Video card

[g-boy]

I had another computer that I stopped using because the CD-rom and the networking card stopped working, system would lock up, things just sucked. With some help from my brother and friends, it is working just fine, and is more upgradeable than the comp I'm using now. With that said, it is the only computer I have that has an AGP slot so I can finally get a decent video card.
Basically, there's no way I'm getting a 256mb card because I don't have the money. I just want to get a 128. Thing is, when I search and compare prices, there are so many damn cards that have the same chipset (Radeon 9200 for example), and can range from like $75-150... my question is, what's the difference? I read some reviews that talk about them not having what they would expect from a 128, and I have no clue how to tell from the specs. I just wanna know what card I should get for the best price... I think I could live with about $100, but if I can find something that is just as good (or the difference would be so marginal that I wouldn't notice) at around $80, that would be nice. I also don't care about the video in/out stuff, the main importance of the graphics would be for games and such, I already have an adapter for video in/out anyway.

[jabbahunt]

MY radeon 9000 is great, nuff said, my son has the 8500, he says its better, we have exact same puter other than that, on vietcong my nades drop where they are supposed to, his doesn't.

[Power and Glory]

First of all what are your computer's specs? That will help a little in getting a new video card.

[g-boy]

How much do you need to know? It's 1.8 ghz I believe, 256mb of RAM (easily upgradable). The AGP slot is 4x.

[Power and Glory]

That's good. I just wanted to make sure what you had before offering any suggestions. The GeForceFX 5200 128MB seems like a good card for your price range that you have listed. I see it for around $89. Hell I see it for $76 even better. This card is being used to replace the budget GeForce4 MX line.

I go to this site alot and use it to find some good prices on things it is also where I got the above prices.http://www.anandtech.com/guides/priceguide.html

Scroll down to the bottom of the page that's where all of the video card prices are. Use it as a guide to help you decide what you are looking for.

That's just 1 card of the many that are listed but it does give you a good price range to help you.

[g-boy]

Thanks for the link... but same thing I was mentioning... I see several there with the same exact chipset, but they are different prices. Is it just like quality of manufacturer, or what? If so, does it really matter?

[Power and Glory]

You are getting the same product despite who is the manufacturer. Some of them may have different fans to help with the cooling or have other little things. I tend to stay with manufacturers that I have heard of like Hercules, PNY,ASUS. Prices are going to vary a little depending on where you buy it. Those Vendors you see on that page are always trying to 1UP each other.

[CloudFuel]

Yea Radeon's are great and all, but their true power lies in all of the in/out capabilities (ie svideo, etc.). Unless you're gonna become a ripper extroardinaire, then there's really no sense in getting any of those line of cards. Geforce's have always been state of the art for gaming and the the 3d labs cards and wildcats have been phenomenal for rendering and doing 3d gfx galore...so it's basically up to you as to what you need it for. You could be like me tho and have 3 different systems each containing one of them and designed specifically for certain things...but that's quite a bit on the spendy side...so yea...:thumb:

[g-boy]

Rich parents cloud? Or got a job and spend your money only on comps...

[CloudFuel]

hmm How bout *connections*?? Dad works at Dell....we both build our own crap....and I redo people's systems all the time...we get money for that and use ebay and stores to get our stuff....so costs quite a bit less and still smokes the competition.

[jabbahunt]

Dude, you gettin a Dell.

[Quickening]

HMm...I love my geforce3 and my bro just got a new comp and has a geforce 4 and its soo sweet