I need a new GPU for around $100

ryan29121 · 03-25-09, 01:36 PM

A buddy of mine is looking for a new gpu for around a $100 -120. The 9800gt looks like a nice one for that range. Does anyone have any other recommendations or of any places with really good deals happening? Thanks in advance for your help.

Tr1cK · 03-25-09, 01:49 PM

Get a 4830.

Or if you want a card that will school the 9800gt instead of run with it, get a 4850.

I wouldn't bother with any NV cards unless you want something in the GTX260 range or faster.

CaptNKILL · 03-25-09, 01:57 PM

The Geforce GTS 250 is a pretty solid card.

You can get this one for $130 with free shipping and a free copy of Call of Duty: World at War.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150357

EDIT: The GTS250 is an updated and more efficient version of the 9800 GTX+, and that card beats the 4850 in almost every situation.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/731/1/
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/...x+/default.asp
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforc...-plus-review/6

Tr1cK · 03-25-09, 02:31 PM

Capt, those reviews are from when the 4800s launched. The drivers are MUCH better now and performance has gone up. I know since I've had one since launch.

ryan29121 · 03-25-09, 03:38 PM

Gts 250 seems like a pretty good buy. Many people are saying the 4850 is the best choice. The 250 and the 4850 have similar prices. Would you recommend the 250 over the 4850?

Tr1cK · 03-25-09, 06:00 PM

I pick 4850 because the 9800(250) is old tech and it has a bit better price-performance.

**john19055** · 03-25-09, 08:18 PM

I would probally go with a 4850 if it is in that price range,the GTS250 is just a 8800GTS or a 9800GTX .It really depends on what resolution you are going to run.The 9800GTX is still a good card and pretty fast in games.So you really have a good selection to choose from.I would look at reviews and see which ones meets your needs the best.

ryan29121 · 03-26-09, 10:13 AM

I have never owned an ATI graphics card before. What are the good brands and what are the brands to stay away from. I found a good deal on an ASUS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121272

Tr1cK · 03-26-09, 11:55 AM

I'm not sure. I got mine thru Dell at launch for 10% off. It has held fine to me. I guess anything on Newegg that has a high % of 5 star rating would be good as long as it has a good warranty like lifetime.

That one has a 3 year warranty which would probably be long enough. I wouldn't get it though because there is no memory or voltage regulator cooling.

How about this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150337

CaptNKILL · 03-26-09, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tr1cK

Capt, those reviews are from when the 4800s launched. The drivers are MUCH better now and performance has gone up. I know since I've had one since launch.

Here is a recent review comparing the 4850 to the GTS 250:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16504/1

They seem to be almost identical in most cases with the GTS 250 coming out on top most of the time.

Add in Physx and CUDA support and I think the GTS 250 is the better buy for a good solid mid-range graphics card.

EDIT: Another review with similar results:
http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rid=175029

**john19055** · 03-28-09, 10:29 PM

If I was going to get the 4850 I would go with the 1gig version.But looking at thoses reviews The GTS 250 is just as fast ,wins in some and loses in others but they are very close.So that means if you could find a 9800GTX cheaper it would be just as good.Really out of the 4850 ,GTS 250 and the 9800GTX,you can't go wrong which ever card you choose.I would get one that offered the best deal like a free game.

Rollo · 03-29-09, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tr1cK

Capt, those reviews are from when the 4800s launched. The drivers are MUCH better now and performance has gone up. I know since I've had one since launch.

Do you have links to reputable sources to back your findings? Besides the other reviews Capt Kill posted that show the 4850 still only on par with the GTS250, check out this review of the latest Catalyst 9.3 drivers:

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/17...sta/index.html

Quote:

Right from the launch of the Catalyst 9.3 drivers, things weren’t looking good with many people complaining about issues they had with the driver suite. We had two major problems; for the most part performance was down.....The other issue we had was that as soon as we installed the driver on Windows XP with the HD 4850, we couldn't run any 3D applications. Loading one would cause our system to simply reboot.

The "new drivers" you speak of sound like a step in the wrong direction.

03-25-09, 01:36 PM	#1
ryan29121 mmmkay Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: United States, WI Posts: 297	I need a new GPU for around $100 A buddy of mine is looking for a new gpu for around a $100 -120. The 9800gt looks like a nice one for that range. Does anyone have any other recommendations or of any places with really good deals happening? Thanks in advance for your help. __________________ \| Cooler Master Cosmos \| Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (F13C BIOS)\| \|Core 2 Quad Q6600 GO @ 3.40GHz w/ Zalman CNPS9700 NT \| EVGA 8800GT 512MB @ 700, 1025 w/ AC Accelero S1 \| \|OCZ GameXStream 700W \| 8GB G.SKILL DDR2 800 @ 1066, 4-4-4-12\| Seagate 7200.10 320GB & 7200.11 1TB \| \| Creative X-FI Platinum Fatal1ty Pro PCI-E \| x2 Samsung 245BW 24" \| \| Windows 7 Ultimate x64 \| \| Logitech G15 \| Logitech G5 Ver.2 \|Logitech z5500 5.1 \| \|\|3dMark 06: 15003\|\| \|\|Games I'm Playing: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 dead 2, Dragon age, Borderlands\|\|

03-25-09, 01:49 PM	#2
Tr1cK not coming back Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 4,872	Re: I need a new GPU for around $100 Get a 4830. Or if you want a card that will school the 9800gt instead of run with it, get a 4850. I wouldn't bother with any NV cards unless you want something in the GTX260 range or faster.

03-25-09, 01:57 PM	#3
CaptNKILL CUBE Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: PA, USA Posts: 18,844	Re: I need a new GPU for around $100 The Geforce GTS 250 is a pretty solid card. You can get this one for $130 with free shipping and a free copy of Call of Duty: World at War. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150357 EDIT: The GTS250 is an updated and more efficient version of the 9800 GTX+, and that card beats the 4850 in almost every situation. http://www.legitreviews.com/article/731/1/ http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/...x+/default.asp http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforc...-plus-review/6 __________________ ---- Primary Rig ---- CoolerMaster 690 II Advance - Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 4.0Ghz + Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme 6GB DDR2 @ 942Mhz 5-5-5-20 1.9v (2x1Gb Wintec AMPX PC2-8500 & 2x2Gb G.Skill PC2-6400) - EVGA Geforce GTX 470 @ 750/1500/1850 (1.050v) Sparkle Geforce GTS 250 1Gb Low-Profile (Physx) - Crucial RealSSD C300 64Gb SSD - Seagate 7200.12 500Gb SATA - Seagate 7200.10 320Gb SATA ASUS VW266H 25.5" LCD - OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU - ASUS Xonar DX - Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Surround - Windows 7 Professional x64 ---- HTPC ---- Asus M3A78-EM 780G - AMD Athlon X2 5050e 45W @ 2.6Ghz - 2x2GB Kingston PC2-6400 DDR2 - Sparkle 350W PSU Seagate 7200.10 320Gb SATA - Seagate 7200.10 250Gb SATA - Athenatech A100BB.350 MicroATX Desktop - Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic

03-25-09, 02:31 PM	#4
Tr1cK not coming back Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 4,872	Re: I need a new GPU for around $100 Capt, those reviews are from when the 4800s launched. The drivers are MUCH better now and performance has gone up. I know since I've had one since launch.

03-25-09, 03:38 PM	#5
ryan29121 mmmkay Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: United States, WI Posts: 297	Re: I need a new GPU for around $100 Gts 250 seems like a pretty good buy. Many people are saying the 4850 is the best choice. The 250 and the 4850 have similar prices. Would you recommend the 250 over the 4850? __________________ \| Cooler Master Cosmos \| Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (F13C BIOS)\| \|Core 2 Quad Q6600 GO @ 3.40GHz w/ Zalman CNPS9700 NT \| EVGA 8800GT 512MB @ 700, 1025 w/ AC Accelero S1 \| \|OCZ GameXStream 700W \| 8GB G.SKILL DDR2 800 @ 1066, 4-4-4-12\| Seagate 7200.10 320GB & 7200.11 1TB \| \| Creative X-FI Platinum Fatal1ty Pro PCI-E \| x2 Samsung 245BW 24" \| \| Windows 7 Ultimate x64 \| \| Logitech G15 \| Logitech G5 Ver.2 \|Logitech z5500 5.1 \| \|\|3dMark 06: 15003\|\| \|\|Games I'm Playing: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 dead 2, Dragon age, Borderlands\|\|

03-25-09, 06:00 PM	#6
Tr1cK not coming back Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 4,872	Re: I need a new GPU for around $100 I pick 4850 because the 9800(250) is old tech and it has a bit better price-performance.

03-25-09, 08:18 PM	#7
john19055 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: GREENVILLE,TX Posts: 3,851	Re: I need a new GPU for around $100 I would probally go with a 4850 if it is in that price range,the GTS250 is just a 8800GTS or a 9800GTX .It really depends on what resolution you are going to run.The 9800GTX is still a good card and pretty fast in games.So you really have a good selection to choose from.I would look at reviews and see which ones meets your needs the best. __________________ Intel i7-3820+Corsair H-100+ASROCK X79-Extreme4+16gigs G.Skill PC1600DDR3+2-ASUS DirectCU II GTX-670 in SLI+Crucial 256g-SSD+2- Samsung 1-TB+2-WesternDigtial 640g+LG-12x Blu-Ray Burner+1100w CoolerMaster+Antec-P280 case+50" Plasma PM6700+Logitech Mouse+Keyboard+Pioneer VSX-1020+Polk Audio Speakers

03-26-09, 10:13 AM	#8
ryan29121 mmmkay Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: United States, WI Posts: 297	Re: I need a new GPU for around $100 I have never owned an ATI graphics card before. What are the good brands and what are the brands to stay away from. I found a good deal on an ASUS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121272 __________________ \| Cooler Master Cosmos \| Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (F13C BIOS)\| \|Core 2 Quad Q6600 GO @ 3.40GHz w/ Zalman CNPS9700 NT \| EVGA 8800GT 512MB @ 700, 1025 w/ AC Accelero S1 \| \|OCZ GameXStream 700W \| 8GB G.SKILL DDR2 800 @ 1066, 4-4-4-12\| Seagate 7200.10 320GB & 7200.11 1TB \| \| Creative X-FI Platinum Fatal1ty Pro PCI-E \| x2 Samsung 245BW 24" \| \| Windows 7 Ultimate x64 \| \| Logitech G15 \| Logitech G5 Ver.2 \|Logitech z5500 5.1 \| \|\|3dMark 06: 15003\|\| \|\|Games I'm Playing: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 dead 2, Dragon age, Borderlands\|\|

03-26-09, 11:55 AM	#9
Tr1cK not coming back Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 4,872	Re: I need a new GPU for around $100 I'm not sure. I got mine thru Dell at launch for 10% off. It has held fine to me. I guess anything on Newegg that has a high % of 5 star rating would be good as long as it has a good warranty like lifetime. That one has a 3 year warranty which would probably be long enough. I wouldn't get it though because there is no memory or voltage regulator cooling. How about this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150337

03-28-09, 10:29 PM	#11
john19055 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: GREENVILLE,TX Posts: 3,851	Re: I need a new GPU for around $100 If I was going to get the 4850 I would go with the 1gig version.But looking at thoses reviews The GTS 250 is just as fast ,wins in some and loses in others but they are very close.So that means if you could find a 9800GTX cheaper it would be just as good.Really out of the 4850 ,GTS 250 and the 9800GTX,you can't go wrong which ever card you choose.I would get one that offered the best deal like a free game. __________________ Intel i7-3820+Corsair H-100+ASROCK X79-Extreme4+16gigs G.Skill PC1600DDR3+2-ASUS DirectCU II GTX-670 in SLI+Crucial 256g-SSD+2- Samsung 1-TB+2-WesternDigtial 640g+LG-12x Blu-Ray Burner+1100w CoolerMaster+Antec-P280 case+50" Plasma PM6700+Logitech Mouse+Keyboard+Pioneer VSX-1020+Polk Audio Speakers

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