Video Card Buyer's Guide - Spring 2009
by Derek Wilson on March 30, 2009 6:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
For our ~$100 price point (plus or minus a bit) we are going to strongly recommend that people wait for about a month. This price point will be shaken up a bit in about that time and we really aren't comfortable recommending anyone purchase something in this market until sometime in early May. This may or may not further compress the sub $100 market, but there really isn't much more room down there, so we don't expect much change except at right around $100.
~$100 Recommendation: IT'S A TRAP!!! (wait about a month)
It just so happens that this price point is also the highest volume price point. Certainly neither AMD nor NVIDIA will be happy that we recommend waiting, but this is all about the consumer. If you are going to spend about $100 on a video card, just try really hard to wait a little bit longer.
From $130 to $150 we are looking at the a tightly contested price point. At the lower end of the spectrum, the Radeon 4850 gets our nod, while at the higher end the 1GB GTS 250 does perform slightly better in our tests (we do not recommend the 512MB variant though). Whether that slight difference in performance is worth the $20 difference in price really has to be up to the end user, but you get a much bigger bump by jumping up out of the price range to the ATI Radeon 4870 512MB at $165 (which is why we don't recommend the GTS 250 1GB at this point).
$130-$150 Recommendation: ATI Radeon HD 4850
| ATI Radeon HD 4850 | |
| PowerColor | $129.99 |
| Diamond | $159.99 |
| XFX | $169.99 |
This next bit is a little more tricky. Between $165 and $180 there exist the 4870 512MB and 4870 1GB. These cards perform nearly the same at lower resolutions, so for gamers with 1680x1050 and lower resolution monitors, we would recommend the 512MB variant with the caveat that some games are becoming memory hogs. The 1GB might be slightly more future proof, but it's really hard to say whether or not that will last beyond when you'd want to upgrade both either way when talking about 1680x1050 and lower.
$165 (At 1680x1050 and Below) Recommendation: ATI Radeon HD 4870
| ATI Radeon HD 4870 | |
| ASUS | $164.99 |
| HIS | $169.99 |
At resolutions above 1680x1050, the 1GB 4870 and the GTX 260 core 216 are both viable options that come in at $180. So save $20 at average to lower resolutions or make a choice based on the games you play (or preference for a hardware designer) at higher resolutions. NVIDIA and AMD really do trade blows depending on the games we choose to test, so if you want the best performance at this price point, you'll have to pick the games in which performance matters most to you.
$180 Recommendation: End User Preference (4870 1GB or GTX 260 core 216)
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Hrel - Monday, March 30, 2009 - link
What about the HD48501GB? Which is a much better option than the 2GB model unless you have a really expensive monitor i.e. 2560x????1920, I don't know that one.Oh, also, the GTS250 512MB version card is great, and IT IS shorter and built on the new referance design; not to mention XFX was selling one on newegg for $118!!!! Definetely a better option than HD4850 for that price.
Also, the HD4830 is available at $75, so that's a better option than the 9600GT or the HD4670. 5-10 bucks more for significantly better performance.
Seriously anandtech, this "guide" was really disapointing.
SiliconDoc - Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - link
Well Dewreck can't help himself, it's 100% red 100% of the time - because right after any reluctant second listed pincy line ok if I must NVidia recommendation, the pleas to not buy or go up to the next level or wait or don't get it get a better ATI happen - EVERY TIME.He had to back off the 4850 because raving and red roostering for that for so long got a bit tiring, so now it's the 4850x2 instead.
LOL - great move noone noticed.
He even claims he cannot find a 285, the 280 was less desired so don't get it. LOL
He's so red rooster NVidia doesn't give them test cards anymore. They've almost blackballed him entirely.
lol
But he likes that - makes him feel he has done his crowing and stubby wing flapping well.
Um, but the guide is great - just put on your red rooster costume, come in, start strutting about, bobbin' yer head and quackin', flap yer little twitterin wings and take off on the propaganda - just don't mention PhysX, game profiles, dual card forcing, Cuda, power savings, or things like EVGA SLI enhancement for instant sli on newly released games...Warmonger, the new Mirror's Edge, PhysX for soft bodies, etc.
Yeah, and make sure you give the new messiah O a jingle and beg for a couple billion for amd/ati who keep losing their shirts with the bestes red cards the whooorld has ev' known !
Can't you see a red bug eyed fanboy going for the gold with flippers and a paddle when the "good ship" lollipop is sinking !? rofl
Hrel - Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - link
what the hell is with all the rooster referencing??? You sound like a lunatic.RU482 - Monday, March 30, 2009 - link
I would guess the 4830 isn't on there because it is about to disappear (and that $75 IS after rebate).Also, FWIW, that $79 4670 pictured (and others) can be had for $49 after rebate (often with free shipping too), making it a heck of a bang for the buck low end card.
SiliconDoc - Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - link
The 4830 was a good buy when it hit - at $75 - I actually liked that and thought it might make it worth the hassles.It jumped up to over $100 when it was better recieved than expected - and now it's back down a bit.
That was a good value card - not too hot, okay on power instead of going into raging powerhungry overdrive like the 4850 and 70.
Good delivery of value, they tweaked up the shaders with that kerfluffle if you recall... they were gonna release lower perhaps.
Anyway, the rooster did ok that time.
Hrel - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - link
hm, I didn't know anand's prices were pre-rebate. That's true though, the 9600GT/HD4670 is a heck of a lot of card for 50 bucks, I didn't think they went under 60, I never checked.Hrel - Monday, March 30, 2009 - link
I meant HD4850X2 1GB, and also, you guys probably should have just held off a month on the review.josh6079 - Monday, March 30, 2009 - link
The GTS 250 512MB is not shorter and is not built on the new reference design.That's the GTS 250 1GB.
Hrel - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - link
no dumb person, I already ordered two, from XFX, for 118 dollars each, for other people. The card is an inch and a half shorter. Anandtech's original article stated that they were just guessing, and they were wrong in that guess. Both the 1GB and 512MB versions use less electricity and are 1.5 inches shorter.SiliconDoc - Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - link
Umm, yeah, cause the red rooster got stomped struttin' about with the chickenfeed lines by the big green tractor - brute force don't you know...wins.lol
Now the cluckers are ticked with that no test card TKO, so on goes the blabbering article. Maybe there's a bit of green from the reds, in hopes that the billion dollar losses can be stopped. Keep clucking D' ! hahaha
Glad to have discovered the truth.