Holiday 2008 GPU Guide: Price Cuts Galore
by Derek Wilson on December 18, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Let's Get Ridiculous: $130 - $180 Graphics Cards
This is arguably the most important market segment in this entire list. At $150+ the price isn't going to break the bank compared to other graphics hardware, and the performance we can expect is great for gaming at widely used resolutions like 1280x1024 and 1680x1050. This is the lowest performance card anyone who calls him or herself "gamer" will want in their system (though sometimes it is necessary to get by with a little less), but don't mistake that qualification for anything that implies disappointment. Those who need more than what can be had at this price only need it because 1) they are professional gamers, 2) they have large (high resolution) monitors or 3) want it real bad (not all decisions have to be logical, I understand and even identify).
Okay, maybe I'm generalizing a bit much here, but seriously, $150 gets you a lot these days. These cards won't run the highest settings at the highest resolutions in all games, but they will run the highest settings in most games at decent resolutions. They can muster 1920x1200 with reduced quality if you need to push it that high to connect with an HDTV or something.
The midrange segment is populated with what used to be high end hardware from NVIDIA. The GeForce 9800 GTX/GTX+ are priced between $150 and $200 depending on the vendor and whether or not the hardware is overclocked. At the lower end of this price spectrum, this competes with the Radeon HD 4850 from AMD, which happens to be our pick for the best midrange graphics option this holiday season. The AMD solution is generally the same performance or better than the GeForce 9800 GTX, and is more easily found at lower prices (and with rebates can even be found for less).
Beyond the performance and price of the Radeon HD 4850, the card is much smaller, quieter and doesn't require as much power. Because of this, while not the ideal HTPC card, the 4850 does offer a compelling hybrid solution for the living room that can provide an okay HTPC experience (it will be louder than cheaper cards that are designed for HTPCs) as well as a decent gaming experience on an HDTV in the living room. Sure, game consoles are the king of this space, but even this modest card offers multiples of the performance of the graphics hardware in either the XBox 360 or the Playstation 3.
The beloved RV770, the Radeon HD 4850 (Image From newegg.com)
Recommendation: ATI Radeon HD 4850
| Newegg | ZipZoomFly | TigerDirect | Buy.com |
PowerColor Radeon HD 4850 | ASUS Radeon HD 4850 | Diamond Radeon HD 4850 | Diamond Radeon HD 4850 |
| $132 | $130 | $182 |
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SiliconDoc - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
The 9800GTX+ is 149.99 by itself.I'm not sure why, with CUDA, and with PhysX, and with overclocking capability, and with using an 8 series for a dedicated PhysX processor, WHY I should buy the 4850 at the same price or worse.
I guess in this case, the very few games that the 4850 enjoy a advantage in, makes all the difference all of a sudden - in this case NOTHING matters exacpt some " very close gaming scores" and after thinking about that ONLY - choose the 4850.... or so the review goes... because golly... the price COULD be advantageous...
Yeah, I've HAD IT.
fofelix - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
I think the HD 4850 X2 is getting interesting because of the recent price cuts.In Germany the cheapest HD 4870 512MB costs 187€ ,while the HD 4850 X2 (2x512MB) costs 261€. Nice performance/euro ratio in my opinion.
Well i don't know the price of the HD4850X2 in the U.S. ,but I assume the relative price difference is similar.
By the way... You can be a bit jealous living in Europe .
I knew that hardware is more pricy in Europe compared to the U.S. , but 187€ for the HD 4870 vs Newegg's 180$ deal. Crazy difference ,isn't it ?
Greetings from Europe
Felix
USRFobiwan - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
Well I disagree with the dollar to euro conversion the New egg version is still cheaper..JarredWalton - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
That's what he's saying: those living in Europe can be jealous of Newegg prices.Clauzii - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
... that AMD/ATI are very strong in the GPU market at the moment. And a 4830 for under $100,-. Simply brilliant.SiliconDoc - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Here's what's "brilliant" - I've heard from AYTI fans for 6 months that the sucky NVidia is ready to collapse because their "huge die" for the 280/260 is raping their bottom line... and by golly ATI is sooooo smart with their smaller 4870 die that saves them so much money....OH, BUT THEN IT HIT, RIGHT AFTER ANOTHER REDFAN WHINED IT OUT AGAIN ABOVE...
Gee, Nvidia keeps it's giant core in the $200+ to $500 privce segments - the 260/192/ 216 on up to the 280 - making sure they GET A LOT OF MONEY FOR THAT TOP CORE OF THEIRS...
But what does ATI do ? WHAT do they do ? Oh, they've got their TOP CORE in all their 4000 series cards, and although it's half the size of the so expensive NVidia top core - ATI puts their top biggest most expensive core in OODLES OF CHEAP LOW RENT VIDEOCARDS!
lol - all the 4850 series that barely brag 150 bucks now... and that's the BEST case scenario...
4350 - $25
4550 - $58
4650 $65
4670 $76
4830 $110
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Am I totally wrong or aren't ALL THOSE 4000 series GPU cores JUST AS LARGE AS THE 4870'S ? (even with reduced features... disabled shaders... or whatever)
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Ahh, the red fans HAVE BEEN LYING AND SNOWBALLING ME FOR 6 MONTHS...
The review sites have SPEWED that same rhetorical BS, a big fat line of lies... and most have repeated it ad infinitum - how NVidia just can't take it....
And it takes ME - to point out Nvidia keeps their top core in the $200 dollar to $500 pricepoint while ATI has their MOST EXPENSIVE CORE
priced at $25 - perhaps a GIGANTIC LOSS for ATI in the 4350...
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Oh, but I've been told Nvidia is losing so much they can't do a price war with ATI.... because of the Nvidia gigantic die...
LOL - BOT HAVE THE LIARS BEEN BAMBOOZLING FOR 6 LONG MONTHS!
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I know, I'm not the best writer, so wail away reds.... but you WON'T be responding to the points, nor will the reviewers - it will be ALL SILENT on the red front...
( except to perhaps spew about the 400 cores - yes well let me know if the 4350 core die is SMALLER than the 4870 - I'm going to look again RIGHT NOW ).
Good luck reds, I sure hope this isn't another gigantic lie exposed that you will "deny" by virtue of silence on it, or just scream it makes no sense (your other favorite tactic).
SiliconDoc - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Ok, I'll correct myself... my apologies for getting upset.http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3420">http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3420
I see the lower end series have smaller dies than the 4870 - BUT the 4850 FITS MY COMPLAINT.
260mm2
So ATI is calling "4000 series" chips 4000's but they aren't really at all... they are small knockdowns - THEY'VE BEEN LYING TO US ALL.
We've heard endless complaints about NVidia RENAMING the SAME SIZED DIES and calling them by a new designation...
So what ATI does is make a WHOLE 4000 series .... and then only the top 2 are actually the new full die -
And a whole host of the 4000 series are NOT.
Deception anyone ?
Schmide - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
.DerekWilson - Thursday, December 18, 2008 - link
it works fine for me ... what exactly is the issue?SiliconDoc - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
" Pushing up closer to $100 the lines get blurry and the 9600 GT becomes more of an option though there's a deal in the next section that sort of negates that advantage. If your target is $100, you'd be better served by spending $10 more dollars to get a better card, "Yes, so blurry, huh - like $65 bucks is BLURRY.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...06793736...
Let's really SEE, you said you'd include discounts and rebates:
64.99
64.99
74.99
79.99
74.99
84.99
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Only in the 1024 ram area does it change, but WE KNOW that doesn't matter - since the 4870 512 IS RECOMMENDED OVER THE 896 RAM GTX260 -
So 512 is just fine and makes the 9600GT the big winner.