Help choosing a new graphics card

[Gelliebeen]

Recently, my graphics card in my gaming PC went bunk on me. So I'm looking for a new one. I'm not an expert by any means at computers, especially when it comes to hardware (though, fortunately, I do know how to put in a new card). Anyway, I need help choosing a new one because all the numbers and specs mean diddly to me. The only way I can really tell anything is by looking at PassMark's high end video card charts.

My computer:
Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz 2.67GHz
6GB Ram
Now sadly running on a Nvidia Geforce 8400 GS
750W power supply

I want to get as much bang for my buck as I can, with a price limit of under $200. By looking at that chart, I'm thinking about getting:
HIS H785F1G2M Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - $165
Is this a good one? Or does anyone have any ideas as to which ones might be better for me?

[DaveLembke]

Just wanted to state that I will never buy another video card ever made by HIS. We bought 10 video cards of their brand for graphics department when I worked at a small food store chain and we had a 70% failure rate between 14 months and 18 months in operation, and the warranty on the cards I bought of their brand was only 1year at the time.

I'd go with ASUS, Zotac, or XFX etc. The GPU and specs you have listed are sweet, but I have very little trust in HIS after the company I worked for took around a $700 loss on their cards.

The users were only using Adobe graphic arts products etc, nothing too extreme to cook 7 out of 10 cards. Systems they were installed in were also higher end machines with adequate airflow etc. I can see losing 1 or 2 out of 10 maybe after 18 months, but 70% failure soured my taste with that company's quality.

Have been running videocards from ASUS, Zotac, and XFX for years without issues. Had an older GeForce 7600GT made by XFX finally run into issues after like 5 or 6  years of daily use and that was because the GPU cooling fan finally started to seize up. My wife is running a Zotac GeForce 9800GT and has been running that card for about 3 years now without issues. I also have a motherboard made by Zotac that is running flawlessly as a server. And currently running 2 gaming systems both with ASUS brand video cards with no problems. I have also had ASUS motherboards, laptops, video cards etc through the years with no complaints in quality and functionality.

[Gelliebeen]

Thanks for the warning. I would be a very angry person to have to do this again next year. But it leaves a question for me then, are these graphics cards the same thing? They all say Radeon HD 7850, but with a bunch of other stuff in the title.

SAPPHIRE 100355-1GOCL Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card OC Version ($165 w/ rebate)
    Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
    Core Clock: 900MHz
    Stream Processors: 1024 Stream Processors
    Effective Memory Clock: 1200MHz (4.8Gbps)

SAPPHIRE 100355OCL Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card OC Version ($185 w/ rebate)
    Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
    Stream Processors: 1024 Stream Processors
    DirectX: DirectX 11
    OpenGL: OpenGL 4.2

XFX Double D FX-785A-ZDF4 Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card ($170 w/ rebate)
    Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
    Core Clock: 860MHz
    Stream Processors: 1024 Stream Processors
    Effective Memory Clock: 1200MHz (4.8Gbps)

SAPPHIRE 100355L Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
    Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
    Stream Processors: 1024 Stream Processors
    DirectX: DirectX 11
    OpenGL: OpenGL 4.2

PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card ($175 w/ rebate)
    Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
    Core Clock: 860MHz
    Stream Processors: 1024 Stream Processors
    Effective Memory Clock: 1200MHz (4.8Gbps)

XFX Core Edition FX-785A-ZNL4 Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card ($160 w/ rebate)
    Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
    Core Clock: 860MHz
    Stream Processors: 1024 Stream Processors
    Effective Memory Clock: 1200MHz (4.8Gbps)

My current favorite is the one at the top, which has good reviews. So if it's the same card I'll probably get that one. But like I said, I don't know what all this extra info means. So if anyone could fill me in a little, I'd appreciate it.

[DaveLembke]

Never had Sapphire brand, but at 5 eggs for 43 reviews thats not bad and possibly worth taking a chance with this card. It has a 2 year warranty, and I'd save the receipt just in case. I ran into an issue with an APC UPS warranty that I know was not expired and they used the mfg date of the unit vs the purchase date because I couldnt supply receipt. It should have still had 4 months warranty left on it when the battery died, but without proof I was stuck with it being outside of warranty terms.

[patio]

EVGA builds very solid vid cards as well...just to expand your choices...
Also if you select to upgrade within the 1st 6 months they give you what you paid for the card towards a new one.

[Transfusion]

The "other information" in the title is simply the configuration of the cards display outputs, amount of RAM that they come with, and clock speed(which really doesn't matter in the slightest as manufacturers usually do the most conservative overclocks possible which you can easily do with a third-party tool. All HD 7850s are binned as 1024 SP Pitcairns, whereas all HD 7870s are the complete 1280SP Pitcairn Pro, and there's only so far you can go with an overclock.)

[Gelliebeen]

Thanks everyone ;] I went with the Sapphire Radeon HD 7850. Happy that I waited a couple of weeks, because now it comes with Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider. Now I just need to get my hands on it.