Top Budget to Mid-Range Graphics Cards

jmke · 19th February 2010, 10:07

While the gaming landscape seems to have shifted toward consoles in recent years, many feel PCs are still where the action is. Naturally those looking to experience the hottest video games in all their glory will need the appropriate hardware powering their rigs. Besides adopting newer platforms, at some point, every gamer or hardware enthusiast worth their salt will upgrade or at least consider upgrading their graphics card.

Of course, going for the latest and greatest (read: fastest and most expensive) is not always an option. Having reviewed a wide variety of graphics cards as they were released in the past months, we've compiled a table with some of what we consider the best options at several price points between $90 and $200. Every product chosen can cope with the typical game on respectable settings. http://www.techspot.com/guides/248-t...raphics-cards/

jmke · 19th February 2010, 10:09

Quote:

While the gaming landscape seems to have shifted toward consoles in recent years

que?
gaming consoles were always present, and those who enjoyed console gaming in the past, will continue to do so in the present; those who preferred PC gaming in the past, will continue PC gaming in the present;

fact is that for $200-300 you can get a game console vs $800-1000 for a gaming PC; so your target audience for PC gamers has a higher threshold .

20th February 2010, 00:57

He's referring to the trend that the majority of game studios are eschewing PC in favor of consoles.

Crysis, Alan Wake, Assassins Creed, all games that have shifted to consoles as the primary (or exclusive) focus to date. Far more profitable, far smaller issues of piracy, and less complex to develop for.

jmke · 20th February 2010, 07:26

I agree with your statements, but

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kougar

and less complex to develop for.

uhm... not quite correct, developing for PS3 is much harder than for PC/XBOX360.

if more companies would support steam and give them the means to increase their security on their software titles, I believe there is hope still for PC gaming to become bigger again; because there are more PCs out there than consoles... if you check the piracy stats for Modern Warfare you'll see that there are more gamers on PC than XBOX/PS3 combined

21st February 2010, 00:19

Some devs argue otherwise. The console is a known quantity, and after the initial learning curve they say it's actually easier.. There is no extra months spent making dumbed down versions of the game playable of lower levels of hardware, no issues of widely differing DirectX support in hardware/OS. No issue of single or quad CPUs, or various memory sizes... Once the game is playable at a constant 60FPS on the console, they can focus on finishing other aspects of the game immediately.

19th February 2010, 10:07	#1
jmke Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium Posts: 79,021	Top Budget to Mid-Range Graphics Cards While the gaming landscape seems to have shifted toward consoles in recent years, many feel PCs are still where the action is. Naturally those looking to experience the hottest video games in all their glory will need the appropriate hardware powering their rigs. Besides adopting newer platforms, at some point, every gamer or hardware enthusiast worth their salt will upgrade or at least consider upgrading their graphics card. Of course, going for the latest and greatest (read: fastest and most expensive) is not always an option. Having reviewed a wide variety of graphics cards as they were released in the past months, we've compiled a table with some of what we consider the best options at several price points between $90 and $200. Every product chosen can cope with the typical game on respectable settings. http://www.techspot.com/guides/248-t...raphics-cards/ __________________

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Top Mainstream and High-end Graphics Cards	jmke	WebNews	0	22nd July 2010 17:35
Six budget graphics cards fail in DX10 shoot-out	jmke	WebNews	1	11th December 2007 11:18
ATi X1650 Pro and X1300 XT: New Ati Cards for Mid range and low end	jmke	WebNews	0	4th September 2006 19:02
Budget Graphics Cards Tested	jmke	WebNews	0	25th August 2006 14:48
Sapphire Considers Overclocking High-End Graphics Cards	jmke	WebNews	0	16th December 2005 11:50
ATI Discloses Pricing of New "Bridged" AGP 8x Graphics Cards.	jmke	WebNews	0	7th March 2005 13:10
More Affordable Graphics Cards May Hit the Market	jmke	WebNews	0	1st February 2005 10:18
Enthusiasts get top 3DMark05 scores with ATI's graphics cards	jmke	WebNews	0	1st October 2004 10:29
ASUS Seeks for Affordable Graphics Cards: X-Series Cards Coming	jmke	WebNews	0	25th August 2004 09:11
Graphics Cards Makers Change Plans on Affordable RADEON 9800 XT	jmke	WebNews	0	8th April 2004 15:50

20th February 2010, 00:57	#3
Kougar Posts: n/a	He's referring to the trend that the majority of game studios are eschewing PC in favor of consoles. Crysis, Alan Wake, Assassins Creed, all games that have shifted to consoles as the primary (or exclusive) focus to date. Far more profitable, far smaller issues of piracy, and less complex to develop for.

21st February 2010, 00:19	#5
Kougar Posts: n/a	Some devs argue otherwise. The console is a known quantity, and after the initial learning curve they say it's actually easier.. There is no extra months spent making dumbed down versions of the game playable of lower levels of hardware, no issues of widely differing DirectX support in hardware/OS. No issue of single or quad CPUs, or various memory sizes... Once the game is playable at a constant 60FPS on the console, they can focus on finishing other aspects of the game immediately.