Sub-£100 graphics cards are often a disappointment to gamers hoping to play the latest titles. New games may run on cheap cards but the chances are that a lot of effects are going to have to be switched off. Enter AMD’s Radeon HD 4770, a technologically advanced card that comes in at well under £100. It can handle titles like Sims 3 and Assassin’s Creed with ease, and makes a decent job of many more demanding games.
The HD 4770 needs a dual-slot to fit in your PC but is much smaller than comparable cards. The card has a cool running temperature and low power consumption. As a result, the HD 4770 is quiet and operates on PCs with fairly modest power supplies.
The downside is the HD 4770’s limited memory bandwidth. Monitors running at the usual 1680 x 1050 for a 22" monitor start to struggle in demanding games. The games will run but compromises, including going without anti-aliasing, are inevitable at larger screen sizes.
A more expensive mid-range card such as nVidia’s GTX 260 can cope with larger screens at higher resolutions. The price of such cards is coming down rapidly and, while they won’t place you at the top of the graphics card pile, the extra cash is worth spending. Just so long as you include the cost of a larger power supply and any extra cooling that’s needed.
Overall, the HD 4770 is an ideal slot-in for anyone buying a cheap system system with just enough extras to enjoy most games. For anyone who wants higher resolutions and the best graphics in the sub-£100 range, the GTX 260 is going to be there soon.
