Find The Right Video Components

EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked

We don't think most gamers shopping for a midrange 3D card are looking for power efficiency, but for those conscientious few, the EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked is the card for you. Otherwise, you can get noticeably more performance and capability from an only slightly more expensive ATI card.

Specs: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, 2560 x 1600, 896 MB, PC

Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 (PCI-e 2.0, 2GB, GDDR3)

Even if it's a relative power hog, the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 brings so much speed and utility to the table it's hard for us to recommend another midrange 3D card. Only the particularly power conscious or those who play games with known multichip scaling issues should look elsewhere.

Specs: 2 GPUs - ATI Radeon HD 4850, 2560 x 1600, 2 GB, PC

eVGA e-GeForce 9800GTX+ Superclocked - graphics adapter - GF 9800 GTX+ - 512 MB

EVGA's GeForce GTX 9800+ Superclocked edition has basically the same price-performance benefit as its Radeon HD 4850-based graphics card competition. With identical bang-for-the-buck, you'll like this card if you demand power efficiency, but you should turn to ATI's card if your PC has limited upgrade room.

Specs: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+, 2560 x 1600, 512 MB, PC, 2

Asus EAHD4870X2 Top graphics card

Specs: 2 GPUs - ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2, 2560 x 1600, 2 GB, PC

Asus EAHD4870X2

Asus's EAHD4870X2 falls just short of the speed and relative value offered by Nvidia's competing high-end 3D card. Unless you have certain very specific needs, you'll get better performance and better power efficiency with Nvidia.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 295

Nvidia's GeForce GTX 295 is the single fastest 3D card on the market, and for a relatively aggressive price. Added bonuses like power efficiency and PhysX support sweeten the deal, but even without those extra benefits, we'd still recommend this card for its processing power and comparative value.

Specs: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, 2560 x 1600, 1792 MB, PC

ZeeVee ZvBox Zv-100

While the ZvBox succeeds in delivering any Web- or PC-based videos to your TV, the system's convoluted setup and laggy control scheme make it hard to recommend--especially at this price.

Diamond Viper Radeon HD 4850

AMD's new ATI Radeon HD 4850 is a solid midrange 3D card that will run pretty much anything, and it boasts some forward-looking features to boot. It might be worth waiting for the price to drop just a bit, at which point this card will become much more attractive.

Specs: ATI Radeon HD 4850, 2560 x 1600, 512 MB, PC, 2

Asus ENGTX280

Nvidia's new GTX280 graphics chip brings fast 3D performance and exciting new possibilities for speeding up certain kinds of multimedia applications. We'd be more enthusiastic about this card if the software was available to take advantage of the new features.

Specs: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280, 2560 x 1600, 1 GB, PC

Zogis GeForce 9800 GTX

Nvidia's new GeForce 9800 GTX chip is fast enough, but if your PC is SLI-capable you can spend just a little more and get a significantly better high-resolution gaming experience. Consider your options carefully before upgrading to this card.

Specs: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX, 2560 x 1600, 512 MB, PC

Asus EN9800GX2

Nvidia's new flagship 3D card delivers almost all the performance we expect for its price. If you can live with "almost," at this price range, then this is a solid PC gaming option. We also wouldn't blame you Crysis fans for waiting to see what's in store later this year.

Specs: 2 GPUs - NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2, 2560 x 1600, 1 GB, PC, 2

Asus EN9600 GT

Nvidia's new GeForce 9600 GT graphics chip gives the Asus EN9600 GT some of the best bang-for-the-buck we've seen in a midrange 3D card. If your goal is reliable frame rates in the latest PC games, you should pick this card up as soon as you can.

Specs: NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT, 2560 x 1600, 512 MB, PC, 2

ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2

The 3D graphics card market changes too rapidly for us to get bullish about a card with premature driver software. The ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 shows promise, even outscoring Nvidia on many PC games, but we would still wait until AMD works out the kinks before handing over your $450.

Specs: ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2, 2560 x 1600, 2 GB, PC

Asus EN8800GT

Asus and Nvidia have teamed up for a compelling midrange 3D graphics card with this EN8800 GT. It doesn't completely dominate a less expensive card from ATI like we'd hoped, so players of certain games should stay away. But if you can find this card for a good price, we recommend it, especially if you intend to use two of them.

Specs: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, 2560 x 1600, 512 MB, PC, 2

ATI Radeon HD 3850

Despite the usual caveats of an ever-fluctuating 3D market, for the moment, at least, ATI's new Radeon HD 3850 graphics card delivers the best bang-for-the buck in PC graphics hardware. Until now we haven't had an acceptable sub-$200 option for PC gaming this year. Thanks to AMD, now we do.

Specs: ATI Radeon HD 3850, 2560 x 1600, 256 MB, PC, 2

ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT

If you're looking to build a home theater PC, we recommend ATI's Radeon HD 2600 XT as the midrange card to use, thanks to its nearly perfect HD video image and its no-fuss installation. But for 3D gaming, you'd be much better off looking for a good deal on a faster, older graphics card.

Specs: ATI Radeon HD 2600XT, 2560 x 1600, 512 MB, PC, 2

Plextor PX-HDTV500U Mini Digital HDTV Receiver

The Plextor PX-HDTV500U Mini Digital HDTV Receiver provides a cheap and easy way to watch and record HDTV on your PC. We recommend this compact tuner and antenna kit particularly for laptops that feature Microsoft's Media Center app.

Specs: Plextor PX-HDTV500U Mini Digital HDTV Receiver - ATSC HDTV receiver - Hi-Speed USB, Hi-Speed USB, - External

EVGA e-GeForce 8600 GTS (PCI-e, 256MB)

If you care more about HD movie watching than gaming and you need a new video card for the task today, we recommend a 3D card like this EVGA with Nvidia's newest mainstream graphics chip. Gamers can get more performance value from Nvidia's higher-end 8800 cards, but for anyone, it would be a good idea to wait to see what's new from ATI in just a few short weeks.

Specs: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS, 2560 x 1600 / 60 Hz, 256 MB, PC

XFX GeForce 8800 GTS (320MB, GDDR3)

No other 3D graphics card comes close to this bang for the buck, making the 320MB XFX GeForce 8800 GTS mostly an easy decision if you need a midrange upgrade. Nvidia still has to polish off its Vista software, and the sooner-or-later arrival of competing cards muddies the waters a bit, but if you need a midprice graphics card today, this should be your pick.

Specs: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS, 2560 x 1600, 320 MB, PC, 2

Vista View Saber 2020

If you're looking for a dual analog TV tuner and have an open x1 PCI Express slot, the Vista View Saber 2020 offers the best image quality we've seen.

Specs: 32 MB, PC