Got about $150 to spend on new vid card

**Zelmon** · 05-18-13, 03:15 PM

Im looking for a new vid card for less that 150.

currently "rock" a radeon 6450 (1gb)

i5, 8 gb ram

Whats ya'lls suggestion? Is my current price range not worth it?

**moving-target** · 05-18-13, 06:46 PM

i got a 7850 2gb OC version off new egg for like 125$ a while back and they now offer free games with it i think

**Allane** · 05-19-13, 08:06 AM

Right now your two best bets are going to be either the $145 Sapphire HD7790 or spend up to $10 more for a 1GB version of the 650 Ti Boost.

The 7790 is a huge upgrade from the 7770, being both more efficient and 20% more powerful. It can only crossfire with itself because it uses a new chipset (Bonaire, versus the normal 7700 series' Cape Verde), but it is designed for entry level 1920x1080 gaming, so it's a capable machine.

he 1GB version of the 650 Ti Boost unfortunately doesn't have any benchmarks yet, but imagine having a 660 with a bit less performance, then trimming it's VRAM to 1GB instead of 2GB. The paring down brings it to a performance level just higher than the 7790, but it is much less efficient, is louder, and creates more heat. However, you certainly get what you pay for in better performance per dollar.

**Zelmon** · 05-19-13, 10:56 AM

Thanks for the advice, just got me a 650 ti, 2gb version. Decided that spending a few bucks more and getting another gb outta the deal was worth it. All i know right now is that its way scarier looking that my current card

**Zelmon** · 05-19-13, 02:15 PM

Loaded it up, some weirdness with getting the right drivers, but its all good. Played skyrim, bl2 at 1680x1050 at max everything, smooth as the skin on some of those chicks from the babe topic thread. And super quiet. Very happy with it!

**HeavyG** · 05-22-13, 06:23 AM

While I probably would have dropped another $50-75 to get a better card... at that price range, your upgrade from an AMD 6450 to the nVidia 650ti is HUGE. It should be a big upgrade and I am glad you are happy.

This shows that sometimes you don't need to spend a lot to make a big difference in your overall gaming experience.