best video card for 400 or under

[Pepsiboy700]

thats good from what i heard i think someone said temperatures are lower and it comes with stock ocing but takes up an extra slot

 

[dhw200]

and OCed vid card right out of the box is nothing to get excited about. they literally make it a couple of mhz faster and then say "OCed!"

The 6800 GT is already pretty big and i believe it already takes up two slots - just barely. the leadtek does have a huge heatsink and it definitly takes up multiple slots

 

[dale5605]

If you didn't really care about PS3, which I don't happen too then ATI still has some good cards. Just try to separate people's angry opinions from the facts of the matter. Not that many games are heavily dependent on ps3 or will be. PS3 only adds a few nifties and some increased performance in heavy shader usage. It's not as big of a deal as many on these forums make it to be, just keep that in mind. So don't flame me this is just a suggestion. I would agree a 6800 gt would be a good choice for you, leadtek is probably the best choice especially for overclocking.

Just to throw out an ATI alternative I think this is the best price for performance and overclocking ATI card out right now. Comes complete with a Zalman V700-Cu cooler and copper ramsinks!!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102538

Anyways, best of luck in your video card ventures.

 

[Slayer]

no do not get a sapphire. there is a reason why all sapphire cards are cheaper than every other brand.

 

[dale5605]

Actally powercolor and Rosewill are cheaper. I only mentioned the sapphire because it is better, comes with some games, and also has better cooling.

 

[Kadahaf]

If you have a feel good for gigabyte then go for them personally I dont go against any vid card company except the infamous xfx....

 

[Pepsiboy700]

ok cause it was either leadtek or gigabyte

 

[003]

so wtf can i gigabyte then i just want the best video card out there and everyone says evga but it might not be as others say

Get the leadtek one if you plan on overclocking it. It has this big a55 all copper heatsink on it.

 

[DJ-CHRIS]

I have to disagee with slayer

Saphire makes ALL THE ATI BRANDED CARDS

 

[beedubaya]

The X800XL is a terrible overclocker, that has been proven. The X800 Pro is actually better at overclocking and can wipe out the X800XL when overclocked.

All that aside, don't get an ATI card unless you plan on upgrading your card again in 6 months, or just don't care if you are stuck playing games in DX8.1. Dale is right in that games still look good in DX8.1 mode, but they look even better in DX9-SM3, which currently only Nvidia GeForce 6 series cards can do.

Question is, why get an ATI card without SM3 when you can get one with SM3 that performs just as good in all games for the same price, that is also an overclocker! I say get 6800 GT, you won't regret it, like you will if you get that ATI card.