Best vid card for $80?

[outofgum]

I'm building a fairly cheap machine and need a video card, which I've budgeted about $80 for. Right now I'm looking at:

Geforce4 Ti4200 64MB
Radeon 9000 128MB
Geforce4 MX 128MB

All of these cards come with TV out and DVI. The DVI is pretty important to me, the TV out is a nice plus but definitely not necessary. Anyway, which card do you think is best? One of the above or something different? I'm going to be doing some moderate gaming, and switching to a LCD monitor at some point.

Edit: Btw, my motherboard only supports 4X AGP, so I have no need for an 8X card.

 

[FearoftheNight]

ti4200 by a looong shot

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: FearoftheNight
ti4200 by a looong shot

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: FearoftheNight
ti4200 by a looong shot

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: shady06

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: FearoftheNight
ti4200 by a looong shot

 

[JammingJay]

ditto

 

[Pete]

If you'll be using DVI only, consider the Prolink FX 5200 (review), which is OC'ed from regular 5200's at 275/250 rather than 250/200. That makes it stiff competition for a 128MB Radeon 9000 Pro or 8500LE/9100 (250/230+), which also come in at around $80. Just note that the Prolink 5200 is known for poor VGA signal quality; as long as you don't use its VGA out, but stick with DVI, you should be fine.

The 4200 will be faster, but only in plain rendering. If you like high-res textures and anisotropic filtering, a 128MB 9000P/8500LE/Prolink 5200 is probably a better deal than a 64MB 4200.

But if your only choices are the ones you listed, it's no contest: get the 4200.

 

[xSauronx]

i dont think the 9000/gf4m are even worth considering

ive heard some people say the 8500's can outdo a gf4 4200 at the high resolutions with AA/AF but i wouldnt know, as i havent been able to compare them myself (i do like my 8500le though, for what its worth)

still, i think id probably rather have the 4200, especially if youre buying new. 8500les used to clock 250/250 but its hard to find those now, usually something like 250/200 or worse (same for 9100's, a renamed 8500le)
could prolly oc any 4200 you get too

 

[outofgum]

Thanks, I'm definitely not limited to the cards listed, those are the ones that seemed within reach at newegg. I'll look into the FX 5200, thanks!

 

[Pete]

Hmm, I don't want to steer you wrong, so I'd recommend reading up on a few 5200 reviews, prefereably ones with a 4200 for comparison. The 4200 is a very fast card, and I have a feeling it will last longer than a 5200, OC'ed or not. High-res textures aren't that attractive at 30fps.

 

[bluemax]

You'll be hard-pressed to get a TI4200 for $80 or less, but should you decide to go for a 5200 make SURE it's a 128-bit card! There's some crappy 64-bit cards floating around out there!

 

[nemesismk2]

Going by personal experience don't get a FX5200 because it's not very good. If you can afford a GF4 Ti4200 then I highly recommend it. Otherwise look around for something maybe in the old Geforce3 line (Ti200 or Ti500) which will be faster than the FX5200 anyway.

 

[outofgum]

Right now I'm down to either the GF4 Ti 64MB or Radeon 9200 128MB. The Ti is a little more expensive. I'll go with the Ti though if OCing the 9200 looks like its difficult.

 

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: outofgum
Right now I'm down to either the GF4 Ti 64MB or Radeon 9200 128MB. The Ti is a little more expensive. I'll go with the Ti though if OCing the 9200 looks like its difficult.

The GF4 Ti 4200 will be quite abit faster than the Radeon 9200 which is after all just a Radeon 9000. Digit Life found that "As expected, all scores of the RADEON 9200 are identical to the RADEON 9000."

I found that the original Radeon 9000 performed about the same as a GF4 MX440 most of the time. A GF4 Ti4200, GF3 Ti500/Ti200 and even the original Geforce3 will all deliver better performance than a Radeon 9200. Hell even the Radeon 9000 Pro and 9100 usually deliver better performance than the rubbish Radeon 9200.

digitlife radeon 9200 article

I'll soon be posting my results comparing the 128mb gf4 ti4200, 128mb geforce fx5200 and the 128mb radeon 9200.

 

[Pete]

Originally posted by: outofgum
Right now I'm down to either the GF4 Ti 64MB or Radeon 9200 128MB. The Ti is a little more expensive. I'll go with the Ti though if OCing the 9200 looks like its difficult.

The 9200 won't hold a candle to the 4200 in terms of 3D performance. 4x1 @ 250/200MHz can't compete with 4x2 @ 250/256MHz. If those are your only two choices, I'd pay a little more for the 9200.

 

[Vonkhan]

9000pro overclocks like a mutha ... i removed the stock cooling, put in some good chill and pumped it (forget the speeds) but it was matching those of my 9500 (not OCed or flashed).

 

[DAPUNISHER]

86$ to your door I bought one of these a few weeks back and though I'm not impressed with the 2d IQ via the VGA connector it's a good gamer and overclocks very well plus has a nice bundle of software, cables, and connectors.

 

[rippedoff]

I just installed one of these http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?sku=TC3G-1003 in my HP 7865 and it works GREAT!

I bought mine from Crucial because of their extremely liberal return/refund policy so be sure to look there too. Also, they provide free shipping.

Happy hunting!

 

[Blooz1]

You might want to check out AllStarShop.com....

They still have the 64Mb Sapphire Radeon 8500 clocked at 275/275 available for $75.00....

I've got one, and I like it very much. Mine OC's to 305/300, haven't tried any farther since I don't game much.

 

[Pete]

Originally posted by: rippedoff
I just installed one of these http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?sku=TC3G-1003 in my HP 7865 and it works GREAT!

I bought mine from Crucial because of their extremely liberal return/refund policy so be sure to look there too. Also, they provide free shipping.

Happy hunting!

That Connect3D card looks nice, but I've heard enough about TigerDirect to stay far, far away, particularly with rebates.

Keep in mind the Crucial card ships with slow memory and DVI-D (not DVI-I, so apparently no dual-monitor action). It used to be 166MHz, but now appears to be 200MHz (5ns, tho it may still run at 166MHz). This doesn't compare well to the 230-250MHz of most other 9100's, and will hinder your card overall, but especially at higher resolutions. But Crucial's lifetime warranty may be worth the extra price and lesser performance to some people. Their 9800P seems to be stock speed, though (memory rated for 357MHz, above the stock 340MHz), and is fairly attractive considering their lifetime warranty.

 

[bluemax]

That Excalibur PC Ti4200 is a SUPER price! Check into that shop... that's the best deal I've seen for a while!

 

[Buk]

Check the F/S forum. I've recently bought a made by ATI Radeon 8500 64mb AGP for $42 shipped and have seen several for ~$50.....................