budget nVidia card - $130 or less

[zero2dash]

I'm trying to figure out what budget nVidia card to get for $120-$130 for my new build which should be finished (hopefully) next month.

I've had nVidia, now ATi - looking to go back to nVidia (I really dislike ATi's Catalyst Control Center/prefer nVidia's).

I'm looking for a decent budget card...nothing too hardcore for gaming. (I used to PC game but have since moved onto consoles and practically never PC game these days.) My wife is a Sims-a-holic though.

DX10 support I'm not too sure I really care about.
(I will be running Vista64 Ultimate because I will have 4gigs of ram.)

THG VGA charts are way outdated but it looks like performance wise, it goes

7900GS > 7600GT > 8600GT

But I wanted a more educated opinion from you peeps

TIA

 

[j0j081]

I thought the 8600gt was faster than the 7600gt in new games. The 7900 kills both of them though that is for sure.

 

[nonameo]

You don't need more than a 7600 GT for the sims.

Actually, you could probably get away with integrated video.

 

[Farmer]

None of the above.

X1950Pro or X1950XT, if you can find it for that low.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: Farmer
None of the above.

X1950Pro or X1950XT, if you can find it for that low.

Depends on what he means by "Sims-a-holic". Pacific Fighters, Microsoft Flight sims, ATI is inferior to NV in those games - Bench

The ATI Radeon X1000 family doesn?t support vertex texturing and cannot render the water surface with the highest quality in Pacific Fighters for example.

 

[JACKDRUID]

you really should spend $29 more to get 3850 for $159

 

[TekGmr]

I would say get on newegg and buy a 7800GT for $135.I bought mine for $500 when they first came out and I don't regret it a bit. I've got a pretty balanced system and although it's a little older I can still run any game with lots of eye candy and that includes crysis. I run every one of my games at 1280x1020 (due to the limitations of my Samsung CRT monitor) and every game looks great and is fun to play.

 

[bryanW1995]

ok, guys, I'm a pretty big ati fan right now with their 38x0 series, but he did say that he wants nvidia.

@OP, if you have a month then you should wait for 8800gt 256mb cards to come out. they should be well under $200 and will be good for a LONG time for you. If you are willing to look at ati again then that 3850 would definitely be the way to go, but I can tell you that CCC isn't a whole lot different now than it was with the x1950 series.

possibly a better solution would be to find a deal at fs/ft. a LOT of people are upgrading right now, you should be able to find a deal on any of the cards that you mentioned.

 

[nonameo]

wife + sims = "The Sims"

As in, the game by Maxis.

edit: I stand by my original comment.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: JACKDRUID
you really should spend $29 more to get 3850 for $159

I followed that deal through to the bitter end, it was 5.99 for shipping and 11.20 for tax, totalling out to 177.18. Newegg has the msi 3850 oc'd to 690 for 175 shipped, which is also a good deal. I'd still lean towards the best buy unit as the better deal b/c of the VT lifetime warranty, however, esp if you can do in-store pickup to save the shipping charges.

 

[zero2dash]

Yep... 'The Sims'
Nice link Jackdruid, I figured the cheapest the 3850's were right now (with the demand and NewEgg's jacked up pricing BS) was $179 but I'd definitely pay an extra $29 for one. Thanks for that link.

I don't really dislike ATi by any means, I just have issues with the CCC in XP for some reason..seems like it crashes frequently. (in my old system...AGP 9500 Pro) I didn't really think about driver support under Vista though (especially 64 bit).

Guess I'd probably be better off spending a little extra for something more beefy (like the 3850) to be able to run at my LCD's native res (1680x1050)...I don't know how well the 7900GS would fare in that regard.

Thanks for the input y'all

 

[Syntax Error]

If you can afford to stick with your old hardware a bit longer, I recommend you scrounge up another $50, that'll give you a lot more options such as the HD3850, which will kill any video card around the original $120 price range. It would go a LONG way for gaming longetivity at that point.

 

[j0j081]

ATI sucks.

 

[Syntax Error]

Originally posted by: j0j081
ATI sucks.

That's an objective comment, right there folks! Go for a lesser product because someone says so.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

My friend says AMD makes better processors than Intel, tried to talk him out of it. At least I convinced him to "downgrade" to a 5000+ Black Edition rather then the 6400+ and POS cooler he was getting.

 

[zero2dash]

Originally posted by: j0j081
ATI sucks.

Until the 256meg 8800GT is released -
ATi owns the sub-$200 market because the 3850 is unrivaled in that area. Nothing comes close. It spanks the bejesus out of the 8600GTS cards and everything else nVidia or ATi has made before it.

Now -
$200+, by all means, the 8800GT is a better buy than the 3870.

Both companies have their pros and cons, same as Intel vs AMD, Microsoft vs Sony vs Nintendo etc.

 

[nonameo]

Originally posted by: zero2dash

Originally posted by: j0j081
ATI sucks.

Until the 256meg 8800GT is released -

It was just released. Check newegg.

 

[j0j081]

Originally posted by: nonameo

Originally posted by: zero2dash

Originally posted by: j0j081
ATI sucks.

Until the 256meg 8800GT is released -

It was just released. Check newegg.

therefore my point remains valid.

 

[DaveBC]

I saw some nice deals in the AT FS/FT forums. ie. 7950 for $130, and 7900GS for $90.

I don't feel like searching for the links right now. But if your patient and read through them you'll find some good deals. :beer:

 

[Demoth]

This 8600GT has more power then you'll need considering what your using that computer for and also allows you to use some of the enhanced display features on Vista. This card has a good rebate and the fact it's GDDR2 won't be effecting much at stock speeds.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814122034

Compare a stock speed 8600GT to anything close in price at the $70 range and it's close enough, plus you get DX10.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/...9&model2=722&chart=318

You just better hope the sims doesn't come out with a DX10 graphics upgrade expansion or you may have to upgrade.

 

[taltamir]

you know the 8800GT 256MB is out already... and it tears the 3870 a new one... Forgot about competing with the 3850 the 3870 cant keep up with it. (except on a few high end games at 1920x1200 and above resolutions with maximum AA).

Newegg is now price gouging it for 209$+6$ shipping...

I really wouldn't buy a 130$ card right now, for 50% more money you get 300% more performance.