Cheap DVI video card for 2D use ~ $50?

quakersk8

Junior Member
Jan 25, 2006
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What is the best dvi video card for 2D applications under $50? I don't play games and very rarely watch movies. My old geforce 2 gts is showing artifacts in movies plus I got a Samsung 930B so I figure its time to upgrade.
 

Fardringle

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2000
9,200
765
126
In your budget range I would probably go with the Powercolor Radeon 9600Pro for $55 from NewEgg. It has DVI and VGA ports and does very good 2D picture quality. It will also perform decently in all but the most recent games if you ever decide to do more than just work on your computer. ;)
 

Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
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Go with a fanless card then. Radeon 9550SE would be good enough, or if you want something that excels at 2D and movies, consider an XGI Volari V3XT.
 

Fardringle

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2000
9,200
765
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Good point about the XGI. If you reallly don't ever play games, the XGI Volari will probably be your best bet for overall 2D image quality.
 

Steelski

Senior member
Feb 16, 2005
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VOOOOOOLAAAAAAAAARIIIIIIIIIIIIIII OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
VOOOOLAAAAAAAARIIIIIIIIIIIIII O O O O
rata ,ata da ta ta da. I cant remember the words. but if you wanna know what was going through my head then sing the first bits. you can tell us what the volari cards are like.
 

quakersk8

Junior Member
Jan 25, 2006
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Thanks for the help guys. After seeing some screenshots from games like COD2 I'm almost considering getting back into games except for the fact I'd have to build a whole new compy which I don't have the money for.

 

TrixAreForKids

Senior member
Apr 8, 2001
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XGI Volari V3XT: Is the regular PCI version as good as the AGP version? I bought a new AMD x2 based computer with onboard nvidia 6100 which through VGA (D-SUB) displays horrible image quality at 1680x1050. Want to put in something cheap but only option is PCI-Express or PCI. Are all XGI video cards that great or only the V3XT?
 

Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
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The V3XT, V5 and V8 use the same (DX9) core which is an offspring from SiS Xabre legacy, while the plain V3 is a different chip, a DX8.1 engine from former Trident legacy.
 

hans007

Lifer
Feb 1, 2000
20,212
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if you are just using it for 2d ANY card should be fine.

you could even get an old matrox g400 dvi.
 

Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
9,640
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Not really. If you go too far back, you'll have a resolution limit of 1280x1024 on DVI. G400, as far as I remember, is guilty of that, as is the Volari V3 as well as 1st-generation Radeons.
 

hans007

Lifer
Feb 1, 2000
20,212
18
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Originally posted by: Peter
Not really. If you go too far back, you'll have a resolution limit of 1280x1024 on DVI. G400, as far as I remember, is guilty of that, as is the Volari V3 as well as 1st-generation Radeons.

1280x1024 was the res limit on DFP cards which is a pre DVI standard (though compatible by adapters), not DVI.
 

Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
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Still, older Matrox and Radeon cards DO have that frequency limit on their DVI port. Read the specs.