Graphics Which card to pick for a £160- budget

right first i post the spec on the pc im building

graphics card
processor Intel Quad Core Q6600 2.4GHz S775
motherboard MSI X38 diamond intel x38 crossfire ddr3
ram Corsair 2GB (2x1024MB) PC3 8500 Dual Channel DDR3 (TWIN3X2048-1066C7 G) XMS3-8500 C7 TwinX
processor cooling Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler
PSU Antec TruePower Quattro 850W Modular PSU
Harddrive Samsung 750GB HD753LJ Spinpoint F1 SATA II 7200 rpm 32MB Cache - OEM
case Coolermaster Centurion 590

i was going to buy 512MB GeForce 8800 GTS but after realising the motherboard im getting supports crossfire and not sli im after a crossfire graphics card now.
2 have caught my eye so far GIGABYTE ATI Radeon HD 3870 512MB and sapphire radeon hd 4850.
i want to buy 1 card now and at a later date add a second to take advantage of crossfire.
like i said in title my budget is £160- the 2 cards i have already mentioned cost around 110-120 sooooooooo
long story short is there any crossfire card thats better then the 2 i have listed and withing my budget?

also the sapphire radeon hd 4850 is better than the GIGABYTE ATI Radeon HD 3870 512MB right?
im not to good when it comes to graphic cards.

also feel free to comment on my setup as i havent brought it yet and always open to suggestions.
plus if i was running 2 sapphire radeon hd 4850 i would need two 6 pin connectors which i havent the foggiest if my motherboard im after has them?

I heard the size of your monitor also affects what graphic cards you can have?

thanks in advance

 

If you can stretch £10 you can get a 4870 for £173.
I would recommend that, the 4870 is vastly, vastly superior to the 3870.
If you can't stretch that far then go for a 4850.

 

i can get a 4850 for £120 and the 4870 is like £170 a big price difference
any truth in the monitor restricting graphic cards?
any idea if my current setup can run two 4850's?

 

im sure i seen 3850s for around 80 quid so thats 160 for 2x3850 in crossfire

But you'd probably still be better off with a single 4850

Another option is second hand the 3870x2 sell for around 150-160 second hand

 

dont fancy buying 2 lower end cards, rather buy a new one then adding a second when games require even more power

 

Which resolution will you be running?

 

Get the 4850 then.
As long as your monitor has the right socket then it won't limit anything.

Personally, I'd ditch the DDR3 and get some DDR2 and the 4870. You'll notice a bigger difference in games from the graphics card. DDR3 isn't at the sweet spot of price/performance yet.

 

currently running 1440 by 900 wouldnt mind going bigger thou

 

Yep I agree with most on this forum.. go for a 4850 but go with one that comes pre-overclocked Sapphire do one I think

 

with the DDR3 maybe it aint to good at the mo but at least when it is i wont need to start replacing bits.
will be getting the 4870 if i can afford it
otherwise will be getting he 4850 and a second at some point

 

8800 512 to 4850? Not a massive increase. 4870, yes, more so, but doesn't the 8800 fill a 1440 screen enough? It cant be more than a few months old.

 

i havent got a 880, was gonna get 1 until i noticed the motherboard supports crossfire and not sli
i currently have a card thats at least 2 years old

 

4850 with a DDR2 setup.

 

4850 sapphire toxic edition (aftermarket cooler) http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146872 £150

if you can push to £170 get the 4870 though

 

I agree on the 4850 with the ddr2 setup
the 4850/4870 is the best bang for the buck card just now
and ddr2 is dirt cheap

 

If you're not planning on getting Nehalem within a year, save money by getting DDR2 memory and then spend that on a HD 4870. If you are planning on getting Nehalem, then stick with the DDR3 memory for when you get the X58 motherboard and opt for a HD 4850. By the time Nehalem is out, there might be the next best graphics solution from ATi, if not, the 4870X2 may be an alternative.

Other question for the thread:
Although the Q6600 is now only £10 dearer than a E8400 Core 2 Duo processor, won't the E8400 show better performance in games due to the higher clock frequency, and somewhat lack of support for quad-core in games?

 

i building the pc the way so it wont go out of date to quick
hence the ddr3 and the quad core as more and more games will make good use of it plus the q6600 can be overclock quite high or so i hear.

 

your pc you have spec'd is out of date already.
The q6600 is oooooooooooooooooooooold, as the new 45nm quad cores have super seeded it.
The x38 chipset has been taken over by the P45 and soon to be x48.

You cant win, DDR3 is still highly expensive and bring no performance benefits whatsoever.

Oh a Fast dual core is better at games than a Quadcore, even Oc'd.

 

nah i dont top notch stuff because thats impossible by the time i have ordered it and got it thro the post it is out of date.
i just need something that plays all current games and can be upgraded in the future to keep playing the top games.
DDR3 will get better and cheaper, when it does i wont be needing a new board just to use it.
dual core is only faster because games dont fully support quad yet, when they do quad will be better.
correct me if im wrong, please do because half the time i havent got a clue what im on about lol

 

Forget DDR3 and come back to it later, or get an good X48 chipset - the Gigabyte X48T DQ6 is solid, I know that much.

I'd still go for a 4870, 4GB of fast DDR2 and a P45 board.