Best performing PCIE video card under $300?

JL73

Newcomer
Hello...not sure I'm asking this question in the right subforum, but I'm looking for thoughts on what would be the best PCIE video card for $300 US or under that I can get on the web. I'm helping a friend order a bunch of new parts from Newegg.com to build his new computer by end of the day today (Feb. 15), but I'm not so good with all of these new GPUs and where they stand, performance-wise. Please help with suggestions.
 
Who on earth is smart enough to build a system from scratch but not know which video card to pick with all the benchmarks that are available.

This reeks of viral marketing. (the BEST sub$300 card TODAY) as in. .it won't be the best card next month ;)
 
Oh, no viral marketing here. I can assure you. From my point of view, it's much easier to understand and choose from CPUs and Mobos than it is with GPUs since there are so many different models with varying VRAM amounts and clocks...and even then the differences in performance don't seem to make sense to me.

Thank you, Evildeus. My friend likes to play RTS games mainly. He's going to pick up the new Supreme Commander and C&C3...that kind of stuff. Do you think that the 8800GTS (320MB?) is better than the Radeon X1900 (512MB) that is $30 less?
 
Who on earth is smart enough to build a system from scratch but not know which video card to pick with all the benchmarks that are available.

This reeks of viral marketing. (the BEST sub$300 card TODAY) as in. .it won't be the best card next month ;)

And this is why I was so vocal about the dangers of the viral marketing witch hunts.....

A guy asks a question and not only do you assume his level of competence in building a PC (which takes little to no real skill or knowledge nowadays) but you extrapolate that to an inherent and intimate knowledge of the bazillion GPU's on the market. I still frequently re-read reviews and check B3D's and GPUReview's charts to understand where products fall! Yes, the most obvious conclusion isn't that he's asking an honest question but that he's a viral marketer trying to raise awareness of the sub-$300 offerings from a particular company. Sorry for the rant :)

To the OP: X1950XT is your best bet ~ $250, and there's also the 8800GTS-320MB for ~$300 but it exhibits really strange behavior in some situations and comes in slower than older 256MB parts.
 
NEWEGG.COM has the GTS 640 for under $300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814186017&CMP=AFC-Dealnews&ATT=14-186-017
http://dealnews.com/deals/Foxconn-G...press-Video-Card-for-300-updated-/153892.html


I'm sorry.. I read about the deal before.. and suddenly the question pops up.. and guess which link shows ups first if you type: $300 video card pci (with or without operators)

It must be upsetting at work.. or I'm looking in too much things..
It's not an anti nV witchhunt, I would just check all the benchmark review sites first.. beyond3d isn't something you stumble upon and register for a question... r-r-r-right?
 
it's a 320MB one. but still what you want. there appears to be some driver issue, video memory management must be optimised for the bigger memory size, that should be solved soon and doesn't prevent the card from being great right now.
 
beyond3d isn't something you stumble upon and register for a question... r-r-r-right?

heh, i actually thought that's exactly what it is :) if there weren't people asking questions there'd be nobody answering them either!
 
Does anyone know anything about noise levels of the GTS? I saw a review which said it was quieter than my current 7900GT. but the same review also said a GTS system was quiter than a system with the XFX passive 7900 GT, which seemed a little implausible?
 
Thanks for the constructive input all. I tried and tried to find some sort of rankings list with prices online to no avail. Perhaps I did not use the right terms for searching, but since I've lurked here to read about console stuff, and that there seem to be a lot of well-informed enthusiasts here, I figured that I'd ask those who would answer my question fastest and mostly honestly.

My friend went for the Radeon X1900 512MB because of his tight budget limits and need to purchase and put together these parts by end of weekend...he is moving up from an X800 Pro and favors ATI, though he was looking for best bang for the buck regardless of manufacturer. Again, thanks to those who bothered to read and kindly respond to my question.
 
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