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budget vid card to last ~3 years

M

mrwxyz

Senior member
Building a new system for my parents. They will not be doing gaming on it (my dad believes very strongly that computers are not meant for games, go figure). The only thing that the comp will be used for is word proccessing, internet, quicken, things of that nature.

anyway, looking for a vid card that will last them about 3 years. no plans to do any upgrading it. what say u all? they dont play games, but would, say a 9600np provide better dvd playback and 2d iq and such over a 9200? dont want to spend more than $90, but id prefer a card around maybe $60.

i was leaning towards the 9200...
 
Go for the 9200 (maybe even a 9200SE). All the ATI RADEON cards have accelerated DVD playback (AFAIK), and there shouldn't be any differences in 2D IQ. It'll work just fine for desktop work.

I can't believe I actually just recommended a 9200SE. I feel dirty.
 
Originally posted by: Matthias99
Go for the 9200 (maybe even a 9200SE). All the ATI RADEON cards have accelerated DVD playback (AFAIK), and there shouldn't be any differences in 2D IQ. It'll work just fine for desktop work.

I can't believe I actually just recommended a 9200SE. I feel dirty.
Click to expand...

i dont think ill go that low, ill stick with the 9200. i dont mind spending a bit more....i cant get myself to get an SE either.
 
Originally posted by: mrwxyz
Building a new system for my parents. They will not be doing gaming on it (my dad believes very strongly that computers are not meant for games, go figure). The only thing that the comp will be used for is word proccessing, internet, quicken, things of that nature.
Click to expand...

I hope you dad doesn't impose his anti gamin beleafs on you....

And to be honest if no gaming is to be done ont he system thier is absolutly no benefit to going with a better card than say a 9200se.
 
Originally posted by: LTC8K6
For 3 years maybe it should be a DX9 card?
Click to expand...

isnt the 9200 a dx9 card....
and i dont want to totally skimp on their system. besides, maybe my parents use some programs with 3d here and there...

Originally posted by: Falloutboy525
Originally posted by: mrwxyz
Building a new system for my parents. They will not be doing gaming on it (my dad believes very strongly that computers are not meant for games, go figure). The only thing that the comp will be used for is word proccessing, internet, quicken, things of that nature.
Click to expand...

I hope you dad doesn't impose his anti gamin beleafs on you....
Click to expand...

he did for a while towards the begining of high school when we only had one comp, but i upgraded the vid card when i got my own and he had no control from there. a victory for me.
 
Originally posted by: mrwxyz
Originally posted by: LTC8K6
For 3 years maybe it should be a DX9 card?
Click to expand...

isnt the 9200 a dx9 card....
and i dont want to totally skimp on their system. besides, maybe my parents use some programs with 3d here and there...

Originally posted by: Falloutboy525
Originally posted by: mrwxyz
Building a new system for my parents. They will not be doing gaming on it (my dad believes very strongly that computers are not meant for games, go figure). The only thing that the comp will be used for is word proccessing, internet, quicken, things of that nature.
Click to expand...

I hope you dad doesn't impose his anti gamin beleafs on you....
Click to expand...

he did for a while towards the begining of high school when we only had one comp, but i upgraded the vid card when i got my own and he had no control from there. a victory for me.
Click to expand...

I think you should go with a 9600: DX9 support just in case and good DVD and 2D IQ.
 
Originally posted by: LTC8K6
No, a 9200 is DX8.1, but I was just thinking out loud.

3 years is a long time. 😀
Click to expand...

they've had their current system for 4+....and they still dont really want to upgrade

they have rite now:
amd athlon k6 700mhz
tnt2 16mb (maybe its 32, but i doubt it)
386mb pc133 sdram (hehe, i added a 128 stick i found when i cleaned my room)

i guess ill go for a 9600np then, im willing to spend that amount anyway.
would the 9600se be worth it? its about the same $ as a 9200 but with dx9
 
Originally posted by: mrwxyz
i guess ill go for a 9600np then, im willing to spend that amount anyway.
would the 9600se be worth it? its about the same $ as a 9200 but with dx9
Click to expand...

The 9600SE will be fine. If they don't game, then there's really no reason to get more than that.
 
I tend to shy away from 64bit mem cards like the 9600SE.

You could also look at an NV FX5500, they are about $75ish
 
My parents stil have cely 500's with onboard graphics. I can honestly not see an iq difference between them and my 9600 just doind web browsing and dvd playback. the 9200 will more than suffice.
 
Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
My parents stil have cely 500's with onboard graphics. I can honestly not see an iq difference between them and my 9600 just doind web browsing and dvd playback. the 9200 will more than suffice.
Click to expand...

but will the fact that the 9200 is not dx9 lock them out of anything besides games?
it was actually my intention to get a dx9 card, and i was leaning on 9200 till LTC8K6 pointed out it wasnt dx9.....
 
I have a Asus Geforce 2 Mx400 64. Thats like 30 bucks now. It runs games up to call of duty, not battlefield. And runs dvd's fine. It can do all the windows media stuff, its not DX 9. Ur parents wont be doing such high tech stuff. You dont need to go all out.
 
Since they arent gaming, a 9200se is more than enough. Get one with a DVI connection in case your parents get a newer monitor later on. Then, just pocket the extra 60 dollars 😉.

-Steve
 
Originally posted by: jjj807
I have a Asus Geforce 2 Mx400 64. Thats like 30 bucks now. It runs games up to call of duty, not battlefield. And runs dvd's fine. It can do all the windows media stuff, its not DX 9. Ur parents wont be doing such high tech stuff. You dont need to go all out.
Click to expand...

The only thing is a lot of GF2MX cards have *lousy* 2D IQ, especially if you want to run them at relatively high resolutions. Most also don't have DVI outputs (and if they someday get a nice LCD monitor, they'll want that). It's a half-decent 3D gaming card if you're on a super-tight budget, but a more recent card should have better 2D quality.

You really don't need a DirectX9 card for anything but games (although if you can get a 9600SE for the same price as a 9200, you might as well). Longhorn *might* require DX9 hardware functionality for its GUI (that's the rumor, anyway), but I see no reason your parents won't be able to stick with WinXP/2000 for the next decade or so...
 
Any piece of garbage will work. One of my beaters has a 4mb ATI Rage Pro from 1998 (I think) and it still works great.
 
ya, ill just get a 9200 with dvi out.

good thing u mentioned the dvi out, i completly forget to check for it. pretty much all the upper end cards have em standard now so i take that for granted. im getting an lcd for the system too, so that wouldve been pretty bad if i didnt check.

and i know i said the comp wasnt for gaming...but come on, i dont exactly want any old "garbage"...that 4mb rage pro would be a downgrade from the tnt2 😉
 
Just get ANYTING cheap. Who cares if it has dx9? Who cares if it's got 64 bit memory bus? If they don't game, it doesn't matter. If they ever did need dx9 card for longhorn, they'll probably be able to pick up one for cheap by the times longhorn is finally out.
 
they do not need dx9, I woudl definatly say get a model with dvi output. All ati cards from teh 8500 on have dvd hardware assist I believe sot the 9200 will have it. Here is the cheapest 9200 with devi I could find on newegg. I say go for it.
 
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