Best Graphics Card for $50-60?

[Elfear]

I'm building a box for my buddy and he just wants a basic video card. He doesn't game, mostly internet and word processing. I just want him to get the best deal in case I can talk him into gaming every once in awhile.

 

[superpandapower]

I would recommend a ATi Radeon 8500. It worked well for me for over two years and was even able to play D3 at 640x480 LOW detail. Definitely an amazing card.

 

[SleepWalkerX]

look for a ti4200 for around that price. if you can't find one then look for a 9200 or 9000 pro.

 

[Schadenfroh]

TI4200 128mb

 

[ZobarStyl]

God this needs a sticky.

 

[Elfear]

The TI4200 128Mb is $95 on pricewatch.

The 9200SE 128Mb is $45.

The 9000Pro 128Mb is $79.

The 8500LE 128Mb is $74.

The 8500LE 64Mb is $49.

Are those the cards you guys are recommending or do I have the wrong models?

 

[Matthias99]

You could probably find a used Ti4200 or 8500 in that price range, but they're tough to come by new these days (which is why the prices are kinda high). There's also the GeForce3, but again, they're pretty rare unless you're looking for used cards.

If you really want to scrimp, and don't want to buy used, go for a GeForce2MX or GeForce4MX (AKA the GeForce4 "4000"). Last I checked they were still fairly plentiful. There's also the RADEON 7500, if you can still get those new...

 

[GreenMonkey]

Your best bet is a used Radeon 8500 or a used Ti4200 (non-LE is best). Best way to go.

 

[kurt454]

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=14-102-230&depa=1

Radeon 9000 Pro for $51

 

[Gamingphreek]

Geforce 2 Ti. Or geforce 3. Or even used Geforce 4. 8500 is ok but back then the Geforces owned... pretty competitive now with ATI's better drivers though.

-Kevin

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: superpandapower
I would recommend a ATi Radeon 8500. It worked well for me for over two years and was even able to play D3 at 640x480 LOW detail. Definitely an amazing card.

Ought to be better than that. I download the D3 demo and was pleasantly shocked to see that my FireGL 8800 (basically a 8500 with some extra professional features) can actually do 1024x768 at medium detail with shadows and high quality effects at a high enough frame rate to play the demo all the way through (using the R200 rendering path, of course, not ARB).

Over in Hot Deals, they had a post about Crucial's refurbed cards. The Radeon 9100 with the 128MB of 5ns memory (the one ending with "A5" in the product number) for $38 is a killer deal.