Best PCIe gaming card for $100?

[crimson117]

In your opinion, what's the best PCI Express video card for gaming for about $100?

Assume the upgrade is from integrated graphics

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Probably this 7600GT for $95.50 shipped with $15 MIR for a final cost of $80.50 .

EDIT :

Originally posted by: crimson117
How does that compare to something like a 7300 GT with 512mb ram for about the same price?

Do you have any links on whether or not the extra ram makes the 7300GT worth it?

No 512mb of ram on a 7300GT is not worth it. They want you to see the bigger number and go "WOW" so you'll buy it thinking bigger = better, but in the case of the too slow to use it 7300GT , more than 256mb is worthless.

 

[nyker96]

I like my BFG 7900gs OC for $106AR it's quite OCable too.

 

[crimson117]

How does that compare to something like a 7300 GT with 512mb ram for about the same price?

Do you have any links on whether or not the extra ram makes the 7300GT worth it?

 

[Fenixgoon]

X1900GT in hot deals for $105 no rebates

 

[Dazed and Confused]

That X1900GT is open box with 30 day warranty. Hardly worth it when you can get a NIB X1950GT from the more respectable Sapphire for $135.50 shipped with $20 MIR for a total cost of $115.50 and it comes with a 1 year warranty plus all the accessories, and it's HDCP compliant

 

[crimson117]

Thanks, everyone. A friend of mine grabbed a 7300 GT 512 MB this weekend at a store for about $100. If he can return that, then I'll suggest the 7600 GT 256MB to him, as it performs better but still comes in under his budget (he's not interested in spending any more than $100).

 

[Assail]

I use a 7600GT and it's an amazing card. Plays any game I've thrown at it on max settings so far. It's cheap, and can OC like crazy. I have a P4 2.8 @ 3.2 with 2GB PNY Optima DDR2 533Mhz, nothing fancy and using the 7600GT and can play BF2 Demo on all Ultra High settings (edit the client file) at 1280x1024 with 4AA and 100% View Scale and it runs perfectly smooth. It's a nice card.

Edit: Oh, I had to upgrade to 2GB because of Vista, but on XP Pro with only 1GB it would still run on High settings nice and smooth.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Dazed and Confused
That X1900GT is open box with 30 day warranty. Hardly worth it when you can get a NIB X1950GT from the more respectable Sapphire for $135.50 shipped with $20 MIR for a total cost of $115.50 and it comes with a 1 year warranty plus all the accessories, and it's HDCP compliant

ooh, didn't realize it was open box

 

[tvdang7]

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=327110

x1900gt for 105 shipped

 

[crimson117]

Originally posted by: tvdang7
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=327110

x1900gt for 105 shipped

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: Dazed and Confused
That X1900GT is open box with 30 day warranty. Hardly worth it when you can get a NIB X1950GT from the more respectable Sapphire for $135.50 shipped with $20 MIR for a total cost of $115.50 and it comes with a 1 year warranty plus all the accessories, and it's HDCP compliant

ooh, didn't realize it was open box

 

[MarcVenice]

meh you really gotta do some research on videocards. For the 7600gs series there are huge differences, like there is silent ones, with passive cooling ( huge cooling block works pretty well tbh ) but mine came with 512mb ram, but its ffing crap ram, that runs at 270mhz, can you believe that ? A 7600gs with faster ram, and a faster coreclock, beats the living feces out of my 7600gs 512mb. So yeah, good thing you came here, unlike me, and will go with a decent card

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: tvdang7
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=327110

x1900gt for 105 shipped

I'd recommend that or save up a little more and get a 8600GT. How about this EVGA 8600GT for $114.99 or $99.99 after $15 mail in rebate.

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: tvdang7
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=327110

x1900gt for 105 shipped</end quote></div>

I'd recommend that or save up a little more and get a 8600GT. How about this EVGA 8600GT for $114.99 or $99.99 after $15 mail in rebate.

The 8600GT is a slower card. It has DX10, but I doubt it'll ever be fast enough to really take advantage of DX10 features in games.

 

[Ryland]

Or look in the FS/FT forum and find somebody selling something a generation old for cheap.

 

[f4phantom2500]

i got an msi 7900gs that supports hdcp on ebay for $95 shipped not too long ago.

 

[firewolfsm]

Try and get a 7900GS.