$80-$100 video card

[Mr Bob]

I'm looking for a video card, something near $80, but can reach $100 max. Very mild gaming, if any at all. 6600gt is overkill, no OC, and must be new.

Suggestions?

 

[Mr Bob]

I'm thinking x700...

 

[deepred98]

Originally posted by: Mr Bob
I'm thinking x700...

i'm not at all up to date on vid cards but last time i checked the x700 cost more than the 6600gt and they perform about the same so i'd say go with the 6600gt if not with newer slightly more expensive card x800 maybe

 

[Ika]

Since you're going to be doing such little gaming and probably won't care about performance, it really shouldn't make too much of a difference what kind of card you get. What are you going to use the card for? I would recommend an ATi X1k series card, simply for the better image quality and Avivo, but I'm not sure what you can get for your budget.

 

[Mr Bob]

x700 for $64 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814241024

"What are you going to use the card for?"
- Not 100% sure, nothing hardcore like Doom 3 at high res.

Here's a 256mb 1300 pro for $80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127193

 

[PingSpike]

I saw some x800gtos for like $80 or so on newegg today. I'd look at one of those. Of course, it kind of depends on what kind of games you plan to be running.

 

[Mr Bob]

Cheapest I found was $95 at newegg, I searched for "x800gto"

 

[mwmorph]

if you arent gaming, get a 7300gt or a X1300pro. They are not fast but they offer things the 6600gt/x700series dont.

The Main features that ati put in the newer chips is better movie(dvd) decoding. ATI marketing calls it Avivo and it does help a bit in reducing artifacts and creating a better viewing exprience. Furthermeore, you get 2 Dual Link DVI instead of 1 dvi and 1 vga out. Furthermore, the X1000 seires wil lhelp decode H.264 HD video and thus creates a smootherexprience and stops raping your cpu.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2551&p=1
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2645

The 7300gs has Nvidia's version of AVIVO called purevideo that will help in video playback.

These cards are not nearly as fast as the X800gto or 6600gt, but they offer nice video upgrades if you dont game. Check out the anandtech avivo article linked above to see the difference.

 

[Mr Bob]

The MB I was looking at is nForece4 based (ASUS A8N5X), so an ATI video card might not be a good idea. I usually try to get an nvidia card for an nForce4 mb.

1) What do you think about running this card on that board?
2) Do you have a better suggestion for a mb that would better suite an ATI card? Something $60-$80.

 

[Mr Bob]

Also, I only found cards with 1 dvi and 1 vga > http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...ubmit=ENE&Description=X1300pro&Ntk=all

 

[mwmorph]

ATI cards and nvidia chipsets wont conflict or slow each other down.

Nvidia Purevideo is slightly better imho.
http://www.pagecomputers.com/store/Prod...me=33g33c200s1288&product%5Fid=1091126

The x1300 does come in dual dvi but it'll cost you. I Think its the x1300 512mb that has dual dvi.
The $67 xfx 7300gt above has dual dvi too.

Imho if you dont need dual dvi, a x1300pro is much faster if you do game but if you dont game and liek dual dvi nivida is the way to go. Purevideo works slightly better than Avivo(though I think the video player software will cost you $$).