This is a fairly simple one - I'm looking to put together a budget gaming PC so which is the best cheap graphics card? Let's say the absolute highest I'll go is £100 but if at all possible I'd like it to cost around £50-70. I have no preference with AMD or NVIDIA and aren't bothered too much about super-mega-awesome graphical quality. So which cards, in GOG's opinion, give the best bang for the buck?

Game-wise it'll definitely have to be capable of running Skyrim (I'm addicted ;)), other new games aren't really a priority but if it can handle stuff like Sonic Generations and The Witcher 2 so much the better. Obviously I'll be playing GOGs too but somehow doubt they'll put too much of a strain on the system.

I'm also not totally decided on things like the motherboard and CPU yet so recommendations and links are very welcome but, again, please only UK sites and prices.

I'm not knowledgeable enough to help, but as a skint UK gamer in need of a new PC I'll be watching this with interest. GL!

I have a HD5670 and I have no problem running Skryim or The Witcher 2 but not at very high resolutions.
Amazon are selling them for £55.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-RADEON-5670-775M-GRAPHICS/dp/B0035EQNI6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327230305&sr=8-1

If you want better performance then the HD6770 is probably as good as you can get for under £100.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11189-00-20G-6770-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B004XSJR5Y/ref=pd_sim_sbs_computers_4

You haven't given a price range for other componets but the Intel E5700 Pentium Dual-Core Processor - 3.00GHz is still a good cpu and only costs £55.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-E5700-Pentium-Dual-Core-Processor/dp/B0041E0LQE/ref=sr_1_10?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1327230782&sr=1-10
You could also get that bundled with a motherboard and ram (which would mean you don't have to fit the cpu) for £110.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Dual-Core-E5700-3-0GHz/dp/B004MA5PTA/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1327230973&sr=1-2

The Core I3 isn't that much more expensive and would be a better cpu at £90
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-SandybridgeCore-Quad-Core-Processor-Warranty/dp/B004FA8NPK/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1327231089&sr=1-1
and the Asrock H61M-VS Micro-ATX Motherboard is a reasonably priced compatable motherboard
http://www.amazon.co.uk/H61M-VS-Micro-ATX-Motherboard-Onboard-ASRock/dp/B004S9JXPW/ref=acc_glance_computers_ai_ps_t_7

I hope this helps

I've found a Geforce GT430 for around the £40 mark, how does this compare to the cards you posted both in price and performance? I'm currently watching a 3GHz CPU on eBay but if that falls though I'll look at the stuff you posted.

Actually you can get a Radeon 6670 for between £60 and £80. It's a really good card for the money and is capable of running games like BF3 , Skyrim and TW2.

Edit: Also the 6770 Model which is an upgraded version seems to be very cheap too.

(Review of the Graphics Card)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNdgES-QII4

(Skyrim Radeon 6670)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXRjcfqpDEk

(Battlefield 3 Radeon 6670)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYucqrfyEGo

(The Witcher 2 Radeon 6670)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkcfmGLI_Ko

This shows that the card can cope with these games a decent playable level. Bare in mind the computer specs he is working with and also your monitor resolution will have an impact.

Honestly if theres any card you are intrested in, you can just type 'Skyrim GTX 560ti' for example and you will see plenty of videos. Just look in the description to check that persons other computers specs because that will also faction in.

The videos i linked showed someones budget $350 computer able to run these new games at good FPS on med-high settings so good luck :)

I'd get a 6770
http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-ati-radeon-6770-hd-850mhz-1gb-pci-express-hdmi-7NQV.html?src=3
£74.98
faster than the 6670 and comes with Drit3 and deus ex apparently..

for 10 quid over budget you can even get a 6850 at £110

Check this items :

ATI configuration (around 200 quid):
GPU:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-RADEON-5670-775M-GRAPHICS/dp/B0035EQNI6/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1327239838&sr=1-4
CPU:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Athlon-455-Triple-Core-Processor/dp/B003N1A5W6/ref=sr_1_11?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1327240058&sr=1-11
Motherboard:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-870-Extreme3-Motherboard-Extreme/dp/B003L838IE/ref=sr_1_116?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1327240393&sr=1-116

NVidia config(around 250 quid):
GPU:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-GeForce-GT-440-PCI-Express/dp/B004ZKY2RS/ref=sr_1_34?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1327239990&sr=1-34
CPU:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/i3-540-Core-i3-Dual-Core-Processor/dp/B0031M9QZ4/ref=sr_1_47?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1327240169&sr=1-47
Motherboard:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-P7P55D--LX-PCI--CrossFire/dp/B0032ZGKJ0/ref=sr_1_163?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1327240558&sr=1-163

My opinion if you are going for budget pc buy Ati Radeon it's cheaper and some GPU-s are better than NVidia's.

It's a good card though the 6850 less than 40 over it makes me wonder if waiting another month or so would net people buying now one of those instead...

You have plenty of options, and sadly only the older, pretty crappy Nvidias cards are available at your desired price point.

Jump for the 6770, though being a rebaged 5770, (with a few extra features), it's still an excellent budget card for the price. Runs skyrim and most other games with ease. Plenty of videos to check out over at youtube.

GT430 is an entry range GPU. Being based on fermi, it's quite good at displaying movies and at general multimedia tasks. For modern games, it's a bit short.
In Far Cry 2 , 1900x1200, it yields a totally unsufficient 17 frames per second. 10 in Battlefield bad company with the same settings

Radeon 6770 are mid-range GPUs and will have acceptable yields. 44 FPS for far cry 2 and 29 with battlefield bc , same settings. sufficient to play with a decent experience

Nvidia GPUs are usually more expensive than ATI's at comparable level of performance.

Ok, the eBay stuff is a no-go so I'll have a look through what you guys posted. Thanks.

One more thing, though: where is the cheapest and best place to buy a full copy of Windows 7?

I'm renovating an old, crap PC and I just learned that the Windows license is OEM. Obviously switching out the motherboard will invalidate the license so I'll need a new copy, and I'd prefer not to have to buy another OEM if it changes again.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-Home-Premium-Version/dp/B002DUCMT2/ref=sr_1_2?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1327263888&sr=1-2
All Win7 Home DVD's are in this range.... +/- couple of quids

Yeah, Amazon was the first place I looked ;) Guess I just hoped it'd be cheaper elsewhere. Thanks anyway.

If I were you I would give this a look.

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards/?x=12&page=2&p=cF9vcmRlcj1wcmljZV9kZXNjJnBfc3R5bGU9JnBfcHJvZHVjdHNQZXJQYWdlPSY=

That is usually where I get my PC parts from. Good price, good value and awsome delivery. Most of the time you get it the very next day you order, 2 days at the most.