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Best value for money graphics card for 08 MP

L

longmover

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 24, 2006
82
0
Wales, UK
Hi all, I know there are loads of discussions on various cards for their compatibility with MP however I am looking not for the best but for the best value for money. I am limited on funds but would like to upgrade my 8800GT and was wondering if anyone could recommend any good buys. Ideally it won't be too loud but be significantly better that my 8800 (if possible).

Cheers!
 
Basically you've got only two options if you want to buy new, 5870 and 5770 of which the latter has the best bang for the buck.

If you can find one, get the 4870. It's faster than the 5770 and from the previous generation, hence might be available for cheap on ebay.


It would be even cheaper to use a PC card and make it work in your Mac. But I'm not familiar with this.
 
Agreed. A 4870 or 5770 would be the best bang for your buck, even more so if you flash a "friendly" PC version of one of those two cards. There's a lot of threads on this forum explaining how to do it if you decide to go that route.

Personally, I'm still rocking a flashed 8800 GT, but for my uses, I don't have much of a reason for an upgrade (yet).
 
Is $260 a good price for the 5770?
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/6615718/

I'm more inclined in going with the official card since I've read a lot of issues with ports not working or the tedious and potentially crippling result of flashing a PC card.

I've looked online for some PC clones and there isn't much of a savings; I would say $50 to $80 at best not factoring in the risk of bricking and voided warranty.

Quick question for those familiar with this card's performance; will it run games smoothly @2560x1600? I've played L4D with my 2600xt and it's rather pathetic to be honest. I want to get into BF2:Vietnam and need a capable card and thinking this may be a good upgrade.
 
Thanks for your replies all, sounds like the 4870 is the way to go :) Does anyone know what it's like for fan noise?
 
longmover said:
Thanks for your replies all, sounds like the 4870 is the way to go :) Does anyone know what it's like for fan noise?
Click to expand...

it's a little quieter than the GTX 285 I'm using now, but I've never used an 8800 so I can't compare the two. I have a 4870 I can sell you, just PM me if you're interested.
 
I don't notice any significant differences in fan noise between the 8800 GT and the 4870, though my friend's machine has the 4870 and I've never heard our two machines side by side.
 
4870 is more economic and very quiet if you buy the right one.

The problems folks have had with PC version HD4870 cards is the wide variation in their spec and build by so many manufacturers, the later produced budget ones were the worst for this.
The early Sapphire Vapor-X ones are the easiest and most reliable to flash, they also have a stunning cooler which makes them very quiet, buy one of them 2nd hand for about $100 on eBay and flash it for an absolute bargain.
 
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