OK, I am trying to get a gaming card. As you all know I don't have a job so money is tight. I am looking to spend around 60-80 USD I might go a little higher if it makes a big difference.

This is something I was thinking about getting GIGABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB.

I currently have a 17" LCD and will not have anything bigger than that for awhile.

If anyone can explain what to look for in a card it will be helpful.

As of now I have a onboard ATI Radeon HD 4200. Which plays all of the COD's/UnReal on low (never tried a higher setting). I would like to play GTA IV and a few other games.

One last question, should you stay away from "off brand" cards. i.e Asus/Gigabyte/PNY etc.

THANKS Everyone.

Edited January 20, 201015 yr by LUZR4LIFE

I love NVidia and for that price range I would go with 9600GT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500134&cm_re=9600gt-_-14-500-134-_-Product

but, I'm not sure if this card is really good.

I would recommend you the one I have, but I can't find it on the newegg. NVidia XFX 8800GT - this one is the beast and it takes only one slot in your case

I have a Radeon HD 2600 will let you know how it handles when I can get a digital monitor or adapter for my old vga

I have a Radeon HD 2600 will let you know how it handles when I can get a digital monitor or adapter for my old vga

LOL. Sorry Rick. At least you have a TV Tuner. I don't have one of those, yet.I am slowly getting a decent system together.

Edited January 17, 201015 yr by LUZR4LIFE

I am looking to spend around 60-80 USD I might go a little higher

This is something I was thinking about getting GIGABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB.

If gaming was a priority, I'd definitely recommend a Radeon HD5870. They are far and away the best card for the $$ and one of (if not THE) fastest cards on the planet right now. The review I read says the idle power draw is a miserly 27W which is ridiculously low.

But since $$ is a concern, I'd recommend the HD5670 which you can get for ~$99 from NewEgg.

I'm seriously considering trading my nvidia 8800GTS in for a HD5870, I'd save money on my power bill too!

And yes, stay away from off-brands whenever possible for warranty reasons. I think BFGtech has the best warranty in the business from all accounts.

Edited January 17, 201015 yr by Mr_Smartepants

I a m thinking about getting this EVGA 01G-P3-N959-TR GeForce 9500 GT or XFX HD-467X-ZDF2 Radeon HD 4670

OK, now if I I am going for broke. LOL

I am thinking about getting a XFX HD-485X-ZDFC Radeon HD 4850

I was thinking about getting EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX, but the price is high and from what I have seen they are about the same.

Edited January 18, 201015 yr by LUZR4LIFE

trust me, the 9800gtx and the 4850 is MASSIVE overkill for your 17in lcd monitor. 4670 would beat the 9500 gt

see if you can find a used ati 3850 or 3870. might be able to find one around $50 now and i bet would be plenty

Thanks ccl0 that info will save me money for other things. Maybe a new heatsink or gaming mouse. I will be ordering today. I did find someone on craigslist selling a used 8800GT for 50.00 USD

Thanks ccl0 that info will save me money for other things. Maybe a new heatsink or gaming mouse. I will be ordering today. I did find someone on craigslist selling a used 8800GT for 50.00 USD

This is a beast. Serves me very well.

For instance, UT3 on highest settings, FPS is locked on 60fps which is a max.

8800gt for fifty bucks?

Thats a sweet deal. Whos the manufacturer?

8800gt for fifty bucks?

Thats a sweet deal. Whos the manufacturer?

I don't know? I am waiting for a reply. I also don't know how long he has had it. The person stays around 15 minutes away from me.

yeah that 8800gt will beat anything new that you could find for $50

OK the 8800 gt did not go through. So Ia m going for a overkill.

I ended up getting the XFX HD-477A-YDFC Radeon HD 4770 512MB over the XFX HD-485X-ZDFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB

I have read that the 4770 has out performed the 4850 and the 9800GT.

Edited January 20, 201015 yr by LUZR4LIFE

need to have something at a minimum of 1680 x 1050 resolution or it will mostly be wasted

Yes it is overkill at the moment but I will get a larger monitor in a month or 2 if all goes well. LOL

well that makes more sense now

something else i just remembered is thats a dx11 card, so if you are still using xp then you won't get all the benefits of it unless you have vista or w7

Edited January 21, 201015 yr by ccl0

Yeah I am using Windows 7 Ultimate an dit's DirectX 10.1.

I just installed my card. Man is it a beast. It has some good weight to it also. I got a 7.2 all around for graphics in WEI for 7. I got a 11241 on 3DMarks (I am missing 2G still so not sure if that will change). Man there is big difference in gaming now. And I really haven't done much yet. Maybe later tonight.

Edited January 22, 201015 yr by LUZR4LIFE

Congrats