Best budget GPU for $50'ish ???

[chodecz]

Hi,

I'm looking for a low budget (around $50 USD) graphics card. It's going in a second PC of mine which I want to spend bare minimum on. I know graphics technology has had big advances recently, so I should be able to find something good?

I'll be buying off eBay, I found a "N-vidia GeForce FX 5200 8 x AGP 128 mb" in my budget. Is this good? What should I go for within this budget???

One last thing, my motherboard is a Asus CUV4X, in the manual it says AGP Pro/4x. So does this mean the 8X AGP I found (shown above) will not work???

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help !

 

[Luckyboy1]

The 5200 card is in many ways a step back, not forward from the older ti series cards like the 4800 ti. It is a poor, poor card.

All you give up is a whole 2% by not having an 8X board and yes, it will run fune, just at 4X.

How 'bout www.newegg.com for a $75.00 128MB, 256 bit 9800 Pro with warranty?

 

[chodecz]

Thanks, but i'm really limited to $50. I'll check eBay for 9800 Pro's though.

 

[Luckyboy1]

Whoops! That $75.00 price was for a 128 MB, 128 bit 9800, but it would still be far and away better than that 5200 card.

 

[biostud]

for $50, only used cards will ive you something to play with.

 

[chodecz]

I don't understand biostud???

I will be buying used from eBay!

I basically want the best performing GPU for around $50 USD!

Please all you great people, help a guy out .

 

[Sable]

I reckon you're looking at around the ATI 9600XT range but you might find a bargain 9800.

 

[andyandyandy]

9600 pro or XT would be very good, in australia you can get a second hand 9600 xt (256mb) for around $90 or $100. Decent card

 

[kyparrish]

9500pro
9600pro
9600xt
9700pro
9800
9800pro
etc.

 

[chodecz]

Thanks guys.

I have found some 9600 pro and xt.

Will manufacturer brand matter much in performance, is there some certain specs like memory mhz or core mhz I have to look out for, and what would be good minimum specs of these to have??????

Thanks again, in advance!

 

[PingSpike]

What games are you playing? I'd hunt for at least a 9800pro at this point myself.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: chodecz
Hi,

I'm looking for a low budget (around $50 USD) graphics card. It's going in a second PC of mine which I want to spend bare minimum on. I know graphics technology has had big advances recently, so I should be able to find something good?

I'll be buying off eBay, I found a "N-vidia GeForce FX 5200 8 x AGP 128 mb" in my budget. Is this good? What should I go for within this budget???

One last thing, my motherboard is a Asus CUV4X, in the manual it says AGP Pro/4x. So does this mean the 8X AGP I found (shown above) will not work???

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help !

5200? Why not get a 6200 for $50?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814133149

 

[Howard]

Buying used stuff will get you farther in terms of performance on your $50.

 

[chodecz]

Will manufacturer brand matter much in performance, is there some certain specs like memory mhz or core mhz I have to look out for, and what would be good minimum specs of these to have??????

 

[AliasX]

You won't be able to play 3d games, you are limited to 3d... sorry.

Seriously, don't build it. Wait till your next paycheck then build it.

 

[stevty2889]

See if you can find a 6200 for that price. Half Life 2 runs decently on my 6200TC at 1024x768 medium to low settings.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Originally posted by: chodecz
Hi,

I'm looking for a low budget (around $50 USD) graphics card. It's going in a second PC of mine which I want to spend bare minimum on. I know graphics technology has had big advances recently, so I should be able to find something good?

Actually, even buying a USED video card, you won't get anything particularly "good" for less than about $100.

I'll be buying off eBay, I found a "N-vidia GeForce FX 5200 8 x AGP 128 mb" in my budget. Is this good? What should I go for within this budget?

The FX 5200 is worth $35-40, shipped, not $50. It's pretty bad.

One last thing, my motherboard is a Asus CUV4X, in the manual it says AGP Pro/4x. So does this mean the 8X AGP I found (shown above) will not work?

The 4X/8X slot is the same (physically, not electrically), and both the cards and the MB's with those slots automatically adjust to each other. It doesn't mean that an 8X card will be quite as fast as normal when it's in a 4X slot, but it won't slow down a huge amount. Going the other way, a 4X card in an 8X slot is not going to go any faster.

You can find the GF4 Ti-4200 for around your $50, and while it is now three years-plus since it was new, it's a better choice than an FX 5200.

 

[InlineFour]

since you're planning on buying used. i'd probably look for a 9600 pro/xt at the $50 price range. if you increase your budget to $80, you can get a 9800 pro which is much better than the 9600 series.

 

[andyandyandy]

A used ti4200 is a good choice second hand. I used to have one. It played half life 2 medium settings at 1024x768. That is yet another option.

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

i'd say go for an AGP 6200. A friend of mine had an OEM computer with integrated and found out he couldn't play CoD2 AFTER buying it and opening it, and had no money to buy a video card so he sprung for a 6200 AGP on sale for $39.99 at compUSA a few weeks ago. He was happy with the purchase so...