Best Bang Per Buck Graphics Cards for Gaming, June 2009

June 11 2009, 11:25am

Tom’s Hardware released their June 2009 choices for best gaming video cards for the money. [Source: Tom's Hardware] Recommended PCI Express Cards:

Radeon HD 4650 DDR3 (around US$50) GeForce 9500 GT DDR3 (around US$50) [review] Radeon HD 4670 (around US$70) [review] GeForce 9600 GSO (around US$70) Radeon HD 4850 512 MB (around US$105) [review] Radeon HD 4850 1GB (around US$130) [review] GeForce GTX 260 (Core 216) (around US$170) Radeon HD 4870 (around US$170) [review] Radeon HD 4850 X2 1 GB (around US$220) 2 x Radeon HD 4850 512 MB in CrossFire (around US$220) 2 x GeForce GTX 260 (Core 216) cards in SLI Configuration (around US$340) 2 x Radeon HD 4870 in CrossFire Configuration (around US$340) 2 x Radeon HD 4890 in CrossFire Configuration (around US$455) 2 x GeForce GTX 275 in SLI Configuration (around US$455) GeForce GTX 295 (around US$520)

For value cards that start around $50, your best bet is either the Radeon HD 4650 DDR3 or the GeForce 9500 GT DDR3. Take note that these are the variants that sport DDR3 memory. (Cards with DDR2 will be generally be much slower.) If you’ve got money to burn, the king of the hill in the list is the GeForce GTX 295, which can be purchased for around $520. Two GTX 295 cards in SLI, you say? Why not. Just be ready to explain to your spouse why on earth you are spending a thousand dollars or so for your PC “gaming experience”. (And yes, you should also pick up a really beefy Power Supply Unit while you’re at the store.) The midrange choices would be the GeForce GTX 260 (Core 216) and/or Radeon HD 4870 cards. Both of these would be SLI or Crossfire ready, paving the way for your next upgrade.

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