Best Mid Range Graphics Card?

[Pob255]

wouldn't places like NewEgg need to deliver it somewhere? If you are staying in a house or appartment for a while, that could be ok. But if you where only going for a week, and staying in a hotel or something. It might be tricky.

But yeah, newegg is where all the americans buy from, because its so cheap and reliable. There are a few other places that are good though. And yeah, it would be worth getting the 8800gts - even if it was slightly over your budget, it would be worth stretching slightly. Because its a great card.

I realised that, I was using it as a price guide, in the same way I'd use scan as a price guide then add on a chunk if going retail.

Seeing as I don't have easy access to a US retail shop

[Biscuit]

I didnt say max settings i said high agreed for the first few months but its only a matter of time till the manufacturers start pushing the boundries of a graphics card & pulling new graphics technology into the market

[staffsMike]

I didnt say max settings i said high agreed for the first few months but its only a matter of time till the manufacturers start pushing the boundries of a graphics card & pulling new graphics technology into the market

lol hmmm..

I think they will be good for a couple of years but we shall see

[Rosaline]

Crysis is supposed to run at max settings on the 8800GTS so I can't see why it would struggle with other future dx10 releases.

I wonder how moddable Crysis will be?

Although modern games may well run nicely on high end kit as they stand, never under estimate the ability of modders to take a game that already taxes high end systems (such as oblivion) and add massively detailed texture packs and new LOD meshes to make them look absolutely amazing but utterly kill your fps

Given that this is what the unpaid modding community is doing, that it is easier to scale down HD content than it is to scale up, and that nVidia are encouraging developers to make "director's cut" HD editions of games, I would expect future games to begin to cause issues on the kit availible upon their release.

edit: Totaly wrong link...

[umster]

what make of card should be purchased?

8800gts

[godsdog]

what make of card should be purchased?

8800gts

Based off manufacturers pdfs / spec sheets, reviews, review stats and of course, user testimony happiness rating. I got it down to EVGA, BFG, MSI, Foxconn. Look for a blend of price / performance / bundle, you'd find something to suit in one of those. Out of those I went EVGA from ebuyer for performance / price. Could quite easily have gone MSI / Foxconn options with attractive bundles though.

[Rosaline]

And to actually contribute to the thread (rather than be a nitpicker )...

8800gts 320Mb

No matter how much one may try to nitpick, this is actually a rather impressive card for the price, and it will stand you in great stead for a good few years

Most manufacturers basically follow the reference design, and the extra cost for an overclocked edition is not really worth it (as you can tweak it yourself). If you are looking to spend more, I'd consider quieter cooling in preference, better bundles or a good warranty and RMA procedure.

[Blitzen]

And to actually contribute to the thread (rather than be a nitpicker )...

8800gts 320Mb

No matter how much one may try to nitpick, this is actually a rather impressive card for the price, and it will stand you in great stead for a good few years

Most manufacturers basically follow the reference design, and the extra cost for an overclocked edition is not really worth it (as you can tweak it yourself). If you are looking to spend more, I'd consider quieter cooling in preference, better bundles or a good warranty and RMA procedure.

I doubt it will for a few years.
I would say more like 9-12 months from now tbh.

[Thorsson]

It'll do until proper DX10 games come out...

[umster]

what are gainward cards like?

[Thorsson]

I've always had the impression that they were good but overpriced. I've generally bought MSI, XFX or Leadtek, but that's mostly because I thought they were good value.

[umster]

But are they good cards? if they are a little expensive but good quality I dont mind paying for it ??

[staffsMike]

they are all built in the same factory..you're packing for the bundle and customer service.

[Thorsson]

My view of Gainward: they always sell a "Golden Sample" card. This basically means a card that is guaranteed to OC. IMO they normally charge too much for this. On the 8800GTS they charge around £14 more than the EVGA card for a 10% OC. Just about all NVidia cards will reach a 10% OC.

I just checked Scan. The 3 cheapest cards are EVGA, Leadtek & Gainward. EVGA is the only one in stock. The Leadtek has a non-reference cooler - the others just have paint jobs. The "Golden" Gainward is not in stock either.

If it were in stock I'd get the Leadtek. They haven't spent money developing their own cooler for it to perform worse than the reference one.

[Biscuit]

BFG are the ones to go for IMO. You get excelent warranty and a factory OCd card

[Thorsson]

Can't see the attraction in factory OC unless it's particularly high, or on the back of superior cooling.