BEST Video Card UNDER $50

[EricMartello]

Have at it, guys. What do you think is the best sub-$50 video card on the market that meets the following specs:

- PCIX 16
- Fanless Cooling
- Dedicated Onboard Memory (no "shared" memory)

 

[Ike0069]

With or without a rebate?

 

[EricMartello]

Yeah pci-e, no rebates - $50 or less purchase price...my brain is dead I haven't slept for 48 hours.

see, I edited because I forgot to write "slept"............. um...time for a power nap

 

[angry hampster]

Does it have to be fanless? Also, there's really no "bang for your buck" under $50. Nothing under $50 will play modern games. However, bumping up $10-20 will open up more options.

2600 pro:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102103

8600Gt:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814500001


edit: forgot to ask, is this card for games or just video decoding and such? If the latter, grab yourself an ATI 3450.

 

[Ike0069]

Didn't mean to sound like an ass, so I edited it.

I think there is an ASUS 2600XT for <$50 after rebate. Since you don't want rebates, I would look in the FS/FT forum for a used card. You will get your best perfroming card there.

If it has to be new without a rebate, I really do not know. That is the lowest end of the cards and I don't ever pay attention to their performance.

 

[EricMartello]

It has to be under $50, it's not gonna be used for games so that is not so much an issue.
Fanless because the ones with fans are noisy, and the fans generally crap out in a short time.

 

[angry hampster]

here you go:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121230

 

[EricMartello]

Funny, Mr. Hampster, that was the one I was looking at too... I guess I'll go with the HD 3450 unless someone chimes in later with an even better deal.

Thanks!

 

[Hauk]

Originally posted by: angry hampster
here you go:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121230

That's one tough looking card for $35 bucks.. :thumbsup:

 

[Sylvanas]

Yeah the 3450 is the best buy under 50 bucks for a non-gaming rig, enjoy.

 

[angry hampster]

Originally posted by: EricMartello
Funny, Mr. Hampster, that was the one I was looking at too... I guess I'll go with the HD 3450 unless someone chimes in later with an even better deal.

Thanks!

NP

I'm very attracted to that card, and have been thinking about building an HTPC with that for video. Really seems like a great deal, and I've read nothing but great reviews about the Bluray decoding capabilities about the 3450 GPU.

 

[kmmatney]

Originally posted by: SteelSix

Originally posted by: angry hampster
here you go:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121230

That's one tough looking card for $35 bucks.. :thumbsup:

That's a lot of card for $35, let alone for $25 if you get the rebate...