Best card for $50??? radeon 9200se? geforce4 mx440?

[Techie333]

I am building a budget computer for a friend that doesn't really want it for gaming all the time, but I wanna get him a good video card for gaming once in a while at a decent framerate. What is the best card I can get for around $50?? I have heard ppl say geforce3 ti200 is better than geforce4 mx440?? What about ati radeon 9200se??

 

[modedepe]

the mx440 would be better than the 9200se I believe. I know that the 9200 se is clocked slower than the usual 9200. It might also have a 64 bit memory bus, I'm not positive about that though.

 

[Pete]

A used GF3 or new Visiontek Radeon 9100 (both 64MB) should fit the bill. The latter is $60 retail at CompUSA, so you should be able to find it cheaper elsewhere; the former should sell for under $50 used. Avoid the 9200se. A GF4MX440 might be decent, but both a 9100 and a GF3 will be faster.

 

[JammingJay]

I agree with Pete.

 

[The Green Bean]

how bout an fx5200 thats also descently priced <$60?

 

[nemesismk2]

Get a FX5200 instead, it's better than a R9200se and a gf4 mx440.

 

[Schadenfroh]

wth is a 9200SE?

 

[newbiepcuser]

Originally posted by: JammingJay
I agree with Pete.

A used Geforce 3 in the for/sale forums shouldn't be too hard to find for under $55 shipped.

 

[Killrose]

Originally posted by: modedepe
the mx440 would be better than the 9200se I believe. I know that the 9200 se is clocked slower than the usual 9200. It might also have a 64 bit memory bus, I'm not positive about that though.

I agree. Look out for 9200's (or any Ati cards) witwh only 2 mem chips per side. Those are the crippled 64bit bus units. The 9200 is nothing more than a 9000 with? 8x support I think.

 

[Techie333]

well that helped a little......but now it boils down to fx5200 vs. radeon 9100
Edit: $2 difference after shipping. chaintech fx5200 w/ free t-shirt $59 here or visiontek 9100 radeon $57 here

 

[Mloot]

Beware of 64mb FX 5200's. Alot of these cards have the craptacular 64-bit interface. I would be very careful of buying a card on-line that has this in the description:

"...64/128-bit memory interface..."


Also, the 9100 you linked to is a PCI video card. If you have an AGP slot and you find a Visiontek 9100 AGP for that price, then you have a winner. Visiontek's 9100's, whether AGP or PCI, are clocked at 250/250, and have 128-bit interfaces. That said, if the 64mb AGP 5200 has a 64-bit interface, I dare say that a PCI 9100 will probably perform just as well, if not better, than the 5200.

 

[Corporate Thug]

yup, geforce 3 is better than both those cards

 

[Blastman]

9200 = 5200 (on 128bit) both faster than a 5200 64bit

9100 is faster than a 9000pro (9200pro) so it is easily faster than the 9200/5200. (As long as the 9100 is a 128bit memory bus.)

 

[leolaw]

adding 30 more dollars, you can get a GForce Ti 4200 64MB, good deal