Too many card choices. Good card in the $150 range

[cmf21]

My brother is wanting a new computer. I think he's going with a i5 3570k and some samsung memory. He needs a good video card in the $150 range but is pulling his hair out with all the different card model numbers. He knows to be looking at the last 3 numbers but that's it. He takes alot of photos with his camera and edit's them and he wants to play the latest games (he's not hardcore or anything like that).


What's a good card in the $150 range that's new the the last yr or so. Should he look at 1gb or 2gb cards, cards with dual fans, etc. He's totally confused.

 

[blastingcap]

You didn't list much in the way of CPU, PSU, etc. but assuming he has a decent PSU and games at 1080p:

Get an overclocked HD 6850 and pocket the leftover money. If he's willing to go up the price bracket somewhat, he can snag a HD 7850 1GB or 2GB for somewhat more than $150. If he can spent more like $200, a GTX 660 or HD 7870 or something like that may be the ticket, depending on the price.

Edit: I meant to get a HD 6850 and oc it himself, not get a pre-oc'd one. Unless he doesn't want to bother manually oc and stress testing.

 

[SPBHM]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161426

 

[Mopetar]

7850 can be had for a little bit more than that, or around that if you find a good deal online. I'd definitely recommend one.

 

[tweakboy]

My brother is wanting a new computer. I think he's going with a i5 3570k and some samsung memory. He needs a good video card in the $150 range but is pulling his hair out with all the different card model numbers. He knows to be looking at the last 3 numbers but that's it. He takes alot of photos with his camera and edit's them and he wants to play the latest games (he's not hardcore or anything like that).


What's a good card in the $150 range that's new the the last yr or so. Should he look at 1gb or 2gb cards, cards with dual fans, etc. He's totally confused.

Grab a 460 1GB for probablly less then that. Its a powerful card. gl

 

[cmf21]

Thanks for the few suggestions. He's price point really isn't set. He doesn't want to over pay for something that will work just fine for the next few years. Should he be looking at 1gb or 2gb cards and how much wattage in a power supply should he look for. It seems most card recommend about 500w. What's different between the 6850 and 7850 cards?

 

[blastingcap]

If he wants to buy and hold for 3+ years as implied by your second post in this thread, I'd go for at least a 7850 2GB. An overclocked 7850 is about as fast as a stock GTX 570 or 580, all while eating less power. 2GB is more futureproof than 1GB and if he's holding it for 3+ years I'd get the 2GB just in case.

 

[Rambusted]

if you're gaming at 1080p you can get away with 1 gig, but some high res texture mods in games like skyrim can push you over that 1 gig threshold. As for 500w psu i have an older setup that my kids use with a 4870 running on an antec vp450 without a hitch. As long as you have a decent psu I think 400 is probably enough to handle any modern gpu in your price range, assuming you're not using a crazy amount of fans and extra hdd's etc.

 

[bononos]

Thanks for the few suggestions. He's price point really isn't set. He doesn't want to over pay for something that will work just fine for the next few years. Should he be looking at 1gb or 2gb cards and how much wattage in a power supply should he look for. It seems most card recommend about 500w. What's different between the 6850 and 7850 cards?

Probably 2Gb cards for the 7850 and above, I asked that same question recently. Your pricepoints should really be $120 or $190 (a 7770 or 7850). A quality 380W is plenty since recent cpus and video cards don't require as much power as before.

Edit: Theres a newest budget card released by Nvidia is the 650 or 650ti in the $150 range. You might want to check out the benchmarks to see if it makes sense.

 

[RussianSensation]

I would look to find an HD7850 2GB at $170-180 range. It's worth the $20-30 over the GTX650Ti/7850 1GB.

You don't really need to know the specs as it's boring geeky stuff. Here are some quick charts comparing the GPUs:

http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2012/test-nvidia-geforce-gtx-650-ti/6/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_650_Ti_Direct_Cu_II/28.html

 

[pm]

I looked at this today, and picked up a 2GB HD7850 for $185 (w/ free shipping).
http://www.amazon.com/VisionTek-Rade.../dp/B007KJ1URG
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814129230
It's not $150, but the 7850 is so much faster than what you can get at $150, that it seemed like it was worth the extra $35. If you or your friend really need something at $150, then I'd get a 7850 w/ 1GB which can be found for ~$160 after rebate. But I think the extra 1GB is worth the $25 more... if not right now, then going into next year.