Best gfx card to upgrade to

[kjhkbnm]

[H]-enthusiast compared UT3 Gameplay Performance and IQ with GeForce 8800 GT, GTX, GTS and Radeon 3850, 3870.
Their conclusion

Overall, we think that the Radeon HD 3850 is the best value for playing Unreal Tournament III, other games notwithstanding. If you are a UT nut (and we know you're out there), you will simply not find a better bang for your buck than the ATI Radeon HD 3850.

[xeonshock]

For UT3 the 3850 is an excellent bang for the buck but the 8800GT can handle other games better, e.g. Crysis. If you're just planning on playing UT3 then the 3850 is fine but I'd go for the 8800GT if possible.

[kaluro]

[H]-enthusiast compared UT3 Gameplay Performance and IQ with GeForce 8800 GT, GTX, GTS and Radeon 3850, 3870.
Their conclusion

That's one of the many reviews out there.
There are plenty of other reviews out there which state the 8800gt is the best.
And the 3850 outperforming a 8800gtx? Don't make me laugh.

I could find some other benchmarks which will let the 3850 bite the dust in notime

[History2]

unfortunetly all benchmarks say the same as that ;p

[Rajinn]

well i'll tell you the benchmarks are awful, with 1 8800gtx at stock speeds 1920x1200 4xfsaa max settings i hit over 100fps average, that says 38... *shrug* take what you will

edit: with a lot of tweaking including the ut3 tweaker on max gfx, my own work, high quality on the profile.... the lowest i've EVER seen (in a dip) was about 30 on 1 8800gtx

[History2]

look at the benchmark rigs to your rig thow.

[Rajinn]

um yeah that rig is faster history2. cpu is faster, hd is faster, ram is same speed. sure i OCed mine, but that doesnt change anything. even if i was on a 5ghz quad core, thats just showing that they are bottlenecking 1 gfx card to improve the results of another.
oh and i use diff drivers (169.13 instead of .12, but anyone can change drivers, these work best for me)

[kjhkbnm]

That's one of the many reviews out there.
There are plenty of other reviews out there which state the 8800gt is the best.
And the 3850 outperforming a 8800gtx? Don't make me laugh.

I could find some other benchmarks which will let the 3850 bite the dust in notime

You seem to have misunderstood both my post and OP's question. If 10 apples cost 10 euro, and 5 apples cost 1 euro. Then yes in case 1 you get more apples, but each apple will cost you more, as if you had picked case 2. 3850 is the card where you spend the least $ for each performance %, according to reviews. Doesnt make it the fastest card in history.

[Mortalis]

Ok I've decided to opt for a slightly better graphics card than any of the ones i mentioned previously.

I am able to afford a 3870 (which i can get for around £25(50$) cheaper than a 8800gt) and also the 2900xt for around £10)20$ cheaper than the 3870 (but second hand).

I found some articles showing the 2900xt beating the 3870 in UT3, but in most other games it seems the 3870 is better/same.

So would i be correct in saying the 3870 would be my best buy?

edit: I've read that ATI cards like the 2600xt are often poor performers when AA is turned on. Is this true for the 3870?