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Good low budget video card for a non-gamer for Windows XP

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Senior member
My dad need some help picking out a better video card for his system and he wants to replace the ancient Creative Banshee 16MB. I recommended a Geforce2 MX200 with 32MB ram, but I am not sure which brand to recommend to him since he doesnt need TVout or any special features. He has a very poor system that will not handle a huge video card. So recommed something that will work with XP and will be able to meet his needs with minor photo editing. Thanks.

linman
 
Thanks for your info. Now I would be happier I think with a Geforce2 MX but I am not sure which brand to suggest to my dad? Does the SIS 315 by ECS work well under XP?? LMK

linman
 
If he's not doing games then why the mx? Don't get me wrong, I own one myself, but on my system i did notice a real difference even at 1024x768 in the text sharpness going from my Matrox g200. ATI cards are also great for a non-gamer.

Just another thought.
 
So what do you recommend?? I need a brand name here. There is a wide field to pick from and I am not sure where to start. LMK

linman
 
I agree, if your not gaming then pass on nVidia.
The MX200 offers no advantage over many other cards at the same price level for on-gamers.

Personally, if your not a gamer I'd be much more interested in the SiS315, Radeon VE, Mator G200 or G400, or an ATi Rage128 based card.
All of which seem more appealing then the MX200 from a non-gaming POV and are very close in pricing. A few of which are even a bit cheaper then the MX200.
 
I think a good choice might be a TNT2 (nvidia) based card. They are pretty standard in office PC's, don't cost very much and will do everyday stuff pretty well. Try pricewatch and search video cards then look for TNT2 and see if you can find a brand there. Then check it out on the Mfgr. website. They are dirt cheap and work fine as long as you don't want to game or do video editing stuff.

(I'm so used to looking at gaming/entheusiast stuff, this may be a bad lead... if so.... srry)
 
I'd pass on the TNT2. Their cheap and reliabile, but the TNT2 tended to have extremely poor 2D visual quality, might as well get something that offers better 2D for the same pricing. The MX200 is very slightly superior in most any way to a TNT2 level card, at a similar price point.

 
Matrox G200, cheap and has great 2d. If you can find a low price G400, G450, or a Radeon VE, they'd also be great choices. I wouldnt' recommend the nVidia GeForce 2 MX, since they often sport bad 2d. O... also... ATI and Matrox's drivers for Win XP are every bit as good as nVidia's.
 
Matrox's XP drivers are very good, but the drivers from ATi still have a lot of bugs. if they didn't, the rage3d forums wouldn't have very much traffic. 😀

--jacob
 
ATI Rage Fury Pro is my suggestion...Great 2d quality at even 1600x1200, cheap too...Stick with Matrox or ATI cuz Nvidia sucks ass at 2d boards!
 


<< ATI Rage Fury Pro is my suggestion...Great 2d quality at even 1600x1200, cheap too...Stick with Matrox or ATI cuz Nvidia sucks ass at 2d boards! >>



I'd be wary of that card. I am using my Xpert98 instead of my new Rage Fury Pro Vivo, because it has some flickering problem. I asked something about it and it seems like several other owners are having the same problem also.

 
Look for an ati radeon ve for about $50 with no tv-out or other costly features. Worked fine on 1 athlon and 1 xp system.
 
Well, if he does not play games or do ANY 3D application, just photo editing, thats 2D only, right?
And just show me one single problem with Banshee and 2D in WinXP !!!
As far as I know Banshee with the WinXP supplied drivers works flawless. And, by the way, Banshee had the same quality of 2D as Matrox cards have. I owned one for 2 years and I must say Banshee in 2D looked better than Matrox G200. (If I compared two identical monitors next to each other).
To me it sounds like a complete waste of money.
 
I'm with vlieps. Unless the banshee is not supported in xp, or is failing in some other manner, keep it. don't spend his money on a percieved fault, or because the hardware is "old". I am still running onboard "rage pro turbo" on this machine, and it has never failed to function adequately under the conditions of use you have described.🙂
 
Can't go wrong with Matrox if you're not into gaming. MWave has a bunch ranging from $49 to $119. I found this page on Matrox's website that talks about WinXP and their cards.
 
A couple of weeks ago, I would have recommended the $47 radeon VE. Very good 2D, practical frame rate in 3D, dual monitor, and good DVD performance.

But, it is a 3rd party card and ATI's XP driver doesn't like the card. If you want any of the extra features, this ATI driver is needed.

The card installs OK with the bare-bones Microsoft driver that comes with XP. No dual monitor or other features are implimented though.

Well, if you don't need these extras, it might still be a good choice then. - $52 delivered from Newegg.

BTW, I was told by Newegg that it was an ATI card. I called ATI, got to their 2nd tier suport guy, and he took a lot of time getting the facts - maybe to beat up on the 3rd party OEM for dragging the ATI flag in the mud with an incompatibility issue.
 
Yeah, but who has the best win xp support? Nvidia so far.

Why does it matter who has better winxp support? He wants only 2D.

I also agree with vlieps. Your pops don't need to upgrade his vid card if he's not gaming.
 
I like the ATI Radeon LE. It's in the same price range will also do 3D and can be hacked to the Radeon DDR.
 
if it was for a non-gaming machine..and u were looking for pay in the range of the mx200...i would say get a radeon le. for 2d quality and dvd playback. and gaming if ur dad ever has a change of heart 😛
 
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