Best gfx card to upgrade to

[Mortalis]

I bought UT3 this christmas and although its great fun I have to say the game runs poorly on my 6800gs... My cpu is a e6400@2.4ghz and atm I have 2gb of ram.

I'm planning to build a new PC next summer when all the next gen dx10 cards will be around, but I still need to purchase a gfx card that will allow me to play the game nicely until then.

So my budget is around £70, maybe £80. I've considered the 8600gt, 2600xt, and the slightly more expensive x1950 pro and x1900xt etc. Please let me know what card you think would be my best buy.

[kaluro]

If you manage to increase your budget a bit, then consider the 8800gt as a best buy

[Trepænima]

What resolution do you plan on playing at?

[oaL]

If you manage to increase your budget a bit, then consider the 8800gt as a best buy

QFT, the 8800 GT is by FAR the best value card atm.

[xeonshock]

If you manage to increase your budget a bit, then consider the 8800gt as a best buy

Seconded. If you're not planning on playing at resolutions 1600x1200/1680x1050 and up, see if you can fit a 256MB 8800GT in your budget.

[Therealjoe]

8800gt.

Ten letters.

[Rajinn]

hd3850 is a little cheaper than an 8800GT, it runs good but you get what you pay for.

[Harmatia]

Honestly, save up the money and get an 8800 GT 512. There's no way anyone could regret it.

[kjhkbnm]

cannot you people read. He needs a card for 70 pounds. Also 8800gt lacks newest DirectX tech/features.

[Rajinn]

thats news to me o.0 it lacks what? 10.1? i dont know of any cards with that yet.

[kjhkbnm]

all ATi 38x0 series.

[Rajinn]

well thats nice. learn something every day.
i'd like to try a 3870 but i cant afford it after my twin 8800GTX
oh well in 2 years these will be junk right?! then i can upgrade again and go "oooh" and "aahh!"

but yeah an ati 3850 is a good bang for the buck and its not too pricy. for your budget though, there isnt much

[kjhkbnm]

I dont think that in two years a twin 8800gtx will be junk. Hardware still needs software to calculate. And with a fresh UT3 engine, these are excellent until Epic doesnt come up with next-gen engine. Ut2k3-ut3 cycle was 4-5 years, so i would expect the above cards last just as long heh. This is even more true today with software being more complex, and considering all outdated consoles it needs to run on.

[Mortalis]

thanks for the replies

I was considering the 8800gt at one point but it still ends up being around double my budget - and I intend on playing the game around 1280x1024 without maxxed out settings - im playing on a 6800gs atm, surely it doesn't have to be a 8800gt to top that

I am however considering the 3850, but it only has 256mb unless I pay a load more which would basically mean I might as well by a 8800gt.

Would it be better to buy a x1950pro/x1900xt 512mb or spend a bit more on the 3850 256mb?

[mersonix]

Well, i got a ATI HD 3850 and I overclocked it so it's just below a stock 3870 and i play this game maxed out but resolution is only at 1024 by 768, it's still a brilliant and vibrant game. The card cost me $160 US, so I'm not sure how that converts to GBP, but that is the way to go if you're on a budget, i also will be building a PC and i'll probably just buy another 3850 or two more instead of the higher line 8800 series, you'd be surprised what this card can achieve. I have a Pentium dual core (2.8 ghz) 2 GB RAM, so my machine is pretty comparable to yours. But absolutely the way to go.

HD 38x0 ftw