Hey fellow VGChartzers, I'm in the process of picking what new video card I'm gonna buy. As you may know, my very first option is the Radeon 4850 (selling for $175). But for certain reasons, I'm seeing other options:

Radeon 3850 with 512MB of GDDR3 - $100

Geforce 9600GT with 512MB of GDDR3 - $115

Radeon 3870 with 512MB of GDDR3 - $129

Ok, you may wonder "but what reasons would make you choose something else than a 4850?" Well, here they are:

1- My 500w no-name power supply only gives 20A on the single 12V line it has. I've read that the 9600GT asks for 28A, therefore, common sense tells me the 4850 asks for even more than that.

2- The max resolution I will play at would be 1440x900.

So, let's say I can't have the 4850 for the first reason. IIRC the 9600GT is the better card of the bunch, but even then, I'm not sure that my power supply can handle it.

Help? ^_^

I had a compatibility issue with the Radeon with my Intel Mother board and the brand of ram. I had to switch the VC out to Nvidia.

Just giving you the heads up to make sure to google your mother board and VC of choice to see if there are known issues.

Not saying anything bad about any of the brands, it was just my situation.

I have a 3850 I got for $90 and I'm very happy with it, though there are a few better options now...I'd go for a 3870, a very good 8800, or maybe the 4850 if you find a deal.

So I can ignore the Amperage on the power supply? If so, I'm absolutely getting the 4850 :D

Which 1 would u say is better, Nvidia or Radeon?

Hey Fazz - two things.

1. Could you post the full specifications of your PSU? Amps on 3.3v Amps on 5v etc and maybe a name and serial number if you can find it?

2. One advantage the ATI cards have is direct x 11/10.1. Now direct X 10.1 isn't supported by everyone, but a few companies will support it now and when games are released that are direct x 11 compatible they will also be direct x 10.1 and that gives a very nice boost to ATI cards like in games such ass Assassins creed.

The Radeon went into my friends computer, it works fine.  His cpu isn't as good as mine, but it seems like the Radeon pushes a little harder than my 8800 GT (not GTX).  However, he has had more technicle issues with it. 

It's (the radeon) a power hog.  Even though he met the requirements on the box he still needed a better power supply. 

It's really hard to compare though because my system is better overall, solid motherboard, intel quad-corem, 4 GB Ram, good 600w PSU.

With power supply issues I would measure the stats carefully, you might be better off with a generation older with out a decent power supply.  Other than playing Crysis or Far Cry2 in Very High, it just won't make that much of a difference... spend the extra you save on some games. (There all DX10 anyway.)

I would go with the 9600 GSO, it is second gen DX10 (The 2xxx radeons were not very good DX10)and (depending on the card manufacturer) can be easier on the PSU.

I've had good support from Nvidea and bad from Radeon, but I am just one case.  I am not really pushing one or the other, they are all great processors.  Make sure you read the reviews on the individual cards.

I am not going on perfromance, more on actual power consumption from my experience (not what the label says) and support.

I am not giving technical advice because I just don't know that much. Try to get others on the internet to admit they're not experts, I dare you. :P

(BTW:

I also wanna double check, make sure you google your motherboard, cpu, and card ahead of time, just in case.)