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best card for ~$50

S

spazo

Senior member
I just want something to keep me busy for another year or so. I do have an agp slot and I'm currently going towards a 9100 for $51. I can also buy a refurb 9600 for $50 but I'm afraid someting might go wrong. Are there any other choices for me? I'm assuming a 5200 won't even be worth it...
 
9100 is an excellent card for ~$50. They even have usable AF with little performance hit.

9600 would be a little better if you go for refurb.
 
Thanks for the responses but I think I would rather go with a new card vs. used. So as far as new cards are concerned, the best bet would be the 9100 right? Would there be a big difference between PCI and AGP versions?
 
Yes, remember that pci is a 33mhz bus and agp is a 66mhz bus. Your already buying an older slower card. Get the AGP version and that 9100 will be a good choice for your price. I have a 9000pro(slower than 9100) in our older computer and it does well enough on most newer games.
 
you can get a ti4200 for $50? unfortunately, you're not going to get stellar performance regardless of whether it's a 9100 or a 4200. you will be forced to upgrade within a year as games are getting rediculously demanding, and most will soon require dx9 support.
 
what kind of cpu are you matching up this card with? you should set it up so that you are neither cpu or graphics card limited; a balanced system is what you want. what i'm saying is that if you have a p2 300 cpu there is no point in upgrading your graphics card because your system would be unable to process enough data to send to your graphics card. the same goes the other way; if you have a 3400mhz cpu but you're pairing it up with a 9100 or something silly, you're going to be severely bottlenecked, and a 600mhz cpu would probably do just as well in that situation.
 
I'd go with the 9100
I like them, basically the same as an 8500, and I chose an 8500 over a Ti4200 cause I liked the way it ran the games I used it for, better.
 
The TI line compares favorably even with the Radeon 9600s. Considering how cheap they are, they are absolute monsters for the price.

There isn't a single game the Tis can't handle, but don't expect too high settings out of them, or DX9 features.
 
Originally posted by: nemesismk2
Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
refurb 4200 128mb
Click to expand...

The 4200 is still a great video card! 🙂
Click to expand...

Yes, but the cheapest refurb on Newegg is $70 plus shipping. That's about what Ebay seems to be running as well. A new 8500/9100 for $50-60 may be a better deal than a used Ti4200 for $70-80. Heck, a GF2/GF4MX for $30 may be a better deal, depending on what he wants to play.
 
I prefer to buy new becuase I have no idea what'll happen with refurbs and I think I would really hate the RMA process...

Anyways my computer is(crap):
1.7GHZ Williamete
512MB Sdram
4x agp slot


Will the 9100 keep me gaming at around 30 fps at mediumish detail for newer games? I mean I think my setup is better then my friend's and I'm ok with the level of performance with his computer. I'm going full out on my next computer in about a year and a half(I prefers to upgrade computers once every time Microsoft releases a new os).

He has:
1.8GHZ Celeron
512MB DDR Sdram
5200 PCI version(no agp slot in his emachines)
 
Dont forget the Ti4200 is going to start looking really crappy in games really fast, Far Cry proved that already.
I'd say spring for more cash and get the 9600pro and the Dx9 features but you sound adamant about the $50.
 
Originally posted by: spazo
I prefer to buy new becuase I have no idea what'll happen with refurbs and I think I would really hate the RMA process...

Anyways my computer is(crap):
1.7GHZ Williamete
512MB Sdram
4x agp slot


Will the 9100 keep me gaming at around 30 fps at mediumish detail for newer games? I mean I think my setup is better then my friend's and I'm ok with the level of performance with his computer. I'm going full out on my next computer in about a year and a half(I prefers to upgrade computers once every time Microsoft releases a new os).

He has:
1.8GHZ Celeron
512MB DDR Sdram
5200 PCI version(no agp slot in his emachines)
Click to expand...


Your system with a R9100 will blow away his system with an FX5200. Don't expect much from either rig in FarCry/HL2/Doom3 (at least at resolutions over 800x600), but you won't have problems with relatively new games like BF1942, Call Of Duty, etc.
 
Up for a couple more questions ;p

Anyways, I've just played UT2004 on another friend's laptop equiped with:
1.5ghz pentium M
512 DDR 2700 Sdram
9600 something

Settings where; no aa/af and all details where in the medium range with resolution at 1024x748 and if I can get those frame rates I'll be happy. I know his system completely destroys mine but will a 9100 provide me with similier frame rates or should I just get a 9600 pro/5700Ultra(I can find both for around $130)? I'm definatly not going used so a refurbed/pre-owned card is out of the question.

And I was also wondering if my psu can handle a 9600 pro/5700 Ultra(I really don't want to spend extra money on a psu). My computer is made by Sony and it has 2 harddrives, one dvd rom drive, and one dvd+r drive.
 
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