Best Bang Per Buck Graphics Cards for October 2008

Tom's Hardware recently released their October 2008 choice picks for gaming video cards.

Recommended PCI-E cards:

• Radeon HD 3650 GDDR3 (US$35)
• Radeon HD 4670 GDDR3 ($85)
• GeForce 9600 GSO (aka GeForce 8800 GS) ($85)
• Radeon HD 3870 ($100)
• GeForce 9600 GT ($100)
• GeForce 8800 GT 512MB (aka GeForce 9800 GT 512MB) ($120)
• Radeon HD 4850 ($170)
• Radeon HD 4870 ($260)
• GeForce GTX 260 ($260)
• GeForce 9800 GX2 ($260)
• 2x Radeon HD 4850 in CrossFire Configuration ($340)
• Radeon HD 4870 X2 ($550)

If you are building a new system, and will just use it for some very light gaming on the side, the Radeon HD 3650 GDDR3 would probably be a good-enough discreet graphics solution. Other than that, the 8800 GT 512MB, 9800 GT 512MB, and HD 4850 seem to be the "middle-ground" choice cards.

Recommended AGP cards:

• Radeon HD 3650 (under $US100)
• Radeon HD 2600 XT ($100)
• Radeon HD 3850 512MB ($135)

[Source: Tom's Hardware | The Best Graphics Cards for the Money: October 2008]

It's interesting to note that an AGP HD 3650 card would cost almost 3 times a PCI-E card with the same GPU. Unless you need to replace a broken AGP card, maybe that $100 is best kept for your next system build.

Technorati : agp, bang, best, buck, card, game, gaming, graphics, october, pci-e

Best Bang Per Buck Graphics Cards for August 2008

(Please see October 2008 article)

Tom's Hardware recently released their monthly article on the Best Video Cards For The Money: August '08.

The recommended PCI-E cards were the following:

• GeForce 9500 GT GDDR3 (under $100)
• Radeon 3850 512MB (about $100)
• GeForce 9600 GT 512MB (about $125)
• Radeon 3870 (about $125)
• GeForce 8800 GT 512MB (about $150)
• Radeon 4850 (about $175)
• Radeon 4870 (about $280)
• 2x Radeon 4850 in Crossfire Configuration (about $350)
• 2x GeForce 9800 GTX in SLI Configuration (about $360)

Most inexpensive PCI-E gaming card:

"The 9500 GT GDDR3 is essentially a reworking and optimization of the popular 8600 GTS GPU on a smaller process. ... The extra $30 is well worth stepping up to a Radeon 3850, but if you want the absolute cheapest gaming card and don't plan to go higher than the 1280x1024 resolution, the 9500 GT is a good option. Just be sure to get the faster GDDR3 version, not the slower DDR2-equipped cards." [Tom's Hardware]

Maximum is US$360 for most expensive PCI-E gaming card setup:

"... we have a hard time recommending anything more expensive than two Radeon 4850s. As more data surfaces as to how the 4870, GTX 260 and GTX 280 perform in multiple card configurations compared to two 4850s in Crossfire, we might add a higher price point to the list. But for now, the power of two 4850's in Crossfire is our top recommendation for performance. ... While two Radeon 4850s are really the way to go in terms of price/performance, those of you who have an SLI motherboard will probably find staying with Nvidia's video cards a cost-effective choice. For you folks, two GeForce 9800 GTX cards are about as good as it gets..." [Tom's Hardware]

The recommended AGP cards were the following:

• Radeon HD 2600 PRO (under $100)
• Radeon HD 2600 XT (about $100)
• Radeon 3850 512MB (about $140)

Sadly for AGP, Radeon HD cards are usually a rarity on store shelves. I guess if you see a Radeon 3850 512MB for sale, grab it immediately.

Technorati : agp, ati, bang, best, card, graphics, nvidia, pci-e, value, video

Best Bang Per Buck Graphics Cards for May 2008

(Please see October 2008 article)

Tom's Hardware recently released their monthly article on the Best Graphics Cards for the Money: May 08.

The recommended PCI-E cards on the list were:

• Radeon HD 2600 XT (under US$100)
• GeForce 8600 GT (under US$100)
• GeForce 8600 GTS (~US$105)
• GeForce 8800 GS (~US$130)
• GeForce 9600 GT 512MB (~US$155)
• Radeon 3870 (~US$155)
• GeForce 8800 GT 512MB (~US$175)
• GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB (~US$220)
• 2x GeForce 8800 GS in SLI configuration (~US$260)
• 2x Radeon 3870 in Crossfire Configuration (~US$310)
• 2x GeForce 9600 GT 512MB in SLI configuration (~US$310)
• 2x GeForce 8800 GT 512MB in SLI configuration (~US$350)

"... the performance increase of two 8800 GTs over two 9600 GTs is usually not worth mentioning, but there are a handful of games where at high resolutions the 8800 GT will win by a significant percentage. If high resolution gaming with high image quality options enabled is your forte, and budget isn't a concern, two 8800 GTs might be justifiable for you. ... Spending more than $350 will provide very little extra in the way of performance. Two 8800 GTs will outperform the 9800 GTX or 9800 GX2 in the great majority of situations." [Tom's Hardware | The Best Graphics Cards for the Money: May 08]

If you are a gamer on a budget, it would probably be best to opt for a GeForce 8600 GTS (~US$105). A GeForce 8800 GT 512MB looks like a good midprice buy at $175, especially if you plan to upgrade to two 8800 GT cards in SLI.

For AGP cards, Tom's Hardware chose these cards:

• Radeon HD 2600 PRO (under US$100)
• Radeon HD 2600 XT (~US$100)
• Radeon 3850 512MB (~US$175)

"[The Radeon 3850 512MB AGP] is the most powerful AGP card you can get. Perhaps you have an AGP gaming system you just can't bear to part with, or perhaps you an anomalous motherboard that has both a dual-core CPU and AGP slot - whatever the reason, you can't get better than an AGP 3850. If anyone ever releases a more powerful card in the future for the dying bus, we'll be incredibly surprised." [Tom's Hardware]

There isn't much to choose from on the AGP bus, and the mentioned Radeon cards are quite rare (at least, from my side of the world). I guess the if you really need to get an AGP card now, the next best easier-to-find card would be a GeForce 7600 GS (which should be easy to get under $100).

Technorati : agp, ati, card, geforce, graphics, nvidia, pcie, radeon, value