in advance for the help. Sorry if these questions seem stupid, I really don't know my way around this tech stuff.

Go with the MSI Radeon HD5850 since it's the newest and fastest option on the table. If you actually look at the performance gaps in the reviews, there's no contest—I'm picking the 5850 every single time out of this lineup.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon...iew-crossfire/

Will this run without any issues on this setup, or am I going to need to swap something out?

The thing is, I’m headed out tomorrow to pick up the rig, but they just told me today that the specific card I wanted is out of stock... total headache.

1 x ASUS P55-UD3, s1156, Intel P55, 4x DDR3 2200/1333/1066+
1 x Intel i5 750 Processor, 2.66GHz, 1156MHz, 8Mb cache, socket 1156+
2 x DDR3 2048Mb ( 2Gb ) Corsair, 1333MHz, CL9, COR-VS2GB1333D3+
1 x HDD WD 1Tb, 1001FALS , SATA II, 32Mb Cache, WD Caviar Black+
1 x CORSAIR 550W Power Supply, CX Series CMPSU-400CXEU, 12cm vent
1 x Pioneer BD-RE DVD burner, DVD±RW, 22x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R+
1 x CoolerMaster Elite 334, black, (W)187 x (H)421 x (L)485 mm, 6kg+

Nothing needs changing. Period.

Thanks for all the help, everyone

I just hope she doesn't tell me tomorrow that they don't actually carry it...

If she does, I’ll have to tell him he should probably clean up his website and actually list what they have in stock...

Hey guys... maybe I'm being a bit annoying... okay, fine, I am—but this GPU situation is driving me crazy. I just want to actually play some games for once. Right now, I'm running at 1920x1080 using integrated NVIDIA GF 6150 SE graphics... which is absolute garbage. My setup is an AMD Athlon 1640LE 2.6 GHz processor on a BIOSTAR MCP6PB M2+ motherboard. I need a PCI-e card, and honestly, I'm looking for anything that can pull some weight $200. Even if I can only manage to play something at 1024x768, I'd take it. I'm hoping to run newer titles like Far Cry 2 or Crysis... you know, that kind of stuff. Is that even realistic? I know my CPU is pretty weak too, but the graphics card is my biggest bottleneck right now, isn't it? So, I'm asking for any recommendations for a decent card with a budget of up to $200 max
.

Grab the MSI HD 4670 512 ddr 3, and honestly, try to upgrade that processor sooner rather than later.

I'm heading over to Best Buy tomorrow—if they’re offering a 20% discount, I'm definitely picking up an HD 4770. ...do you think that's the better move, or should I just go with the HD 4670?

In your admin panel, you've got access to a much faster Radeon HD 4890 $245 that absolutely smokes both of those cards you're looking at. Since you're playing at 1920x1080, this card is basically a non-negotiable requirement—you won't even see its true potential unless you're pushing higher resolutions.

I finally pulled the trigger on a new GPU... picked up an MSI HD 4670 512 ddr 3. Honestly, I still can't quite believe it—I’m running Crysis at 1920x1080 on all High settings. Man, I am absolutely stoked!

Which graphics card should I go with for my $300
? Is this one http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=6503 http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=7867 or perhaps this http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=7416...
My current setup is—
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 at 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+
Motherboard: ASUS M2A-VM HDMI
Memory: 2x 1GB sticks
Power Supply: 500W Fortron Blue Storm

The CPU and power supply seem fine to me—plus, the motherboard has the PCIe slots needed for these cards, so I guess that should be all good!

My GPU is dying. It's an EVGA 8800 GT with 512 MB. It’s been running at 80 degrees Celsius during gaming for two years straight, and now it's finally giving up the ghost.

The rest of my rig consists of an Intel e6750, a P35-DS3, 2 GB of 800MHz DDR2, and a Chieftec 550W PSU.

What should I buy? I have a few doubts here:

Around $400, I see a Radeon HD 4890 and an AMD Radeon HD 5770. The first one has a 256-bit bus, while the second is only 128-bit. Since my current dying card is 256-bit, I don't get why this newer 5xxx series would have a lower bit rate. What's the point? I'm a hardcore gamer looking for nothing less than top-tier performance. Which of these two is faster?

I'm debating whether I should even bother with $400 or if I should just grab a GTS 250 to save some cash. The question is how much weaker that is compared to the two options above. Honestly, I'd rather splash out on something more expensive if the performance jump is obvious.

What else can you recommend within a budget of roughly $1200-$433? Also, should I wait a bit longer to see if better cards drop in price? Is there any hope for prices actually going down?

I also looked at the NVIDIA GTX 260 for $400. How does it stack up against those two ATI cards? I noticed the GTX has slightly less memory (around 800 something), but the 400 something part is important.

Help.

EDIT: It is crucial that the new card runs much cooler than my current one. This thing is a furnace, hitting about 80 degrees whenever I play.

The Radeon HD 4890 definitely outpaces the AMD Radeon HD 5770, but I’d probably just grab the NVIDIA GTX 260 since it’s a bit cheaper at Best Buy. That way, I could stretch my budget for an extra 2 GB of RAM. Honestly, if you're playing on a 22" monitor or something smaller, you probably don't need anything beefier than the NVIDIA GTX 260 anyway. 🙂

80 degrees isn't really that high, I guess. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure which one handles cooling better. 😁
Maybe just wait for the experts to weigh in. 👍

I'm on Team NVIDIA too, but obviously I wouldn't double up if ATI ended up being the better pick. I'm running a 20-inch widescreen at 1680*1050. We'll see what everyone else thinks, but personally, I think 80 degrees is way too hot.

5770

Steven Sanders59 said:5770

At least try explaining why that... 😵

Steven Sanders59 said:5770

I read somewhere that this GPU is about 10% weaker than the 4890

The Radeon HD 5770 is basically sitting right next to the GTX 460 with that DX11 support. If you don't like it, go ahead and pass—if you actually want decent gaming performance, just grab a 4890 instead.