Q: Bang for the buck video card?
 

Hey guys,
which video card these days is bang for the buck?
I remember the 8800GT was good for computer standards a year ago, at least when I bought my new computer.
What about now? And what price range?
Usage: HD videos (priority), at least be able to play Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2 on medium to max settings. (My 8800GT 512MB can do that as well as max out Crysis, not Warhead though).

Would 4870HD and GTX260 be overkill for anything below Crysis standards?
(Not using this computer for heavy gaming or any new computer games coming out in future).

Thanks.

HD4870 should run anything at 1920x1200 thats below crysis quality. can be had for 150 on sale. a little bit quieter than GT260.

Those are the benefits of the ATI card, though it's my preference right now.

Wait for the next generation of video cards to come DX11
Prices on top end cards will drop a lot
Or if you can't wait either a 260gtx (216) or 4890/275gtx will more than suffice.

260gtx or 4890 are overkill.
Unless I'm playing currently-lined up video games, anything above 260gtx won't be necessary.

Would the 250gtx or 4850HD be considered an upgrade to the old 8800GT?

Not really, because the GTS250 is a 9800GTX+ gussied up. It'll be a minimal to moderate upgrade.

Get a 4870/GTX260-level card, they're not expensive now and serve as future-proofing.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...3&promoid=1015
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...r&promoid=1015

i thought dx10 cards arent even quite mainstream yet and since most games still runs best on 9.0c?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...card,2362.html

Enjoy!

wait it out for dx11
i think when windows 7 comes out dx11 cards will follow

Unless I'm into gaming, DX11 (support) won't be much of an impact, correct?

Yep. Considering there's still a lot of DX9 cards out there... and DX10 not being fully mainstream yet, I doubt DX11 will get a huge following immediately after release.

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=38308&promoid=1146

$140 GTX260! MIR, but still...