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Best Video Cards Under $250, $200, $150, $100
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Under $150, I usually look for an open box or used card that can be overclocked well. For example, my temp card between my 9700 Pro and 7900GT was a open box vanilla 6600 for $50 that right away was OCed to 600/900. Even though it was just a tide me over for a PCIe transition, it outperformed my old 9700 Pro.
That's really the only case I would buy a vid card under $150 if I was building a system for even a casual gamer (that likes to play top 5 titles).
Generally, I have 5 basic rules for vid card purchasing.
1.I never buy within 2 months of the next generation. Even if what is being released seems like it will be outside my price range, I still want to see how much faster it is over the previous generation. Any transition of the like of the 9700 Pro or 88XX will cause me to wait it out for the midrange release of that card. If you make a good choice with your current card, the wait should not be painful.
2.I always buy the mid range range that overclocks well and becomes equivalent to the nonOCed top end. Usually this ends up being the $250-300 range. Spending more now means you'll have a card that can be held for more then a year (if your frugal like me).
3.I always do a lot of research using search engines on any specific card I am going to purchase. You not only want to know performance compared to other cards, but reliability, OC potential, power requirements and hidden flaws. Hidden flaws can mean hardware differences between versions of the same card. For example, the just released HD 2900 Pro comes with either DDR3 or DDR4 memory. Most people would only notice the cost difference, but if your going to OC this card to HD 2900 XT levels, you should research enough to choose the best card, not the cheapest. Sometimes paying an extra $20 for a factory OCed card makes sense for a lot of gamers, not so much to save you from OCing it yourself, but a lot of times the factory OCed cards are vetted a bit more by the manufacturer.
4.I always check Newegg first and then compare the price with price watch. If newegg is not over about 15% of the lowest on price watch, I will go with them. If Newegg is over 15% then I take my chances. Never been burned yet ordering online or with manufacturer rebates.
5.I also make sure my CPU is not more then a 30% bottleneck on my vid card. Usually, a $80 investment in a new overclockable CPU can revitalize an old system. Though a seperate issue from the vid card, the CPU, vid card and ram are all inter-related, with the vid card being by far the most expensive and most frequently needed upgrade. CPU and RAM not so much so. You can have been running a A64 3500 for the last few years and you'd still be doing well with a 8800GTS or even future cards. I'd be much better off right now if AMD hadn't abandoned the 939 platform.
-------------------------
Going really cheap on a vid card will cost you more in the long term by making you upgrade more often and your game graphics (on new titles) will always be stuck at low/mid. As it stands now, lots of games look much-much better with eye candy, high details and AA. Playing games on a low end card to save money is kind of like watching your new Transformers DVD on a $40 black and white TV.
That's really the only case I would buy a vid card under $150 if I was building a system for even a casual gamer (that likes to play top 5 titles).
Generally, I have 5 basic rules for vid card purchasing.
1.I never buy within 2 months of the next generation. Even if what is being released seems like it will be outside my price range, I still want to see how much faster it is over the previous generation. Any transition of the like of the 9700 Pro or 88XX will cause me to wait it out for the midrange release of that card. If you make a good choice with your current card, the wait should not be painful.
2.I always buy the mid range range that overclocks well and becomes equivalent to the nonOCed top end. Usually this ends up being the $250-300 range. Spending more now means you'll have a card that can be held for more then a year (if your frugal like me).
3.I always do a lot of research using search engines on any specific card I am going to purchase. You not only want to know performance compared to other cards, but reliability, OC potential, power requirements and hidden flaws. Hidden flaws can mean hardware differences between versions of the same card. For example, the just released HD 2900 Pro comes with either DDR3 or DDR4 memory. Most people would only notice the cost difference, but if your going to OC this card to HD 2900 XT levels, you should research enough to choose the best card, not the cheapest. Sometimes paying an extra $20 for a factory OCed card makes sense for a lot of gamers, not so much to save you from OCing it yourself, but a lot of times the factory OCed cards are vetted a bit more by the manufacturer.
4.I always check Newegg first and then compare the price with price watch. If newegg is not over about 15% of the lowest on price watch, I will go with them. If Newegg is over 15% then I take my chances. Never been burned yet ordering online or with manufacturer rebates.
5.I also make sure my CPU is not more then a 30% bottleneck on my vid card. Usually, a $80 investment in a new overclockable CPU can revitalize an old system. Though a seperate issue from the vid card, the CPU, vid card and ram are all inter-related, with the vid card being by far the most expensive and most frequently needed upgrade. CPU and RAM not so much so. You can have been running a A64 3500 for the last few years and you'd still be doing well with a 8800GTS or even future cards. I'd be much better off right now if AMD hadn't abandoned the 939 platform.
-------------------------
Going really cheap on a vid card will cost you more in the long term by making you upgrade more often and your game graphics (on new titles) will always be stuck at low/mid. As it stands now, lots of games look much-much better with eye candy, high details and AA. Playing games on a low end card to save money is kind of like watching your new Transformers DVD on a $40 black and white TV.
BTW, i just installed the aforementioned X1900GT in our secondary box tonight and i'm impressed. It's not in the same league with our X1950XT, but it's a marked improvement over the X850XT it replaced.
For $90 it's a steal. It is also slightly faster than the X1950GT that costs $20 - $30 more, although it's slightly more power hungry. We're running it w/ an FSP 450W no problems though.
For $90 it's a steal. It is also slightly faster than the X1950GT that costs $20 - $30 more, although it's slightly more power hungry. We're running it w/ an FSP 450W no problems though.
AzN
Banned
Why not? Very close to 1950pro performance. You get lower power consumption, better hdcp functions, upto 16x CSAA for older games, better AF, dx10.
Now that the price has come down it's a very good alternative.
http://www.digit-life.com/arti...video/g84-3-page4.html
http://www.firingsquad.com/har...orce_8600_gts_roundup/
WhipperSnapper
Lifer
How about this x1950 Pro with 512 RAM and an Arctic Cooling Accelero 2 (I think) HSF for $130 shipped (need e-mail registration and coupon code):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814131055
I'm on the fence about whether or not to buy it and sell my x800xt (really an x800 GTO) or whether I should wait a couple months for the next generation of cards to come out in the hopes that more powerful ones get pushed down to the $150-200 level.
The card needs to provide good performance for UT3 with an overclocked single-core Opteron 148.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814131055
I'm on the fence about whether or not to buy it and sell my x800xt (really an x800 GTO) or whether I should wait a couple months for the next generation of cards to come out in the hopes that more powerful ones get pushed down to the $150-200 level.
The card needs to provide good performance for UT3 with an overclocked single-core Opteron 148.
WhipperSnapper
Lifer
How will the 8800 GT compare to the 8800 GTS and the next closest (currently available) competitors, the x1950 Pro, the 7950 GT, and 7900 GTX?
Another interesting issue is: What will the video card market look like when ATI releases the 2950 XT, the 2950 Pro, and the 2950 GT? Can we expect price drops for all of the other cards? How would it affect the prices of, say, the x1950 Pro? Sure would be nice to finally see some price drops. Any chance the 2950 Pro might go for around $200?
Another interesting issue is: What will the video card market look like when ATI releases the 2950 XT, the 2950 Pro, and the 2950 GT? Can we expect price drops for all of the other cards? How would it affect the prices of, say, the x1950 Pro? Sure would be nice to finally see some price drops. Any chance the 2950 Pro might go for around $200?
8800GT is supposed to be around 8800GTS 320 performance. That should (finally) destroy the previous generation cards.
I doubt stuff like the x1950pro will drop much (though maybe a little): HD2950pro is supposed to replace it, so I expect the supply of the older stuff just to dry up.
I doubt stuff like the x1950pro will drop much (though maybe a little): HD2950pro is supposed to replace it, so I expect the supply of the older stuff just to dry up.
bryanW1995
Lifer
bryanW1995
Lifer
according to numerous fudzilla, vr zone and inq (sorry) articles, 2950 pro should range from 199 to 249 msrp. I expect the 199 card to be comparable to 2900 pro/8800gts 320 and 249 card to be closer to 2900xt/8800gts 640.
WhipperSnapper
Lifer
Let's hope.
apoppin
Lifer
my nomination for Best Video card under $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814103038
2600xt with Orange Box included ... $99.95 ... free shipping
i just saw it in Hot Deals
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814103038
2600xt with Orange Box included ... $99.95 ... free shipping
i just saw it in Hot Deals
WhipperSnapper
Lifer
Not a bad deal at all for someone who wants to play Half-Life 2. That's what I need to find--a card that will come bundled with UT3.
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