Holiday 2008 GPU Guide: Price Cuts Galore
by Derek Wilson on December 18, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Let's Get Ridiculous: $130 - $180 Graphics Cards
This is arguably the most important market segment in this entire list. At $150+ the price isn't going to break the bank compared to other graphics hardware, and the performance we can expect is great for gaming at widely used resolutions like 1280x1024 and 1680x1050. This is the lowest performance card anyone who calls him or herself "gamer" will want in their system (though sometimes it is necessary to get by with a little less), but don't mistake that qualification for anything that implies disappointment. Those who need more than what can be had at this price only need it because 1) they are professional gamers, 2) they have large (high resolution) monitors or 3) want it real bad (not all decisions have to be logical, I understand and even identify).
Okay, maybe I'm generalizing a bit much here, but seriously, $150 gets you a lot these days. These cards won't run the highest settings at the highest resolutions in all games, but they will run the highest settings in most games at decent resolutions. They can muster 1920x1200 with reduced quality if you need to push it that high to connect with an HDTV or something.
The midrange segment is populated with what used to be high end hardware from NVIDIA. The GeForce 9800 GTX/GTX+ are priced between $150 and $200 depending on the vendor and whether or not the hardware is overclocked. At the lower end of this price spectrum, this competes with the Radeon HD 4850 from AMD, which happens to be our pick for the best midrange graphics option this holiday season. The AMD solution is generally the same performance or better than the GeForce 9800 GTX, and is more easily found at lower prices (and with rebates can even be found for less).
Beyond the performance and price of the Radeon HD 4850, the card is much smaller, quieter and doesn't require as much power. Because of this, while not the ideal HTPC card, the 4850 does offer a compelling hybrid solution for the living room that can provide an okay HTPC experience (it will be louder than cheaper cards that are designed for HTPCs) as well as a decent gaming experience on an HDTV in the living room. Sure, game consoles are the king of this space, but even this modest card offers multiples of the performance of the graphics hardware in either the XBox 360 or the Playstation 3.
The beloved RV770, the Radeon HD 4850 (Image From newegg.com)
Recommendation: ATI Radeon HD 4850
| Newegg | ZipZoomFly | TigerDirect | Buy.com |
PowerColor Radeon HD 4850 | ASUS Radeon HD 4850 | Diamond Radeon HD 4850 | Diamond Radeon HD 4850 |
| $132 | $130 | $182 |
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falcon8204 - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
this is the same deal iirc as the thanksgiving blowout sale.asus 4850 for 149.99 - 30 MIR = 129.99 with free shipping to boot. i just ordered one so you guys lookin for one better hurry before they sell out :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
falcon
Eidorian - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB comes down to $99 with free shipping today with the promo code EMCBCBKDB. Add on the $10 mail in rebate for $89.crimson117 - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
The newegg link to "PowerColor Radeon HD 4850" actually leads to the $85 POWERCOLOR AX4830 product page.Kroneborge - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
Of course one thing to think about too, is the option to upgrade later. It seems like if I get a 260, and then in a couple of month have some extra cash it's real easy to go SLI. If I get a 4870 there is no guaruntee that the crossfire bugs will have been worked out.And I think for a lot of us, it's easier to upgrade in stages like that.
7Enigma - Friday, December 19, 2008 - link
I don't agree. Unless you are the atypical gamer that upgrades video cards every 6 months single card solutions at the height of $/performance curve have always made more sense. Not to mention drivers have just not been there to see the great 1.5-2X performance increase we want out of doubling the card. The dual-gpu on the same board are much more beneficial since it's seen as a single card, but these are obviously at the high end.Now that AMD is competetive again especially. Back when the 8800 series came out you could have benefitted from SLI since there were basically no new parts for the better portion of 2 years. In this cycle, however, going with a 9600GT-260, holding out for 1-1 1/2 years then upgrading to a new single card will likely be a better move.
vshah - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
It would be awesome if you guys could include some comparisons with older cards. I'm still rocking a 6800gt, and wondering how the newer cards compare.derek85 - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
For performance comparison of old vs new cards, you can check out the GPU chart on Toms Hardware.Rippar - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
The 9800GTX+ SLI looks good considering the combo deals on newegg for it.Antec P182/9800GTX+ combo = $244
EVGA 750i FTW/9800GTX+ combo = $285
Then again, that case and motherboard have combos with the GTX260 as well.
DerekWilson - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
we chose not to look at any combo deals because that just made everything start to get too complex. we wanted to make it as general as possible too, and talking about only the price of a single card give people an idea of deals to be had for people looking to upgrade their existing single dual or triple slot mobos as well as people looking to build an entire system from the ground up.We might not have the absolute best deals you can find anywhere listed here, but some of these deals are really good and they weren't that hard to find. It should work as a starting point for people though. Especially if a combo deal will work for you.
Rippar - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
I know, I know. I'm just letting the people who read the commentrs know that there are some RIDICULOUS deals on video cards right now.