New graphics card for $150?

[Blackadar]

My PC is around 3 years old.  Don't remember the processor (dual-core), 2G RAM (not enough) and an old 8800GT card.  It runs ok, but with Rift coming out I'd like to get more than 25FPS and turn up the graphics a bit.

So, what are the best cards in the $125-$175 price range?  I was thinking about the ATI 5770 ($140), though Rift isn't very fond of ATI cards right now.  What else is out there that can give me a substantial speed boost from my old 8800GT? 

[gangeli]

maybe this will help

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6950-1gb-geforce-gtx-560-ti-gaming-graphics-card,2857.html

[rshetts2]

for just under the $150 price point you can get a GTX 460 768     
for 1 gb cards the GTX 460 and the  Radeon HD 6850  are both excellent cards and can handle pretty much anything you throw at them.  They sell for just under $200 these days but you can almost always find them for around $160- $180 ( and occasionally for $150 ) after rebate at places like NewEgg or Tiger Direct ( though TD has an iffy rep for rebates )

Chances are if youre considering a graphics upgrade you will also need a power supply upgrade as most of these card will need a minimum of 500 watts psu to run smoothly.   Keep that in mind when you shop.

[Blackadar]

for just under the $150 price point you can get a GTX 460 768      
for 1 gb cards the GTX 460 and the  Radeon HD 6850  are both excellent cards and can handle pretty much anything you throw at them.  They sell for just under $200 these days but you can almost always find them for around $160- $180 ( and occasionally for $150 ) after rebate at places like NewEgg or Tiger Direct ( though TD has an iffy rep for rebates )

Chances are if youre considering a graphics upgrade you will also need a power supply upgrade as most of these card will need a minimum of 500 watts psu to run smoothly.   Keep that in mind when you shop.

Actually, that's what I ended up going with.  A EVGA GeForce GTX460 1G card.  Found it on Amazon for $160 (not including the $20 rebate).  With the free shipping from Amazon, that gives me a net price of $140.  Given that the 5770 was going for $145, I figured the upgrade was worth the other $15 even if I didn't get the rebate.

Power supply shouldn't be a problem...mine is 600W.  

Thanks for the help guys!

[Freezer-TPF-]

At $160 it sounds like you probably bought a GTX460 SE 1GB, which is a nerfed version of the GTX 460 1GB.  It's still a decent card though, especially if you didn't want to shell out the extra cash for a full GTX 460 1G.

[Arclight]

I just ordered this tower today....

 Intel Core i7-950 3.06GHz, 6GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, Blu-Ray, GeForce GTX 460 2GB, Dual Radiator Liquid Cooling, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, White.

Does anyone know anything about the 2gig version of the GTX 460?

[Alefroth]

My PC is around 3 years old.  Don't remember the processor (dual-core), 2G RAM (not enough) and an old 8800GT card.  It runs ok, but with Rift coming out I'd like to get more than 25FPS and turn up the graphics a bit.

So, what are the best cards in the $125-$175 price range?  I was thinking about the ATI 5770 ($140), though Rift isn't very fond of ATI cards right now.  What else is out there that can give me a substantial speed boost from my old 8800GT? 

What is the problem with ATI cards? I've got a 5750 and run on max settings. I get 30-40 fps, which seems OK to me. I have been considering using that DX9 dll tweak I've heard about to see if I can squeeze some more out of it.

Ale