ABT Builder’s Guide: November 2008
VIDEO CARDS
For gamers (like myself), this is what it all comes down to, your video card. However, there are many users that need something basic for whatever reason, even if it is just for running Windows Vista with Aero enabled.
Just like with the processors, there are two camps to consider, and as such I will allow my recommendations to compensate for your personal preferences, including whichever brand you choose to buy. My links are just to those cards that have a proven track record of quality. Also, for now, only single card recommendations will be given.
|
|
NVIDIA |
ATI |
|
ENTRY |
||
|
BUDGET |
||
|
MAINSTREAM |
||
|
PERFORMANCE |
||
|
ENTHUSIAST |
Honourable Mentions:
Price/Performance – GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 (also known as GTX 260+). It has 24 more stream processors than the regular GTX 260 and performs up to 10% better. This gives it just a slight edge above the competing Radeon HD 4870. Personally, I am still undecided as to whether or not it is worth the ~US$30 price difference but I lean more towards the line of thought that it is not.
Price/Performance – Radeon HD 4870 1GB. This card has double the memory of the regular HD 4870 and as such is better equipped to tackle the GTX 260 (and Core 216) at higher resolutions. The 1GB of VRAM allows it to keep up with and in some cases beat the GTX 260+. It can also be considered a sweet spot for gamers.
Price/Performance – GeForce 9800GX2. This card performs more or less in line with the Radeon HD 4870 and the GeForce GTX 260 but can excel in certain games beyond GTX 280 performance.
Price/Performance – Radeon HD 4850 X2. This is a dual GPU, single card much like the famed HD 4870 X2 but it employs two HD 4850 GPUs instead. Its performance is roughly equal to that of two HD 4850s in CrossFire, which comes close to the performance of the GTX 280 and even beats it at times.
There are a few things to note here. The above lists don’t compare the cards from the two companies head-to-head, but I will now give a performance listing. When more than one card is listed, the first card has a slight edge on the next and so on, but they offer very similar performance.
Starting from highest performance:
Note:
I hope to expand on this in future by including more cards.
