Looking for suggestion for mid-range graphics card.

[uart]

I'm looking for suggestions for a mid-range pcie graphics card to upgrade my nephews computer. I'd like it to have pretty good gaming performance but price is important. I'd also like something that doesn't draw too much power if possible, I want to avoid having to also upgrade the PSU if I can get away with it.

I'm not really up to date with what's available so I was hoping someone could offer suggestions. I still don't have a firm target price in mind at this point as I've not yet priced anything.

[edhe62]

tom's hardware has some good VGA Charts to compare the cards you're considering. Just take a look on Newegg, Pricewatch, or whatever vendor you're going to use, to see what's available in your pricerange and then compare them at tom's.

[ThreeOnTheTree]

For the $150-200 range, the best choice is the Radeon HD 3850. Next up the price list is the 3870 or GeForce 8800GT. Dropping below the 3850 will save you money, but will cost you dearly in performance. I'd buy a used 7800/7900 or X1900/1950 series card before I'd pick up an 8600 or X2600/3600 series card.

[Leoslocks]

The 3850 isn't the power hog the x2600 series are.

[ThreeOnTheTree]

I think you mean the 2900XT, as the X2600 cards don't even need a 6-pin power connection.

[Leoslocks]

I think you mean the 2900XT, as the X2600 cards don't even need a 6-pin power connection.

Correct, I meant the X2900.

[ThePerson98]

Go for a Radeon 3850, or a 8800GT 256MB. Both are fine performers, they arent high end, but they will run what he tosses at it fine.

[uart]

Thanks for the replies guys. It looks like the 8800GTS and the HD3850 are fairly similar in terms of performance {edit: after reading more benchmarks it looks like the 8800gts is faster but probably costs more}. I think I'll check local the prices on those two then make a decision.

BTW. Does anyone know which is likely to consume the least power out of those two models?

[ThreeOnTheTree]

I think it will be the 3850. It's on a 55nm process, where the 8800GTS is either 65nm or 80nm. There are 2 different 8800GTS's out there, the 320/640mb version, and the newer 512mb version. The 512mb is the 65nm model based on G92, the prior is the older G80 design.