The Best Video Cards For Your Money: August 2010

August update:
While there were no new video cards that were released in July (The 1GB edition of the Geforce GTX 460 became actually available, but the GTX 460 768MB and the 1GB version were officially released at the end of June, hence why we covered them in our July edition of this article.), this month remains an exciting one as we’re seeing price cuts all over the place.

In the red (ATI/AMD) corner:
We’re seeing the older, yet still powerful, Radeon HD 4870 making a comeback at $120, after being out of stock for months. Who knows how long that amazing deal will last. The Radeon HD 5770 also got an appreciable price cut, from $160 down to $140. The Radeon HD 5830 is now down to $200, although the Geforce GTX 460 768MB or 1GB remain better deals. The Radeon HD 5850 is down to $285 instead of $300, the Radeon HD 5870 is down to $390 and the Radeon HD 5970 is down to $680 compared to $700 before.

In the green (Nvidia) corner:
The Geforce GTX 460 1GB is now widely available for $230, the GTX 465 is down to $235 (Making it pointless compared to the far superior GTX 460) the GTX 470 is down to $300 and the GTX 480 is now available for $460.

As you can see, there are price cuts all over the place. AMD and Nvidia seem to be getting, slowly but surely, into a new price war, which is a good thing for us, the customers, as we get better products at lower prices. Let’s hope this trend continues, especially with the return to school time of the year.

Read on to figure out what are the best video cards for your money for the month of August 2010. Enjoy!

The best video cards for your money?

By that, I mean the cards that offer the best performance at a given price. Why would you want that, you ask?

Because you want the best bang for the buck, because you want the best possible card for your hard-earned money and because you want the highest FPS possible!

If you have the time, reading detailed video card reviews and specs are a lot of fun. However, most of us don’t have the time to do the research and just want the answers. In other words, what you want to know is what is the best video card within your budget.

So if you don’t have the time to do the research, or just don’t care to do it, don’t worry. I’ll come to your help with this guide of the best video card for your money.

Keep in mind:

I’ll use this opportunity to remind you that this article is only a guideline for the prices I’ve seen on August 2nd. You’re letting yourself down if you’re not looking for deals when you decide to purchase.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you read this list:

• This list is for gamers who want the best bang for the buck. If you don’t play videos games, the cards in this list are way overkill.
• This list is based on the best U.S. prices from NewEgg and/or Amazon. Prices and availability change everyday. I can’t keep up with accurate pricing everyday, but I can suggest to you great cards that you won’t regret buying at the price ranges that I list.
• All prices are based on new card prices, no used or open box cards are listed; they might be a good deal, but they come with trade offs, such as limited return policy, limited warranty, etc.
• ATI’s Stream Processors and Nvidia’s Stream Processors are quite different, so do not rely on that spec to compare cards from both company. Instead, this spec should be used to compare cards within the same company.
• Each video card will perform more or less well depending on the game played, as each game have different requirements. Also, some games run better on Nvidia or on ATI/AMD hardware.You may be able to crank up the graphics settings on some games or have to lower it a notch on others, compared to what I say below.
• The resolution that I mention below should only be used as a guideline to give you an idea of the capability of the chosen video card on recent games. As a rule of thumb, the older the game, the higher you can set your settings and the other way around with newer games.

Best video card for ~$70:

GeForce GT 240 512MB GDDR5

Taking over our previous recommendation, the Radeon 5570, the Geforce GT 240 offers better gaming performance for the same price, now that it’s at $70.

Good to know:

• The Geforce GT 240 doesn’t need an extra power connector, taking all the power it needs from the PCI-Express slot.
• This card will do the job at 1280 x 1024 and even 1680 x 1050 although you’ll most likely have to lower details in some games.
• You’ll want the GDDR5 version, as the GDDR3 version performance isn’t anywhere as good.

Some alternatives to consider…or not:
From $70 to $100, you will find various cards that may or not fit your needs. Our current recommendations are based on current prices from NewEgg and Amazon, but of course, prices change quickly.
Here are some cards to also consider, from the slowest to the fastest:

1. Geforce 9600GT: Even when equipped with the GDDR5 type of memory, the Geforce GT240 remains a tad slower than the Geforce 9600GT. However, the Geforce 9600GT is disappearing from the market and currently starts at $110, which is way too much. Same as the GT 240, do not consider unless you can buy one for $70-$80.
2. Radeon HD 5670: Currently retailing for $89+, the same price than the more powerful Radeon HD 4850, the Radeon HD 5670 is hard to recommended based on performance alone. While it’s faster than both the Geforce GT 240 and the Radeon 5570 and offers low-power consumption along with features such as Eyefinity, DirectX 11 and more, the Radeon HD 4850 just plain offers more raw gaming performance for only $10 more. Only worth buying if you can find it for $80 or less.
3. Geforce 9800GT: While some slower versions (Core/Shader frequencies of 550MHz/1375MHz compared to the 600MHz/1500Mhz default) start at $90, full speed versions start at $100, more than the faster Radeon HD 4850($90). If you can find one with regular frequencies for $80-90, it’s worth buying it.

To avoid:

• Avoid any model equipped with slower DDR2 memory, as this does reduce performance quite a bit.
• Models with 1GB of memory: 1GB of memory is simply overkill for a card offering this level of performance, you won’t see any difference in performance between the 512MB and the 1GB model, so don’t waste your money.

Best video card for ~$90:

Radeon HD 4850 512MB

The Radeon 4850 is still in stock and we’re not complaining! While its stock is bound to eventually run out, the Radeon HD 4850 still offers excellent value, nearly two years after being launched.

This card will do the job at 1440 x 900 and even 1680 x 1050 although you might have to lower details in some games.

Recommended Alternatives:

If you can find one in stock for about the same price, the Radeon HD 4770 a good alternative. Although it is slower by a few % compared to Radeon 4850, it is produced on 40nm process instead of 55nm, meaning that it runs cooler, consumes less power and it has more overclocking headroom.

If you prefer Nvidia cards and don’t mind spending an extra $10, the GeForce GTS 250 512MB GDDR3 is also an excellent alternative as it performs on par with the Radeon 4850, being faster in some games and slower in others.

Best Video Card for ~$120:

Radeon HD 4870 1GB

We’re in for a surprise this month, with the return in stock of the Radeon HD 4870, which has been pretty much unavailable everywhere for the last several months, at the amazing price point of $120. If you have about $120 to spend on a video card and have been holding on your money waiting for a better deal, this is it! Get it now, before stocks dry up once and for all. You won’t see this level of performance at this price point again for at least a few months.

Although the previously recommended Radeon 5750 went down in price lately, now starting at $130 for the 1GB model, it stands no chance against the older, but still more powerful Radeon HD 4870. While the Radeon HD 4870 consumes quite a bit more power, it has no problem outperforming the Radeon HD 5750 and performs on par with the Radeon HD 5770, if not even a tad faster.

What an agreable surprise to see the Radeon HD 4870 selling for $120, let’s hope this lasts!

Best video card for ~$140 :

Radeon HD 5770 1GB

While the Radeon 4870 1GB is back in stock at $120, for $140 the Radeon 5770 remains an excellent choice.

Performing pretty much on par with its predecessor, the Radeon 4870, but bringing in DirectX 11 support for future games coming this year and consuming much less power, especially at idle, this card is a nice balance between power, power consumption and price.

This card will do the job at 1680 x 1050 and even 1920 x 1080 although you might have to lower details in some games.

Alternative models from other brands:

1. XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 – XFX offers a double lifetime warranty, covering you and the buyer if you decide to sell your video card in the future. Best of all, the warranty also covers overclocking.
2. MSI Hawk Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 – This card offers dual fans and MSI AfterBurner software for overclocking.

Best video card for ~$230:

GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 460 1GB

Taking over our previous recommendation, the Geforce GTX 460 768MB, the Geforce GT 460 1GB offers even better gaming performance for only $30 more.

How is the 1GB version better than the 768MB version?
The Geforce GTX 460 1GB performs better thanks to the additional ROPs, the larger memory bus (256-bit vs 192-bit) and, of course, 1GB of memory instead of 768MB, which definitely makes a difference when you play at high resolutions. For $30 more, it’s definitely worth it.

About the Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB:
At $230, the lowest price for a GTX 460 1GB, the Gigabyte offers slightly overclocked by default, with a core clock of 715MHz instead of the standard 675MHZ. The main reason that I recommend it though, is due to its outstanding dual-fan cooler, which does an excellent job at keeping the card at reasonable temperatures, while being more silent than the standard cooler found on reference cards.

Don’t wonder why I recommend it in nothing short of three Gaming Builds: As a single card in the $700 Gaming PC, the $850 Gaming PC and in SLI in the $1250 Gaming PC! This card simply offers amazing performance for its price.

1680×1050 is the sweet spot here, with 1920 x 1080 playable with most games.

Other Alternatives:

If you have a motherboard that supports Crossfire, two Radeon HD 4870 1GB in Crossfire will cost only $240 and outperform the Geforce GTX 460 with no problem. Since they consume quite a bit of power, make sure to have a power supply that can handle them, as well as a case with proper airflow. Sure, you lose DirectX 11 support, but considering the level of performance that you’re getting for $240, this is an acceptable trade-off in my opinion.

Best video card for ~$300:

GeForce GTX 470 1280MB

The Geforce GTX 470 performs on average 2% to 8% faster than the Radeon HD 5850 and 5%-10% slower than a Radeon HD 5870.

When it launched, at the price of $350, it wasn’t that great of a deal. However, now at $300, the Geforce GTX 470 is the card to get at this price range, seeing as the similarly priced Radeon HD 5850 ($290) is slower on average.

Best video card for ~$390:

Radeon HD 5870 1GB

No longer the fastest single-GPU card on the planet, the Radeon HD 5870 remains a good choice, as it costs $70 less than the Geforce GTX 480, yet performs within 10-15% of it on average. Not to mention that it consumes way less power and is more silent.

This card will run any game at 1920 x 1200 (or 1080 for 1080p) and most games at 2560 x 1600.

Alternatives from other brands:

1. GIGABYTE Radeon HD 5870 1GB – The Gigabyte Radeon HD 5870 comes with a custom cooler that is equipped with two fans, that are set at a specific angle for optimal cooling, according to Gigabyte anyway. In any case, if you intend to overclock, this is a step up from a Radeon HD 5870 that comes with the default cooler.
2. ASUS ROG MATRIX 5870 Radeon HD 5870 Platinum 2GB – The ROG, Republic of Gamers, version from ASUS comes with 2GB of memory instead of the usual 1GB. Does 2GB make a difference? Only if you play games that can use that much memory, such as Grand Theft Auto 4 or if you play at very high resolutions, at least 1920 x 1080. 2GB is definately useful if you play on a 30″ monitor or with multiple monitors on an Eyefinity setup. Also, the ASUS ROG 5870 2GB is delivered with a massive factory overclock, with frequencies of 900MHz on the core and 1225MHz (4900MHz effective) on the memory, compared to the default 725MHz for the core and 1000MHz (4000MHz efective) for the memory.

Best Video Card for $460:

GeForce GTX 480 1536MB

Initially priced at $500, the Geforce GTX 480 was a poor deal compared to the Radeon HD 5870, as it outperformed it by an average of 10% to 15%, yet did cost over 28% ($500 vs $390) more. Now, at its current price of $460, it is about 15% more expensive than the Radeon HD 5870, making its price more in line with its performance.

Speaking of performance, the GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 is nothing short of being the fastest single-GPU card on the planet.

Alternative:
If you have a motherboard and power supply that supports SLI, two GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 460 1GB in SLI will definately outperform the GTX 480, as Tom’s Hardware proved in this article.

Best Video Card for ~$600:

Two GeForce GTX 470 1280MB in SLI

If you have:

• A motherboard that supports SLI
• A case with sufficient airflow
• A very solid power supply

And can live with some noise, for $600, two GeForce GTX470 1280 MB in SLI makes for a very powerful setup, delivering performance comparable to the more expensive Radeon HD 5970.

Best video card for ~$680:

Radeon HD 5970 2GB

While Nvidia may have regained the crown for the fastest single-GPU video card, ATI still has the fastest video card on the planet with the dual-GPU Radeon 5970. The Radeon 5970 is made of two Cypress cores, 2 GB (2 x 1GB) of GDDR5, all together on a single card. For a detailed review of it, see this great article on AnandTech.

On top of outperforming Nvidia’s best video card, the Geforce GTX 480, it does so while consuming less power.

This card will run pretty much any game that you throw at it at 2560 x 1600.

Best video card for $780:

Two Radeon HD 5870 1GB in Crossfire

How do you outperform the fastest video card? Simple: Combine two Radeon 5870, in a Crossfire setup. Why is this faster than the dual-GPU Radeon 5970? Because the frequencies of the Radeon 5870 are higher.

Pretty much any current game will run at up to 2560 x 1600 without a problem. This is a great solution if you don’t want to upgrade for a long time.

Best Video Card for $920:

Two GeForce GTX 480 1536MB in SLI

If you want the best performance possible, without consideration for anything else, two Geforce GTX 480 in SLI are the way to go.

Like the two Geforce GTX 470 in SLI, make sure to have:

• A motherboard that supports SLI
• A case with a high airflow to handle the heat dissipation
• A very solid power supply to handle the power consumption

Beyond reason

While you could get three Geforce GTX 470 or three Geforce GTX 480 in Three-Way SLI or two Radeon HD 5970 for a Quad-GPU Crossfire setup, but those setups are incredibly expensive, demand ridiculous amounts of power, create a ton of heat that you have to deal with and are overkill for all setups but the most demanding ones, such as three 2560 x 1600 monitors side by side, I avoid recommending such setups as they are not suitable for most of you. Besides, if you know that you want such a setup and are ready to pay for it, you most likely know what you’re doing and don’t need this guide to begin with

Conclusion

Competition is starting to heat up again between ATI/AMD and Nvidia, as you can see with the latest round of price cuts. If you observe the market closely, you’ll notice how the Radeon HD 4770 is now longer available and the Radeon HD 4850 is getting harder and harder to find, with the 1GB edition on liquidation at $100. Even the Radeon HD 5750 and 5770 got price cuts, even though Nvidia doesn’t have a decent product to compete with them.

What does that tell me?
They are trying to sell them off quickly. Why? Feel free to take a guess, but if I was to take a guess, it would partly be due the upcoming competition from Nvidia (Expect them to release GF104 lower-end derivatives soon enough) but mostly due to the upcoming Radeon HD 6xxx Southern Islands series from AMD, which is due before the end of the year, a date confirmed by AMD.

We don’t have a more accurate date on when the Radeon HD 6xxx series will be released yet, not officially from AMD anyway, but you can bet that they will be here in time for the holidays, I’m guessing in October/November, so obviously the manufacturers don’t want to be stuck with an excessive stock of older cards when the new Radeon HD 6xxx series cards are due to arrive in perhaps less than three months, hence the price cuts. Sure, it’s mostly a guess, but it’s my guess.

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Category: The Best PC Parts For Your Money