little advice

[BlyGuy]

Ok I have only $125 left in my new pc budget for a video card and need some help getting the best bang for my bucks. I have a p4 3ghz 800 fsb northwood on a ASUS "P4P800 SE" so what do yall recommend?

 

[gobucks]

well, i'd REALLY recommend finding another $50 so that you can get a 6600GT or maybe a 9800 pro, but barring that, i guess a 6600 vanilla will work if you can find one for that price, which shouldn't be too hard to do. The 6600GT and 9800 pro will both give you at least twice the performance of anything you can get for $125, so economically it's much better to grab one of these.

 

[Melchior]

Radeon 9700 Pro or 9800 Pro. Used from FS/FT or Ebay
Alternatively a 5900XT/SE would also serve (and around the same price)

If you dont buy used, then your going to get alot less frames/dollar Gfx card, like a 9600XT or something incredibly inferior to the cards listed above.

 

[sundev]

If you're looking for only new cards, then I agree that you should look for another $50-70 to get a 6600GT or 9800 Pro. If you can't however, at $125 I think your best bet is a 9600XT.

 

[m3rcury]

I second what sundevb said. If you *have* to have a new card, get a 9600XT. Newegg has a couple of them for around 110$. I just ordered a 9600XT Vivo myself. Fedex says it will be delivered today. Im excited =)

 

[ribbon13]

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=14-131-199&depa=0

See if you can save enough to get at least one of those.

next step up
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=14-102-362&depa=0

otherwise go used on ebay.

 

[Creig]

Good used 9700 Pro from the For Sale/Trade forums will usually run under $125. Good performance with even the newest games, with the exception of Doom III.

 

[daveybrat]

Here's the best bang for the buck. If you don't want to buy a used card on ebay or from someone else and you don't have a large budget, then you can't go wrong with a good quality ATI 9600 Pro like this one:

MSI ATI 9600 Pro 128MB

$104 for a brand new card by a reputable manufacturer is about the best you'll find for the price. About twice as fast as that horrid 5700LE card by nvidia.

 

[ZobarStyl]

If you only want new and can't spend more, go with the 9600Pro...if you can scrounge up lunch money for a 6600GT, you'll be more than happy.

 

[Pete]

I'm with Melchior: find a used 9700, 9700 Pro, or 9800 for $125 or less. Your CPU is powerful enough to warrant a card faster than a 9600. Note that some 9700-series cards exhibited "rolling lines" with their VGA out, which yo can sidestep by using the DVI-VGA adapter, or avoid by looking for a 9800. You can also look for a used 9800P, but I think they're still selling for around $150. A 9800P is worth 10-15% more than a 9700P, BTW, based on speed alone.

 

[Jeff7181]

Used or 9700, 9700 Pro, 9800... even a Ti4600 would be good, although no DX9 features.