Can some recommend a NEW Video Card for ME?? PLEASE HELP??

[thatsright]

OK so its time to get a new Video Card. My current one is almost 6 years old (you heard me right!) and Im not really into games anymore, but I may occasionally play one or two in the future. But right now I don?t have any installed on my HD, and don?t plan to put any there. Yet I am definitely not so hardcore into video hardware that I?d go out and get a Radeon 9800 or something like that.

Nowadays I mostly use my PC for Internet and equal amount of Photo editing / MS Office apps. Well What I?d like to do is spend about $130 for a AGP card with around 128MB of DDR RAM. I was thinking maybe the Radeon 9000 Pro? Can anyone suggest anything with the most bang for the buck with my budget and system and requirements.



Thanks a million to everyone.


Okay here is my setup:

P3 750 with 100Mhz FSB, Slot 1 CPU
512MB of PC100 SDRAM
Abit BH6 Motherboard Slot 1(bought in Oct 98)
TNT 2 AGP Video card with 16MB Ram bought in May 97
SB Live Audio
6.4 Seagate HD that Has my current O/S Win 98
60 Gig WD 7200rpm HD, currently for storage.
ATA100 Add in card
Sony CDRW 8X January 2000

 

[nick1985]

for 130, get a ti-4200

 

[spanky]

get this

 

[SickBeast]

get this

i second that

 

[FearoftheNight]

Originally posted by: nick1985
for 130, get a ti-4200

I second that. Or look in CompUSA and BEstbuy. THey have the PNY's for $80!!!! =D

 

[TheCorm]

You might also want to go for a 64MB card, would be fine for your needs and generally is clocked higher....unless you want to overclock then take your pick.

Corm

 

[sep]

I think the ati card is an overall better choice for you. Get the 9500 Pro 64MB or 128MB...

 

[Keysplayr]

I would go with the NVIDIA Ti4200. If you search, you can find a 128MB board.
Oh wait, here ya go.... Linky

Keys

 

[FearoftheNight]

Actually now that I think of it do not get a Radeon 9500 Pro. Only get Ti4200 if it is $80. I don't believe you can take advantage of the DDR Ram w/ ur CPU and Memory. I believe there was another post earlier about how he got pitiful performance with a setup very very very similar to yours. And I also know from personal experience that having my Radeon 9500 Pro on my old p3 800 mhz was a waste of the video card potential and it wasn't worth it. Also I don't have a link but you may very much want to look at Tomshardware's VGA charts part 2. It shows that at low processor speeds high ends card do not have a serious advantage over low ends ones.

So if you cannont get the GF4 for $80 because they are selling out like crazy. IMHO I'd recommend the $79 Nvidia GF FX 5200 that is coming out soon. Do not get a card like Radeon 9500 PRo for ~$200 unless you plan on upgrading your computer in the next few months.

 

[sep]

I read your post again...

OK so its time to get a new Video Card. My current one is almost 6 years old (you heard me right!) and Im not really into games anymore, but I may occasionally play one or two in the future.

Why buy one now? Wait until you really need one. With your setup I'd focus on upgrading other parts until I'd have a reason to upgrade the video.

FYI..
My G2 Pro works great in my PIII 1G for playing some newer games@1024x768x32. No that's not with all the details on high

Good Luck!
-JC

 

[novice]

In looking at your system specs, I don't think that a Radeon 9500 is worth the investment. You might be better served with something like this for about half of what you were planning on spending. Even a Radeon 8500 clocked at 250/250 will be a huge step up from where you have been. Your CPU will bottleneck even the Radeon 8500, so going farther will only cost more, not sure just how much more performance you would get (or need for that matter). If you wanted to go even cheaper, but still enjoy improved performance, I would take a look at a geforce 4 MX 440 like This one for $54.50 shipped. Your existing CPU won't bottleneck it and it will be a huge improvement over your current card. Then you could use your extra $80 towards your new CPU/motherboard/ram and eventually new video card, maybe another 6 years down the road. Seriously, anything you stick in your box will make a very noticeable improvement, particularly in 3D games. Even a Geforce 2 MX400 for less $40 shipped would be a nice upgrade from what you have used for the past 6 years.

 

[oWNz]

never go to best buy or compusa to get any hardware. Go to a small shop they have better stuff and will work with you on price. Also don't go with anything from PNY. If you really want to do it right go ASUS but they are a little pricey. For example, I play Tribes2 and was using my LEADTEK TI4600 before it died 2 days ago, I am now using a ASUS v7700 32M gf2 and with full graphic capabilities I still do not go below 130 FPS. Most of my clan has gf4 and I am out performing them. Now granted it is not handling things correctly as far as crashes, but what can you expect from a 32M card. The rest of my system is so fast it is pushing the card too far.

Go ASUS!

XP Pro
2500+ Barton
epox 8rda+
1 gb 2700
120 + 40 wd caviar HD
Audigy

 

[nRollo]

" never go to best buy or compusa to get any hardware. Go to a small shop they have better stuff and will work with you on price. Also don't go with anything from PNY. If you really want to do it right go ASUS but they are a little pricey. For example, I play Tribes2 and was using my LEADTEK TI4600 before it died 2 days ago, I am now using a ASUS v7700 32M gf2 and with full graphic capabilities I still do not go below 130 FPS. Most of my clan has gf4 and I am out performing them. Now granted it is not handling things correctly as far as crashes, but what can you expect from a 32M card. The rest of my system is so fast it is pushing the card too far."

LOL- never have so many outlandish things been posted in one thread.

Gee, why not Best Buy? I've bought over 20 VGAs from them, never had a problem. If I don't like it, I return it, full refund, no problem. How can a small shop have "better stuff" if it's all the same retail pack?

Why no PNY? I've had a PNY Ti4400 and a PNY GF4 440MX SE, no problems whatsoever. PNY is just re-labelled MSI.

"do it right go ASUS"?
Er, you've got an ancient Asus gf2, I bet even my 3 year olds PNY GF4 MX440 64DDR outperforms it, and it cost me $40 after rebate at Best Buy!

You are not "outperforming" anyone who has a GF4 with a GF2, unless their computers have serious issues.

As far as your dead Leadtek goes, that's an endorsement of Leadtek- I've probably owned close to 50 VGAs, and NEVER had one die. Of course, you probably OCd it and destroyed it, then tried to RMA to defraud the company for another.
The 4600 is a weak card these days anyway- gamers use 9700s.