Sapphire HD 3870
This is a list of the best bang for your buck gaming graphics card for under $200. If you’re on a budget check out these graphics card powerhouses. It ranges from $83 to $200.

  1. Radeon HD 2600XT for $83- Core Speed: 800 MHz, Memory Speed: 700 MHz (1400 effective), DirectX 10, Shader 4.0.
    The performance of the Radeon HD 2600XT is comparable to the 8600GT, and they both make a very good introductory graphics card, or a cheap, easy upgrade that will help you computer get its feet on gaming.
  2. GeForce 8600GT for $99 - Core Speed: 540 MHz, Memory Speed: 700 MHz (1400 effective), DirectX 10, Shader Model 4.0.
    For under $100 this is a really good deal, it out performs the Nvidia 7600GT and the Radeon 1650XT in performance. It’s also DirectX 10 and is a good overclocker. Make sure you only get the GDDR3 equipped versions of these cards or else your performance will suffer.
  3. GeForce 8600 GTS for $130- Core Speed: 675 MHz, Memory Speed MHz: 1000 (2000 effective), DirectX 10, Shader Model 4.0.
    The GeForce 8600 GTS when it was first released was way too expensive for the performance, but now that they’ve dropped down the price it’s much better now. A good bang for the buck.
  4. Radeon 3850 256MB for $150- Core Speed MHz: 670, Memory Speed: 833 MHz, DirectX 10.1, Shader Model 4.0.
    This card at only $150 is a steal, it provides the performance of a high-end graphics card for the price of a lower-end graphics card. It delivers Geforce 8800 GTS 320MB performance for at least $100 less than the going price. This is the card to buy if you’re looking for the absolute best performance per dollar.
  5. Radeon 3850 512MB for $170- Core Speed: 670 MHz, Memory Speed: 833 MHz (1666 effective), DirectX 10.1, Shader Model 4.0.
    By getting the 512MB version of the Radeon 3850 you can expect to see performance gains in the higher resolution area, as well as being able to use ultra-high texture quality settings, and its a good opponent for the 256mb version of the 8800 GT that is limited by its lower amount of memory.
  6. GeForce 9600 GT 512MB for $150-$200- Core Speed: 650 MHz, Memory Speed 900 MHz (1800 effective), DirectX 10, Shader Model 4.0.
    The 9600 GT is Nvidia’s response to the Radeon 3800 GPU. It comes in several different versions and variety that are customized by each particular manufacturer. You can get a superclocked version of the card that will give you an improved core speed of 675 MHz for only $180. Good for high resolution gaming under $200.
  7. Radeon 3870 for $180- Core Speed: 775 MHz, Memory Speed: 1125 MHz, DirectX 10.1, Shader Model 4.0.
    The Radeon 3870 is an extremely powerful card for only $180. Nvidia’s 9600GT forced Radeon to drop their prices on the 3870, this is an incredible high resolution powerhouse gaming solution for under $200.

    8. This is a good list to always refer back to when buying affordable graphics cards.